          The
    STANDARD
         B E A R E R
f- A REFORMED SEMI-MONTHLY MAGAZINE                                                        T

               . . . we will maintain that the Word of our
            God and it only stands forevermore! To
            young and old, at all occasions we shall de-
            liver that message alone. Do not ask anything
            else. And the more persistently the world in-
            trudes upon us with its arm of flesh, the more
            loudly and clearly,. the more distinctly and
            boldly we shall in the name of the Lord of
           hosts cry out:  Ody the Word of the Lord
            standeth forever. In it alone' is all our salva-
            tion !

            Inaugural sermon of Rev. Herman Hoeksema  (1920)

            See "In Celebration of a Centennial" - page 000




               . . . we will maintain that the Word of our God and it
            only stands forevermore ! To young and old, at all
            occasions we shall deliver that message alone. Do not
            ask anything else. And the more persistently the world
           intrudes upon us with its arm of flesh, the more loudly
            and clearly, the more distinctly and boldly we shall in
           the name of the Lord of hosts cry out: Only the Word
            of the Lord standeth forever. In it alone is all our sal-
           vation !

                 Inaugural sermon of Rev. Herman Hoeksema (1920)

                       See "In Celebration of a Centennial"  - page  485

                                                    Volume  LV, No. 21, September 15, 1979  J


482                                                        THE STANDARD BEARER


                                                                                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER
                           CONTENTS:                                                                                           ISSN 0362-4692
                                                                                   Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July, and August.
                                                                                      Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, inc.
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Meditation  -                                                              Editor-in-Chief:  Prof. Homer C. Hoeksema
                                                                           Department Editors:  Prof. Robert D. Decker, Rev. David J.  Engelsma,
   Comfort in Chastisement . . . . . . .  .1 . . . . . . .  .482            R e v .   C o r n e l i u s   H a n k o .   Prof.   H e r m a n   H a n k o ,   R e v .   R o b e r t   C .   H a r b a c h .
                                                                           R e v .   J o h n   A .   Heys,   R e v .   M e i n d e r t   Joostens,   R e v .   J a y   K o r t e r i n g ,   R e v .
Editorial  -                                                               George C. Lubbers, Rev. Rodney Miersma, Rev.  Marinus  Schipper, Rev.
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MEDITATION




                                   Comfort in Chastisement

                                                                Rev. M. Schipper



                 "And ye have- forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My
             son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
                For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. "
                                                                                                                                                  Hebrews  12:5, 6


  And ye have forgotten. . . .                                               was first directed had not kept in mind what they
  That means that they to whom this Word of God                              once knew. There was evidently a lapse of memory.


                                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      483



    They  .had been instructed in the Word of God, here                               them in His counsel of predestination. In that
 particularly the Word as it appeared in Proverbs 3 :  11,                            covenant relation He is their Lord, and they are His
 12, which the writer now quotes. They knew that                                      covenant friend-servants. In that relation there exists
 Word and understood its significance, but when                                       a most intimate bond of living`love and friendship.
 chastening came they failed to recall it.                                              In the light of the context the chastening of which
    They evidently had become wearied and faint in                                    the text speaks refers, first of all, to the suffering for
 their minds. And it is above all things necessary when                               Christ's sake. Of this the writer of this epistle had
 the children of God are required to pass under the                                   mitten earlier  (10:32ff).  There the nature of  the
 chastening rod of their heavenly Father that their                                   suffering which the Hebrew Christians were  reqluired
 regenerated minds are clear, that they are able to                                   to endure  is described. The children of God have been
 reason correctly, shall they be able to live  accqrding                              required to endure a great fight of afflictions, having
 to the Word of God and experience the comfort they                                   been  mzde a gazing stock or being companions of
 need.                                                                                those who were so used. They suffered bonds, and
                                                                                      the spoiling of their goods, and other reproaches.
    Though the Word of God here is intended to serve                                  Though they had not yet resisted unto blood, that is,
 as a rebuke, it nevertheless means also to serve as a                                they had not yet been required to die for their faith,
 comfort for all those who are required to suffer under                               nevertheless for this they must be prepared.
 the mighty hand--of God. The text `does not                                            Though the reference is primarily directed to this
 specifically speak of comfort, yet it is clearly implied.                            type of chastening, there is no reason to limit it to
 A n d   c o m f o r t   i n   t h e   S c r i p t u r e s   i s   a l w a y s   a    this type. No doubt all the sufferings and afflictions
 consideration of the regenerated, sanctified mind.                                   of this present time are to be included. Also here we
 Accordingly the child of God contemplates the evils                                  must not forget that not only our moments of
 he presently suffers in the light of the salvation  and                              prosperity but also of adversity flow to us  in the
 glory God has promised, in which contemplation he is                                 providence of God, and all the sufferings of this
 able to perceive that the suffering he must endure is                                present time are evidences of His chastening hand
 subservient to and absolutely necessary for the                                      upon us. And if in  .the midst of  y,our suffering you
 attainment of the promised glpry. Not enough is it                                   ask, as we so often do, "Why? Why am I required to
for him simply to conclude that for a time he must                                    suffer under the mighty hand of God?" Then our text
 suffer, and then when that measure of suffering is                                   presents the perfect answer. There is a two-fold
 filled, he shall enter the state of bliss.  F6r then he                              reason for the chastisement.
 would  have.nothing for the present but suffering with
 a promise; then he may easily murmur and rebel. But                                    In the first place chastisement  5, God's way of
 when he  .is able in the midst of his suffering to                                   showing us that we are His sons and daughters. The
 consider with the mind tempered by faith that the                                    proof of our  sonship must be seen in the rod of
 evils he endures are absolutely necessary and                                        chastening. This point is stressed in the verses which
 subservient to the attainment of the glory, then he is                               follow our text. There we read, "If ye endure
 comforted. From the Word of God he  n,ot only                                        chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons . . .
 knows that all things, including also the evil, work                                 but if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are
 together for good, but that the chastening rod is                                    partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."
 inflicted on those whom God loves.                                                   Bastards are illegitimates, but sons are legal. So in our
                                                                                      text we read in the last part of verse six, "and
    Indeed, herk is  Fomfort in chastisement!                                         scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." It is
                                                                                      evident, therefore, that those who are required to
    Chastisement, not punishment!                                                     suffer Jehovah's chastening rod have in that
    There is a marked distinction between these two,                                  chastening a Word of the Lord concerning their legal
 both as to motive and as to purpose. Punishment is                                   sonship.
 motivated by anger, wrath; while chastisement is                                       It must become plain to us that we do not become
 always motivated by love. Punishment means to                                        sons and daughters of the Most High through the
 destroy, while chastisement purposes to build up and                                 chastening, but through the adoption. God has only
 to'save.                                                                             one natural Son, the second Person of the Trinity,
    Here in the  text it is the chastening of the Lord,                               Who becomes our Lord Jesus Christ through the
 that is,  the chastening which the Lord inflicts. In the                             incarnation. Shall He have many sqns and daughters
 text in Prqverbs, of which the text is a quotation, it is                            as He has planned, these must come  to Him through
 the chastening of  Jehovah.r  In this name God                                       the legal process of adoption. God has chosen us to
 particularly relates Himself to His people as their                                  be His children in His eternal counsel, but the legal
 covenant God. In this covenant relation He has                                       papers of our adoption were written at the cross with
 known them eternally in Christ in love, and chosen                                   a pen of blood. Through the death and resurrection


    484                                                              THE STANDARD BEARER


    of Christ, God's Only Begotten Son, our adoption                                    nature of His love to perfect us. It is in this light that
    into God's family takes place.                                                      we can understand the Word of God in Colossians
       Wonder of grace is this adoption! In natural                                     3: 14 where we find love defined as "a bond of
    adoption the children are declared to be legally sons                               perfectness," that is, a bond which unites a  p'erfect
    and daughters of the parents who adopt them, yet                                    subject and a perfect object. When God Who is
    they nevertheless do not partake of the nature of                                   perfect loves us who are so imperfect, it lies in the
    their parents. But in the adoption of God's children                                nature of His love to perfect us even as He is perfect.
    they are conformed to His image. And with and                                       Or, to put it in the words of the writer to the
    through Christ, the Elder Brother, they become heirs                               Hebrews (12:  lo), "that we might be partakers of His
    of all things.                                                                     holiness." The divine motivation of the chastening
                                                                                       rod is His eternal, unchangeable love; and the purpose
       Having been adopted into God's family, the Father                               of that chastening rod is the perfection of His people.
   exercises His right to bring us under His discipline.
   This He does through the chastening rod which is a                                     It is this that the Hebrew Christians had forgotten,
   rod of correction, beating as it were from us all the                               and of which they must therefore now be reminded.
   remnants of our natural  sonship,  and shaping us into                                 There are several possibilities to account for their
   legitimate children of God. So we are told that every                               forgetfulness. In the. race to heaven they had not
   one of God's sons receives this chastening. If we                                   always kept their eye on Jesus, the Author and
   receive no chastening we may well ask ourselves                                     Finisher of their faith. They evidently were not
   whether we are God's sons. Such chastening is not to                                running with patience in that race. They had become
   be despised, and for this reason.                                                   weary and faint in their minds. And when the context
       But there is more!                                                              so describes their spiritual condition they are not
                                                                                       fully prepared for the disciplinary acts of God Who so
       Much more!                                                                      graciously exhorts them to remember His Word that
       That chastening rod is also indicative of the truth                             must comfort them in the midst of all their distresses.
   that God loves us.                                                                  0, they had not forgotten that the Book of Proverbs
       For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth!                                         was in the Scriptures, but they forgot what God
                                                                                       teaches His children in that Book, particularly in the
       But is it not this truth that always seems so strange                           passage quoted in our text.
   and difficult for the child of God to understand?
   Even in the sphere of the natural it is most difficult                                 But not only they, but we also need this reminder.
   for the child to comprehend the motivation of the                                      How do we look at the sufferings of this present
   rod of correction that beats him, and it is so difficult                            time? Do we look at them perhaps stoically and
   to believe that the rod is inflicted in parental love. The                          indifferently? Do we perhaps with some semblance of
   writer to the Hebrews was aware of this natural                                     piety acknowledge that our circumstances flow to us
  phenomenon and in verse  9. uses it for a point of                                   in the providence of God, and then say, "Well, I guess
   comparison. Says he, "we have had fathers of our                                    I will just have to grin and bear it?" Or, do we say
f l e s h   w h i c h   c o r r e c t e d   u s ,   a n d   w e   g a v e   t h e m    perhaps, as some do, that God is punishing us for
  reverence. . .  ." When we were small children and                                   some particular sin we have committed? Or, do we
  naughty we expected the parental rod. Some of us                                     throw up our hands in despair, and sit in the dumps?
   older ones remember the old-fashioned wood shed                                       You understand, of course, that if any of these
  where this discipline took place. Out of deference for                               describe our attitude overagainst chastisement and
   father who was older and stronger than we, we                                       suffering, we can have no real comfort.
  walked into that shed with fear and trembling.
  Because we could not comprehend what moved                                             But when we remember that the sufferings of this
  father to inflict the chastening rod, we complained                                  present time are so many Words of God informing us
  that he was unjust, and even went so far as to believe                               that He is perfecting us for glory, and that He sends
  he hated us. Because of this sinful reasoning we failed                              these chastisements to us because He loves us, then
  to render the respect which was his due. Well, much                                  indeed we experience the comfort we need.
  like this from a spiritual point of view the children of                               This is the conclusion of faith in the regenerated
  God often rebel when our heavenly Father inflicts His                                mind that is  inerrant because it is based on the Word
  rod. Like the Hebrew Christians we fail to recall the                                of God, Who cannot lie.
  Word of God that spoke to them in the chastening                                       If your regenerated mind is not befuddled but very
  rod of His eternal, unchangeable love for them.                                      clear, and you are spiritually alert, you can hear Him
                                                                                       say when His chastening rod is upon you: I love you!
      Father knows how many are the imperfections
  manifest in our lives as we are called to live them in                                 That is all the comfort you need!
  the flesh in this present world. And it lies in the very                               Amen !


                                                          THE STANDARD BEARER                                                     485


EDITORIAL





                                                    In Celebration
                                                   of a Centennial
                                                            PVOJ: H. C. Hoeksema




   Considerable attention has been given in various                         all true preaching of  the Word.
papers to the centennial of the Eastern Avenue                                 Read it,  -and find out for yourself.
Christian Reformed Church, and by the time this
appears in print the present occupants of the old                              (Inaugural sermon of Rev. Herman Hoeksema on Sunday,
                                                                            February 29, 1920, at the Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed
Eastern Avenue Church will have completed no little                         Church)
celebration of that occasion.
   We are well aware, of course, that after 1924 both                                              "I'LL CRY
in the ecclesiastical courts and in the civil courts the
"Ninety-two" were held to be the continuation of the                           Is.  XL:6-8.  The voice said, Cry. And he said, What
Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church.                                   shall I cry? All flesh is  grass and all the goodliness
However, i n   t r u t h   a n d   i n   f a c t   t h e   g e n u i n e    thereof is  a$ the flower of the field:
continuation of that congregation was represented in                           The  grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the
the pastor  and  .consistory and 450 families who were                      Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: surely the people
cast out and who became the First Protestant                                is grass.
Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  That is                            The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the
the reason, too, of course,' why in  -our  annual                           Word of our God shall  starid forever.
denominational Yearbook the date of organization of
First Church is always given as 1879.                                          It `is undeniable that the modem pulpit has,
                                                                            especially in recent years, been degraded into a
   As far as I have heard, First Church has no plans                        platform for the propagation of purely humanistic
for any special commemoration of its one hundredth                          philosophy. So-called ministers of the gospel have
birthday. Nevertheless, not only as a son of First                          become preachers of man's word, and the servants of
Church but also as one who was born and baptized a                          Christ in His church have allowed themselves on more
member of Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed                                 than one occasion to be employed as servants of men.
Church, I thought it fitting to make a contribution to                      I know it, usually the saying was that they served
the celebration of this anniversary. This contribution                      humanity and that they labored for the deliverance,
takes the form of a reproduction of one of two                              for the upbuilding of mankind and the world. But fact
inaugural sermons delivered (and later published) by                        is, that under this beautiful slogan the Word of God
one of Eastern Avenue's most illustrious pastors, Rev.                      as contained in the Scriptures was frequently set
Herman Hoeksema. The other of these two sermons                             aside, failed to be heard from the modern pulpit, and
was in the Dutch language  ("Ik Wil Dat Gij  Weet')                         instead all sorts of messages were delivered on a
and would therefore not be edifying for most of our                         variety of topics that had little or no connection with
readers.                                                                    the gospel of the kingdom. If complete statistics were
  `As I reread this sermon recently, I was struck by                        available of all the subjects discussed before the
the fact that  - apart from some details  - the sermon                      congregated church of Christ by ministers  `of the
is as appropriate  and up-to-date today as it was a half                    gospel during the last half decade the result would be
century ago. Why? Because it sounds the keynote of                          little short of astounding to whoever entertains a


 486                                              THE STANDARD BEARER



  generally conservative conception of things. Now  the         boldly and more distinctly he must preach it
  flock of Jesus Christ came to the house of God on              according as the church in general and the world
  that Sabbath to be fed on a lecture on liberty bonds;         departs from it or discards it. And since we are about
  now their spiritual life was supposed to  be built up by      to assume our labors in. your midst, we decided to
  a speech on thrift stamps. Again, one Sunday the              speak  to-you this evening on the basis of the text we
  most holy faith of God's covenant people  was                 chose on:
  established by an elaborate discussion of the necessity          The Word. of God and Its Proclamation. Let us
-of good roads, chiefly perhaps for the purpose of              consider:
  making joyriding on the Sabbath more joyful; and
  another Sunday it was the topic of hygiene that was             I. The Contents of That Word,
  thoroughly discussed for the enlightenment of the              II. The Imperishable Nature of That Word,
 -children of-the Kingdom. On these and numerous                III. The Mode'of Its Proclamation.
  other subjects the church of God was frequently                  I. To understand the words of our text we must
  enlightened, with such  nourishmefit the flock of Jesus       remember that in this latter half of his prophecy the
 Christ was often fed, and by it she was. expected to           divine seer is placed on the standpoint of the latter
 live and to flourish. Sometimes a portion of the Word          half of the period of the captivity of the Israelish
  of God was still selected and so-distorted as to serve        nation. God's covenant-people had filled the measure
 as a hanger-on for  the lecture to be delivered. Often,        of their iniquity. They had repeatedly transgressed
 however, this was deemed necessary no more, and the            the covenant of Jehovah. They had cast to the-wind
 shepherd of Christ's flock bluntly offered the sheep           the repeated call to repentance and conversion. And
 stones for bread.
               _.  -~                                           finally, in the prophetic vision they had already been
    Of course, this is no strange,- no isolated                 carried away into the land of their exile, there, in
 phenomenon% the  mod.ern world, no phenomenon                  B a b y l o n   t o   b e a r   t h e   .punishment   o f   t h e i r
 that finds no connection with  ,the modern view of the         transgression. But in captivity they repented. The
 church and the world. If we are at all acquainted-with         measure of their punishment became full. The
 the modem trend of development. of thought we will             faithful covenant God remembered the remnant of
 be little surprised to find that in many a church the          His people. And in that same prophetic state the seer
 truth was preached no more and the pure Word of                is called to preach deliverance and salvation to the
 God set aside. Some of the most fundamental truths             captive people. Our chapter relates how the prophet
 of Scripture, such as that of vicarious atonement and          is called to deliver that message of joy and salvation.
 the necessity of regeneration were denied; truths like         Tfie voice of God comes to the prophet and to the
 that of total depravity and original sin were laughed          prophets of God in general. "Comfort ye, comfort ye
 to scorn and termed mockingly as obsolete sixteenth            my people, saith your God!" so we read in the first
 c e n t u r y   t h e o l o g y . And the church itself was    verse of the chapter. They must, therefore, approach
 considered more and more as a mere human society               the people of Jehovah with a word of comfort. And
 among others, existing for no other  purpose in the            the `brief contents of their message of comfort is, that
 world than the uplift of society and the betterment            the warfare of God's people is accomplished, that
 of humanity in the evolutionistic sense of the word.           their iniquity is pardoned, that full atonement has
 If she was to have any right of existence at all she           been made for all their sins. And, therefore, the end
 surely was to be the servant of Man. Small wonder              of their punishment is arrived. They shall `be
 that also its ministers laboring under that false notion       delivered. Already a voice is heard proclaiming that
 of the church became literally servants of men and             the way through the desert must be prepared, for as
 delivered man's'word instead of God's.                         in the glorious days of old Jehovah shall deliver His
                                                                people and shall safely lead them  th!ough the desert
   We  kmphatically refuse to be carried along by the           back to the land of their inheritance. Hark! The voice
 drift of this modem development. And what must be              of him that crieth in the wilderness! Prepare ye the
 emphasized in. our age is that the Word of God and             way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a
 nothing but that Word, as it is revealed in the Holy           highway for `our God. Every valley shall be exalted
 Scriptures, must be brought  to, the Church of Christ          and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and
 in the world. The minister has no other business. He           the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough
 is merely an ambassador. He receives his message not           places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be
 from men; he does not have the right to speak on his           revealed and all flesh shall see it together: for the
 own authority. He is sent by the King of the church            mouth of the Lord hath spoken it, vss. 3-5. But hark!
 and, therefore, from that King he must receive His             The prophet presently hears two  morevoices..The first
 message. Nothing else.  And. that m&sage of  .the King,        is the `voice of Jehovah. It saith: Cry! The other
 as He has revealed it in the infallible Word of God he         represents. the voice of the  probhets  that are to go
 must deliver with  .boldness  and distinctiveness. More        and bri-ng the comforting message of joy and


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                          487



deliverance to the. people of God. It asks: What shall I      historically'present in Israel only, was to culminate in
cry? And the answer of Jehovah comes: "All flesh is           the Messiah, in Jesus Christ. If, therefore, Israel is to
grass and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of      be cast away, is not to be accepted again, is to die in
the field. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth,            its iniquity, the Seed of the woman shall not be born.
because the Spirifof the Lord bloweth upon it: surely         And the counsel of salvation as it had been
the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower          announced in paradise would fail of realization. There
fadeth, but the Word of our God shall stand forever."         the Lord had spoken:  ?.I. will put enmity between
   The message, therefore, which the prophet must             thee and the woman and between thy seed and her
deliver, which he is enjoined to-cry out is twofold. He       seed, it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise its
must preach that all flesh is grass, and all the              heel." But that Word of God could never be realized
goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. That        if Israel were not delivered. For years it seemed as if
like the, grass it flourisheth -today and withereth           the covenant-people were lost. For decades  it.seemed
tomorrow. And in the second place, he must cry qut            as if that Word of God would fail, and as if Jehovah
that the Word of our God shall stand forever. And.            would have no people. But now the prophet must
this twofold message may after all be comprised in            bring the message of deliverance to that people. He
one statement: While all else fails of fulfillment,  .the     must preach salvation to them again., He must bring
Word of. our God shall surely be realized. What is,           the message of grace. He must comfort the people of
then, that Word of our God referred to in the text?-It        God and tell them that their warfare is accomplished
is nothing short of the entire counsel of salvation. It       and their iniquity pardoned and atoned. And,
is in the first place the message of salvation as it must     therefore, the line of God's covenant is to be
be delivered to the people of the captivity, the              continued. The Word of the Lord shall not fail. A
message of redemption as it is contained in the first        word of joy and redemption may be preached to the
verse of this chapter. It is the Word that speaks to the     people of. God, and through the ages it shall resound:
heart of -Jerusalem. Her -sins are atoned for. Her           Comfort ye, comfort ye my people. Her warfare is
iniquity is pardoned. And, therefore, she may look            accomplished. Her iniquity is pardoned. Her
forward to a speedy deliverance. Her warfare is              deliverance is near.
accomplished. That Word of God the prophet must                  I. That  +is  Word of our God, this message of
now deliver. That Word of God shall stand and surely         salvation, this counsel  of. redemption is imperishable,
be realized. But although this is true, although this        cannot fail, shall surely be realized is emphasized
Word of our God refers first of all to the message that      strongly in the text. Not only is this positively
must be delivered to the people of the captivity at          expressed, but it is stressed by means of a contrast
this time, yet in the wider sense,. as we will see           employed. The eternal, ever enduring, powerful Word
presently, it implies the entire counsel of God's            of God is contrasted to flesh and its  goodline&.  The
salvation. In the wider sense the Lord here enjoins the      latter is as the grass and as the beauty `of the flower.
prophet to cry: "Though the enemy may rise up                It flourisheth, it standeth in the splendor of its
against niy counsel,  .and though there are periods in       beauty for a  moment. But'it perisheth and fades
history.in which-it seems that my eternal counsel of         away.
salvation,  the- counsel I revealed from the beginning,
shall not be realized, yet My Word shall stand                  What does the prophet mean when he refers to the
forever!" That this is true will be evident if we take in    passing nature of flesh? Does he merely wish to draw
consideration the historical circumstances of that           a   c o n t r a s t   b e t w e e n   t h e   e t e r n a l   n a t u r e   o f   G o d ,
time. It seemed at this time as if Jehovah had cast off      standing above the changing times and seasons, and
His covenant people, as if they were irrevocably lost.       the fleeting character of all that is called creature?
That covenant people of God at the time was Israel.          Thus it appears sometimes in Holy Writ. The author
Outside of Israel God had no people. The world was           of Psalm XC draws this contrast beautifully. God is
through  the nation of Israel only. There was the            from everlasting to everlasting. He was before the
holy seed. There was the line of the, seed of the            mountains were born. A thousand years are to Him as
woman. Nowhere else.  .But apparently that  people           a watch in the night when it is past. But the people,
had been cast away. They had sinned. They had tilled         and the generations of the children of men  ,are like
the measure of their iniquity. It seemed at this time        the grass, their days are as a tale that is told. Soon the
as if Jehovah was about  .to lose the people of His          days of man are cut off and he flies away. In that
covenant and as if the line of the holy seed was to be       psalm, therefore, the contrast is drawn between the
discontinued. But if this were so, the entire  cbunsel       ever-abiding Jehovah and the fleeting creature. But in
of salvation would fail. For what was the case? Israel       our text, it seems to us, there is more implied. The
bore in its loins the Holy Seed  par  excellence. Israel     message the prophet must deliver implies that all
was to bring forth the Great Son of David that was to        human attempts for the salvation of man and of the
sit upon his throne forever. The line of the holy seed;      world are vain and futile.  And, moreover, that all the


488                                          THE STANDARD BEARER


attempts of flesh to counteract and oppose the             for the welfare of mankind. Jesus. simply gave us a
counsel of God are vain. This is plain  froti the          Piogram to be worked out. That program must, at
contrast. Flesh and its goodliness are here employed       least in part, be realized. And a glorious future is
in  contrast  with the Word of our God. That  Word of      waiting us and all the world. The glorious millennium
God aims at salvation. It promises deliverance. From       of peace and righteousness will presently be ushered
the days of old it claimed that the works of darkness      i n !
would be destroyed, the head of the serpent crushed,          My text warns: "All flesh is as grass!" All these
God's people saved, redeemed to glory, and all the         purely humanistic attempts shall fail. All these human
works of God's hands  would ultimately praise Him.         coulisels that aim  ate the salvation of the world apart
But over against this Word stands flesh. Human             from the Word of God and  the blood of Golgotha
power, human might, keenness of insight, wisdom            shall prove vain and futile. And today we may witness
and reason, philosophy and `science; human counsel         the truth of these words. If it is true that there never
and device as it stands alone, separate from God and       was an age in which human power did so assert itself
over against Him. All that is purely human, nothing        for the salvation of the world as our own, it is also
but human, solely human is implied in this word            true that there never was a time in which things did
flesh. Man is his own strength pretends to save the        look so dark. Even the most persistent optimists are
people and the world. Man in his own wisdom, apart         today wavering in their hopes. The war has not
from the Wisdom of God, claims to solve the world's        brought the glorious age of freedom and democracy
problems. Still more. This human power and might,          that was promised. Peace, though formally concluded
this human wisdom and insight ventures to oppose           because of the exhaustion of the nations, is more
the counsel of God, to set aside God's way of              remote than ever. Hatred and jealousy, greed and
salvation, and pretends to  know a better, a more          envy are being nourished in the heart of humanity.
efficient way than the way of grace. And  noiv the         The millennium is not in sight. The social problems
message cries: All these human attempts at salvation       b e c o m e   m o r e   i n v o l v e d   a s   t h e   d a y s   g o   b y .
shall fail! They may appear beautiful for a while.         Dissatisfaction, restlessness, unrighteousness, and
They may seem  .as if flesh will be victorious and the     avarice come to manifestation day by day. Never have
Word of our God shall fail. The contrary is true. All      things looked more hopeless from a -purely human-
these humanistic attempts shall terminate in complete      istic point of view than in our own time. And although
failure. They are like grass and like the flower of the    there still are prophets that are persistent in their
field. Their beauty shall fade, their strength shall       predictions of a better age to come, nowhere is the
perish. Surely, the people is grass.                       man that shows us clearly the way to this glorious
  Understood in this light the words of our text are       future. Surely, our time preaches the realization of
of great significance for our own age. It is doubtful      this `message: All flesh is grass and the goodliness
whether there ever was a period in history  so             thereof is as the flower of the field!
dominated by the spirit of humanism as our own. The           Over against this passing word of man stands the
last few years have manifested that spirit in all its      Word of our God, enduring and imperishable. The
boldness. It is through human counsel and human            Word of God shall stand! The original may very
effort that  ,the world is to be saved and the Kingdom     appropriately be translated: The Word of our God
to be established. The gospel of Golgotha and of           shall rise forever! The counsel of God's salvation,
Joseph's garden has been replaced by that of a             revealed in the Word of redemption shall rise again
humanistic, evolutionistic philosophy. Man is not          and again in history till it shall find eternal rest in the
inherently sinful. He is not naturally corrupt, He is      glorious Kingdom of our. Lord! Sometimes it may
not in himself guilty and condemned. On the                seem as if that Word were defeated. Fears may rise
contrary, he is inherently- good. He admittedly. did       up in our bosom that the Word of God shall rise no
not as yet reach the highest stage of evolution. He        more. Fact is, that again and again it rises, rises in
must be improved. But great opportunities he offers        ever greater splendor of strength till all opposition
in his very nature. What we must have is not the old       shall have been crushed and it shall stand without
blood theology, that makes man totally depraved,           being disputed and opposed. Ultimately, in the day of
presses him down to a condition whence he cannot           our Lord Jesus Christ it shall be fully accomplished
save himself, and casts him upon the blood of the          and shall stand unchallenged.
cross for his only salvation. What must be preached is
that man is capable of great things, that his case and        And why shall it stand and rise ever again? Because
that of the world is not hopeless, that he must follow     it is the Word of God. That God is eternal and so is
the example of the Man of Galilee. What we must do         His Word. From all eternity He planned His counsel
is combine all the forces of mankind in state, church,     for the redemption of all things, for the gathering of
and society. With united  effprt we must labor for the     all things in Christ Jesus our Lord. As the eternal
uplifting of society, for the betterment of the world,     counsel of God' that Word stands back of all the


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                      489



attempts-of Satan and hell to frustrate it. Nothing  is     their  warfare was accomplished and their. sins atoned
from that counsel excluded. Nothing takes that              for. It reached its realization in Bethlehem, the Word
eternal Word by surprise. It may seem often as if the       b e c o m e   f l e s h ,   I m m a n u e l ,   G o d   w i t h   u s ,   t h e
devil, sin, and death successfully oppose it. And, in       culmination of the holy line. It arose and stood in
fact, it is the intention. of the Evil One to frustrate     glory, victorious over  -flesh on the morning of the
that Word of God. This constitutes his terrible guilt.      resurrection. In principle that Word of our God has
But fact is, that also the counsel of the Wicked  One,      overcome already. And  though also in the new
the attempts of the devil and all that stand on his side    dispensation the powers of earth and hell may rage to
will ultimately prove to have contributed  td the           prevent the full realization of that Word of God,
realization of that eternal Word. That Word shall           nevertheless, we have the sure promise that this Word
stand, because it is the counsel of the Almighty God.       shall stand forever! The day is coming that all shall
He is never separated from His  Word. He does not           have been accomplished and the counsel of God, the
leave the realizafion of that Word of redemption to         W o r d   o f   J e h o v a h   s h a l l   h a v e   r e s t   a n d   s t a n d
another. He Himself is in  His Word. He Himself             unchallenged in the eternal kingdom! Surely, vain is
realizes it, accomplishes it to its ultimate perfection.    flesh and vain are they that put their trust in human
Against Him nothing can prevail. And, therefore, that       power and counsel. But safe and secure are they
Word shall stand forever! What a beautiful word of          whose trust is in the Word of our God. They shall not
comfort! A word of comfort and joy at least, if by          perish, but like that Word they shall stand forever.
faith we appropriate this word of our text and say:            III, That, then, is the message the prophet must
this God, whose Word shall stand is our God. For,           bring, and that is also the message the ambassador of
then and then alone do we take courage in the midst         Christ in the new dispensation must bring to the
of the world. And though times may be dark and              church of God  in' the midst of the world. He must
conditions seem hopeless, we know that the Word of          preach  then Word .of God. He must bring a word of
our God, the counsel of redemption in which also we         comfort and salvation, of grace and deliverance to
have a place by  grace, shall rise again and again and      Jerusalem, speaking to the heart of Zion. And
ultimately appear in glory everlasting!                     concerning that Word of  the Lord he must say, that it
  Also this truth has often been illustrated in the         shall stand forever, and that all flesh shall fail and
history of the world. How often was the firmness of         p r o v e   f u t i l e .
that Word of our God tested! How often did flesh rise          He must speak. It it not left to his own choice
up against it! It rose up against it when Cain killed       whether he will bring that Word of our God. On the
Abel. It rose up against it in the period before the        contrary, the voice comes with the command: Cry!
flood, when finally the Word of God was represented         There is no choice left. The prophet of the Lord
only in the family of Noah. It rose up against it when      cannot at will choose another vocation. It is not thus
that wicked instrument of the devil, Pharaoh., made         that he himself decides to deliver that Word. He is
the deliberate attempt to destroy the holy seed in the      called by the Lord God, and, therefore, he must bring
land of Egypt. All through the history of the people        that Word. He is constrained to comfort. God's
of Israel in the land of promise did flesh rise up          people, to bring the message of salvation, to cry out
against the Word of God. Nations combined against           that all flesh is grass and all the goodliness thereof as
it. Babylon gained renown  in'this  respect. And dark it    the flower of the field, perishable and passing, but
looked for the Word of  God at the time when the            that the Word of our God abideth forever. He,
prophet is called to preach comfort and deliverance         therefore, does not derive the contents of his message
to the remnant of God's people. And, last but not           from any  bther,source. It is not man that calls him. It
least, flesh rose up against the  .Word of God and His      is not his own mind that teaches him. It is the Most
counsel of redemption when the powers of hell and           High that calls him, and no other business he has than
the powers of the world combined against God  and-          to proclaim what the Lord enjoins him to preach. He
the holy child Jesus. Then especially the battle raged      must condemn the attempts of flesh and uphold the
fiercely  between flesh and the Word of God. And the        certainty of the Word of our God.
end seemed victory for flesh. The Word of God is               He must cry! It is by no means  indiffkrent to our
downed, killed, stored away in the grave of Joseph's        God how His Word is delivered. The prophet must
garden!                                                     not merely learn it by-heart and dryly., unconcernedly
  But the Word of God always arose again. It                repeat it. He must not whisper it timidly. He must
appeared again and again and proved unconquerable.          not sing it pleasantly. The command as to the mode
It appeared in Seth after Abel. It continued in Shem        of its proclamation is definitely: Cry! And this
after the flood. It arose in Abraham and Israel. It         suggests three ideas. In the first place it informs us
appeared in the remnant that  w&-e delivered.from the       that the ambassador  -of God  both in the old and in
land of their captivity, to whom it was preached that       the new dispensation must bring the message of God


490                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



to Zion clearly and distinctly..Whatever is cried out is                          Word of our God abideth forever. It shall rise and
clear and distinct to all. And thus the Word of God                               rise. Ii: shall prove victorious again and again. It shall
must be cried out. It  must be preached clearly. There                            ultimately stand realized in glory!
must be nothing ambiguous, nothing hesitant,                                         Thus, beloved, I conceive of my task in your midst.
nothing uncertain about its contents. The audience                                To- this task I pledged myself when I entered first
must understand7 clearly what the preacher means. In                              upon the ministry of the Word. To this task I pledged
the second place, it suggests that the message must be                            myself anew when last Tuesday evening I was
delivered with bold emphasis. The-preacher must                                   connected with" the Eastern Ave. congregation. I am
insist upon a hearing like  one that cries. He must not                           aware of my own weakness. -The task incumbent
allow himself to- be silenced; He must not fear public                            upon me, which I am constrained to perform, is a
opinion. That is not characteristic  of one that cries                            difficult one, in  my own strength quite impossible of
out. He must be bold. Neither the world, nor all the                              execution. But our help is in the name of the Lord.
powe,rs  . o f   t h e   w o r l d   c o m b i n e d ,   n e i t h e r   t h e    Weak in  .ouy own strength we are strong in the Lord.
disobedient among God's own people may intimidate                                 Timid by nature we are bold in Him. And, therefore,
him. Persistently he must cry: All flesh is grass but                             in His  &me we assume the task of delivering this
the Word of our God abideth forever! And finally, it                              twofold message. We will proclaim that all flesh is
suggests that the ambassador of Christ must be a                                  grass. We will witness against the attempts of human
living witness. A cry rises from the heart, is living                             strength. And we will maintain that the Wbrd of our
testimony. One who  mech`anically  repeats a message                              God  tind it  only stands forevermore! To young and
does not cry. He that cries out is enthusiastic about                             old, at all occasions we shall deliver that message
the message he brings. Thus, then, it is with regard to                           alone. Do  not. ask anything else. And the more
the preacher of the Word. Christ did not order a                                  persistently the world intrudes upon us with its arm
million phonographs to propagate the gospel. He did                               of flesh, the more loudly and clearly, the more
not invent the printing press to print and scatter dead                           distinctly and boldly we shall in the name of the Lord
tracts. He commanded living witnesses to go out into                              of hosts  &y out: Only the Word of the Lord standeth
the world and cry out: All flesh is grass and the                                 forever. In it alone is all our salvation!
goodliness thereof as the  flower,of the field. But the                                                                         Amen.


MYSKEEP~HEAR  ivy  VOICE





                                                  Letter- to T i m o t h y .


                                                  September 1, 1979                 There  are a couple more remarks which I want to
                                                                                  make about that expression before we go on  tq the
                                                                                  other aspect of man's creation  - that God breathed
Dear Timothy,                                                                     into his nostrils the breath of life.
   In my last letter to you we  b&j&i a discussion of                               You recall that I remarked about man's creation
the nature of. man: We -proceeded from what                                       from the dust of the ground that this-meant that man
Scripture teaches us in Genesis  2:7: "And the Lord                               was- created  a. part of this earthly creation. He was,
God  formed  mari of  ,the dust of the ground, and                                like the birds and  : fish and animals, of the `earth,
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man                            earthy. `But you must remember  - and this is an
became a living soul." We. talked, in that letter, about                          impdrtant point  - that  man  was of the earth earthy.
what Scripture meant when it described man's                                      The whole  mari  was created as a part of this earthly
creation as being from the dust of the ground.                                    creation.


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                491



    I am not sure exactly how much emphasis I ought          He, of all God's creatures, stands in a moral and
. to give to this idea; but it seems to me that this is      ethical relation to God.
  often misunderstood. The Scriptures teach that man
 is created with both body and soul. Perhaps in some            This is a marvelous aspect to his creation the
 future article we can discuss this more in detail  - as     i m p o r t a n c e    o f   w h i c h   o u g h t   n e v e r   t o   b e
 far, at least, as the meaning of these terms is             underestimated. After all, God is transcendent above
 concerned. But it seems to me that  sometim& we             all His creation. He is high and lifted up. He is
 have the notion that man is related to this earthly         enthroned in the highest heavens. He makes the
 creation because he has a body. His soul, so we like to     `heavens  His throne and the earth His footstool.. He
 think, is not of this earth, but is other-worldly. His      dwells in a light unto which no man can approach.
 body makes him a `part of this present creation while       There is a chasm between God and man so great and
 his  soul makes him a creature who does not fit in this     deep that it can never be bridged by man or by  his
world. His soul makes him heavenly and is a part of          best efforts. Yet, God has created man in such a way
 him which  transc&ds  the earthy.                           that man can stand in a relationship to Him.
    But this is not true.  &ranted now that man is            This is true by virtue of  man's creation. He  tias
 indeed created with a body and a soul, the fact             created in such a way that this is possible. He was
 remains that he, both with body and soul, is part of        formed by God so that  he possessed a nature which
 this earthly creation. If I may put it that way;  even      enables man to live all his life overagainst God. This
 his soul is earthly.  i-Ie is, with his whole nature,       stems from the fact that God created him the way He
 created only for this world.                                did.
    This ought really not to surprise us. After all, even       This relationship, as such, also embraces the whole
 animals have souls. We noticed this already in our last     of man's nature. It is not true that man stands in a
 letter when we found that Genesis 1 speaks  of. the         relation  td the creation because he has a body, and in
 animals as living souls. And this, truth is  f6und in       a relation to God because he has a soul. Just as man is
 many different places in Scripture. To quote  but.one       related to the earth with -both body and soul so also
 text, Leviticus 24: 18 reads: `"And he that killeth a       man is related to God with the whole of his nature  -
 beast shall. make it good; beast for beast." Here the       body and soul. We must be careful of all attempts  to.
 expression, "beast for beast" is really "soul for soul."    chop  man into.pieces. He is created as  one.living  soul.
                                                             And as such he stands overagainst God with body and
    In general, then, the difference between man and         s&l  jtist as  he stands in this creation, related to it,
 animals is not that men have souls while animals do         depetidefit upon  -it, connected with it, in body and
 not; the difference is rather that men have different       s o u l .
 kinds of souls than animals. And the difference
 consists especially in this that men -have minds and           From a purely formal point of view, man stands in
 wills. Men can think and desire; animals cannot  - at       this  relation to God whether he be saint or sinner.
 least in the high sense of  the word in which men can       Nothing can alter  that relationship. Man was created
 do this.                                                    in such a way that he lived  in a relationship of
                                                             friendship with God. He was, God's covenant friend.
    But the point' that needs to be made is that even        He was servant of God in the midst of the creation.
 this soul of man is related to the earth. If man were       He loved his God with all his heart and mind and soul
 created only from the dust of the ground he could           and strength. And indeed, this was the very purpose
 never know anything else but this present world. All        of his creation. But when man fell, although he
 his thoughts and desires would be limited to this           became the enemy of God, the truth of man's
 creation. He is, with body and soul, a part of  this        relationship to God remained. It is true that man now
 world  and this world only.                                 is a rebel. He hates God with all his heart and mind
    It  is this truth which makes the additional             and soul and strength. He transgresses God's law. He
 statement of Gen.  2:7 so important: "and breathed          does all he can to destroy God. But the fact that he
 into his nostrils the breath of life." This is the other    stands yet in a relation to God is not altered in  the
 aspect to his creation. He is a creature who is more        least. He cannot escape that relation, for he is created
 than merely of the earth earthy. He has another side        in such a way that this relation remains  - even into
 to his existence which is explained by this part of the     all eternity be it in heaven or in hell.
 text.                                                          There are several things about that relation.
    What is this other aspect to his creation? Man is        Because man has a mind he is created with the ability
 created in such a way that he stands in a relationship      to  know  God. He  never loses this either. Even though,
 to God. And this relationship to God governs the            according to Romans 1: 18 he holds the truth in
 whole of his life. He has -a spiritual dimension in his     unrighteousness (suppresses the truth would be more
 existence which no other creature can possibly have.        accurately the idea), he can, after all, suppress the


  492                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



  truth only because he possesses it to begin with. God           overthrow and destruction.
 makes Himself known. We often fail to see the                       But the same is true of his  body:He stands with his
  wonder of this. And, indeed, it is possible only                body in relation to God also. And he does this by
 because God Himself  reveals  Himself. That knowledge            using all the members of his body to sin. His mouth
  of God is possible only because God makes  Himself              curses. His feet are swift to.shed blood. His hands are
known. But the fact remains that it is true. Every                dirty with the filth of wickedness. His eyes
 man knows God.                                                   covetously look for and search out evil. It is exactly
    If at this point we may interject a very practical            because this is true that Paul admonishes the Roman
 remark, it is worth pointing out that this is                    Christians "not to yield your members as instruments
 emphatically the case. Heresy, false doctrine,                   of unrighteousness unto sin." Romans 6: 13.
 unbelief, idol worship, distortion of the truth, are not           Because man is created as a creature who stands in
 born out of ignorance of God  - as is so often                   a moral and ethical relationship to God,  .man is a
 asserted. All corruptions of the truth  - whether                creature who stands before the solemn obligation to
 within Christendom where the truth of Scripture is               love God. Nothing can ever alter that. That
 known or in pagan lands where  God is made known                 requirement never changes. And because he must love
 only through creation  - are the direct fruit of  man's          God he will have to give account to God for the
 efforts to change the  gldrry of the incorruptible God           whole of his life. He will have to answer to God
 into an  iinage like unto corruptible man. Every                 whether he loved God with his heart. He will have to
 distortion is willful, deliberate, done expressly to             anSwer to Gbd whether he loved  God with his mind  -
 destroy God's glory.                                             and with his soul  - and even with his strength. If he
    That this has practical implications for dealing with         did he will be `blessed for he will then have fulfilled
  sin goes almost without saying. It is exactly because           the purpose of his creation. But if he did not he will
  of this that each man stands. accountable and                   have to suffer the fury of an angry God who will not
 responsible for his own conduct. He cannot and may               permit the creature to deny the very reason for his
  not blame others for what he does.  He must give                creation but will surely punish every man who sins
  answer for his own acts. He may not and cannot                  against  Him.
  shove the blame for what he does on others. If this               This is the kind of creature man is. He is created in
  were always remembered it would make considerable               a marvelous way. No wonder the Psalmist sings:
  difference in the  "treatm'ent" of those who have               "Behold I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  Re
  mental and emotional problems'.                                 stands in this  ,world related to it, inescapably a part of
    But be that as it may, and we can return to that at           it. But he stands also in relation to God. The highest
 some future time, man also stands in relation to God             of all God's creatures, the king of creation under
 as a willing creature. He may not desire God as Adam             God, image bearer of the Most High  - man, the
 did in Paradise and as the Psalmist did when he sang:            crown of God's work.
  "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so                   With this man you have to do as -a pastor and
 panteth my soul after thee,  0' God." But he still               shepherd of those who are God's sheep.
 stands with his will overagainst God. Only, as a
 sinner, he stands opposed to God. His will is the                                               Fraternally,
 opposite of God's will. He actively seeks God's                                                 H. Hanko



                                                             t


                                                THE STANDARD BEARER                                               493


ALL AROUND `US





                                  Happenings at other Synods
                                                  (Assemblies)
                                                    Rev. G. Van BaTen



  Across our  land during the summer months, the               are of interest in that they reveal the trends of our
various church denominations hold their meetings of            day generally, and, specifically, the trends evident
synod or assembly. There are, of course, too many of           within specific denominations. This article will point
these taking many and varied decisions, to note any            out only a few of these.
with great detail. However, some of these meetings



                                          Denominations with
                                                 "b&k doors"

  It has often been said, "There are more ways than            churches have had women in the ministry for  several
one to skin a cat." It is also true that  tihat will not be    years. This year that synod approached the "prob-
able to go into the "front door," might well be                lem" in a different way. There was a challenge raised
brought in through the back. So it was at the Synod            to these illegally ordained women ministers at the
of the Reformed Church in America meeting in                   synod. The synod's Judicial Commission ruled that
Holland, Michigan. For six years in succession that            the churches had acted within their rights when
Synod had approved the-ordination of women into                ordaining women to the ministry. The synod, by vote
the ministry of the Word and Sacraments. According             of 150-l 15, sustained their ruling. Thus, without
to their own rules of order, two-thirds of their classes       amending the constitution (church order), a con-
must approve that action before their constitution or          stitution which for the last six years they attempted
church order can be changed in order to allow this.            to amend to allow for women ministers, the synod
For six years the classes did not approve by the               simply declared that installing women in office of
necessary two-thirds vote. Several times there was             minister is not contrary to their constitution at all.
only one  classis short of making this two-thirds              Very evidently, church orders would mean nothing
majority. However, a few churches in the Eastern               anymore if any synod, by majority vote, simply
segment of our country decided to ordain women                 declares an unconstitutional  tting to be constitu-
a n y w a y . Thus, against the constitution, these            tional.


                                                Sin vs. Germs

  The Southern Presbyterian Church met in General              place as did the Northern United Presbyterian Church
Assembly at Kansas City, MO. at the same time and              USA. Obviously, many decisions were taken. Two


494                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER



such decisions struck my attention because of the                   very strong battle against germs. As reported in the
striking contrast these presented. One might present                same Presbyterian Journal, we read:
it this way:  the Assembly made decisions which give
approval to sin but fight germs. There was first a                        In actions relating  to American corporations and
decision involving the old question of homosexuality.                  businesses, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
                                                                       Church 
The decision seems to place limits on what the                                     US (PCUS  - Southern) joined the General
                                                                       Assembly of the United Presbyterian USA (UPCUSA
homosexual can do within the church, yet allows                        -  "Northerg")  in endorsing a boycott of the Nestle
homosexuals already ordained into the ministry to                      Corporation, but refused to endorse a suggested
remain there. The following is  qubted. from the                       boycott of the J.P; Stevens Co. . . .
Presbyterian Journal, June 13, 1979:                                      Jan Long of South Charleston, W. Va., a high
         Homosexuality loomed large on the agenda of the               school youth advisory delegate, argued for a different
       General Assemblies of both the Presbyterian Church              approach than that of boycott. "I do not believe that
       US (Southern) and the United Presbyterian Church                our boycott affects the Nestle Company as much as
       USA (so-called Northern) but both Churches took                 otir Christian concern and spirit," she said.
       strong stands against the ordination of homosexutils.
       despite bitter opposition in the floor debate.                     Victor R. Jones Jr., of Laurel, Miss.., another high
                                                                       school advisory delegate, agreed. "If we really want
           In the PCUS Assembly, the only softening of a               to boycott a product where-it will do some good and
       standing committee's report occurred when a."grand-             where we can see it," he said, "let's boycott alcohol."
       father clause,". removed from the study commit'tee's            He was greeted with light laughter.
       report, was replaced by the  Assembly. The clause                  The  deciding speech, in the opinion of some
       provided that no punitive action would be taken by              observers, was made by Dr. Lila Banner Miller of
       the Church against homosexuals already ordained.                Atlanta, Ga., who said she had practiced medicine for
           In the  UP&A;  a decision  .against  ordaining              50 years. "There is no way to prepare infant formula
       homosexuals had been made last  year...This  year, the          without sterilization and refrigeration," said Dr.
       decision was attacked through an overture which                 Miller, whose family has included PCUS leaders at
       demanded that ordination questions be left up to the            home and abroad. "With improper dilution, infant
       presbyteries to decide. The overture was over-                  formula can cause brain damage and even death.
       w h e l m i n g l y   d e f e a t e d .                         There is no way under ordinary circumstances that
           During the PCUS debate, supporters` of homo-                mothers' in Third World nations can properly use
       sexual ordination argued that a sexual preference               infant formula. The only thing we can do is  not  to
       should not be elevated to the level of a seminary               buy Nestle products. . . . .".
       degree as a qualification; and that one sin should not            The vote, when taken, was 201 to  162  in favor of
       be singled out above all others sins. . . .                    continuing the boycott.  Youth  delegates, allowed for
  However, while allowing ordained homosexuals to                     the first time this year to cast "straw votes" for
retain their ministerial status, the Assemblies put up a              information only, voted against the boycott, 24-19.




                                         Back to the drawing boards  - again!

  One of the bigger issues at the Synod of the                         further installation of women as deacons in  .the CRC
Christian Reformed Church was the question of                          until at least after Synod of 1981. Synod further
women in office  - particularly in the office of                        decided not to ratify any change in Church Order
deacon. In 1978 the Synod decided that women                           Article 3 which reads: "Confessing male members of
could serve in the office of deacon provided there was                 the church who meet the Biblical requirements for
not the exercise of authority. The Church Order,                        office-bearers are eligible for office." This leaves
                                                                       -those congregations who have installed women
which does not allow such ordinations, remained                         deacons living,  in this respect, outside their Church
unchanged. Still, several churches hastily, and it                      Order. On this specific matter, Synod chose to say
appears,  .inadvisedly, elected women to serve as                      nothing.
deacons. The decision of 1978 stirred up a storm of
protest  - so much so that the Synod of 1979 was                          Synod adopted the following recommendations:
forced to reevaluate its decision. The Synod decided,                     "1. That synod appoint a study committee with
according to the  Banner:                                              the following mandate:
           Synod finally decided that there shall be no                   "a. To review without prejudice the 1978 report


                                                          THE STANDARD BEARER                                                            495



      on `Hermeneutical Principles Concerning Women in                     sistories to, defer implementation of the 1978
     Ecclesiastical Office' and the decisions of the Synod                 decision, until the study committee has rendered its
     of 1978 regarding the ordination of women as                          report to  synod,  and the churches have had  oppor-
      deacons;                                                             tunity to consider its recommendations."
        "b. To  ,study and define the office of deacon in                        Synod declark this to be its answer to all materials
     the light of Scripture, the Confessions, its historical               addressed to it on this matter.
     development, especially within the Reformed/
     Presbyterian tradition,  and the 1973 `Guidelines for
     Understanding the Nature of Ecclesiastical Office  and.             So the Synod was minded to back off from its
     Ordination';                                                      decision of last year  - and doubtlessly largely
        "c. To study the implications of the  ordination  of           because of the  amouilt of static it caused. Yet, what a
     women to the office of deacon in the light of Church              strange decision! The current  decisiori likely gives the
     Order Article 35,. giving specific. attention to the              "conservatives" a measure of comfort that they have
     concept of male  headship and the nature of authority             slowed the process of liberalization of the church.
     (Article 35 provides that "In every church there shall            But how strange that  tifter three study committees
     be a consistory composed of office-bearers," permit-              have studied the issue over many years, after Synods
     ting a distinction between elders and deacons if there            have considered these reports on many occasions  -
     are at least four elders);                                        now another study committee is needed to consider
        "d. And to report its recommendations to Synod.                all this "without prejudice." One could hope for the
     by 1981.                                                          best  - yet from this vantage point, it would appear
        "2. That Synod defer decision with respect to                  that this  can only be a delaying tactic. After two
     ratification of the proposed wording of Church Order             years the static might die down and the old decision
     Article 3 and its Supplement, and instruct con-                   will stand.

  B I B L E   S T U D Y   GUIDE




                                                 E s t h e r - G o d 's   :
                                   ' Providential  Care- (1)
                                                            Rev. J. Kortering





    There is no doubt but that the book of Esther sets                the history books, was a great Persian king. According
 forth most dramatically and with marvelous detail the                to 1: 3 it was in the third year of his reign that Vashti
 account of God's preserving His people in a critical                 his queen refused to entertain the princes during their
 hour of need.                                      .>                drunken feast and was subsequently divorced. In 2: 1
                                                                      mention is made of the king's wrath being appeased
                                                                      so that he sought out a new queen. According to
 HISTORICAL SETTING                                                   historical  reCords it was from the third year to the
    To the believirig student of the  Bible, the historical           seventh year of Xerxes' reign that he. was involved in
 accuracy of the book of Esther is beyond dispute. It                 war with Greece. Upon his successful conquest, he
 is  tin inspired record of events that actually happened.            returned home and  married Esther. She was his queen
We- accept this fact without the need for  proof..Yetif               from the seventh year of his reign until the twelfth.  .If
 .one desires to confirm the historical accuracy of the               one  examin`es the references to the city of Shushan,
 book, this can,  be done. Ahasuerus, called Xerxes in                its gates, buildings and streets, all this was


496                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



rediscovered in unearthing this ancient city. The             people.  The central event is the decree of Ahasuerus
customs referred to conform to those mentioned in             to destroy all the Jews, 3: 13. This meant that the
the writing of Herodtu's: e.g., the extending of the          returned captives as well as all Jews everywhere
king's sceptre as a sign of Acceptance,' tid. death to all    would be executed. The seed of the woman (Genesis
he refuses, 4: 11. Consider in addition the fact the          3: 15) was  .in danger by the seed of the serpent. In
author  knew the names of the seven chamberlains,             these events Satan is doing all he can to kill off the
 1: 10, seven Persian princes, 1: 14, relatives of  Haman,    line of David so that ultimately The Promised Seed,
5:10, 9:7-10. All this indicates that we must accept          Jesus Christ, would not be born. Keeping this in
the book as a record of historical events that are            mind,  we can  .understand how God used Esther and
recorded for us with divine accuracy.                         Mordecai to intervene on behalf of the covenant seed.
   We should take a moment to consider at what                God's providence reaches into the palace of the
point  in history these events. actually took place.          mighty Xerxes so that he and his household must also
Xerxes became king in 485 B.C. Prior to this, in 536          serve the cause of Christ. Many passages of Scripture
B.C., Cyrus had decreed that the captives could               speak of this `and we must consider the book of
return to Jerusalem.  .The temple was rebuilt about           Esther-in their light. "The Lord has made all things
516 B.C. So when Esther became queen in 478 B.C.              for himself, yea, even the wicked for the day of evil,"
the people of God had been in the land of Canaan for          Prov.  16:4. "To the intent that the king may know
some 60 years. After her reign, Ezra the Scribe had           that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men and
yet to return to Canaan and read the law, and                 give.th it to whomsoever he will and setteth up over it
Nehemiah to build the walls (about 30 years later).           the basest of men," Daniel 4: 17. Finally, "The
                                                              powers that be are ordained of God," Rom. 13: 1.
AUTHOR AND DATE                                               From this history of Esther, we are reminded that the
                                                              same thing holds true today as well, all government
   There is no way to determine who wrote this book.          tid people in high positions of influence throughout
We cannot draw any conclusions from the book itself.          the world ultimately serve the well-being of God's
The only suggestion that commentators give is                 people and the coming of Jesus Christ even though
Mordecai, a conclusion drawn from  9:20, 22 where             t h e y   d o   n o t   p e r s o n a l l y   r e c o g n i z e   t h i s .   T h e
we read that he sent letters to all  the Jews to              sovereignty of God is our comfort.
celebrate the Feast of Purim. Yet,  10:3 refers to
Mordecai as being dead, the events recorded as being
a thing of the past. Accepting the doctrine of                FEAST OF AHASUERUS ( 1: l-22)
inspiration, we know God could use anyone for this                This is the first of the great feasts mentioned in the
task and He determined that it should be included in          book, the others being the Feast of Esther and the
the canon of the Scripture.                                   Feast of Purim. For 180 days Ahasuerus showed his
   As far as the date of its composition is concerned,        princes of different ranks the great glory of his
it is suggested that it may have -been written                kingdom,  1:4. This was considerable both as  .to
somewhere around 400 B.C. In  10:2 the author                 expanse, from India unto Ethopia, and in worth, as
reflects upon the chronicles of the kings of Media            can be seen by the description of the palace and its
and Persia. These must have been in existence then.           contents, 1:  1, 6, 7. Other sources of history add that
They were destroyed by Alexander the Great in 322             t h i s   s a m e   p e r i o d   o f   t i m e   g a v e   t h e   k i n g   t h e
B.C. Xerxes must have been dead when the bodk was             opportunity to show to his princes the military
written, he was assassinated in 465 B.C. Sometime             hardware he had accumulated in preparation for his
over this 143 year period the book was written.               foray into Greece which was about to begin. At the
                                                              end of this period, the king hosted a week-long feast
THE MESSAGE                                                   for all his princes. Two things are mentioned in
  Strange as it may seem, the message of this book            particular to show the lavished splendor of this event,
.must be drawn out of it by considering it in the light       the beautiful court setting, including the hanging of
of the entire Bible. We refer to the fact that the book       royal color,  the. fancy couches upon which the men
itself and its content do not celebrate God's                 reclined,  1:5, 6. The second element is the drinking
providence,. As you know, the name of God is  n-bt            d e t a i l s :   t h e   g o l d e n   g o b l e t s ,   e a c h   d e s i g n e d
even mentioned in it and it is. evident that the main         individu'ally, and the quality and -quantity of the
characters, certainly Ahasuerus and  Haman,  but  :also       wine. The Persians prided themselves in their vintage
Esther and Mordecai as well, are not even regenerated         wine,  1:7, 8. Each was not constrained (by pledging
children of God. As a result `they do not express             or toasting) but could drink as much as he pleased,
God's greatness. Yet, God overrules all this and by the       more than likely referring to more, not less, than
Holy Spirit has seen fit to include it in the canon of        customary.
the Bible as a demonstration of His care for His                 Vashti (which means beautiful woman) hosted a


                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                      497



similar feast for the women  ti- the palace itself,  1:9.                      every man should rule his own house.
This feast was interrupted during the last day by the                             It. is interesting, as an aside here, to notice that
p r e s e n c e   o f   t h e   s e v e n   c h a m b e r l a i n s   w h o    from a formal point of view the ungodly know the
communicated to her the order of the king that                                 value of the works of the law, see Romans 2: 14, 15.
Vashti leave the women and present herself before                              God has decreed from the beginning that the husband
the feast of the men, 1: 1  Q, 11. The reason given was,                       rule his household.  The woman must obey her
"to show her beauty, for she was fair to look on,"                             husband. Yet, the wicked take this divine order and
1: 11. This was an extraordinary request, not only,                            thoroughly corrupt it. Here, Ahasuerus wanted his
-but hazardous to Vashti for  she knew very well the                           wife to corrupt herself, or at least allow  .the
men were drunk with wine. Her sense of pride caused                            possibility. She disobeyed for her own reasons and
her to take drastic action; she refused the king in the                        surely not in obedience to God. The result is that
presence of his princes, 1: 12.                                                Ahasuerus shows himself an evil tyrant and Vashti a
   The king responded in rage. We can well imagine                             stubborn victim. The solution is divorce, which flies
how his pride was hurt. Like Nebuchadnezzar (see                               in the face of God's created and redeemed order.
Daniel  4:30) boasting of the great Babylon he had                             There is no common grace which produces order in
built, so Ahasuerus has been showing off Persia to his                         this society, even the order of this society (wives,
subordinates. Now his wife not only denies him the                             obey your husbands) is thoroughly corrupted by vain
pleasure of showing off his prized possession, but                             men. Depravity always works through.
more importantly, defies his authority. Even the
ungodly know that if a man cannot rule his house                               FEAST OF ESTHER (2: l-7: 10)
well, he cannot be expected to rule others. In utter
frustration, he seeks the counsel of the seven princes                            Events now lead up to. another feast. After King
closest to him. These men are "wise men which  kneti                           Ahasuerus returns from his conquest in Greece he
t h e   t i m e s , " 1: 13, an obvious reference to the                       begins  t6 think of a wife once again. How shall he go
astrologers and  magi as they influenced the heathen                           about securing a new one? The counselors are  .quick
king in making decisions,. Memucan served as their                             to supply the answer, let the fairest of virgins be
spokesman and their counsel was that the king should                           b r o u g h t   t o   th'e  .palace  a n d   p l a c e d   u n d k r   t h e
deal decisively with Vashti since her refusal was an                           management of Hege, the king's chamberlain, who
act of rebellion before the nobles of' the land. The                           will treat them with oil of myrrh for six months and
queen had set an  evil example and if allowed to go                            another six months with sweet odours and oils, 2: 12.
undisciplined would encourage all the wives to                                 After this year of pampering, the King may choose
despise their husbands and act out of contempt and,                            whomsoever he will and spend the night with her and
wrath, 1: 16-18. The solution is for Ahasuerus to                              if she delight him, he may call her back and thus
divorce his wife because of this refusal, to give her                          determine who will be his wife. The rest will" be his
estate to someone else, and to inform all the people                           concubines, 2: 14.
of this action by royal decree. Only in this way would                            Such  advice pleases this heathen king and he
the evil be counteracted and the king once again                               immediately sends forth the request of the princes
restored to his position of authority in high regard, and                      that they recommend to him eligible virgins and to
order preserved throughout the land,  1:20.                                    send them to Shushan,  2:3,4.
   The advice pleased the king and all the princes that                           Into this sordid picture appears Esther. Yes, the
were gathered at  the. feast. Action was taken                                 one whom God will use to preserve His people.
immediately and letters dispatched unto all lands,
written in their own language. The impact was that                                                     .(to be continued)



                       S u b s c r i b e   N o w
                                                     to
       THE STANDARD  BEARE


   498                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER


                                                  Book Reviews


   THE BOOK OF REVELATION,  by Harry R.Boer;                          One cannot even be very sure exactly what Boer
   Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1979; 157                      means by eternal punishment. And, no doubt, there is
   pp., $3.95 (paper). (Reviewed by Prof. H. Hanko)                   a relation between all this and what Boer writes on
                                                                      p. 45:          j
      This book is a very brief, basically amillennial,                     There is  mo;e  to history than the judgments of
   explanation of the book of Revelation. While some of                   God on the evil of the world. There are also the
   the interpretation can be accepted, there are several                  peaceful years from birth to death which millions are
   weaknesses. Perhaps the most basic weakness is a                       privileged to live, the growth of the Church in
   dualism which pervades the book  - a dualism which                   numbers and in understanding,  the.liistory  of nations,
   places the powers of sin outside God's control. E.g.,                  the achievements of culture, the development of the
   on p. 46 Boer writes:                                                  world's resources, the advance of learning and skills
                                                                          and exploration of the universe.. Revelation itself
            The Christian community must clearly understand               speaks clearly of them: the kings of the earth shall
          that God does not decree sword and  fainine and                 bring the glory and honour of the nations into the
          conquest and war and pestilence and death and                   new Jerusalem (Revelation  21:22-27). The kings who
          Hades. He did not create them; He did not plan                  bring this glory into the new Jerusalem are the kings
          them; He did not ordain them. All are opposed                   not only of political empires, but also of the empires
          to him; all deny the goodness and the righteous-                of music, art, literature, science, commerce, and
      ness and the holiness for which God stands. The                     thought. . . .
          existence of evil is a mystery that Scripture
          nowhere explains. The excellence of the cosmic                There are `also some rather strange interpretations
          Christ is not that He brought an explanation of evil,       in the book. E.g., Boer refuses to be drawn into a
          but that He conquered it. He met, sin and evil and          definite position on the question of the one thousand
          death and hell and defeated them. The glory of the          years mentioned in Revelation 20. He says the whole
          gospel is not an explanation  bf sin,  .but the declara-    first section dealing with the binding of Satan and his
          tion of its total conquest by the incarnate, crucified      loosening simply mean : "For a  moment he draws the
          and risen Lord.                                             martyrs out of the shadows of the cross into the
   Yet, obviously, Boer cannot be satisfied with such an              bright light of victory, peace and joy. He gives them
   explanation, so he writes on p. 52:                                royal honours along with the great martyr who is now
            The new, the  wonderfiily new, matter that is             Lord of lords and King of kings. They have suffered
          reported here is that the  La& breaks the seals that        with Him, now they are glorified with Him. Weeping
          introduce these dark events. All the events that flow       may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.
          out of the broken seals are in His hand. He permits         This is the picture that John draws." In other words,
          them. He controls them. He limits them. And He              the whole section is interpreted as referring to the
          stops them when they have served their purpose.             eternal blessedness of the people of God'in heaven.
      One wonders if this basic dualism is not directly                 Each section is closed by a few paragraphs in which
   related to Boer's denial of reprobation. One wonders               Boer applies the section with a "Meaning for Today."
   also if all this is not related to a very meager                   These applications are often rather far-fetched and
   discussion of  the eternal punishment of the wicked.               have little to do with the text.



M I S S I O N  T R E N D S   N O .   4   (LIBERATION.THEOL-           pecially  as it affects North America and Europe.
   OGIES),  Gerald H. Anderson, Thomas F.  Stransky,                  Contributions include representatives of the Black,
   C.S.P., editors, Paulist Press, New York, Ramsey,                  Feminist, Native American, Asian American,  and
   Toronto and Wm.  B; Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand                 Chicano American experience. Among the writers
   Rapids,  Mich.; $3.45 (paper) (Reviewed by Prof.                   are: Robert  McAfee Brown (Union Theological Semi-
   Robert D.  Decker.)                       .                        nary), Pope Paul VI, Daniel Beriigan, Virginia Mollen-
      Liberation theology is a rather recent development              kott (of feminist fame), and Cesar Chavez.
   in -contemporary theology emanating'primarily from                   According to Brown the Christian gospel is not
   Latin America. This volume con-tains a series of essays            concerned about the emancipation of the oppressed
   purporting to be an analysis- of `this theology  es-               in North America only, but  about  the emancipation


                                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                 499



 of the oppressed in every part of the world. This must                                           with this world. The theology is as one would expect
 be effected by radical revolution (defined as "change                                            neither Biblical nor Reformed.
 at the roots") of social, political, and economic
 structures. This must issue in a global community.                                                    If one wishes to know something about this  "theol-
 This revolution may very well be accomplished `in                                                 ogy" he does well to read the book. If one is looking
 concert with Marxist (by definition atheistic, R.D.)                                              for a positive contribution to the Reformed faith he
 ideology.                                                                                        will be disappointed.
     The liberation spoken of is not conceived of in                                                  Eerdmans is not to be commended for publishing
 Biblical terms as liberation from sin and death                                                  this sort of material. One would expect better things
 through the blood of Jesus Christ. It has to do purely                                           from its press.


                                                           Index to Volume  -55

                                  TEXTUALINDEX                                                    Christ and His Church in the Book  of  Psalms . . . . . . . HH 262
 E s t h e r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . JK 495     Christ and the Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 21
Isaiah 8:7-22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RCH 32                  Commentary on Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . . m 455
Isaiah  8:7-22  (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :. . .RCH 188                  Commentary on Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 406
IsaiahlO: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..M S 410                   Commentary on Ma?k . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 239
Matthew 27:62-66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .HV 290                     Commentary on Revelation  ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH  190
Romans  5:3-5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 50                 Daylight  ;. . .; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..H H 166
I Corinthians . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;. . . JK 163                The Epistles of John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 454
I Corinthians (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 183             God Has Not Rejected His People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH  142
I Corinthians (3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 236                 Historical Theology - An Introduction . . . . . . . . . .HCH 479
ICorinthians lO:ll, 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MS 266                        I Believe in Evangelisti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 166
II Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . . . . JK 251           In Zvn Arm De Lamtieren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 94
IICorinthians(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 350                  Missibn  Trends No. 4 (Libe?ation  Theologies). . . . . . . RD 498
II Corinthians (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 404                 New Testament Teaching Or, the Role
II Corinthiarx(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: . . JK 449                      Relationship of Men and Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 95
Galatians 4:22-26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 86                   Person and Workof  the Holy Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH  191
Galatians 4:24-27 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 130                  Prophecy and Hermeneutics in Early
Galatians 4:28-31 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 154                     Christianity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 407
Galatians 5:1-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 181                Reformed Dogmatics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 454
Galatians 5:5-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 248                 Studies in Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 430
Galatians 5:7-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 278               Treasury  of  the World's Great Sermons . . . . . . . . . .HCH 2 1
Galatians 5: 1 l-12 . i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 299                Trinity in the Universe, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 382
Galatians 5:13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 325                 Unity in Creation, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 479
Galatians 5:14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 425                 Withhold Not Correction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 383
Galatians 5:15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 473
Ephesians 6:17b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ;. . . . . .HV                 1
Ephesians 6:18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV             74                                              -A-
Colossians 3: 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 122               About Pharaoh and His Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 347
I Thessalonians 4:13-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i . . . GL 378                    About Preaching, Correspondence and Reply.
Hebrews-1l:l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV 218                                                                                   GV,  AdH 228
                                                                                                  Abmam's  Blind Obedience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hebrews 11:8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV 362                                                                                              HV 362
                                                                                                 . Abraham's Sojourn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hebrews 11:9,10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                                                                         HV 434
                                                                              .HV 434             Age of the Earth, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Hebrews 12:5,6                                                                                                                                                           .GVB 234
                           . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 482       And-Now: What About Christmas? . . . . . . . . . . . .
IPeter4:1,2                                                                                                                                                              .GVB 138
                        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 194      Annual Secretary's Report . . . . . . . r . . . . . . . . . . . . .
BPeter   3:17,  18a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MS 338                                                                                     DH 43
                                                                                                  Armed For Suffering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
J u d e . .                                                                                                                                                                   MS 194
               . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..J K 109      Armiirianism  and "Logic-Chopping", Of . . ; . . . . . . .HCH 343
Revelation 22:21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV 146                    Arminianism Under a "Reformed" Flag . . . . . . . . . . ECC 423
                                                                                                  Ask for the Old Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RGM 204
                                   BOOKREVIEWS
AllTruthisGod'sTruth..                    . . . :-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 213                                              LB-
Anatomy  ofan  Explosion . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH  191~                      Back to the drawing boards - again! . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 494
Book  of  Revelation, Xhe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH .498                   Battle of the Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 236
Child's Story Bible, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GH 94                    Battlefield? Playground Or . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 30


500                                                                     THE STANDARD BEARER



Be FirminTruth  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RM      16     Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 197
Being Happy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RVO 372       Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 413
Belgic Confession, Article 33 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .PDD 55               Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 461
Belgic Confession, Article 34 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD            91     Edmonton Calling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS            69
Belgic Confession, Article 34 (2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  135               Education and Big Government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 453
Belgic Confession, Article 35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  207              Effective Family Worship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 60
Belgic Confession, Article 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  229            Embracing Things Unseen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV 218
Belgic Confession, Article 37 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  285              Exit Prof. Dr. H. Vanderlaan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 366
Bible and You, Your . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RVO         87     Esther - God's Providential Care . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 495
Biblical Ground of Missions, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . .' . .RDD 323              Exposition of I Thessalonians 4: 13-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 378
                                                                                      Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 85
                                      -c-                                             Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 130
Call to Go Forward, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH  390          Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 154
Canadian Reformed-Orthodox Presbyterian . . . . . . .GVB 307                          Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 181
Celebration of a Centennial, In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 485              Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 248
Children: An Heritage of the Lord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MJ 402                Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 278
Christian Timidity and Daring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH              6     Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 299
Christmas? And Now: What About . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 138                       Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 325
Christmas, What About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 112              Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 425
Christ's Church in Christchurch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JH 140            Exposition of Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GL 473
Christ's Church in Christchurch and Beyond . . . . . . . JH 446
Church and State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                                                          -F-
                                                                        RDD  229
Church in Crisis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 269       Faithfulness to the Scripture in the Church . . . . . . RGM 308
"Church Order and Anarchy" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 252                   Falling Away of the Saints?, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 201
Clarion and the Covenant, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 173                Family Worship - A Reformed Heritage . . . . . . . . . . JK 41
"Come, Lord Jesus" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV 146          Family Worship, Effective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 60
Come Over and Help Us (from GLTS in Singapore) . .MK 470                              FearofGod,The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 62
Come Ye Apartq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RCH 421           Fear of God and our Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AdH 380
Comfort in Chastisement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 482          Feeding Sheep on Amusing Goats . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 261
Comfort of the Last Judgment, The . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  285                    Feminist Movement, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MH                      8
Commandments, If Ye Love Me Keep My . . . . . . . . AdH                        18     Fiction, Nevertheless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 438
Conduct, The Fear of God and Our . . . . . . . . . . . . .AdH 380                     Final Warning and Admonition, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 338
Congress, the IRS, and Our Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 294                   I Corinthians - God is Faithful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 163
Convocation Address, Seminary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH             13     I Corinthians - God is Faithful (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 183
Correspondence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ECC     3 1    I Corinthians  -  Godis Faithful (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JK 236
Correspondence and Reply . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .JB, GVB 114                  Foreign Mission Committee, Report of the . . . . . . RDD 395
Correspondence and Reply                                                              Frightening Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 437
   "About Preaching" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GV, AdH 228              From Children of Fathers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RM 397
Correspondence and Reply
   Letter for the Standard Bearer . . . . . . . . . . . . .FT, HH 348                                                         -G-
Covenant?, A Historical Sphere of the . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 198                    Glorying in Tribulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS             50
Covenant Christian School, Lynden, Wa. . . . . . . . . . . . .JT 445                  Godly Fear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 253
Covenant, More Fiction About the . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 221                   Godly Fear, the Origin of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AdH  327
Covenant Seed, A Question About Prayer and . . . . .HCH 317                           God's Gift of Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 242
Covenant, The Clarion and the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 173                God's People Encouraged in Flooding Judgments . .RCH                                 32
"Covenantal Wrath"?, What About . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 222                      God's Providence in 1953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 116
Creed in Crisis, Indeed! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 245           God's With Us! Fear Not! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RCH 188
                                                                                      Government, Education and Big . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 453
                                      -D-                                             Gracious Call of God, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RGM                  89
Deacons in the CRC, Women as . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB                39     Graduation, 1979 (Seminary) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 414
Deceit in a Divided Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JH 47.5          Gravamen, A Legitimate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH  341
Denominations with "back doors" . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 493
Did Christ Come to Save the Whole World? . . . . . . .HCH 125                                                                 -H-
Doctrinal Issues of 1953 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH        80     Happenings at Other Synods (Assemblies) . . . . . . . .GVB 493
Doctrinal Issues of 1953 (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 104             Heidelberg Catechism and Reprobation . . . . . . . . . .HCH 462
Don't Destroy the TULIP! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 102             Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day V
Dordt Did Not Cultivate a TULIP . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 101                       Q. 12-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CH      26
                                                                                      Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day VI
                                     .;E-                                                Q. 16-l 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH    98
Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH     5     Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day VI
Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 125          Q.19  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . :: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 170


                                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER                                                                                 501


Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day VII                                                                                            -N-
    Q.20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..C H 242      NIV - Confused and Confusing, The . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 365
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day VII                                                      New.Year,  Our Expectation in the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MJ 159
    Q. 21-23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CH 314      News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV                24
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day VIII                                                     News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV              48
    Q. 24-25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 386     News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV                72
Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day IX                                                       News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 96
    Q. 26 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 462    News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 120
Historical Sphere of the Covenant?, A . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 198                        News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV  144
Holy Baptism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RDD       9 1     News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 168
Holy Supper of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The . . . . . . RDD 207                             News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 192
Homosexuality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MH       44      News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 239
Hulse, John Calvin and Errol1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: . . .HCH 149                   News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 264
                                                                                          News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 288
                                        -I-                                               News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 3 12
IRS and Our School, Congress, The . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 294                        News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 360
IRS and Private Schools, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH  293                  News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . XGV 384
IRS and the Private Schools, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 306                   News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 408
IRS Rules, Our Schools and the Proposed . . . . . . . .HCH 296                            News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 432
If Ye Love Me Keep My Commandments . . . . . . . . . AdH                          18      News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 456
Indwelling Word of Christ, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 122                   News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 480
Infant Baptism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  135           News From Our Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .KGV 504
Inflation.........................;..........J  S 276                                     News From Victoria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD 344
                                                                                          1953, Doctrinal Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH        80
                                       -J-                                                1953, Doctrinal Issues (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 104
Jehovah's Word and The Lion's Roar . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 418                         1953, God's Providence in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 116
Jesus' Death Watch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HV 290            Not a Surplus, but a Shortage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 389
John Calvin and Erroll Hulse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH  ,149
Jude  - Contend Earnestly For the Faith . . . . . . . . . . JK 109                                                              -o-
                                       -L-                                                On Women's Voting "Rights" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 235
Last Judgment, The Comfort of the . . :. . . . . . . . . .RDD 285                         On Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB     59
Legitimate Gravamen, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 341                   Only Possible Mediator, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 98
Let the Isles Be Glad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RCH 345            Origin of Godly Fear, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 327
Letter for the Standard Bearer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .FT, HH 348                    Our Beautiful Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MJ 232
Letter from Covenant.Church, Wykoff, N.J. . . . . . . AdH 349                             Our Expectation in the New Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MJ 159
Letter from the Theological School . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 377                       Our Schools and the Proposed IRS Rules . . . . . . . . .HCH 296
Letter of Thanks, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RFPA 158               Our Triune Covenant God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 386
Letter to Timothy . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 36             OutoftheMouthof...WHOM?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 451
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH         82
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 128
LettertoTimothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 151                                                    -P-
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 186             Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 211                by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 297
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 271           Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 303               by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 320
Letter to Timothy . . . ! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 329            Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 355               by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH 357
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 374            Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HI-I 399             by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 368
LettertoTimothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 443            Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
Letter to Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 490               by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 392
                                                                                          Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
                                      -M-                                                    by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 428
Mediator, The Only Possible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH            98      Pamphlet on the Reformation of the Church
Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..RD D 301          by Dr. A. Kuyper-(translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 465
Missions in Old Testament Perspective . . . . . . . . . . .RDD 441                        Persecution for Christ's Sake in Rhodesia . . . . . . . . .HCH 3 18
Missions, Synod and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD  467              Pharaoh and His`Host,  About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 347
Missions, The Biblical Ground of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .-RDD  323                   Plans for Volume 5.5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH         5
More Fiction About the Covenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 221                        Playground or Battlefield? . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH            30
Mrs. Marchiene Rienstra Resigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 113                    Prayer and Covenant Seed, A Question About . . . . .HCH 317


 502                                                                           THE STANDARD BEARER


 Prayer for Laborers in God's Harvest . . . . . . . . . . . . .HH                             13                                              -s-
 Prayer, Standing Through. . . . ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-IV 74                          Sacraments, The
 Preaching, Reformation  - A Return to                                                                                       . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RDD    55
                                                               . . . . . . . . . . . WB      67       Satisfaction
 Preaching  - The Instrument of Reformation                                                                            . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ; . . . . . . . CH 26
                                                                       . . . . . .HCH        53       Saved by a Living Faith
 Preaching  - The Instrument of Reformation (2)                                                                                         . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 314
                                                                             . . .HCH        77       Saved Through the Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 170
Private  Schools, The IRS and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 293                             II Corinthians  - The Authority of the Word . . . . . . . JK 251
Private Schools, The IRS and the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 306                                II Corinthians - The Authority of the Word (2) . . . . JK 350
Profanity, Vanity and. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JH 11                         II Corinthians - The Authority of the Word (3) . . . . JK 404
Providentially Protected People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JH 65                              II Corinthians - The Authority of the Word (4) . . . . JK 449
                                                                                                     Seminary Convocation Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH                      13
                                            -Q-                                                      Seminary Graduation, 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 414
 Question About Prayer and Covenant Seed . . . . . . . HCH 317                                       Shortage,Not a Surplus But a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 389
 Question Box: About Pharoah and His Host . . . . . . . CH 347                                       Signs in Society (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MH              8
                                                                                                     Signs  inSociety  (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MH 44
                                             -R-                                                     Signs in Society (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . .MH 107
                                                                                                     Sin vs. Germs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 493
R.C.A.andWomeninOffice                        . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB' 58            Standing Through Prayer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I-IV 74
R a c i s m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M   H   1 0 7    Sure Foundation, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RM 176
Reflections on a Year of Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AY 225                             Sword of the Spirit,The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HV                 1
Reformation  - A Return to Preaching . . . . . . . . . . . . WB                              67      Synod and Missions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RDD  467
Reformation of the Church, Pamphlet on the                                                           Synod of the Protestant Reformed Churches,
   by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 297                                1979, Report on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 415
,.Reformation  of the Church, Pamphlet on the
   by.Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 320
Reformation of the Church, Pamphlet on the                                                                                                   -T-
   by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 357                             Television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB        59
Reformation of the Church, Pamphlet on the                                                           Terror of the Lord, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AdH 178
   by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 368                             To Our Sister Churches of the Protestant
Reformation of the Church, Pamphlet on the                                                                Reformed Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AdH 20
   by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . ;. . . . HH 392                              "Tobacco Is. . ." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB  260
Reformation of the Church, Pamphlet on the.                                                          Triune Covenant God, Our . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CH 386
   by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HH 428                             True Godly Fear. . . . ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .AdH 280
Reformation of the Church, Pamphlet on the                                                           Truly Wise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RVO 209
   by Dr. A. Kuyper (translation) . . . . . . . . . . 1. . . . . HH 465                              Truth,BeFirmIn . . . ..; . . . . . . . . .;; . . . . . . . . . . .RM                   16
Reformation, Preaching  - The Instrument of                                                          TULIP!, Don't Destroy the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 102
   Reformation, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH                     53      TULIP, Dordt Did Not Cultivate a . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH 101
Reformation, Preaching  - The Instrument of                                                          Turning of the Screw, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 161
   Reformation, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH                    77
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation, The . . . . . . . . . . DE 34                                                                            .-v-
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation, The . . . :. . . . . . DE 133                                      Vanderlaan, Exit Prof. Dr. H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH  366
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation, The . . . . . . . . . . DE 156                                     Vanity And Profanity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JH              11
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation; The . . . . . . . f . . DE 202                                     Vaunting Ax, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 . . . . . . . . . .MS 410
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation, The . . . . . . . . . . DE 256                                     Vote No! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HCH 29
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation, The . . . . . . . . . . DE 282
Reformed Doctrine of Reprobation, The . . . . . . . . . . DE 332                                                                            -w-
Report of  Classis East . . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .JJH 48
Report of Classis East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .JJH 216                      Walking Honestly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RM 258
Report of Classis East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .JJH 407                      Warning From History, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MS 266
Report of Classis West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE `144                       What About Christmas? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 112
Report of Classis West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 335                        What about "Covenantal Wrath"?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH -222
                                                                                                     "
Report of the Foreign Mission Committee . . . . . . . RDD  395                                        . . . Whose Heart the Lord Opened" . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 307
Report on Synod  pf the Protestant Reformed                                                          Women as Deaconsin the CRC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB                        39
   Churches, 1979. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GVB 415                       Women in Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 235
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of. . . . . . . . . . . . DE 34                                     Women in 0ffice;R.C.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB                    58
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of. . . . . . . . . . . . DE 133                                    Woman's Voting "Rights" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 235
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of. . . . . . . . . . . . DE 156                                    Word of Introduction, A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .HCH                   80
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of. . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 202                                  Working of Satan, The . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RCH 370
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of. . . . . . . . . . . . DE 256                                    World Council of Churches and Revolution . . . . . . .GVB                              59
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of. . . . :  ;~. . . . . . DE 282
Reprobation, A Reformed Doctrine of . . . . . . . . . . . . DE 332                                                                          -y-
Revolution, World Council of Churches and . . . . . . . .GVB 59                                      Ye Are My Witnesses . . . . . . . . . . :. . . . . . . . . . . . . .WB 274
Rienstra, Resigns, Mrs. Marchiene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .GVB 113                               Your Bible and You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .RVO                87


                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                             /                            503




                                                               YOU ARE INVITED!
                                                                              to the
                               2nd ANNUAL CHICAGOLAND REFORMATION DAY LECTURES
                                                                         to be held,
                                                                    the Lord willing,
                                                                               at
                                              Illiana Christian High Auditorium, Lansing, Ill.

                                                              * * ******

                                                                This year's theme is:
                                    "A SERIOUS CALL TO A REFORMED AND HOLY LIFE"

                Speakers and topics will be:

                Wed., Oct. 24  -
                    Rev. G. Van Baren: "SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD"
                    . . . setting forth the truth of the antithesis as concerning movie attendance, dancing,
                         unionism and other forms of worldliness.

                Wed., Oct. 3 1 --
                    Rev. M. Joostens:  "HONORING MARRIAGE"
                    . . . setting forth the biblical teaching on marriage, the idea of faithfulness in marriage
                         even as God in Christ is faithful in love to His church; taking up such matters as
                         divorce and remarriage; `warning against the evils of marital unfaithfulness; calling
                         the saints to marital fidelity.
                Wed., Nov. 7  -
                    Rev. D. Engelsma: "REMEMBERING THE LORD'S DAY"
                   . . . setting forth the Bible's teaching on Sabbath observance, warning against desecration
                         of the Lord's Day, calling the saints to good Sabbath keeping.

                All meetings begin at 8:00 P.M.
                Question  & Answer period after each address
                Cassette tapes of each speech will be made available
                                                                                                          Sponsored by:
                                                                                        Protestant Reformed Church
                                                                                        South Holland, Ill. 60473



                 WEDDING ANNIVERSARY                                                                               NOTICE!
   On September 28, 1979, our parents, Mr. and Mrs. Peter A.                            The League of Eastern Men's and Ladies' Societies will hold a  meet-
Poortenga will celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary. We, their                   ing October 9 at Southeast Church. Prof. H.C. Hoeksema will speak on
children and grandchildren, are thankful that God has preserved them                 "The  Declaration of Principles,  Its History; Content, and Value for Us."
for us and pray that God will continue to do so in the years to come.                Everyone is welcome to attend.

   We rejoice with the Psalmist of old: "Thou shalt keep them, 0 Lord,
thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever."  (Ps.  12:7). "It
is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect."  (Ps.
18:32).

Ruth and Charles Underwood                  Sandra and John Heys
Dolores Jean                               Linda and Robert Poortenga
Elaine and Dewey Van Der Noord             Lindsay and David Poortenga
Shirley and Alvin Poortenga                Lois and David Nelson
Janice and Peter Poortenga Jr.             Karen Jane
Dyer, Ind.                                    and 23 grandchildren


THE STANDARD  BEARER                                                                                                             SECOND CLASS
         P.O. Box 6064                                                                                                         POSTAGE PAID AT
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506                                                                                               GRAND RAPIDS, MICH.


                                                      -  -  ~__-_~~.-__

504                                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



                                       News From Our Churches

   Candidate Ronald Cammenga has accepted the                                      prayer; 4) to conform with the practice of many of
c a l l   e x t e n d e d   t o   h i m   f r o m   o u r   H u l l ,   I o w a    our other churches. The second change will be the
congregation. Candidate Carl Haak has accepted the                                 reading of Scripture after the congregational prayer
call extended to him by our Southeast Church in                                    instead of before the prayer. This is also the practice
Grand Rapids.                                                                      of many of our churches. It brings the Scriptural
   Rev. Arie den Hartog has received a call from our                               passage into a closer relationship to'the sermon about
church in  Doon, Iowa, to serve as missionary in                                   to be preached.
Singapore. The duo revised from a trio also included                                   Beginning in September, the consistory of our
Rev. Jason  Kortering. Rev. den Hartog has also                                    Faith Church in Jenison, Michigan, has decided to
received a call from Hudsonville to serve as `minister                             allow the deacons to sit with their families during the
on loan' to Christchurch, New Zealand.                                             worship service.
   Rev. George Lubbers celebrated his 70th birthday                                    The convocation service of our Seminary was
on August 6. Even though "retired," Rev. Lubbers                                   scheduled for September 5 in Southwest Church.
has been active preaching this summer. Upon request,                               Professor H. C. Hoeksema was scheduled to speak on
Rev. Lubbers preached in Randolph, Wisconsin on                                    "Pass the Word."
August 5. Rev. Lubbers was the first pastor of the                                     With the approval of the Church Council, the
Randolph congregation, serving from 1944  - 1958. He                               Evangelism Committee of our church in South
was also scheduled to preach in Hope (Walker,                                      Holland, Illinois is planning the second annual series
Michigan), Hudsonville, and Holland during the                                     of Reformed lectures for this fall. The dates are
month of August.                                                                   October 24, October 31, and November 7. The theme
   Also this summer, Professor Robert Decker                                       for this series of speeches is, "A Serious Calling to a
preached in  Doon and Hull, Iowa, and Edgerton,                                    Reformed' and Holy Life." Scheduled speakers are
M i n n e s o t a   c h u r c h e s .   T h i s   w a s   a   k i n d   o f        Rev. G. Van  Baren, Rev. M. Joostens, and South
`home-coming' for Professor Decker, as  Doon was his                               Holland's pastor, Rev. D. Engelsma.
first charge as pastor after graduating from seminary.                                 In preparation for the fall meeting of  Classis West,
   Hope Church (Walker) with the Mission Committee                                 the congregation of our church in Isabel, South
is responsible for mission activities in the Lansing,                              Dakota was requested to come to church the evening
Michigan area. Candidate Steven  Houck (who has also                               of Friday, August 3 1 to help clean the church.
received the call to serve as home missionary here) is                                 Due to an anticipated large increase in visitors
presently working in this area. A note in their bulletin                           attending worship services the last two Sundays in
invited the Hope congregation to attend the                                        July, our congregation in Redlands, California, met in
mid-week Bible classes held on Wednesday evenings at                               the University of  Redlands Chapel. The reason for the
their meeting place, the University S. D. A. Church,                               influx was the annual Protestant Reformed Young
149  Higland,  East Lansing. The Houck's address is                                People's Convention hosted by Redlands. The
5737 Pine Ridge, Haslett, Michigan 48840.                                          c o n v e n t i o n   i n c l u d e d   t h r e e   m a i n   s p e e c h e s :
   The Hudsonville consistory has decided to initiate                              "Redeeming the Time in the Age of Ignorance," by
two changes in the order of worship. First, there will                             Rev. M. Kamps; "Redeeming the -Time During the
be silent prayer before the service in unison after the                            S e x   R e v o l u t i o n , "      by `Rev. D. Kuiper; and
consistory and pastor enter the auditorium. The                                    " R e d e e m i n g   t h e   T i m e   i n   t h e   F u n   L o v i n g
pastor will announce the silent prayer which will be                               Generation," by Rev. R. Miersma.
concluded with the playing of the organ. Reasons for                                  Rev. Kamps, Rev. Miersma, and Rev. C. Hanko
the change include: 1) to avoid the confusion of                                   preached in  Redlands these two Sundays. Rev. Kamps
prayer while others attempt to enter a specific row of                             a n d   R e v .   H a n k o   a r e   f o r m e r   p a s t o r s   o f   t h i s
seats; 2) to encourage also the children to participate                            congregation.
in this prayer; 3) to promote unity and oneness in                                                                                                       K.G.V.


