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                              tandard .

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`ii  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
i


In This Issue


      Meditation:
         The King of Glory Enters!

      Editorials:
         The Gereformeerde Kerken Repudiate the Canons
         The Marks of the True Church

      Comments on Popular Views of Death and on Abortion

     '  Mission, Feat&e: .
         A Memorable Day in Jamaica



                                               ~.~-    u'Volume  XLVIiNumber   15/May I, 1970


338                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


                             CONTENTS                                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                                          Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August.

                                                                                          Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
Meditation  -                                                                                   Second Class Postage Paid at Grand Rapids,  Mich.
                                                                                    Editor-in-Chief: Prof.  f-f. C. Hoeksema
   The King of Glory Enters! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .338                   Department Editors::.  Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof.
                                                                                    Herman Hanko, Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A. Heys, RW. Jay
                                                                                    Kortering, Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Marinus  Schipper,  Rev.  Gise J.
Editorials  -                                                                       Van  Baren, Rev. Herman  Veldman. Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
   The Gereformeerde Kerken                                                         Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
       Repudiate the Canons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .341                                     1842 Plymouth Terrace,  SE.
   The Marks of the True Church (concluded) . . . .343                                                Grand Rapids,  Michigan  49506
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Meditation

                                        The King of Glory Enters!
                                                                  ProJ: H. C. Hoeksema

                 Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of
             glory shall come in.
                 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
                                                                                                                                Psalm 24:7, 8


   Picture to yourself a grand and joyful procession of struments. David the King, the sweet psalmist of Israel,
the thousands of Israel. Leading the procession, are                                clothed with a robe of fine linen and an ephod of
members of the house of Levi, bearing the Ark of the linen, is a leading member of the joyful throng. The
Covenant of Jehovah. With them are all their brethren,                              elders of Israel and the captains over thousands are
priests and Levites, singers and players on musical in- there. "Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the cove-


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                               339



nant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the that mighty and holy and glorious symbol of God's
cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a presence, was resting far away.
noise with psalteries and harps," I Chron. 15 :28.          But now, at last, in David's time the Lord of Hosts
  They approach Mount Zion, formerly the fortress of had given to His people the complete victory. The
the Jebusites, where David had prepared a tent for the boundaries of the kingdom had been extended to their
Ark of God.                                               promised ideal. All the enemies of God's people were
  And as they reach the foot of Zion's mount and subjugated. Even the strong fortress of the Jebusites in
sweep up the slope, you can hear them singing, - sing- the heights of Jerusalem had been captured.
ing of the power and glory of Jehovah, and of them          Jehovah, the I AM, Whose counsel shall stand and
who only may ascend His holy hill, to dwell in His Who doeth all His good pleasure, had proved Himself
presence, those who have clean hands and a pure heart, faithful to His covenant. Plainly He demonstrated that
the covenant generation of them that seek the God of all His promises are sure.
Jacob.                                                      The Lord strong and mighty He had shown Himself
  But as they reach the gate of Zion's city, formerly tb be!
the stronghold of the enemy, their song changes.            The Lord mighty in battle!
   One of the approaching procession sings like the         For He it was - not an arm of flesh, not horses and
herald of an approaching king, addressing the gates of chariots - but He, Whose name is Jehovah, Jehovah of
the City of Zion. "Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates; and Hosts, Who had given His people the victory over all
be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of their enemies!
glory shall come in!"                                       As the. King of glory He had revealed Himself in-
  And from within the gates someone asks the ques- deed! For is not His glory the radiation of all His infi-
tion: "Who is this King of glory?"                        nite perfections? And were not those perfections - His
   From the approaching procession comes the glad truth and faithfulness, His lovingkindness and mercy,
and triumphant response: "The Lord strong and His righteousness and justice, His power and might -
mighty! The Lord mighty in battle!"                       revealed when He fought for His people and gave them
  Jehovah of Hosts is ascending to Zion, the Mount of the victory?
His holiness!                                               And now He enters in. For the Ark which is being
                         r**+*                            brought from the house of Obed-Edom is nothing less
  A glad and joyful occasion that was!                    than the visible representation of His throne, of His
  The Lord Jehovah, Israel's glorious King, had chosen sovereignty, of His divine majesty.
Israel as His people. He had given them His precepts        Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates of Zion!
and statutes. Out of the house of bondage He had            Even lift them up, ye everlasting doors!
delivered them with a mighty hand and with a                God, Jehovah, the King of all the earth, Whose
stretched out arm. He had saved them and protected earthly representative is David, the man after His own
them from all the power of their enemies. A place, a heart, doth enter into His kingdom, doth establish His
place of covenant rest, he had prepared for them in the throne on Mount Zion!
land of Canaan. Moreover, He had chosen Jerusalem as        Our God and OUY King is He!
the city of His habitation among His people. More par-      For that Ark is the heart of tabernacle and temple.
ticularly, He had appointed Mount Zion, one of the It was made first in the holy mount; and around: it
hills of Jerusalem, as the place of His throne. There He' were constructed the most holy place, the sanctuary,
would establish His power and majesty and sover- and the court. And thus it is also on Mount Zion. True,
eignty. From Zion He would rule over all His people. there is only a tent, a `temporary habitation, when
From Zion would go forth His law, and from thence Israel brings the Ark to Zion's hill. But essentially
would proceed the Word of His blessing.                   God's habitation is there, His dwelling-place among His
  This is the Kingdom whose realization is celebrated people. And before long, the. entire temple will arise
in this psalm.                                            around that Ark, in order that the Lord God may dwell
  Or rather, the coming of this glorious King into His among His people.
kingdom is celebrated with music and .song of praise!       The King Who enters into His kingdom, therefore, is
  It is the time when Jehovah takes His place on our Covenant God. King is He, indeed; but the King
Mount Zion!                                               Who dwells among His people as their Friend, com-
  For a long time a large part of the land of Canaan muning with them and blessi,ng them. He rules them in
had remained in the power of the enemies, enemies His love and favor. And He rules over all their enemies
who dwelt particularly in the cities and strongholds of by His mighty power for the sake of and for the bene-
the land. There had even'been times when it appeared fit of His people. Moreover, His people are His sub-
as though the children of Israel might be dispossessed. jects, obeying His law, doing His will, serving Him; but
Yea, there were times when' it appeared as though Je- even as He is their Friend-Sovereign, so they are His
hovah had forsaken His people, times when the Ark,        friend-servants. All their service of His is `from friend-


 340                                             THE STAN DA RD BEARER


 ship, covenant friendship, and in love.                        Ye everlasting doors of heaven, whicn were closed to
   Thus joyous Zion sings: Lift up your heads, 0 ye us, closed to our human nature, by reason of sin:
 gates!                                                      remains not closed! He has opened you by His death!
   Let the kingdom, the glorious kingdom in which our           Sing, 0 Zion! Shout, 0 daughter of Jerusalem!
 God is our Friend-Sovereign be established!                    With a voice of triumph!
   The Lord mighty in battle stands before you!                 Open, ye gates of heaven, that the King of glory -
                         *****                               our King and our God - may come in and be seated on
   All of this, however, was but a shadow of things to the right hand of the Majesty on high!
 come.                                                          For He is Jehovah, mighty in battle! He has con-
   Surely, it was also real. In a very real sense God quered all our foes!
dwelt among His people Israel. He blessed them with             Open to Him, and through Him to us! For through
 the blessings of His covenant of friendship; and they His blood and Spirit, in faith's union with Him, we are
 served Him as His covenant people.                          of clean hands and a pure heart! He is OUI King, .and
   But the reality was still veiled in shadows. Mount we are His people. He, and through? Him God, reigns
 Zion was after all a shadow of God's right hand, His among us, over us, in us. He reigns as our Covenant
 place of glory in the heavens. The most holy place was Friend over us, His covenant people!
 but a shadow of the heavenly sanctuary. The ark was            Open, ye gates!
 but an earthly shadow of the throne of God. The                And remain open  - until every last one of His
 temple was only a type of His heavenly tabernacle with friends, every member of His royal priesthood, has en-
 men. David was but a shadow of Him through Whom tered after Him!
 the Lord mighty in battle would reveal Himself and            Do ye hear, 0 everlasting doors?
 give unto His people the real victory and the real in-                               *****
heritance.                                                      Sing, 0 daughter of Jerusalem! Shout, 0 Zion, with
   On the same basis, the ascent of the Ark of the a shout of triumphant hope!
 Covenant was also typical. That occasion was not the           For There is still a prophetic note in this song of
 only, not the full, not the final realization of the truth Zion. Though in principle and centrally the glorious
 expressed in this song of Zion.                             Kingdom of grace is established in Christ, the King of
   And if even the shadow was so glorious that it glory, Who is in heaven, Who has all power, and Who
 caused all Zion to shout with a voice of triumph, how rules over all; though, too, His kingdom is established
much more glorious must the reality be. . . .                and realized in our hearts, so that the power of sin and
   Lift up your heads, 0 ye gates! Let the King of death in us is overcome, so that He is our Lord and we
glory come in!                                               His friends, and so that we are partakers of His heav-
   Who is this King of glory?                                enly resurrection-life; yet all is not finished. We, His
   Our Lord Jesus Christ!                                    subjects, are still imperfect, both spiritually and physi-
   He is the King of glory. For He is Jesus, Jehovah- cally. In the world the enemy still raves and causes
Salvation! He is the real King. He is the Lord and God's people to suffer. Besides, the whole creation has
David combined in one. He is Immanuel, God with us. not been finally delivered from the curse; the new
He is the Lord Himself, and yet the perfect Servant of heavens and the new earth are not yet.
Jehovah. He is the King under God, and yet God Him-            But lift up your heads, 0 ye gates!
self. And He is the King of glory: for He has been             He is coming! He, the King of glory!
exalted at His resur&ction. The mortal has put on im-          He is coming all through this dispensation - even as
mortality. The weak has put on strength. The earthly, He opens the seals, causes the trumpets to be sounded,
now, at the moment of His ascension, is clothed with and the vials to be poured out! He is coming through
heavenly glory!                                              all the events of this present time, and they all must be
   He is mighty in battle!                                   subservient to His coming!
   The strong fortress of sin and death. and hell He           He is completing His kingdom and calling His elect
entered. And all our foes  - sin, death, the prince of' subjects by His Spirit and Word!
darkness, the wicked world  - all of the foes of His           He is coming, finally, on the clouds! Then shall the
Kingdom of righteousness and truth and peace and life King of glory enter into the full manifestation of His
eternal and glory He has completely overcome. Yea, covenant and kingdom. Then shall all the enemies be
He has overcome them by His death and the shedding destroyed forever. Then shall the tabernacle of God be
of His blood! For the real battle of the ages is a spir- with men forever!
itual one; and that spiritual battle He has fought to the      Shout it in hope, 0 Zion! Lift up your heads, 0 ye
very end, and gained the victory!                            gates!
   Lift up your heads, 0 ye everlasting doors!                 And, 0 Bride of Christ, let your shout be accom-
   The King of glory, our Lord Jesus Christ, has the panied by prayer and supplication: "Come, Lord
right to enter in.                                           Jesus, come quickly!"


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         341


  And, praying, watch! Watch, that ye may keep  your-             The King of glory is approaching, coming quickly!
selves pure as He is pure. For who shall ascend into the          He will enter in!
hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He           And He will bring us, His people, with Him  - with.
that is of clean hands and a pure heart. Outside, for- out spot or wrinkle!
ever, will be they that love iniquity.                            Shout it, 0 Jerusalem!
  Be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors!                            With a voice of triumph!


Editorials

    The Gereformeerde Kerken Repudiate the Canons
                                                      Pvof H. C. Hoeksema

  Some time ago it was reported in  The Standard above decision in my posse&ion, it can easily be ascer-
Bearer  that the  Gereformeevde  Kevken   in a  synodical tained which articles of the Canons of Dordrecht are at
decision reminded the churches that the confessions stake. They are the same articles which have been criti-
have binding authority upon all as an accepted basis of cized for some years already by the same representa-
fellowship. Even this decision was a qualified and am- tives of the so-called "new theology" who have been
biguous one: for the Synod "recognized that the man- busy criticizing many important elements of the Re-
ner of expression and the method of argument in the formed faith. One of these articles is Canons I, A, 6:
creedal standards should offer no obstacle to officers                 That some receive the gift of faith from God, and
of the church to express their complete agreement"                  others do not receive it proceeds from God's eternal
(RES News Exchange, Nov.  18, 1969). Besides, the                   decree, "For known unto God are all his works from
Synod also appointed a committee to investigate                     the beginning of the world." Acts  15:18. "Who
whether and how a new contemporary confession of                    worketh all things after the counsel of his will,"
faith should be made.                                               Eph. 1: 11. According to which decree, he graciously
  Since that decision was made, there have been fur-                softens the hearts of the elect, however obstinate,
ther developments. The Synod accepted as its own a                  and inclines them to believe, while he leaves the non-
complaint against the Heidelberg Catechism, Question                elect in his just judgment to their own wickedness
                                                                    and obduracy. And herein is especially displayed the
80, particularly the statement referring to the popish              profound, the merciful, and at the same time the
mass as "an abominable idolatry." But because, ac-                  righteous discrimination between men, equally in-
cording to the Synod, there are other expressions in                volved in ruin; or that decree of election and reproba-
the Catechism which are objectionable, all of these                 tion, revealed in the Word of God, which though men
matters were referred to the committee mentioned                    of,perverse,  impure and unstable minds wrest to their
above.                                                              own destruction, yet to holy and pious souls affords
  But now the Synod has struck a blow at the very                   unspeakable consolation.
heart of the Reformed faith.  RES News Exchange,                  Also involved is Canons I, A, 15 :
March 24, 1970, carries the following report:                          What peculiarly tends to illustrate and recommend
          The Synod of the Reformed Churches in the                 to us the eternal and unmerited grace of election, is
    Netherlands has declared that certain passages in the           the express testimony of sacred Scripture, that not
    Canons of Dordt concerning the teaching of eternal              all, but some only are elected, while others are passed
    reprobation are not based upon the clear givens of              by in the eternal decree; whom God, out of his sover-
    the Holy Scripture. The Synod reached this decision             eign, most just, irreprehensible and unchangeable
    after considering a protest of a Dr. B. J. Brouwer in           good pleasure, hath decreed to leave in the common
    the Hague. He had raised objections in principle                misery into which they have wilfully plunged them-
    against the statement in the Canons which state that            selves, and not to bestow upon them saving faith and
    God decided by an eternal decree not to give to some            the grace of conversion; but permitting them in his
    men the gift of grace, but to leave them to their               just judgment to follow their own ways, at last for
    hardness and evil.                                              the declaration of his justice, to condemn and perish
          The Synod declared that these passages in the con-        them forever, not only on account of their unbelief,
    fessional standard of the church stand in the way of a          but also for all their other sins. And this is the decree
    complete agreement with the three Forms of Unity.               of reprobation which by no means makes God the
    The declaration was referred to a commission which              author of sin (the very thought of which is blas-
    is making a study of the present creeds of the church.          phemy), but declares him to be an awful, irrepre-
  Although I do not have any more details of the                    hensible, and righteous judge and avenger thereof.


342                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER


  Necessarily jnvolved is also Canons I, B, 8 :                   reprobation and predestination, you tamper by un-
          (The Synod rejects the errors of those) Who             avoidable implication with total depravity, definite
       teach: That God, simply by virtue of his righteous         atonement, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of
       will, did not decide either to leave anyone in the fall    the saints. No one, surely, saw this more clearly than
       of Adam and in the common state of sin and con-            our fathers at the time of the Arminian conflict and
       demnation, or to pass anyone by in the communica-          the Synod of Dordrecht.
       tion of grace which is necessary for faith and
       conversion. For this is firmly decreed: "He bath             In the second place, this  synodical decision only
       mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he hard-           serves to emphasize the sad state of affairs in the
       eneth," Rom. 9 :18. And also this: "Unto you it is         Dutch churches. Think of it! In the very cradle of the'
       given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of              Canons those Canons of Dordrecht are now repu-
       heaven, but to them it is not given," Matt. 13:ll.         diated! And let no one say that the  Gereformeerde
       Likewise : "I thank thee, 0 Father, Lord of heaven         Kerken  have not repudiated the Canons, but only a
       and earth, that thou didst hide these things from the      pai-t  of the Canons. This is not true. For the Canons,
       wise and understanding, and didst reveal them unto         more than any of our confessions, stand or fall to-
       babes; yea, Father, fo.rso it was well-pleasing in thy     gether. Besides, the Dutch churches can no longer say
       sight," Matt. 11:25,26.                                    that they subscribe without reservation to the Canons
  The above articles constitute the substance of what             - not in their entirety. It has become a fact that they
the Canons say directly on the subject of reprobation.            do not mean the same thing by the "Canons of
And while, as I stated, I do not know the details of the Dordrecht" as we and.other Reformed churches do.
gravamen brought to the Dutch synod, nevertheless it                But this is not the only sad aspect. For there is a
is certain that, either directly or indirectly, all three history behind this decision, a history of doctrinal
articles are involved.                                            liberty. For, you understand, this repudiation did not
  What shall we say about this?                                   come about suddenly. On the contrary, certain theo-
  In the first place, it should be evident to anyone logians have been criticizing the Canons on this score
who has the least understanding of our confessions - for several years. They have been doing this in writing.
and especially of the Canons - that this is a matter of and speech. They have been propagandizing the
utmost seriousness. It concerns the very heart of the churches  - not subversively, but openly. And they
Reformed faith. This is true, first of all, in general, have done so with impunity. No one took them to task
because an aspect of the doctrine of sovereign predes-            for it ecclesiastically  - though it is completely con-
tination is involved, namely, the doctrine of reproba- trary to the Formula of Subscription. ,And now, at last,
tion. But, in the second place, it is true because when they have gained a majority sentiment in the'
reprobation and election are inseparably connected.               churches, they have made their criticism official, with
Tamper with the former, and you necessarily tamper the result that the ecclesiastical stamp of approval is
with the latter. This is unavoidable. Deny the sover- riow placed upon this repudiation of the Canons. Here
eignty of the former, and you necessarily deny the is a clear illustration of the dire results which accrue to
sovereignty of the latter. Make the former conditional,           any church which allows theologians to flout the For-
and you necessarily ,make the latter conditional. This, mula of Subscriptiop, the dire results of so-called doc-
by the way, has also been true historically. And, be- trinal liberty. In this manner the doctrine of Scriptire
sides, it has traditionally been that doctrine of sover- is being undermined in those same churches. In this
eign reprobation primarily which has b,een distasteful manner the entire heritage of the Reformed faith is
to men and which `has, been the object of attacks. As being subjected to re-examination already. In this light, .
long as one spoke of  electioli,  and even of sovereign too, the decision of the Dutch churches about the
election, not many objections would be raised. But as binding authority of the confessions, weak as it is, is
soon as one began to speak of double predestination, nothing but a hypocritical farce!
praedestinatio gemina - including sovereign reproba-                Yet, in the third place, there is at least something
tion, therefore  - then a storm of opposition would belatedly frank  - hardly would I say "honest"  -
rise. This, you understand, is not because the doctrine about this decision. For at least the  Gereformeerde
of sovereign election is acceptable, while that of repro- Kerken,  though apparently they have not yet com-
bation is not. It is rather because the crucial test of posed a substitute confession on reprobation, are "tell-
whether one actually believes the truth of sovereign ing it like it is." Everyone may now know that they
election is in the question whether he believes the openly and officially repudiate the Canons' teachings
truth of sovereign reprobation. You see, when one on reprobation. And this has the "virtue" of frankness.
wants to say, "Jacob has Gdd loved, and Esau has He It is not so hypocritical as doing lip-service to the
loved, too," he has no election left: for there is no Canons and meanwhile criticizing and denying them.
distinction left. This is the issue. Thirdly, this whole And make no mistake about it: there are others, both
matter is of the utmost seriousness because' this doc- in America  and in Australia, who  entertam similar
trine is of key importance. When you tamper with sentiments about the Canons. It is not my intention to


                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER                                               343


go into the intricate details of this criticism of the synod (not the Reformed Ecumenical Synod, which is
Canons at this time. Suffice it to say, for the present, neither ecumenical nor a synod). But it is not the right
that in my opinion it all comes down to this, that they of a single denomination.
wish to' substitute a conditional reprobation for sover-      This brings me to a concluding observation. The
eign reprobation. Perhaps at a later date we can present Gereformeerde Kerken  are placing all the churches
a study of the subject. My point is now that it would with which they have correspondence before a clear
be the part of frankness and honesty, as well as the choice: will they, or will they not, maintain corre-
proper ecclesiastical way, if  all  those who entertain spondence with the Gereformeerde Kerken as churches
these sentiments would cease their propagandizing and with whom they share a common confessional
their unofficial criticism and would openly and offi- heritage? As far as this writer is concerned, this action
cially  declare themselves. Then all will know where of the GKN is .just one more reason why our coming
they stand.                                                 Protestant Reformed Synod should heed the advice of
  In the fourth place, what haughty conceit and proud its committee for foreign correspondence to break off
high-handedness it is on the part of the Dutch churches even the seeking of limited correspondence with the
to take it upon themselves to pass judgment on the GKN. If my memory serves me correctly, the Ortho-
Canons. For, mark you well, the confessions are not dox Presbyterian Churches have already broken off re-
the exclusive possession of the  Gereformeerde Kerken. lations  - to their credit! But what about the  others?
With haughty disregard of all the other churches to What about the unity of the Reformed Ecumenical
whom the Canons belong, they have all by themselves Synod? What about the fraternal relations between the
declared that "certain passages in the Canons . . . are Christian Reformed Church and the GKN? Officially,
not based upon the clear givens of the Holy Scripture." at least, no denomination which acknowledges the
It is, of course, the perfect right of the Dutch churches Three Forms of Unity stands any longer on the same
to declare that  they  no longer wish. to adhere to the confessional basis as the Gereformeerde Kerken. It is a
Canons. But it is definitely  not  their right to tamper time of decision. Will those concerned have the cour-
with the Canons of Dordrecht independently of all age to face the issue? Or will they try to avoid it? Or
other Reformed denominations. This might be a ignore it?
proper item on the agenda of a Reformed ecumenical



               The Marks of the True Church (`concluded)

                                                  Profi H. C. Hoeksema

                The Distinguishing Marks                    holds to that church slavishly, trusts in it, frequently
  -We may mention,three commonly given answers to maintains that it cannot err. He puts his trust in an
this question which will lead one inevitably to move to- institution of men. Or he may simply be personally
ward and to serve in the cause of the false church.         unconcerned about the course his church follows,
  The first is the answer of the ecumenicist. He wants leaving it to the "leaders" to chart that course, while
to forget about ecclesiastical and denonimational dif- he ignorantly and rather apathetically follows. This is
ferences. The walls of separation must be broken an attitude which is fundamentally idolatry. It is both
down, he claims.' Churches must unite on a broad plat- erroneous and dangerous, and that, too, not only for
form., Once you start down that ,path, of course, there one's self, but for his children and children's children.
is no stopping. Nor do those who take this position Any particular church in the midst of the world is able
want to stop! They want to go right on, until they to err, and even to become wholly corrupt! It is able to
have achieved the world-church. And remember: the become like the `church of Laodicea in Revelation 4.
world-church is the great whore of Revelation 17! It is, Jerusalem can become in the process of history spiritu-
of course, impossible for the child of God who takes his ally like Babylon or like Sodom and Gomorrah. This is
confession seriously to assume this attitude.               precisely what happens, in fact, when in the process of
  The second is the answer of the traditionalist. He time the false church develops.
takes the stand that the church in which he was born           A third answer is that of  .indifferentism.   After all,
and baptized, the church to which his parents' be- the indifferentist says, it does not really make any
longed, is for him the. church. And frequently his atti- great difference what one believes. We all believe in the
tude becomes one of "my church, right or wrong." He same God and the same Christ; and we are'all going to


344                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



the same heaven. And our  -salvation,,does not depend very readily be corrupted. There is instruction; there
upon what church we belong to; people in all churches the will of Christ is made known; there the truth is
will be saved. And in this day of the social gospel, the proclaimed. And where this is done, the sacraments are
indifferentist likes to stress, besides, that it isn't so not likely to be profaned, nor Christian discipline
much a question of what you believe, but of how you neglected. Principally, therefore, we may reduce these,
live! But we should remember, in the first place, that; three marks to the one,. all-important mark of the
ultimately our salvation does indeed become involved., preaching of the Word. And we may say that where the
You and I cannot deny the faith and be saved!  Ouri Word is preached, there is Christ and His church.
Confession of Faith stresses this too: outside of the Where the Word is not preached, there the church is
holy congregation which is an assembly of those who not present and there Christ is not. And where that
are saved there is no salvation. Secondly, from a spiri- Word is adulterated in the preaching, there.the church
tual point of view this attitude of indifferentism is faced by the alternative of either repenting or dying!
(which frequently manifests itself as bitter,intolerance      In the second place, notice how our Confession de-
toward those who desire to be faithful to the Word of scribes that first mark, in language which is almost
God) betrays an altogether wrong approach. It is not strange in our day: "if the pure doctrine of the gospel
the attitude expressed in the words of Psalm 137 is preached." This emphasizes that the very structure
which were quoted at the beginning of this -pamphlet,       of the gospel is doctrine, teachings. The true church is
but a selfish attitude, concerned only about one's in- not characterized by the preaching of a "thumb-nail"
dividual salvation and about how little Christianity is gospel. It is not marked by preaching which is in a
necessary for that salvation - not concerned about the broad and loose sense evangelical - whatever that may
church, about the truth, about the cause of Christ and mean  - or evangelistic in the popular "soul-saving"
the glory of God. In the third place, it is frequently and crusade sense. It preaches the pure.doctrine  of the
exactly such neglectful indifference which more than gospel.  Lose that, and you lose the gospel! And lose
anything else helps in the direction of the false church. the gospel of the Scriptures out of the preaching, and
When people do not care, when a church is not on the preaching has lost its fundamental character. We
guard, then the way is open for false prophets to intro- must not have mere preaching, as to form. We must
duce all kinds of error into the church with impunity, not only have some doctrine. We must have the doc-
and thus to lead the church in the wrong direction.         trine of the gospel, and that, too, the pure doctrine of
  The Reformed and Scriptural answer to this ques- the gospel. Preaching is basically exposition of the
tion is furnished in Article 29 of our Confession of Word of God, proclamation of the whole counsel of
Faith. It is the  bounden duty of the believer to join God according to the Scriptures.
himself to the true church; and there are three marks         In the third place, we can only rightly understand
by which that true church is recognizable. Those marks and apply these marks when we understand that they
are described in our Confession as follows:                 are fundamentally antithetical. That is, we must con-
  "The marks by which the true Church is known are sider them and apply them in the light of what are the
these: if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached marks of the false church. Of this Article 29 speaks
therein; if she maintains the pure administration of the also :
sacraments as instituted by Christ; if church discipline      "As for the false Church, she ascribes more power
is exercised in punishing of sin: in short, if all things and authority to herself and her ordinances than to the
are managed according to the pure Word of God, all Word of God, and will not submit herself to the yoke
things contrary  thei-eto rejected, and Jesus Christ ac- of Christ. Neither does she administer the sacraments
knowledged as the only Head of the Church. Hereby as appointed by Christ in his Word, but adds to and
the true Church may certainly be known, from which takes from them as she thinks proper; she relieth more
no man has a right to separate himself."                    upon men than upon Christ; and persecutes those who
  A few explanatory remarks are in order.                   live holily according to the Word of God, and rebuke
  In the first place, we should notice that in a sense all her for her errors, covetousness, and idolatry."
three marks are comprehended in the first mark. The           In other words, the basic, either-or issue is: the
sacraments and Christian discipline have no meaning Word of Christ or the word of man!
without the preaching of the Word. The sacraments             The reason why these are the marks is connected
depend on the Word because the sacraments do noth- with the very nature of the church. The church is built
ing else than represent and seal visibly and tangibly upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, of
that which is set forth in the Word. And Christian which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. There sim-
discipline depends on the Word because the very con- ply is no other foundation possible - not for the true
tent and power of Christian discipline is the Word of church! If the church is to be built, it must be built on
Christ. Besides, the preaching of the Word is chief that foundation. And whoever proclaims anything else
because where the Word is purely preached, there than the pure doctrine of the gospel is not building
neither the sacraments nor Christian discipline will upon that foundation; he builds on another  founda-


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                345


tion, and he builds a mere human institution. It pleases Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the church, the
Christ to call and to build His church through the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of wisdom and understand-
preaching of the Word. Men may raise all kinds of ing, the Spirit of discernment. By that Spirit and in the
objections against preaching and against sermons - as light of His Word he may view the ecclesiastical scene
they do nowadays. They may devise various glamorous today and may easily discern the true from the false
substitutes for the preaching of the pure doctrine of church.
the gospel. The fact remains that it pleases Christ to       Judged in the light of these marks, that ecclesiastical
gather His church through the preaching of the Word!       scene today is, negatively, one of appalling apostasy.
You can never change that! Where the Word is One need not look far afield to notice this. Look at the
preached, there is Christ; there is the voice of the Good Reformed scene, at those who are generally classified
Shepherd; there the sheep hear His voice; there they as belonging yet to the tradition of the Reformation.
follow Him; there He gives them eternal life! Don't There is tremendous doctrinal apostasy, frequently
ever forget that!                                          under the guise of theological freedom: all kinds of
  For remember: the church needs Christ! It is only in error is increasingly tolerated and allowed to go un-
living connection with that Christ that the church  is punished and unrebuked, while what has always been
the church, and that the members possess the life of the faith of our fathers is lightly set aside. There is
Christ. And the only contact which we have with apostasy as to the preaching: preaching as proclama-
Christ as long as we are in this present world is through tion of the pure doctrine of the gospel, expository
His Word (not man's word), through His sacraments, preaching, has largely become a rare article. Topical
and through  His  government and discipline. Where preaching,. moralism, the social gospel are the replace-
these are missing, Christ is missing. Where they are ments. Besides, people become tired of preaching and
corrupted and to the extent that they are corrupted, busy themselves with devising new and glamorous sub-
there I am being separated from contact with Christ stitutes for the simple and pure preaching of the Word
my Head! This is the life-and-death seriousness of this of God  - hippy services, dialogues, dramas, modem,
entire question of the marks of the true church!           revisionistic liturgicalism, and eviry new and different
                                                           thing imaginable. Then, too, there is the encroachment
            A Matter Of Easy Discernment                   of the ecumenical movement, at the expense of true
  While the believer today faces a complex ecclesias- unity and at the expense of the truth of the gospel. Or
tical scene, the difference between the true and the there is the modern striving after the so-called  "de-
false church is nevertheless a matter of easy  discem- institutionalization" of the church: the cry that the
ment. Our Confession of Faith emphasizes this: "Here- church must break out of its instituted form, the cry
by the true Church  may certainly be known, from that the church must "be where the action is," the
which no man has a right to  separate himself." And emphasis on "doing" rather than "believing." In brief,
again : "These two Churches (that is, the true and the there are all kinds of adjustments and adaptations to-
false, H.C.H.) are easily known and distinguished from day which have but one goal: to make the church
each other."                                               according to man and pleasing to man.
  Why is this true?                                          Along with all this, there is decay and degradation as
  In the first place, it is true because.God has given us to the very standards of Christian living. The keys of
a clear and infallible standard by which the true church the kingdom are no more employed, or they are totally
can be known and distinguished. That standard is the corrupted. Regardless of the requirements of faith and
Word of God. That Word of God is perspicuous, clear, repentance, of uprightness in doctrine and walk, any-
so that the ,simplest  child of God can understand and one is welcomed into the membership of the churches.
discern the truth of the gospel. In the light of that The table of the Lord is opened to all, and thereby
Word the simplest child of God can discern the truth profaned. The Sabbath is desecrated. The church pews
from the lie. That Word of God is unambiguous: it is become empty. Members of the church seek their en-
not capable of two meanings. It does not teach, for joyment elsewhere. They become friends of the world,
example, that God loves all men and that He does not singing and dancing and carousing with the world,
love all men, or that Christ died for all men and that speaking and acting and looking like the world. Chris-
He died only for His elect. God's Word is clear, crystal tian morality and sanctification according to the pre-
clear, as to the truth and the lie. This is the objective cepts of the Lord have become old-fashioned, and the
reason why it is possible to distinguish when a church devilishness of situation-ethics has found its way into
begins to depart in the direction of the false church, the church. Church and world, believer and unbeliever,
and why it is possible to discern when that primary light and darkness, Christ and Belial, are made to walk
mark of the preaching of the pure doctrine of the gos- hand in hand in almost every sphere of human life. For
pel is corrupted. We have an infallible, objective guide! the most part, that which calls itself church today pre-
And the second, subjective reason is that every be- sents but a sad caricature of the holy, catholic church
liever, as a member of the body of Christ, has the of Christ.


346                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



  All these phenomena have come about gradually, two were without rebuke; three were departing in vari-
almost stealthily, though especially in recent years ous respects; and two were almost dead. What must the
with rapidly increasing tempo. And they are sad reali- faithful.churches do with respect to those who depart?
ties today in churches. which `by name are of Reformed They must not give them up; neither must they ignore
persuasion!                                                 them; surely, they must not amalgamate with them
  At the same time, do not forget, the true church is and become corrupt like them. Their calling is, first of
also present in the world. And it also is easily dis- all, to remain faithful; and, secondly, no matter  bow
cerned, discerned by its distinguishing markS!              distasteful this may be to the unfaithful, to call all the
  Where is it?                                              rest to repentance! And if this fails, they must call the
  We of the Protestant Reformed Churches claim and faithful remnant to separate themselves from the apos-
testify that we represent that true church, represent tate church. Is not this what the Lord Christ Himself
the purest manifestation of the body of Christ on d o e s ?
earth. We make that claim in all humility, without'            4) As far as the individual child of God is  con-
boasting, without a holier-than-thou attitude, in cei-ned, he may place nothing before his duty to seek
humble acknowledgement that we are what we are' and to join himself to the true church. To this end, the
only by the sovereign grace of our God. But we make believer must become spiiitually equipped and pre-
this testimony also without hesitation. You can discern pared and thor6ughly established in the knowledge of
this arid test it by the marks of the church. And is it the truth of the Word of God. And for no reason may
not a striking thing that whatever opponents have said he turn away from this sacred calling to seek the true
oi still say about us - and admittedly there have been church. This may bring on various practical problems.
a good many unflattering things said  - they cannot It can be a problem when  employmqnt opportunities
deny that  ,those marks are present in the Protestant open up to you which will be closed to you if you
Peformed Churches. They are not able  to  say that in insist on joining yourself to the true church.  Or, for
the Protesttint Reformed Churches, according to the young people it can create problems at the tinie of
standard of Scripture And the creeds, the pure doctrine courtship if they insist that the "church question" has
of the gospel is not preached. Small though we may be, priority. And, in general, insistence upon  seekin'g the
by the grace of God we preach the pure doctrine of the true church frequently involves being reproached and
gospel, administer the sacraments purely, and exercise despised and ostracized by church and world. But re-
Christian discipline faithfully.                            member: there is  nq shame in being despised for the
                                                            sake of faithfulness to the Word .of God an'd love of His
              The Calling To Observe The Marks              Zion! And: the yoke of Jesus is easy, and His burden is
  What is involved in our calling to observe and to light! Let your stand  be that of Psalm 137: "I prefer
apply the test of these marks? Briefly, we point to the Jerusalem above my chief joy!"
following:                                                     5) For the individual child of God when he comes
   1) The faithful church must not only hold fast that into contact with corruptiqn in the church, this calling
which it has, but must positively increase in knowl- implies  .that he must strive for reformation. He must
edge, must become stronger in the truth, must grow in do so either in cooperation with the institution of his
the faith, and must thus become more firmly rooted in church, or in protest against it. But reformation is his
Christ. Besides, the church must faithfully instruct the sacred duty! Moreover, if protest fails, and the carnal
covenant seed, the future church, in the faith of the element begins to dominate in a church, and the in-
gospel, lest God's people be destroyed for lack of stitute will not listen, his calling is not to protest end-
knowledge. Moreover, the faithful church must always lessly and at the same time to bemoan the frustrations
watch and be on guard against the enemy. This is the of protest. In such a case his duty of reformation  ~
calling of the watchmen on the walls of Zion, first of means, in obedience to the will of God, that he must
all; but it is the calling of the entire congregation with separate and institute the church anew if necessary.
them.                                                       This is a very painful and also a very serious matter, a
  2) What is the calling of the departing church? That step which may not be taken for any carnal considera-
calling, at the very first sign of departure and unfaith- tions. `But for Christ's sake, for the truth's sake, for the
fulness - not when that church has already gone a few love of Zion's sake, if he prefers Jerusalem above his
miles down the road of error, which historically has chief joy, he will do it. He will refuse to promote the
always been too late  - is in one word: repent! You false church, and he will seek and join himself to the
have only to read the Lord's letters to the seven true.
churches in Revelation 2 and'3 to confirm this.               Always we are called to be faithful unto death. In
  3) What is the calling of the faithful church toward that way we have the sure promise of the Lord: "I will
the unfaithful? Of the seven churches in Asia Minor, give you a crown of life."


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                                             347


Feature

        The love of God, Wholly Particular (concluded)
                                                           Rev. H. Veldman

   In the second head of doctrine in these Canons, the                 through faith adore His MERCIES, and henceforward
fathers, dealing with the. doctrine of the death of                    diligently work out their own salvation with fear and
Christ upon the cross, set forth the doctrine of limited               trembling.
or particular atonement, and they emphatically (please                       Art. 8 : Thus, it is not in consequence of their own
note this emphasis as we underscore) endorse this man-                 merits, or strength, but of GOD'S FREE MERCY,
ifestation of the love of God in Christ as only for the                that they do not totally fall from faith and grace, nor
elect. We quote  Art. 8:                                               continue and perish finally in their  backslidings,
        For this was the sovereign counsel, and most gra-              which, with respect to themselves, is not only pos-
     cious wiu and purpose of God the Father, that the                 sible, but would undoubtedly happen; but with re-
     quickening and saving efficacy of the most precious               spect to God, it is utterly impossible, since His
     death of His Son should extend to all the elect, for              COUNSEL CANNOT BE CHANGED, NOR l%S
     bestowing upon them `ALONE the gift of justifying                 PROMISE FAIL, NEITHER CAN THE CALL AC-
     faith, thereby to bring them infallibly to salvation:             CORDING TO HIS PURPOSE BE REVOKED, NOR
     that is; it was the will of God, that Christ by the               THE MERIT, INTERCESSION AND  PRESER-'
     blood of the cross, whereby He confirmed the new                  VATION OF CHRIST BE RENDERED INEFFEC-
     covenant, should effectually redeem out of every                  TUAL, NOR THE SEALING OF THE HOLY
     people, tribe, nation, and language, all those, AND               SPIRIT BE FRUSTRATED OR OBLITERATED.
     THOSE ONLY, who were from eternity chosen to                            Art. 9: Of this preservation of the ELECT to sal-
     salvation, and given to Him by the Father; that He                vation, and of their perseverance in the faith, true
     should confer upon them faith, which together with                believers for themselves may and do obtain assurance
     all the other saving gifts of the Holy Spirit, He pur-            according to the measure of their faith, whereby they
     chased for them by His death; should purge them                   arrive at the certain persuasion, that they ever will
     from all sin, both original and actual, whether com-              continue true and living members of the church; and
     mitted before or after believing; and having faithfully           that they experience forgiveness of sins, and will at
     preserved them even to the end, should at last bring              last inherit eternal life.
     them free from every spot and blemish to the enjoy-             Now we turn to our Heidelberg Catechism. Of
     ment of glory in His own presence forever.                    course, we cannot quote from this entire book of in-
  And in the fifth and final head of these Canons,                 struction. Nowhere do we read in this Catechism of a
dealing with the perseverance of the saints, calling at-           universal or common love of God. We will limit our-
tention to the work of the Holy Spirit, which preserves            selves to only one passage, Question and Answer 10,
God's people even unto the end, the fathers declare                which we consider very striking and pertinent. We
that  this takes place in the elect  and is to be ascribed         quote:
solely to the rich and free mercy of God. Please  &ote                       Q. 10. Will God suffer such disobedience and re-
how the fathers emphasize this. We quote, in support                   bellion to go unpunished?
of  this, Articles 6-9 of this fifth head of  doctrine:                      A. By no means; but is terribly displeased with
       Art. 6: But God; Who is RICH IN MERCY, AC-                      our original as well as actual sins; and will punish
    CORDING TO HIS UNCHANGEABLE PURPOSE                                them in His just judgment temporally and eternally,
    OF ELECTION, does not wholly withdraw the Holy                     as He hath declasd,  "Cursed is every one that con-
    Spirit from His own people, even in their melancholy               tinueth not in all things, which are written in the
    falls; ior suffers them to proceed so far as to lose' the          bo$k of the law, to do them."
    grace of adoption, and forfeit the state of justifica-           Please notice the following in this quotation. First,
    tion, or to commit the sin unto death; nor does He             we should note Question 10 and its immediate answer:
    permit them to be totally deserted, and to plunge              "By no means." Will God ever suffer, allow dis-
    themselves into everlasting destruction.                       obedience and rebellion to go unpunished? Is there
       Art. 7: For in the first place, in these falls He           ever a moment when the Lord is not punishing the
    preserves in them the INCORRUPTIBLE seed of re-
    generation from perishing, or being totally lost; and          wicked sinner (the wicked sinner outside of Christ, of
    again, by His Word and Spirit, certainly and effec-            course); does God love him; does He delay or postpone
    tually renews them to repentance, to a sincere and             punishment upon his sin until the Judgment Day? Is
    godly sorrow for their sins, that they may seek and            this `life for that sinner a dispensation of grace and
    obtain remission in the blood of the Mediator, may             favor, in distinction from the hereafter which is an
    again experience the favor of a reconciled God,                endless dispensation of Divine wrath and indignation?


348                                               THE STANDARD BEARER



And. the answer is immediate: By no means! Secondly,           On the other hand, the love of God is particular.
God is terribly displeased with our original as well as Again and again, this particular love and grace of the
our actual sins. Of course, our actual sins are constant. Lord are emphasized at the beginning of the various
The sinner is never without them. Never does he do epistles, in the apostolic greetings to the various
anything but sin. He cannot love God or the neighbor; churches, as, for example: Grace, mercy and peace be
hence, he always hates the Lord and his neighbor. to all the saints in Christ Jesus, to the elect, etc. And
Never allowing sin to go unpunished, the Lord is al- this we also read in I Thess. 1:4: "Knowing, brethren
ways punishing sin, also his actual sins. So, this punish- beloved, your election of God." They are addressed by
ment is constant. Thirdly, God punishes temporally the apostle as "brethren beloved," and the meaning is
and eternally. Temporally must not be identified or that they are beloved of God. These elect beloved of
confused with temporarily. Temporarily means "for a the Lord must know their election. How often this'
time," is not constant, comes to a stop. But the word particular love of God is mentioned in the psalms!
"temporally" refers to this time, in distinction from Many, many passages can be quoted. We will quote the
"eternally," the hereafter. That God punishes tem- following:
porally and eternally means, therefore, that He is pun-          Ps. 5: 5: "The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight:
ishing all the time, now and forever. There is never a        Thou hatest all workers of iniquity."
let-up in this Divine punishment. And, fourthly, no-             Ps.  11:5: "The Lord trieth the righteous: but the
tice, please, the quotation of Gal. 3: 10 in this tenth       wicked and him that loveth violence His soul
answer. We read: "Cursed is everyone that continueth          hateth."
not in all things, which are written in the book of the          Ps. 34: 16: "The face of the Lord is against them
law, to do them." All the .emphasis in this text must be      that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them
laid upon the word, "is." We do not read that he will         from the earth."
be cursed, but that he is cursed.                             The same sentiment is expressed in the Book of
   This is the language of our Reformed Confessions; Proverbs. We again limit ourselves to only a few pas-
we read of no love or mercy of the Lord to anyone sages. Many could be quoted, but we quote only the
outside of Christ Jesus. And, incidentally, this particu- following:
lar keynote characterizes all the Protestant Reformed            Prov. 3 :33: "The curse of the Lord is in the house
Confessions.                                                  of the wicked: but He blesseth the habitation of the
  Turning next to the Scriptures, we remark, in the           just." Note well: the curse of the Lord is in the
fust place, that Scripture surely designates the objects      house of the wicked, and this means that this curse
of the Lord's love and also of His hatred. On the one         rests upon him and all that he has.
hand, the Word of God uses a synonymn for love,                  Prov.  11:20: "They that are of a froward heart
namely: to know. We read in Ps.  1:6: "For the Lord           are abomination to the Lord: but such as are upright
knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the          in their way are His delight."
ungodly shall perish." Do not minimize this particular        In Deut. 7-8 we read of the love of the Lord upon
Scripture. This Word of God is a key text, gives us the Israel as in distinction from all other nations: "The
keynote to all the psalms. The psalms are full of this Lord did not set His love upon you, nor choose you,
very thought; never do we read anything else through- because ye were more in number than any people; for
out the one hundred and fifty psalms. And in ye were the fewest of all people: But because the Lord
Romans  8:29-30 we read: "For whom He did fore- loved you, and because He would keep the oath which
know, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the He had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord
image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed
among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predes- you out of the house of  bondmen, from the hand of
tinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them Pharaoh king of Egypt."
He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also        In 1 Cor.  10:5 we read: "But with many of them
glorified." Indeed, this "foreknowledge" of this text God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in
must not be confused with the Arminian conception of the wilderness."
the foreknowledge of God. His conception of this fore-        And in Romans 9: 13 we read: "Jacob have I loved,
knowledge is that the Lord saw beforehand who would but Esau have I hated."
believe and who would not believe; the believers He           Besides, this particular love of God is particular be-
elected and the unbelievers He rejected. This surely cause it is sovereignly, unconditionally particular. To
does not make sense in the light of the rest of this be sure, we read in John 3 : 16: "For God so loved the
passage. But this knowledge of the Lord is foreknowl- world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that who-
edge because it is before all things, in the eternal coun- soever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
sel of the Lord; and therefore this foreknowledge is everlasting life." Now it is certainly true that any stu-
mentioned first in the text and is the Divine source of dent of Holy Writ knows that the word, "world" does
all that follows in this particular Scripture.              not always have the same connotation in the Word of


                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      3 4 9



God. We cannot, of course, treat this passage this eve-        been revealed to  ,her and us, would it not have been
ning. We do wish to remark that the expression, "that          possible, in the light of Esau's subsequent profanity, to
whosoever believeth" does not merely express God's             conclude that he had been rejected and denied the
purpose. in the sending of His Son, but also its.result.       birthright blessing because of his profanity and that he
Were it not for God's sending of His Son it would be           had rendered himself unworthy of it? He surely was
impossible for anyone to believe unto salvation, and           profane, as we read it in Heb. 12: 16: "Lest there be
we do well to remember that "believing" in the Scrip-          any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for
tures always stands opposed to our works. But, we              one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Of course, the
read in John 17: 9: "I pray for them: I pray not for the       Lord had never given him the birthright, had never
world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for intended that the birthright would be his. But, viewed
they are Thine." God should love the whole world,              subjectively from the viewpoint of Esau, he, as the
head for head, send His Son in order to save that entire       older of the two brothers, sold it. And he sold it for a
world, and Christ should pray only for some, and,              morsel of meat, and thereby revealed his profanity, his
mind you, not for them who would come unto Him,                complete and utter disdain and contempt for the bless-
but for them whom the Father had given Him? How ing of the firstborn. But, was he rejected and repro-
strange this would be!                                         bated because of his profanity? Esau is born first, and
  Indeed, the Lord chose Israel, but why did He                Rebecca and we are told before they are born, that
choose Israel, according to Deut. 7:7? Did He choose           "the elder would serve the younger," because God
them because of any superior qualities He found in             loved Jacob and hated Esau before they did good or
them? But this word of God informs us that He chose            evil, in order that the purpose of God according to
them, not because they were more in number, but only           election might stand. And Jacob surely did not reveal
because He loved them and would keep the oath which            himself particularly worthy of the birthright blessing.
He had sworn unto their fathers.. Surely, the love of          Hence, the love of God is solely particular, and it is
the Lord upon Israel is solely of the Lord's sovereign         sovereignly and unconditionally particular. God, Who
good pleasure.                                                 loves Himself, only Himself, loves only His own, whom
  The Lord chose Israel to be His people. He loved             He has sovereignly loved, eternally; only in them does
them in distinction from all the other nations and             His soul delight, and this only for the sake of Jesus
peoples of the earth. But does this mean that He loved         Christ, His Son, our Lord.
all within Israel? To' the contrary, we read in 1
Cor. 10:5: "But with many of them God was not well                       III. GLORIOUSLY EFFICACIOUS
pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness."            In connection with the truth that the love of God is
  And this love of God, which rests only upon some             gloriously efficacious, we wish to quote the following
within Israel, so that not all that are called Israel are      Scriptures, some of which we have already quoted:
the beloved of the Lord, is strictly sovereign and un-                Deut. 32:11-12:  As an eagle stirreth up her nest,
conditional. How clearly this truth is set forth in                fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her
Romans 9: 10-13, and we quote:                                     wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So
       For this is the word of promise, At this time will I        the' Lord alone did lead them, and there was no
    come, and Sarah shall have a son. And not only this;           strange god with Him.
    but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even                  Rom. 8:29-30:  For whom He did foreknow, He
    by our father Isaac; (for the children being not yet           also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
    born, neither having done any good or evil, that the           of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among
    purpose of God according to election might stand,              many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predes-
    not of works, but of Him that calleth:) It was said            tinate, them He also called: and whom He called,
    unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is          them He also justified: and whom He justified, them
    written, Jacob haved I loved, but Esau have I hated.           He also glorified.
  Permit me in this connection to ask you two ques-                   1 John 4:lO: `Herein is love, not that we loved
tions. First, why was Esau born first? He did not re-              God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the
ceive the blessing of the firstborn. Surely God caused             propitiation for our sins.
him to be born first, sovereignly. This none will dis-                1 John 4: 19 : We love Him, because He fast loved
pute. That Esau was born first was surely solely of the            US. Romans  5:5, 8, 10: And hope maketh not
Lord. But why? Imagine all the misery and grief that               ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in
could have been spared Rebecca and Isaac and Jacob                 our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
had Jacob been the firstborn! Esau did not receive the             But God commendeth His love toward us, in that,
birthright blessing anyway. So, why was Jacob not                  while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For if,
born first? Secondly, why must Rebecca and also we                 when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God
be told before these twins are born that "the elder                by the death of His Son, much more, being recon-
must serve the younger?" Imagine if this had not been              ciled, we shall be saved by His life.
revealed to Rebecca and Isaac and to us? Had this not            What are the implications of these passages, and


350                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



many more in the Word of God? Negatively, the love expectations; in fact, arriving in the city that has foun-
of God is wholly unconditional. This is not love, that dations, we shall exclaim that the half was never told
we loved God. Love never proceeds from us, always us. We love Him, only because He loved, and loves us
from .God. Nothing we do can ever prompt the`love of first. Of course! God is God! His love is eternal, un-
God to us. Its success or failure is never dependent changeable, wholly irresistibly and efficacious! Loving
upon the will of a sinner.                                  God, by His grace and Holy Spirit, we know that He
 And what are the positive implications of these pas- loved us first; and being the apple of His eye, whatever
sages? As the apple of His eye He leads us, all the way,    life's trails and vicissitudes may be, we shall be loved
and He leads us ALONE. There is never any strange even until the end, even as we read it in John 13: 1
god with Him, never anything of man. HE LEADS US            ("Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus
ALONE! Esau He hated and from this follows all his knew that His hour was come that He should depart
misery; Jacob He loved, and, therefore, he is the first- out of this world unto the Father, having loved His own.
born in the counsel of the Lord. Whom He has fore- which were in the world, He loved them unto the
known, loved, eternally, He fmally glorifies, and there end"). And this wonderful love of God will surely
is nothing, absolutely nothing that can possibly frus- guide us and keep us even until the end, and will surely
trate or thwart this. In His love He redeems us, while lead us into everlasting and heavenly .glory and immor-
we were sinners; because of that love hope maketh not tality. Indeed, how wonderful is the love of our God!
ashamed, never disappoints, never, falls short of our


Mission Feature

                 A  .Memorable  Day  In Jamaica
                                             Mr. Henry Meulenberg

          (Editors' Note. By special request, we present this report on the work in Jamaica. The
          snapshots, courtesy of Mr. Meulenberg, show the three groups of Jamaican brethren present
          at the meeting described in the article.)





        Rev. Frame and Elders                 Rev. Ruddock anh Elders                   Rev. Elliott and Elders


  On March 11, 1970 a meeting was held in Lacovia,          the host church spent from 2% to 4 hours on the way.
Reading, which brought us to a milestone in the his-        The brethren came from east and west, north and
tory of our mission activities on this island. For the      south, by car, by bus, leaving home early to arrive for
first time since we began our labors here, these            the meeting to start at 11 o'clock.
churches, as represented by their delegates, elders or        Seventeen churches were represented at this gather-
deacons, met together as a body to consider forming ing to hear the advice of our Mission Committee re-
an association in order to incorporate as the Protestant garding organization and to receive copies of a pro-
Reformed Churches of Jamaica. You ask, perhaps, why posed constitution on which to base their request for
this is such a unique experience? Consider for a mo- incorporation with the Jamaican government.
ment the problem of transportation alone: the place           Consider also that these churches have always
chosen for the meeting was the most central geographi-      existed independently, having no church order to unite
cally, yet so distant that all delegates except those of them, and also having no fellowship, except for the


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                           351



sharing of their ministers. Rev. Frame has 4 congrega- buildings; and we wanted to do that. Our churches
tions, Rev. Ruddock has 5, and Rev. `Elliott has 8. To asked all of the congregations to take collections to
them it means a different way of life to be united as an build up a fund, so .that we could give to each church.
association of Protestant Reformed Churches. Many of Oh, I don't know how much we could give you; but we
the delegates were unknown to one another, and now would try to give you as much as we could, to buy
met for the first time.                                   your land or to help build your churches, whatever we
  The meeting was opened with singing of Psalter could do in that line. That was 1965; and I think the
No. 69, after which Rev. Frame read Psalm 133 and collections began to come in during 1966.
I Peter 5: l-l 1, and Rev. Ruddock led us in prayer.        "Nobody came here in 1966; and in 1967 we.were
Rev. Frame addressed the meeting briefly on the pur- sent here again, to see if any progress had been made in
pose of the gathering, and then gave the floor to Rev.    building your churches, and also to investigate those
Heys, who spoke at some length, as follows:               churches which we did not see before. Then we got to
  "With Rev. Frame, I, too, want to say that I like to Hope Hill once, and also to some of the other churches
address you and look upon your faces today as beloved which we had not seen. Now I don't know exactly how
brethren. The more I work among you, the more I much money is in that fund; but we like to spend it.
have that confidence that we are one, that in spite of There is no use in keeping it in the bank. It doesn't do
different races and different colors, we have been born you any good there. But there is one thing that came
again with the same life.                                 up and that spoiled our plans. One of our churches we
  "I'd like to speak a few words of explanation and 1,ost because the church was built on the land of a man
give you a little history of what has happened that who did not even belong to the church; Elder Zwak
brings us to this very, very important meeting which and I went to that man and asked him if he would give
we have this afternoon. I looked forward to something a fifteen-year lease on that land; but he refused and
like this for a long time - to have representatives of all said that he might sell it tomorrow. If we would give
the churches at such a meeting. Just think of all the you several hundred dollars to build a church there,
churches represented here; and, as I said a little while and then that man would sell the land, the church
ago, I would like to have you outside pretty soon for a would be gone. So we didn't want to do that. Then
couple of pictures. I borrowed a camera at Mobay that there was another church that was built on two pieces
takes black-and-white pictures, instead of our colored of land belonging to'one lady who was a member of the
pictures; and then we can probably have them printed church; and the other lady, a member who soon left,
in the Standard Bearer if they turn out well. Maybe we insisted on having meetings ,in her end of the church
can, all have a picture.                                  and said our people could meet in the other end. Of
  "Let me begin by calling attention to the fact that course, this was impossible. So our people in the States
in 1965 the Synod of our churches, through our mis- said that we had better make sure that the properties
sion committee, sent Elder H. Zwak and myself to were secured in the name of the churches, not in the
work with you for a month. Some of you remember name of individuals. We must have it all legally ar-
that. I was not in all of your churches. Some of them ranged, so that it belongs to the congregation. So we
we could not reach: for we were here only one month. did that. Then we went to a retired judge - not just an
But one of the things that we were told to do was to ordinary lawyer. Judge Graham, who was formerly in
go and look at all your buildings, see what they Kingston, worked with us in this matter. And though it
needed, and see how we could help you as far as your may appear as if not much was done in the last few
buildings were concerned, as well as to teach the truth. years, the last time I was out here in -1968 with Elder
But we `were interested, too, that you had good and Feenstra, we had a long talk with Judge Graham and
comfortable church buildings; and so Elder Zwak and I started the ball rolling. Then Rev. Lubbers and Elder
did a lot of travelling back and forth. In fact, we came Meulenberg came last spring and worked further on it.
on a Tuesday, landed in Mobay, and right away on            "When Mr. Feenstra and I went, then Judge Graham
Wednesday went to  Lucea and preached there. Then said that it would cost about $400 for each church to
on Thursday we went to see the Friendship Hill incorporate, which would take so much money that
Church, which we don't have any more. We saw Piper's very little would be left in the bank for you to help to
Corner, which we don't have any more; we saw build or to buy any land, because all of the money
Shrewsbury, Withorn, Galloway, and Waterworks; and would have been used to make your churches secure.
I think that was about all we had time for on that day. So then, when Rev.  .Lubbers and Elder Meulenberg
We spent a lot of time going back and forth through were back here last spring and especially when Rev.
your churches, and took note of what your churches Lubbers came back in November, he went and talked
would need and what we should recommend to our to Judge Graham once again; and Judge Graham said he
churches that they should help you with. Well, when had been giving this a lot of thought, and thought he
we came back home and gave our report to the Synod, knew a cheaper way. He said that if you would have all
the Synod agreed that you needed help with these the churches form an association, and call that associa-


352                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



tion the Protestant Reformed Churches of Jamaica, You call yourselves the Protestant Reformed Church
and then if you will draw up a constitution of the of Lucea, or Cambridge. So that is not going to be
association, we will bring it to the house of representa- hard. Your people are willing to be a Protestant Re-
tives in Kingston, and they will accept it, and then you formed Church, I'm sure. So they will all agree to join
will become a corporation. Your association will be a with all the other churches. We're brothers! Rev.
corporation and be recognized by the government of Frame read that a little while ago, how good and pleas-
Jamaica; and they will recognize you as the Protestant ant that brethren meet together. Then if we can all get
Reformed Churches of Jamaica. Then if anybody together as an association - you all feel there is a tie all
wants to leave your church, he cannot take your prop- right and feel toward each other as brethren in Christ
erty away; it stays with the congregation. And that is - but that official tie, or union, has not been made
why we brought you here this afternoon. We would yet. So I'm sure that you are all going to agree. I don't
like to explain this to you - that if you will decide to think there is a problem there, to agree to form a
form an association and call it the Protestant Re- Protestant Reformed Church of Jamaica. The big thing
formed Churches of Jamaica, then draw up a constitu- is a constitution. Now, Rev. Lubbers has drawn up
tion which is your rules and regulations, your doctrinal such a constitution. And I would like to read it to you;
basis and teachings, etc., and which explain a little bit and we will have copies made of this, I suppose, so that
about your association, then, we are told, the repre- each congregation can study it. Now let me say this,
sentatives in Kingston will not even argue about it.          that we are not here - Elder Meulenberg and I - to tell
Some things they argue about for days, you know; but you what to do. We haven't any right to do that. Elder
they will take it without even arguing and say, `All Wright is the elder in this church. I have nothing to say
right; that is their constitution, and we accept it, and in Reading Church. I have nothing to say in any of
they are a corporation, and the land belongs to each your churches. If you don't want me to preach in your
congregation, not to any man in the congregation who churches, you tell me to stay home. The elders rule in
can take it away'. I said a little while ago - Rev. Frame     the church, let's not forget that. The elders have the
knows - that the first Tuesday I was here in l965 we          whole say. Rev. Frame read that to you a little while
went to Friendship Hill on the land of Elder Johnson.         ago, `The elders that are among you I exhort. Feed the
Well, Elder Johnson was dissatisfied with something flock, not taking the oversight by constraint or for
and took the whole congregation, and said, `It's my filthy lucre's sake, but of a ready mind'. `So the elders
building and my church; you can't have it'. So we had rule; and you should in your congregations. Work with
to get out of it; but that cannot happen if you are your congregation to see that they understand this
incorporated as an association. I would say that there document and agree to it."
are three things you could do. Not today; we are here            Rev. Heys read the articles which follow at the end
only to explain and to have you ask any questions you of this report, and made comments, speaking of the
like. Now, I'm not a walking dictionary and cannot Three Forms, on their importance to the church life as
answer every question; but maybe Elder Meulenberg Protestant Reformed Churches, and of the benefits
can help along a little bit to get the answers. If you which obtain through incorporation and the securing
have any problems, if you have any questions about it,        of the title to their properties.
ask them after I get finished. But I think the first thing      Elder Wright, of Belmont, attended this meeting,
you should do is to go home to your own congregation and while there showed us a deed for the church
- your minister, your elders, your deacons - and they property which he and his two sisters were giving to
ought to be made aware of what this is, and you ought the congregation of Belmont. To say the least, we were
to explain it to all your people and get your people happy to be witnesses of the generosity of this brother
behind it, so that they say, `Yes, we want to join that       and his sisters.
association'.                                                   There are also other congregations who received
  "The next thing is that you must decide on that their properties by gift, which we feel are also re-
constitution. And the third thing is that you should do sponses to the preaching on the island and the corre-
everything in your power to see to it that you get a          spondence courses of which many took advantage.
deed or some kind of document which expresses that              The meeting adjourned at about 2:30 P.M., and then
the land and the building on that land belongs, not to, began the long trek home. Rev. Heys had four passen-
such-and-such an individual, but belongs to the congre- gers and took one route home over the hills, arriving
gation of Lucea, or Reading, or Belmont, or whatever home about 6 o'clock. I had five passengers and took a
it may be. Those three things, I think, have to be done. slightly longer route, driving a rented car; suffering a
Now the biggest problem of them all  - but .I don't           flat tire delayed us somewhat, and we arrived home at
think you are going to have any trouble  - is getting approximately  5:30 P.M. Another group with Rev.
your people to form an association, or denomination,          Ruddock had obtained a private car and driver, and
calling themselves the Protestant Reformed Churches took another direction. Under God's protecting care all
of Jamaica. Because you all do it.already, don't you?         arrived safely.


                                                      THE  STANDARD  BEARER                                                          353


   A long day, a fruitful day, a memorable day.                        in sixty-six Books, and as mterpreted in the three historic Re-
   Thanks be to God.                                                   formed Creeds, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession
                               ****                                    and the Canons of Dort.
   Here follows the document referred to in the above                                              Article IV
article:                                                                  This church, as herein aforestated, is a member of the
                                                                       churches known as the Protestant Reformed Churches of Ja-
   We the Protestant Reformed Church at                                maica; they are recognized as indigenous churches by the Protes-
as represented by the undersigned officebearers, hereby declare        tant Reformed Churches in America, whose Synod is incor-
that our congregation desires with all likeminded congregations        porated in the United States of America under the rules and
in Jamaica to form an association of churches which will be            regulations for non-profit organizations in the State of Illinois,
known as the Protestant Reformed Churches in Jamaica.                  U.S.A.
   We likewise testify by this document that we desire to be
incorporated and to have the Jamaican Government recognize                                          Article V
us as a corporation.                                                      The offices in this church shall be the resident minister,
                                                                       elders and deacons, who are duly chosen from time to time
   We, therefore, subscribe to the attached document as the            according to the rules of the Church Order. Only male members,
constitution of our church, promising to study the Church order        members in full communion, are eligible to serve in these offices
mentioned therein and the three Reformed Creeds, which will            in accordance with the plain teaching in Scriptures in
become the rules and regulations, and the basis and doctrinal          I Timothy 2.
teaching respectively of the churches in this association, and to
submit ourselves to further instruction in these matters by the                                    Article VI
Protestant Reformed Churches in America.                                  The resident minister, elders and deacons shall be the acting
   We also, therefore, will at once seek to have all the church        trustees in behalf of the congregation as duly organized and
properties of our congregation registered under the name of the        incorporated; these shall have the power of attorney to execute
congregation by a proper deed or document, indicating that the         the wishes of the congregation as decided by legal vote. All
land and buildings belong to the congregation.                         matters, which are to be decided by the congregation, shall be
                                                                       announced by the office-bearers, two successive Sundays in ad-
                         Minister                                      vance of the meeting. No matters shall be brought to a vote by
                                                                       the congregation except matters which are officially submitted
                                                                       by the consistory.

                         Deacons                                                                   Article VII
                                                                          All property, real estate, gifts, grants and bequests shall be-
                                                                       long to the congregation; they shall in no case be on the name
   Copy of Draft of ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION for the                  of any individual, a minister or otherwise; the archives and rec-
churches called "Protestant Reformed Churches in Jamaica"              ords of the congregation shall be kept in a safe place, and in a
   Articles of Incorporation made and adopted according to the         manner which is conducive to avoid suspicion and distrust.
statutes and ordinances for the incorporation of churches in the
republic of Jamaica, who maintain the historic Christian                                          Article VIII
religion.                                                                 Only ministers who are recognized by the Protestant Re-
                                                                       formed Churches in America shall be duly installed and or-
                             Article I                                 dained in office in this church.
   The name of this church shall be (is) the Protestant Re-
formed Church of Jamaica at                                                                        Article IX
                                                                          Upon any dissolution of this church corporation the monies
                             Article II                                and assets, real-estate, and otherwise shall be given to a repu-
   The rules and regulations of this church are those embodied         table church, or to some institution of mercy.
in the  Church Order  of the Protestant Reformed Churches in
America, which is substantially the Church Order (Constitution)                                    Article X
of Dort, Netherlands of 16 18-I  9.                                       As long as monies are being given by the Mission Organiza-
                                                                       tion of the Protestant Reformed Churches in America, the
                            Article III                                Chairman and Secretary of the Mission Committee shall be
   The basis and doctrinal teaching of this church is that which       fellow-trustees over such real-estate, church buildings, etc.,
is the teaching of the Bible;the  infallible Word of God, contained    which have been given to this church.




                                 Come Ye Apart... And Rest A While

                                                            Rev. C. Hanko

    "Behold, he prayeth."                                              Damascus and praying to God without ceasing day and
   This was said by the exalted Christ to the prophet night.
Ananias about Saul of Tarsus, who was sitting blind in                    But imagine that! Saul had been brought up as a


354                                           THE STANDARD BEARER



Pharisee. He himself tells us that he.was circumcised            And he said unto me: `1 am Jesus of Nazareth
on the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Whom thou persecutest'!
Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the              And they that were with me saw indeed the light,
law a Pharisee. Speaking of zeal, he persecuted the and were afraid: but they heard not the voice of him
church. In regard to the  .righteousness  of the law he that spake to me.
considered himself blameless. In one word, he had, ac-           And I said: What shall I do, Lord?
cording to his own estimation, been praying all his life.        And the Lord said unto me, `Arise, and  go into
  And now it is said of a man like that: Behold, he Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things
prayeth!                                                     which are appointed for thee to do'.
  That sets one to thinking, and even gives reason for           And when I could not see for the glory of that
some serious self-examination:                               light, being led by the hand of them that were with
  Saul, as you know, met the living Christ on his way me, I came in to Damascus." (Acts 22:6-l 1)
to Damascus.                                                   That was the day Saul became the slave of Jesus
  No, he had not been searching for Him, nor even Christ, no more following his own whims, but obeying
inquiring about Him. Quite the opposite was true. Here the will of Him Who called him.
was. a man who had sat at the feet of Gamaliel, being          That was the day the Spirit took mastery in his
taught of him, while Jesus was carrying out His earthly heart. And he, humbled, broken to the dust, prayed;
ministry. Saul had heard much of this Jesus, and had prayed as he never before had prayed. He stormed the
some strong convictions that this man was an imposter.       throne of grace, sought God's face, bowed in worship
He had agreed that the chief priests and rulers had in His presence, poured out his soul without ceasing.
done their duty when they condemned this blasphemer            Have you ever prayed like that? Recently?
to be crucified outside of Jerusalem. He had believed          What did he pray? Actually Scripture does not tell
the wild stories of the guard, who said that the body of us. Yet it is not difficult to surmise the content of his
Jesus had been stolen. He preferred to leave it at that, prayers.
rather than to accept the word of Jesus' disciples that        Humbly he must have confessed that he was the
He was risen. Who had ever heard of anyone rising chief of sinners, for he had persecuted the church of
from the dead?                                               God and thus persecuted Christ Himself.
  His blood had boiled when he saw the `schism that            In bitter contrition he must have confessed his stub-
was created in Jerusalem. He seethed with rage when born kicking against the pricks, defending his own
he heard that those followers of Jesus talked about the self-righteousness and refusing to confess Jesus as
risen Lord pouring out His Spirit into the church. He Lord.
took no stock in all those miracles which these dis-           Shamefacedly he told the Lord how blind he had'
ciples were supposed to be performing on the sick and been in his spiritual rebellion; a blindness that was evi-
the crippled. It was hard for him to understand that dent to him now as physically he groped about with
gullible people would join the ranks of these imposters, scales on his eyes.
and that by the thousands. And when Stephen was                In sincere repentance He confessed Christ as his
stoned, the least he could do to express his approval Lord. Had he not unwittingly already done that when
was to stand by and hold the garments of those who the great light of the glorified Christ had appeared to
were taking up stones to snuff out this fanatic's life.      him on the way? Now he did it deliberately, praying:
  Zealously he had organized his own attack on Jesus. "0 God, be merciful to me, a sinner."
He made havoc of the churches, entering into every             "Behold, he prayeth"
house, and brought out men and women to commit                 What makes this statement so much more significant
them to prison. Still breathing out threatenings and is the fact, that Saul is not saying this about himself,
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord (Acts 9: l), nor is any other mere man saying this about him. But
he had desired letters from the high priest, granting the risen Lord in heaven is saying this about one of His
him permission to go to Damascus, in order to search sheep for whom He died, one of his chosen vessels
out those who were of that "WAY," and to bring them whom He called out of darkness into His marvelous
bound  ,to Jerusalem. The "cause" of Christ must be light.
wiped out once and for all.                                    Christ Himself had created that prayer in Saul's
  But he never carried out his plan.                         heart by the Spirit of Christ. And the fruit of the Spirit
  The Lord stopped him on the way. As he tells it:           arises as a well-pleasing sacrifice to God. It was better
"And it came to pass that, as I made my journey and than all the smoke and blood of steers and bullocks.
was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly               Still more, Christ stands in heaven as Saul's High
there shone from heaven a great light round about me. Priest and Intercessor. He takes that prayer and pre-
And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying sents it to His Father. He even adds His own prayer to
unto me, `Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me'?              it: "Holy Father,. sanctify him through Thy truth:
       And I answered: Who art thou, Lord?                   Thy Word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me into the


                                                       THE STANDARD BEARER                                                          355


world, even so send I him into the world. Neither pray              think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto
I for him alone, but for them also which shall'believe Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
on me through his word. . . . Father, I will that they              the ages, world without end. Amen."
also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I                     But actually the angels rejoiced in heaven when they
am: that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast                  saw Saul in Damascus groping in blindness and praying
given Me: for Thou lovedst Me before the foundation incessantly.
of the world." John 17.                                               And Christ said to God, and in turn to Ananias:
  And God heard Christ.                                             "Behold, he prayeth."
  Thus Christ received the mandate to send Ananias to                 That's enough. Even more than enough for me.
Saul.                                                                 Prayer is coming to God, believing that He is, hum-
  His prayer was answered even while he was praying.                bling ourselves before Him, pouring .out our souls in.
Before we call He is ready and waiting to answer.                   sorrow and contrition, clinging in faith to Christ, with
  What a beautiful prayer that. was!                                a boldness that knows that we shall be heard.
  0, I know that in Paul's epistles we can find prayers               Prayer is all that. But even more, it is fellowship
that  .appear to us to be much more beautiful. I am with God, experiencing His smile of approval flooding
thinking of this one: "Now unto Him that is able to                 our hearts with peace and joy, joy unspeakable and full
do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or                    of glory.


All Around Us

                                Popular Views  of  Death
                                                        Abortion
                                                            Profi H. Hanko

POPULAR VIEWS OF DEATH                                                   of Americans are putting their faith in cryonics, an
  In a recent issue of Newsweek, under its "Religion"                    expensive method of freezing fresh corpsea until such
                                                                         time as science can discover some method of bringing
section, the editors carried a long article on the subject               the frozen dead back to life. Americans, Harrington
of death. After noting that the largest proportion of                    maintains, "must accept as gospel that salyation be-
people in the country are afraid of death, the article                   longs to medical engineering . . . that our only mes-
went on to discuss the fact that there are scarcely any                  siahs will be wearing white coats, not. in asylums, but
these days who still overcome the fear of death by                       in laboratories."
means of a faith in the resurrection from the dead.                           Whatever miracles science may provide, a techno-
Especially` since science has completely disproved any                   logical "final solution" to death is at best a distant
possibility of life after death, people, according to the                dream. In the meantime, niany of those who want
article, must seek some solace from the fear of death in                 immortality now  - and they include not only the
other directions than in the hope of a final resur-                      young - are turning to the occult for some assurance
rection. Scoffingly, the article took note of a few scat-                of survival. From suburban seances to witchcraft to
tered "fundamentalist" sects who even maintain the                       astrology, Americans are exploring psychic phenom-
resurrection unto life of an "elect few." But an edu-                    ena as never before. More significant, psychic re-
                                                                         search is rapidly gaining tolerance among intellectuals
cated citizenry no longer looks to such vain and empty                   - and in some circles, academic respectability. . . .
dreams.                                                                       In our own increasingly apocalyptic age, . . . the
  In discussing the matter of how people cope with                       search for eternal life seems more desperate than
their  perFona1 fears of death, the article had this to                  ever. Death crowds. our vision and renders old ideo-
say:                                                                     logies meaningless. But Lifton (clergyman referred to
            Test-tube babies, organ transplants and the crack-           in the article), for one, is hopeful that today's dis-
         ing of the genetic code - these and other bio-medical           inherited youth may discover in their preoccupation
         breakthroughs - lend such seemingly unfounded-pre-              with death "an equal capacity for rebirth." A
         dictions an aura of can-do optimism. "The time has              "myth" of death and rebirth, he believes, is necessary
         come for men to turn into gods or perish," an-                  for every culture, but it requires the rekindling of
         nounces novelist Alan Harrington in his bold mani-              man's symbol-making consciousness. . . .
         festo, "The Immqytalist." At the moment, hundreds                    It was just out. of such a symbolic understanding


356                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



       of actual events that the Easter idea of resurrection       vriho can indeed say with Job: "I know that my Re-
       emerged. The Old Testament offers no theories of            deemer lives. . . ." How futile and empty and even ludi-
       personal immortality - only the hope that God will          crous is a "symbol" which must somehow bring
       one day establish his Kingdom and thereby vindicate         comfort when one dearly loved is snatched away by
       the just. To those who first preached the Christian
       message, Christ's bodily resurrection was taken as a        death's cold and unrelenting hand. How utterly ill-at-
       concrete sign that God's kingdom was at hand. In the        ease must a minister feel who must stand at the bed-
       radical vision of both Judaism and Christianity, the        side of one writhing in the anguish of death and try to
       image of resurrection and ultimate transformation of        bring meaning and solace by means of a symbol. How
       human  histo,~ merge. If, as  Lifton suggests, the          little peace can one have who vainly clutches a symbol
       idiom of personal immortality no ionger moves us,           when he is called at last to walk that last, long mile
       perhaps it is because we have robbed death - and            through the valley of the shadow of death. Let science
       rebirth - of their larger, social dimensions. The para-     mock, and let the unbeliever scorn the faith of God's
       dox of Easter is that in freely laying down his life for    people. They have, after all, something more precious
       others, Jesus was raised up again. In his lonely free-      than all the treasures of the world and all the' powers
       dom, man today still has that option.                       of science. They have a living Redeemer who has con-
  Now the gist of all this is, in the first place, that            quered death for them.
while science has disproved the truth of the resurrec-
tion, science has also demonstrated the truth of evolu- ABOR TION
tion. And, so it is claimed, man has developed by                    One of the most widely discussed issues today is the
evolutionary processes to such a high rung on the                  subject of abortion. This is chiefly because there is a
evolutionary ladder that he can now, himself, take lot of talk concerning the revision of current abortion
hold of these evolutionary processes and manipulate                laws. Revision of abortion laws is euphemistically
them in such a way that he can control his own evolu-              called "reform." For most of the history of this coun-
tion. By controlling his own evolution, he will gradu- try laws permitted abortions only to save the life of a
ally overcome death and produce the never-ending mother. Within the last decade, however, these laws
man. Or, in its most blasphemous form, man will (as have been relaxed in several states; and new laws per-
the article states) turn into god. Salvation is medical mitted abortions for termination of a pregnancy when
engineering and man's messiah is the scientist in a the life or physical or mental health of the mother was
white coat.                                                        in danger; when the child to be born might have seri-
  But, in the second place, what is man to do in the               ous physical or mental defects because of use of drugs
meantime as he faces death today? He can, the article              or because. of pre-natal disease such as measles; when
asserts, live by a symbol. This is what men have always            conception resulted from rape or incest. But, as was
done. In fact, it was just such a desire for  a symbol             predicted at the time, these new laws did not satisfy
that led, in the first place, to the formation of the the proponents-of abortion. Already one state (Hawaii)
myth of the resurrection of Christ. Now we have to has passed a new law which leaves the question of
search for another symbol. And the symbol that can                 abortion a matter of discretion between a woman and
very well serve this purpose is the symbol of laying her doctor. Other states are considering similar legisla-
down our lives for others: for this will give true mean-           tion. But most worrisome of all is the fact  that--the
ing to both death and rebirth. And this, after all, is whole question of the legality of existing abortion laws
what Jesus is said to have done.                                   is being tested in the courts. The argument is that pres-
  There are several things striking about all this. One            ent abortion laws deprive women of their rights under
is, surely, that the fear of death lingers on in men               the Ninth Amendment. If the courts should sustain
regardless of the promises of science. The real reason this argument (and there is some reason to believe they
for this is that deep in his heart man knows, whether will  - especially in the light of the fact that the cur-
he will admit it or not - to himself or to others, that rent view of "law" is that the law must merely reflect
death means standing before the face of the Judge of the changing social ideas of the country), then it would
heaven and earth. God sees to it that this testimony be legally established in this land that one of a
remains in the hearts of men. Nothing men do or say                woman's inalienable rights is to have children or not to
will be able to obliterate that testimony. This is most have them as she decided.
frightening, for it is a terrible thing to fall into the             There are several reasons why revision of abortion
hands of the living God.                                           laws is being considered. The first is the incidence of
  Secondly, brazenly the advocates of evolution speak illegal abortions which are presently being performed
of it as being the only hope of salvation and utopia.              in this country. Some estimate the number to be as
Indeed, so brash have they become that they dare to                high as one million. And because abortions are illegal,
speak of evolution, under man's manipulation, as a many are performed by unskilled people who are re-
power to produce God Himself.                                      sponsible for between 500 and 1,000 deaths per year
  Thirdly, how precious is the comfort of the believer resulting from poorly performed operations.


                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER                                                357


   Secondly, there are what are called sociological rea- abortion in the light of the population crisis; but there
sons for revision of existing laws.  Alinong these are a. is only really a population crisis for those who deny
growing laxity in all matters sexual; a growing move- the return of Christ. To those who believe that Christ
ment to emancipate women in various so-called is coming again, the threat of an overpopulated world
"woman-liberation movements"; a need to improve the holds little fear.
quality of life for individual families and to improve             But to legalize abortion is certainly a very evil thing.
the quality of life for all through population control. The whole conception of law in our day is wrong. No
   But most basic to the argument is the contention longer do men consider the fact that the laws which
that the unborn fetus is not a viable person in the early men make ought td reflect the will of God and God's
part of pregnancy. According to Newsweek:                        laws which He has made; men look upon law as noth-
        Most Protestant and Jewish theologians, in con-          ing else but sociology  - a reflection of the current
     trast, share the belief that the fetus doesn't acquire a    thinking of the majority of the citizenry. Then the
     human soul until it has developed sufficiently to           laws of God are violated with impunity.
     exist outside the body - usually not before the 24th
     week.                                                         The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally main-
   It  isin this way, of course, that the charge  of murder tained that abortion is wrong even when the life of the
is avoided. If the fetus is not a personality until it is mother is threatened by a continued pregnancy. We
able to live outside the womb then an abortion cannot realize -that here is a difficult point. But, in general, it
`be called murder.                                               must be maintained that there are other considerations
   The Roman Catholic Church has taken the position qhich enter in when such a problem arises. When a
that human life begins at conception. With this we mother's life is itself at stake by the continuation of a
agree. Scripture assumes throughout that the unborn pregnancy, then the wellbeing of her entire family
child is indeed a person from the moment of concep- must be considered. And it is entirely possible that if it
tion. While the forming of a child in the womb of its is really a question of the life of the mother or the life
mother is a great mystery, prompting the ancient of the unborn child, the life of the mother must be
Psalmist of Israel to exclaim: "I am fearfully and won- considered the most important.
derfully made," the thesis that an unborn child is not a           Nevertheless, we maintain that this reveals an en-
person is based on evolutionary presuppositions. tirely different motive. Almost always abortion is rec-
Hence, the proponents of abortion cannot escape the ommended for an unwanted pregnancy. Where the life
charge that abortion is an act of murder.                        of an unborn child is sacrificed to preserve the life of
 All the arguments raised in favor of abortion are, on the mother, the pregnancy is not unwanted for its own
the surface, irresponsible and irrelevant. If it is true sake. It is to do away with unwanted pregnancies that
that there are one million illegal abortions performed is inspiring the present clamor for change. This is mur-
every year, this horrible evil is not rectified by legal- der. It can be nothing else. Nothing man says or does
izing abortions. One does not do away with one evil by will alter that. It is as brutal a murder as'the murder of
introducing another. It is undoubtedly correct that the any infant. And those who break God's law will have
clamor for abortion upon personal choice is closely to pay a. terrible price.
connected with the growing laxity in morals. But this              Forgotten are the  Psalm&J's  woras: "Lo, children
is no argument in favor of abortion. This simply points are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb
out how true Scripture is when it speaks of a departure is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty
from God's law as being followed by yet greater and man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man
greater sins. It may be that the world does consider that hath his quiver-full of them."



                                               ATTENTION STAFF MEMBERS

              The Standard Bearer Staff will hold its annual meeting the Lord willing on Monday, June 8,
              1970 at 8:00 p.m. at the First Protestant Reformed Church of Grand Rapids,  Mich. All
              department editors please take note of this meeting and reserve this evening. Included in the
              agendum will be the report of the survey committee. If unable to attend, please contact the
              undersigned.

                                                                                  Rev. J. Kortering, Secretary


358                                             THE STANDARD BEARER


               1300~ R E V I E W S                              Interpreting God's  Word Today,  Edited by Simon
                                                                Kistemaker; Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Mich.;
Do You Understand What You Read?,  H. M. Kuitert 3 13 pages, $6.95.
(Translated by Lewis B. Smedes); Wm. B. Eerdmans                  This book is essentially a symposium, not a unified
Publ. Co., Grand Rapids,  Mich.; 111 pp. (paper), work by one author. It consists of seven chapters by as
$1.95.                                                          many authors, and all the chapters have to do more or
   This is the notorious little book by the notorious less with the subject expressed in the title of the book.
Dutch theologian, which has already created no little All of the authors are of the Reformed tradition, and
stir among Reformed people in the'Netherlands. It em- all would be classified as "conservative" or "ortho-
bodies in rather concrete form the deviating views con- dox." They are G. Van Groningen (Australia), who
cerning the doctrine of Holy Scripture for which Dr.            writes on "Genesis: Its Formation And Interpre-
Kuitert has become notorious. Yes, I mean "noto- tation;" M. H. Woudstra (U.S.), who writes on "Even
rious," not "famous." For, in my opinion, no truly and Interpretation in the Old Testament;" S.
Reformed man can classify Kuitert as anything but a Kistemaker (U.S.), who writes on "Formation and In-
heretic;in  spite of all his avowals to the contrary.           terpretation of the Gospels;" J. C. De Young (U.S.),
   Because I have offered extensive critique of the who writes on "Event and Interpretation of the Resur-
vie.ws of Dr. Kuitert as expressed in his lectures in rection;" M. J. Arntzen (The Netherlands), who writes
Grand Rapids a couple years ago, and because the on "Inspiration and Trustworthiness of Scrupture;" L.
views underlying this book are the same views, I will Praamsma (Canada), who writes on "Authority and In-
not,.offer an extensive' critique of this little book..         terpretation of Confessional Standards;" and  M-. H.
   However, this reviewer wishes to add to his previous Smith (U.S.), who writes on "Interpretation and De-
criticism of Kuitert's views this thought, that the thesis fense of the Faith."
underlying this little book and the views previously              This is not a book for every reader, but a rather
criticized is a proud one. It is proud, in the first place, technical work. As the dust jacket "blurb" has it, "the
because it implies that now for the  first time the pastor, the teacher, the seminarian and the theologian"
church is at last learning how to read and understand will value this book.
the Scriptures. This  e.vinces disdain not only for the           As is evident from the wide variety of chapter head-
church of the past and all its labors, but, what is worse, ings, this is neither a unified dogmatical treatise on the
disdain for the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in doctrine of Holy Scripture, nor a hermeneutics. The
the church down through the centuries. It is a proud subjects treated in this book are of both a dogmatical
thesis, in the second place, because it really places all and a hermeneutical nature, and partly of an apolo-
the ordinary members of the church, ordinary be- getic nature.
lievers, in the class of nincompoops who cannot under-            It is impossible in the space of a brief review to offer
stand the Scriptures without the assistance of a summary of the entire contents, much less to offer a
theologians and learned men of science. This is also detailed criticism. A few general comments must suffice:
essentially a disdain of the work of the Holy Spirit,           1) The book suffers from its lack of unity, a  iack
Who has been given not only to theologians, but also which is due to the fact that it is only a symposium.
to the entire church. Is it not the attitude of the 2) The book contains, in some chapters, far too much
Scribes and Pharisees, who spoke of the common material about the views of others and frequently very
people as "this people who know not the law (and little positive development of whatever views the
who) are accursed?" Admittedly, this criticism is writer himself may hold.
severe; but it is my firm belief that it is deserved. And 3) The book claims "to understand the past, evaluate
the sooner the churches realize that the stakes in the          the (new) insights, and build upon them." In the opin-
current battle against the so-called "new theology" in ion of this reviewer, in some instances of an attempt to
 the Netherlands (and, by import, on this side of the "build upon" the new insights, a break with the past is
 ocean) are not some abstruse theological questions committed  - or at least a compromise. And in some
 which can safely be debated within the confines of the instances the book evinces a rather sterile, tradition-
 confessions,`but the very heritage of the faith itself, and alist view. Thus I consider, for example, M. J. Arntzen's
 that, too, at one of its most crucial points, the truth attempt to maintain the old, traditional idea of a
 concerning Holy Scripture,  - the sooner we realize divine and a human element in Scripture. In the opin-
 this, the better.                                              ion of this reviewer, this distinction  - though some-
       I recommend this book in a negative way. I recom- times well-meant - is neither safe nor correct.
mend it not for the value of its teachings. But I rec-            All in all, however, I would recommend that the theo-
 ommend that it be read, by those who cannot read the logian or budding theologian who wishes to keep abreast
 original Dutch version, in order that those who read of current developments in respect to the doctrine of
 may understand what is going on in the Reformed Holy Scripture would do well to study this book. It
 community. Read it - and condemn it.                 H.C.H.    does indeed, require more than a superficial reading.
                                                                                                                  H.C.H.


                                                            _I
                                                   ~~ES~ANDARDBEA~ER                                                    359



                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                 OBITUARY
    The Consistory of the Hope Protestant Reformed                   Our. Heavenly Father called unto himself our be-
  Church expresses its sympathy and that of the Congre- loved husband, father and grandfather,
  gation to our fellow elder and brother, Mr. John                                   JOHN DYKSTRA
  Dykstra, Jr., in the death of his father                         into his eternal rest. Our comfort is found in the words
                  MR. JOHN DYKSTRA, SR.                            of Jeremiah 3 1:3 ". . . Yea I have loved thee with an
     "The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have I
  their inheritance shall be forever. " Psalm 3 7 : 18.            drawn thee."
                                     Rev. J. Kortering, Pres.                          Mrs. John Dykstra, Sr.
                                     Dewey Engelsma, Clerk                             Mr. & Mrs. Herman Dykstra
                                                                                       Mr. & Mrs. Christian Vander Stel
                                                                                       Mr. & Mrs. Peter Dykstra
                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                                                Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Dykstra
                                                                                       Mr. & Mrs. Ernest Pluger
    The Senior Mr. and Mrs. Society of the Hope Protes-                                Miss Julia Dykstra
  tant Reformed Church extends its sympathy to Mr.                                     Mr. & Mrs. Boreas Dykstra
  and Mrs. John Dykstra, Jr., in the passing of their                                  Mr. & Mrs. John Dykstra, Jr.
  f a t h e r                                                                          Mr. & Mrs. Frank Dykstra
                  MR. JOHN DYKSTRA, SR.,                                               Miss Ruth Dykstra
  whom the Lord called home on March 29, 1970.                                         Mr. & Mrs. William Hofman
    May the God of all grace comfort the bereaved                                      Mr. & Mrs. H. P. Meulenberg
  family by His Word and Spirit.                                                       and his dear grandchildren
                                     Rev. J. Kortering, Pres.
                                   Mrs. Dale Mensch, Sec'y.


                                                                                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY
                 RESOL.UTION OF SYMPATHY                             The Priscilla Society of the First Protestant Re-
    The Priscilla Society of the First Protestant Re-              formed Church expresses deepest sympathy to its Bible
  formed Church expresses deepest sympathy to two of Leader, Mr. John Faber, in the loss of his sister,
  its members, Miss Julia and Miss Ruth Dykstra, in the                          MRS. RICHARD ONDERSMA
  loss of their father,                                            May the bereaved be comforted with the word of God
                    MR. JOHN DYKSTRA                               found in I Cor.  15:49  - "And as we have borne the
    May the bereaved family be comforted with the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the
  word of God found in II Tim.  7&8  - "I have fought              heavenly."
  the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept                                                Mrs., G. Bol, Pres.
  the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me the crown                                            Mrs. R. Ezinga, Sec'y.
  of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
                                                           _  -
~ shall give to me at that day; and not to me only, bul
  also to all them that haved loved his appearing."
                                            Mrs. G. Bol, Pres.                          NOTICE !!!
                                       Mrs. R. Ezinga, Sec'y.        According to the decision of the Synod of 1969, the
                                                                   Consistory of The First Protestant Reformed Church
                                                                   of Grand Rapids, Michigan, hereby notifies the
                 RESOLUTION OF SYMPATHY                            churches that the 1970 Synod of the Protestant. Re-
     The Mr. and Mrs. Society of the Southeast Protes- formed Churches will convene, the Lord willing, on
  tant Reformed Church wishes to express its sincere Wednesday, June 3, at 9 A.M. in the above mentioned
  sympathy to two of its members, Mr. and Mrs. H. P.               church. The pre-synodical service will be held Tuesday
  Meulenberg, in the passing of Mrs. Meulenberg's father,          evening, June 2, at 8 P.M., at First Church. Rev. C.
                    MR. JOHN DYKSTRA.                              Hanko, president of the 1969 Synod, will preach the
     "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that  be-            sermon.  Synodical delegates are requested to meet
                                                                   with the consistory before the service. Delegates in
  -1ieveth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." need of lodging should contact J. M. Faber, 1123
  John  11:25.
                                      Rev. M. Schipper,  Pres. Cooper Ave., S.E., Grand Rapids, Mich., 49507.
                                   Mrs. H. W. Kuiper, Sec'y.                                             J. M. Faber, Clerk


     iTHE STANDARD BEARER
             P.O. Box 6064
     Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506





I     360                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


                                     News From Our Churches

        The last in a series of lectures in the Grand Rapids       Concerning our missionary efforts in Jamaica which
      area was held in First Church on April 9. Rev. G. have obviously captured the interest of the young
      Lubbers, the chairman of the meeting, mentioned that people: On Friday evening, April 24, the Young
      the committee was happy with th.e subject chosen. We People's Society of Southwest Church planned to
      find ourselves living in the last hour - that is, between sponsor a program featuring Rev. Lubbers and his pic-
      the cross and the return of Christ. Since we are a tures of his recent labors in Jamaica.
      church of hope, the topic, "The Return of the Glori-         And on April 26 the Holland Young People's Soci-
      fied Christ," is of utmost importance and of very real ety planned a "Welcome Home" Singspiration for their
      interest to us. Rev. Lubbers also mentioned that the pastor, Rev. J. Heys. Rev. Heys was due to arrive home
      committee was happy to have as a speaker, Rev. G. about April 2 1. He writes that even though there have
      Van Baren. That these feelings were justified was made been, understandably, some disappointments and
      abundantly clear in the course of the speech. Rev. Van griefs, "it has been an enjoyable stay here."
      Baren tried to impress on the minds of his listeners an                             ***
      awareness of the  nearness  of the end. We, too, are
      often so involved with worldly affairs that we ignore        It seems that First Church of Grand Rapids was
      the fact that it won't be long before Christ returns - finding it rather difficult to continue financing a large
      possibly, even likely, in the lifetime of some of.us. All share of the radio broadcasting of our denomination.
      the signs of the times point to the fact that the end is -When that became apparent, plenty of help was im-
      rapidly approaching. The Word of God emphasizes in mediately forthcoming from other churches. We find
      connection with all these signs to watch, and in watch- proof of that in Hudsonville's bulletin which contained
      ing, to look up, for our deliverance is at hand.           a note of appreciation received from the consistory of
        Since we're dealing with church extension work, First Church. It was an expression of "joy and grati-
      anyway, we could quote this from Hudsonville's bul- tude" for- the generous gift to "help us carry out our
      letin : "The congregation is urged to cooperate with program of Radio Broadcasting." It also noted that
      the consistory in submitting names for the distribution this gift, "plus the promised collections to be taken in
      of Protestant Reformed Literature. The church has no our other churches, will quite likely care for the deficit
      other calling than to preach the gospel. All our mem- in our budget for this work." It's noteworthy that
      bers must be led by the desire that the truth we love there's seldom, in our churches, a lack of support when
      reach others. Again, the congregation is urged to sub- a real need exists.
      mit names."                                                                         ***
        Along these same lines we find that in First Church
      of Grand Rapids a "mimeographed bulletin is available        This,.note, yet, from Rev. R. Decker and family to
      on the table at the front entrance. This is entitled `The the South Holland congregation, as found in that
      Inspiration of Scripture'. This, too, can be used  ,as a church's bulletin. "We take this opportunity to express
      means of showing others what we confess to be the our appreciation to all of you for the warm reception
      truth of God's Word."                                      we have received. We appreciate, too, our parsonage
        The Sunday School Pamphlet racks in this same and the work that has been done to make it a comfort-
      church are going to have to be replaced. The old.ones able home. The Christian hospitality and kindness of
      don't have enough compartments. The three latest ad- the congregation have made us feel a part of the congre-
      ditions are pamphlets on labor unions, creation, and gatian. Under the blessing-of our Covenant God we
      ecumenicity by Revs. Heys, Van Baren, and H. Hanko look forward to a  fruitful pastorate in your fellow-
      respectively. Requests for these pamphlets come from ship." This bespeaks an already warm relationship be-
      as far away as England and Australia!                      tween Pastor Decker and his new congregation.
                                 ***                                                                              D.R.D.


