GIFTS RECEIVED FOR MISSIONS IN JUNE 1971

SOURCE AMOUNT CLASSIS EAST

Friend in Clifton Gift $100.00

Peoples Park, Pentecost Collection 186.00

Friend in Clifton Gift 100.00

CLASSIS MIDWEST

Kalamazoo Pentecost Collection 432.00

Norwich Pentecost Collection 364.20

Friend in Michigan Gift 50.00

Friend in Kalamazoo Gift 5.00

G.R. Church Gift 221.00

Kalamazoo Youth Group Gift 111.00

Friend in G.R. Gift 10.00

CLASSIS WEST

Rock Valley Pentecost Collection 725.10

Waupun Pentecost Collection 202.70

Corsica Pentecost Collection 135.81

Sheboygan Pentecost Collection 190.00

Sioux Center Pentecost Collection 601.50

CLASSIS FARWEST

Lethbridge Tabitha Gift 740.00

Fort Macleod Pentecost Collection 101.00

Port Alberni Pentecost Collection 102.39

Artesia Pentecost Collection 97.75

Lethbridge Pentecost Collection 561.58

TOTAL: $5,037.03

Dear Friends,

We want to thank you kindly for your generous gifts for the mission work. May the Lord bless you all and your gift. Mission work is a very important work. It is a work that requires much prayer and patience. Of course, without the work of the Lord by His Spirit through His Word, then it can never bear fruit. In the first place it’s very difficult to teach the heathens the word of God and the way of salvation, and that man is born in a lost condition, under the curse of a threefold death. Oh my friends, this is not only hard for the heathens to learn but we and our children who have been brought up under the truth by nature through unbelief do not believe either that we are lost. The same Almighty work of God is necessary to convert a person at home as well as on the mission field. Our blind eyes must be opened to see our awful condition, and our eyes must also be opened to see that there is only salvation in a Triune God, and namely in Christ as a Saviour the just for the unjust. That fountain has been opened for all who are taught their lost condition. May the Lord remember old and young at home and abroad.

American General Mission Fund

Netherland Reformed Churches of America and Canada

John Spaans, Treasurer

Plankinton, Box 106, RR1

South Dakota 57368

TIMOTHY MISSION FUND

During the month of May a total of $61.00 was received for our mission fund, bringing the balance to $81.40 at the end of the month. Our thanks to those who gave these gifts. May the Lord continue to provide the means for the sowing of good seed, but also blessing it so that it may bear fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty-fold, and some an hundredfold.

REV. G. KUIJT IN NIPSANMA

After Rev. Kuijt, our missionary, left his first mission field, Abenago, news was very scarce about his new mission field in Nipsanma. We are pleased to report that more letters are coming in now, for which we are glad.

More than once it seemed that his going to the new mission field would be cut off. There were frightening rumors about the cruelty of the heathens at that place; there was the great problem of getting there, also terrifying earthquakes for some time, many fears and concerns in the mind, etc.

Our extremities, however, are God’s opportunities. The Lord was a prayer-hearing and a prayer-answering God on His time. The words in Psalm 32 were fulfilled: “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye.”

It was of great convenience for the missionary when the Lord opened a way for helicopter service. Now there would be no struggling through forests and rivers to reach the desired field as at other times. When landed by the helicopter with many prayers in the heart, they found grace in the sight of God and the hearts of the natives. The people acted friendly and presented them with some sweet potatoes, and after a few days with a pig.

Up to this time, June 5, they showed no signs of hatred or enmity. It was considered safe to have his wife and children come and join him. They are all enjoying good health thus far, and the missionary has received much courage and comfort by faith from the experiences and life of Abraham as we find it recorded in the Book of Genesis.

When Rev. Kuijt wrote his last letter, he and twenty helpers which he has with him were busily engaged in making a landing strip at that place. This is a great project, not having the right machinery and tools. But it goes — slowly but surely. They are anxious to work and there is unity amongst them.

The Nipsanners and Kosrekkers are friendly to the family. They have a grass roof above their heads and two fine tents in which they sleep and store their goods. They have water and food enough so that they do not have to suffer hunger. It is the language of his heart at times, “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.”

Will those savages also receive the Word of God? Time and experience will tell, in God’s Holy Providence. We pray and hope!

May we remember the missionary and his family, and other co-laborers in the kingdom of God, in our prayers at the throne of grace. The Lord has used him in the young church at Abenago so that the Word is being preached at Landikma, and now in the way of God’s Providence he has entered the new field of Nipsanma.

“And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the Highest Himself shall establish her.”

BIBLE SCHOOL IN ABENAGO

NOTES OUT OF THE CATECHISM CLASSES OF REV.J. FRAANJE

Using The Catechism Book

SPECIMENS OF DIVINE TRUTHS

by

REV. A. HELLENBROEK

Lesson 4 — part 1

We continue our lessons this afternoon, with Rev. Hellenbroek explaining the attributes of God.

How are God’s attributes commonly distinguished?

Answer: Into communicable and incommunicable attributes.

Take notice, it is not meant here that the attributes of God are divided; no, they are God Himself, as he says in the first question. This is easy to prove. For example, Light, Life, Love and the Truth, etc., are all attributes of God. But, in the meantime, God Himself is also called the Light, the Life, the Love and the Truth. Therefore He is that Himself. So, it is clear that God’s attributes are not to be separated from God and not to be distinguished from God. They are not something other than God, but truly God Himself, and in Him are all things an eternal perfection.

We call the divine attributes various names because of our limited understanding and because they have a remote resemblance to God’s perfections respecting His creatures. For that reason we speak of five incommunicable attributes, namely:

1st. Independency, 2nd. Simplicity, 3rd. Eternity, 4th. Omnipresence, and 5th. Immutability of God. We call this group incommunicable, because there is not the least resemblance of them in any creature.

Hellenbroek also names seven other attributes that are called communicable; they are: God’s knowledge, Will, Power, Goodness, Grace, Mercy and Patience.

These attributes are called communicable because there are mere traces or remote likenesses in the creatures. However, they are also infinite and completely incommunicable when related (or ascribed) to God.

In order not to bring about confusion by handling too many things at once, we shall speak this afternoon about the incommunicable attributes.

The first attribute is called Independency.

Hellenbroek says that the Independency of God means He is self existent and self sufficient.

Who is the only independent being?

Only God is independent. He is completely free; not dependent upon a creature, neither in His existence, nor in His work.

And for the very reason that the Triune God is the only independent being and always will be, don’t you see, boys and girls, how wicked and God-dishonoring it is for men to declare a country independent?

Maybe some of the older ones among you remember that in 1913 a great feast was celebrated in the Netherlands, which the people called the Feast of Independence.

There had been no war in 100 years in our country and, in that sense, it was free of all other countries.

It is really wonderful if a country can remain at peace, without interruption for one hundred years, but does that give one reason to say we are independent?

No. In doing so, we dishonor the Lord upon whom we were totally dependent throughout those most privileged years.

Never use that word, therefore, in connection with a person or a country. Remember, independency is an incommunicable attribute of the Divine Being.

Now, I shall ask you a question, about which, you must be very attentive. Who was the very first one in the world to declare man to be independent? Think about this.

Answer: The devil in Paradise.

Right! It was there that man wanted to be free of God and, as a consequence, independent.

Adam and Eve lived there in communion with God. They knew Him by the wind of the day.

The devil, as you all know, is a fallen angel. Since his fall, caused by his revolt against God and his being banned from heaven to the abyss, he held an everlasting hate against God.

He knows very well that there is no possibility of his ever being in God’s favor or returning to Heaven.

Do you know what he wants to do now? He has discovered that it is impossible to touch God as God. He lost that struggle. Now he tries to harass God in His works. All the fallen angels (those who became devils) wander about as spirits, and with permission, have the power to show themselves in any form.

The devil went to Eve in this way soon after creation. He came in the form of a serpent and said: “Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

The woman said unto the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

Observe now how slyly the tempter went to work. He didn’t begin by saying to Eve “There is no God,” or “God knows nothing of it” — no, he acted at least as if he was inclined toward God as Eve was, because he referred directly to God’s omniscience in saying, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

You all know what the results were. This is not the time to relate this history, but I want to call to your attention, how the devil began ages ago to place the image of “independency” before man — being as God, knowing good and evil.

That charms the poor soul. It entices him to be free from God, loose from all ties and, thus, through desire for independancy became eternally shackled to sin and death.

Do you see now how the devil was a liar “from the beginning”, just as Jesus said?

In addition, he confirmed his lies with an oath when he said, “God knows”

When there is a celebration in our cities and villages, the people, oftentimes, make a gateway of ferns and flowers placing beautifully colored lettering, saying this or that, amongst them. Boys and girls, just as these pretty gateways of gold or orange letters entice your heart to go to the feast and you find it so nice that you cannot resist; so it was, figuratively speaking, in Paradise. The devil erected a gateway in Paradise and placed the word “Independency” over the top of it.

This was the allurement or decoy, through which men were made Satan’s captive listeners. By our actions, at that time, we renounced the Lord and implied that He was lying in His command that we thought withheld freedom from us.

We want to be in God’s place ourselves, knowing all things, good and evil. We want to remove ourselves from the obedience of His command.

So, the devil obtained his purpose, at least in this respect, that man fell from the favor of God.

But, if we were ever dependent upon God, then, surely, it is after our fall. Don’t you believe that too?

Because of our desire to elevate ourselves still higher than we were created in God’s image, we fell to an inexpressable depth. So now, we are dependent upon God for the smallest of our needs, even if we do not acknowledge Him for them.

We have now mentioned a few things concerning man’s dependency.

Would you say the angels are also dependant? I am referring now to the good or predestined angels, not the fallen angels which are now devils.

Yes, the Perfect Spirits attending the throne in heaven as well as the evil angels in Hell are all dependent upon God.

We read throughout God’s Word that the good angels are ministering spirits, who by God’s command are excluded from sin. They are dependent upon Him in their service to Him before His holy countenance.

Concerning the evil angels: We read in Mark 5 when Jesus met a man “possessed”, (a person possessed is one in whom the devil has such great influence, that he is totally under his command) He released him from the devils that were in him. The evil spirits begged Jesus not to torment them before the appointed time.

They knew the Lord Jesus had power over them. They knew also, that it was not yet the day of judgment. That is why they said, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?”

Yet they were submissive to Him, because they waited for His permission to go into the swine and showed, thereby, their dependence on Him.

The second incommunicable attribute is called the Simplicity of God.

Hellenbroek explains this briefly: That all in God is one, without composition of different parts. Deut. 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.”

This simplicity is not meant to be the opposite of pride as when we call a humble person a simple person. No, it means here a one-ness in God without different parts.

The next issue will begin with a discussion on the attribute of Eternity.

For these six thousand years, God has been multiplying pardons; and yet free grace is not tired. Christ undertook to satisfy, and He hath money enough to pay. ‘Twere folly, to think, that an emperor’s revenue will not pay a beggar’s debt. Mercy is an ocean, ever flowing, yet ever full. The saints carry loads of experiences with them to heaven. Free grace can show you large accounts, and a long bill, cancelled by the blood of Christ.

MEMOIR OF THE REV.

WILLIAM TENNENT

Part I

The following memoir of the Rev. William Tennent, jr., was originally published in “The Assembly’s Missionary Magazine,” in the year 1806; and although it was not accompanied with the author’s name, it was well understood to be from the pen of the Hon. Elias Boudinot, L.L.D., who was well acquainted with the members of this remarkable family. But although Dr. Boudinot prepared this memoir for the press, the greater part of the narrative was written, at his request, by the late Dr. Henderson of Freehold, one of the elders of the Freehold Church, and a man distinguished for his piety, integrity, veracity, and patriotism. This original manuscript is now in the possession of the Historical Society of New Jersey. From it we learn that the history of Mr. Tennent’s trial, which occurred soon after his settlement in the ministry, and when Dr. Henderson was too young to be a competent witness, was received from his father, who was then an elder in the church of Freehold, of which Mr. William Tennent was a pastor. There can be no doubt about the authenticity of the facts here stated, however they may be accounted for. The writer has heard the same facts from elderly persons who never had seen this published account; and they were so public that they were generally known, not only to the people of this part of the country, but they were also currently reported and fully believed in other states. The writer has heard them familiarly talked of in Virginia, from his childhood. It is a matter of some regret that the record of his trial cannot be found, yet papers have been discovered among archives of the state, in which reference is made to this transaction. The following is the narrative:

The Rev. Wm. Tennent, Jr., of Freehold, New Jersey, was the second son of the Rev. Wm. Tennent, Sen., and was born on the 3rd day of June, 1705, in the county of Armagh, in Ireland, and was just turned of thirteen years when he arrived in America. He applied himself with much zeal and industry to his studies, and made great proficiency in the languages, particularly in the Latin. Being early impressed with a deep sense of divine things, he soon determined to follow the example of his father and elder brother, by devoting himself to the service of God in the ministry of the gospel. His brother Gilbert being called to the pastoral charge of the church at New Brunswick, in New Jersey, and making a very considerable figure as a useful popular preacher, William determined as he had completed his course in the languages, to study divinity under his brother. Accordingly he left his father’s house with his consent, and by his advise, and went to New Brunswick. At his departure from home, which was considered as his setting out in life, his father addressed him with great affection, commending him to the favor and protection of that God from Whom he himself had received so much mercy, and Who had directed him in all his migrations. He gave him a small sum of money, as the amount of all he could do for him, telling him that if he behaved well and did his duty, this was an ample provision for him; and if he should act otherwise, and prove ungrateful to a kind and gracious God, it was too much and more than he deserved. Thus, with a pitance, and the blessing of a pious and affectionate parent, of more consequence than thousands of pounds, the young student set out in the world.

After a regular course of study in theology, Mr. Tennent was preparing for examination by the Prebytery as a candidate for the gospel ministry. His intense application affected his health, and brought on a pain in his breast, and a slight hectic. He soon became emanciated, and at length was like a skeleton. His life was now threatened. He was attended by a physician, a young gentleman who was attached to him by the strictest and warmest friendship. He grew worse and worse, till little hope of life was left. In this situation, his spirits failed him, and he began to entertain doubts of his final happiness. He was conversing one morning with his brother in Latin on the state of his soul when he fainted and apparently died away. After the usual time he was laid out on a board, according to the common practice of the country, and the neighborhood was invited to attend his funeral on the next day. In the evening, his physician and friend returned from the ride in the country, and was afflicted beyond measure at the news of his death. He could not be persuaded that it was certain; and on being told that one of the persons who had assisted in laying out the body thought he had observed a little tremor of the flesh under the arm, although the body was cold and stiff, he endeavoured to ascertain the fact. He first put his own hand into warm water, to make it as sensible as possible, and then felt under the arm, and at the heart, and affirmed that he felt an unusual warmth, though no one else could. He had the body restored to a warm bed, and insisted that the people who had been invited to the funeral should be requested not to attend. To this the brother objected as absurd, the eyes being sunk, the lips discolored and the whole body cold and stiff. However, the doctor finally prevailed, and all probable means were used to discover symptoms of returning life. But the third day arrived, and no hopes were entertained of success but by the doctor, who never left him night or day. The people were again invited, and assembled to attend the funeral. The doctor still objected, and at last confined his request for delay to one hour, then a half an hour, and finally a quarter of an hour. He had discovered that the tongue was much swollen and threatened to crack. He was endeavouring to soften it, by some emollient ointment put upon it with a feather, when the brother came in, about the expiration of the last period, and mistaking what the doctor was doing for an attempt to feed him manifested some resentment, and in a spirited tone said, “It is shameful to be feeding a lifeless corpse;” and insisted with earnestness that the funeral should immediately proceed. At this critical and important moment, the body to the great alarm and astonishment of all present opened its eyes, gave a dreadful groan and sunk again into apparent death. This put an end to all thoughts of burying him, and every effort was again employed in hopes of bringing about a speedy resuscitation. In about an hour the eyes opened again, a heavy groan proceeded from the body, and again all appearance of animation vanished. In another hour life seemed to return with more power, and a complete revival took place to the great joy of the family and friends, and to the no small astonishment and conviction of very many who have been ridiculing the idea of restoring to life a dead body.

Mr. Tennent continued in so weak and low a state for six weeks, that great doubts were entertained of his final recovery. However, after that period he recovered much faster, but it was about twelve months before he was completely restored. After he was able to walk the room, and to take notice of what passed on around him. On a Sunday afternoon, his sister, who had stayed from church to attend him, was reading in the Bible, when he took notice of it and asked her what she had in her hand. She answered that she was reading the Bible. He replied, “What is the Bible? I know not what you mean.” This affected the sister so much that she burst into tears, and informed him that he was once well acquainted with it. On her reporting this to the brother, when returned, Mr. Tennent was found, upon examination, to be totally ignorant of every transaction of life previous to his sickness. He could not read a single word, neither did he seem to have any idea of what it meant. As soon as he became capable of attention, he was taught to read and write, as children are usually taught, and afterwards began to learn the Latin language under the tuition of his brother. One day, as he was reciting a lesson in Cornelius Nepos, he suddenly started, clapped his hands to his head, as if something had hurt him, and made a pause. His brother asked him what was the matter, he said that he felt a sudden shock in his head, and now it seemed to him as if he had read that book before. By degrees his recollection was restored, and he could speak the Latin as fluently as before his sickness. His memory so completely revived that he gained a perfect knowledge of the past transactions of his life, as if no difficulty had previously occurred. This event, at the time, made a considerable noise, and afforded, not only matter of serious contemplation to the devout Christian, especially when connected with what follows in this narration, but furnished a subject of deep investigation and learned inquiry to the real philosopher and curious anatomist.

The writer of these memoirs was greatly interested by these uncommon events; and, on a favourable occasion, earnestly pressed Mr. Tenneth for a minute account of what his views and apprehensions were while he lay in this extraordinary state of suspended animation. He discovered great reluctance to enter into any explanation of his perceptions and feelings, at this time; but, being importunately urged to do it, he at length consented, and proceeded with a solemnity not to be described.

“While I was conversing with my brother,” he said, “on the state of my soul, and the fears 1 had entertained for my future welfare, I found myself, in an instant, in another state of existence, under the direction of a superior being, who ordered me to follow him. I was accordingly wafted along, I know not how, till I beheld at a distance an ineffable glory, the impression of which on my mind it is impossible to communicate to mortal man. I immediately reflected on my happy change, and thought, — Well, blessed be God! I am safe at last, notwithstanding all my fears. I saw an innumerable host of happy beings surrounding the inexpressible glory, in acts of adoration and joyous worship; but I did not see any bodily shape or representation in the glorious appearance. I heard things unutterable. I heard their songs and hallelujahs of thanksgiving and praise with unspeakable rapture. I felt joy unutterable and full of glory. I then applied to my conductor, and requested leave to join the happy throng; on which he tapped me on the shoulder, and said, ‘You must return to the earth.’ This seemed like a sword through my heart. In an instant, I recollect to have seen my brother standing before me, disputing with the doctor. The three days during which I had appeared lifeless seemed to me not more than ten or twenty minutes. The idea of returning to this world of sorrow and trouble gave me such a shock, that I fainted repeatedly.” He added, “Such was the effect on my mind of what I had seen and heard that if it be possible for a human being to live entirely above the world and the things of it, for some time afterwards I was that person. The ravishing sound of the songs and hallelujahs that I heard, and the very words uttered, were not out of my ears when awake, for at least three years. All the kingdoms of the earth were in my sight as nothing and vanity; and so great were my ideas of heavenly glory that nothing which did not in some measure relate to it could command my serious attention.”

The pious and candid reader is left to his own reflections on this very extraordinary occurrence. The facts have been stated, and they are unquestionable. The writer will only ask whether it be contrary to revealed truth or to reason, to believe that in every age of the world, instances like that which is here recorded have occurred, to furnish living testimony of the reality of the invisible world, and of the infinite importance of eternal concerns? To be continued

THE DUSTMAN’S CONFESSION: — ”See what God Almighty can do in a moment.”

In the town of H------, lived a poor dustman, remarkable for his ugliness, and the dirt and deformity of his person, and this external deformity of body stood connected with a still greater deformity of mind. He was a profane man, fearful were the oaths and imprecations he would pour forth on the most trivial occasions; and to such an extent did he carry this dreadful habit, that it might truly be said of him, “whose throat is an open sepulchre, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.” Yet, low and degraded as this poor creature was, in the scale of moral being, he was not altogether destitude of some knowledge of God, nor incapable of some perception of the beautiful and true; as the following incident will show.

While as I was walking behind him one overcast day in the month of April, suddenly some clouds poured forth their contents in very heavy drops; the sun as suddenly burst forth, pouring a flood of golden rays upon them, and a most vivid and beautiful rainbow was instantly formed, spanning in clear and distinct colors the entire heavens. The effect on my poor, profane companion seemed to be all but electrical, and involuntarily he was compelled to bear testimony to the existence and power of that God, Whose holy Name he so frequently took in vain. Turning suddenly round, his eyes beaming admiration he exclaimed, “See what God Almighty can do in a moment!” This exclamation, so genuine and so artless, and coming from such a quarter, was delightful indeed; and though it was like a pearl found where unlikely to be, yet it showed that his mind was not so dark but that it could perceive something of the glory of its great Creator, and that, as the great Apostle of the Gentiles testifies, (Rom. 1:19), nature still exhibits sufficient of God to man, however degraded he may be, to leave him without excuse in his sinful practices and blind idolatry.

Many years have passed since this exclamation fell from the lips of the poor; degraded dustman; but the beauty of the scene, the glory of that rainbow, the look of the astonished man, and, above all, the great truth contained in his admiring words, have never left my mind. Often has the poor dustman, in his simple, unaffected testimony, been a very effective preacher to the heart of the writer; and his object in bringing this little incident into publicity, is to give him more extensive circle of influence.

How prone are we to forget “What God Almighty can do in a moment.” Perhaps this piece may meet the eye of some desponding saint, whose sky is overcast with many afflictions — whose path may be hedged in by many difficulties, and who can see no way of escape. Forget not, poor, sorrowing one, “What God Almighty can do in a moment”; turn to the history of your suffering brethren of other days, and see what wonders God has wrought for them, and in a short time.

The eye of some poor, self-condemned sinner may trace these lines. Bowed down and oppressed by the weight of his sins, mercy, though sought earnestly, and for many days, may seem as far off as ever; hope may be all but gone, and he may feel himself to be so vile and unworthy, as to think Christ will not listen to him, and that it is too great a favor for him to share the privileges of God’s chosen. Hast thou forgotten, seeking soul, what has been done in a moment, in the experience of the most vile and self-condemned? Think of the dying thief, — “Lord remember me, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.” — “To-day shalt thou be with Me in paradise.” “God be merciful to me, a sinner!” — “This man went down to his house justified.” Continue, therefore, to seek, and thou shalt find; to knock, by prayer, and the door of mercy shall be opened: for still the Lord is “ready to forgive,” and, in a moment, can turn the shadow of death into the morning. Speak, then, once more unto the Lord; groan out thy requests before Him, and who can tell but that, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, He may turn thy captivity as streams in the south, and bid thee, like the church of old, “to rise and shine, because thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Why should it not be so? Is it not declared that “the Lord shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden; and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”

The Lord Almighty is my light,

He is my Savior ever near,

And, since my strength is in His might

Who can distress me or affright?

What evil shall I fear? Ps. 27.

QUICKSAND

It often happens that at certain coasts of France and of Scotland, someone, for example a traveler or a fisherman, who walks at low tide past the extreme border of the beach, suddenly comes to the discovery after some moments that it is difficult walking. The beach under his feet is viscous: the sole cleaves to it; it is no longer as dry sand, but has become sticky. In appearance the shore looks perfectly dry, but with every step taken — as soon as the foot has been raised — there is an impression left, full of water. If we look about we can notice no changes; it does not matter where we look, the beach is smooth and quiet and all the sand looks the same. At sight, there are no distinguishing features to warn us that the ground is no longer firm.

The man continues his course. He constantly moves forward, turning his steps farther inland. He is not restless. Why should he be concerned? He only feels as if the heaviness of his feet increases with every step he takes. Suddenly he sinks a little. He sinks two or three inches. He most decidely is not on the right way; he stops a moment to look about him. All at once he looks at his feet — they have disappeared! The sand has covered them. He draws his feet out of the sand again, he tries to turn, but he sinks still deeper. The sand now reaches his ankles. He works hard to get them out of the sand and tries to turn to the left, but the sand comes half-way up his legs. He now tries to turn to the right, but the sand comes higher yet.

With indescribable fright the man now suddenly discovers that he is on quicksand, and that he is in most dire circumstances indeed, being surrounded by half water and half sand, upon which a man can no more walk than a fish can swim. A most appalling realization! He throws away everything he has with him; he tosses to and fro as a ship that is in distress, but it is already too late — the sand has risen above his knees. He calls, he waves his hat or handkerchief to and fro, but the sand reaches higher and higher. If there is no one in that vicinity to rescue him, if help is too far away to hear his cries, then he is most certainly undone; then he is destined to a dreadful death in the quicksand. Then he is doomed to a horrible, unavoidable, and inexorable burial, which cannot be delayed nor accelerated, which will last for hours and seems to have no end. Here is death and grave which draws his feet downward with power; which pulls him down lower with every effort he risks and every cry he utters; which seems to punish him for his resistance by a tighter embracement; which causes a man to return to the earth slowly but surely, but allows him thereby plenty of time to cast a glance upon the horizon, upon the coast, upon the waves of the sea, upon the clouds of the sky, upon the smoking chimneys, the far-away homes, upon the sails of ships at a great distance, upon the sun and the heaven. But the quicksand is as a grave which rises as a flood and which mounts up along the living creature from the bowels of the earth. The poor wretch tries to lie down, to clamber on high; all the movements he makes advance his burial. He tries to raise himself again, but notwithstanding all his efforts he sinks somewhat deeper. He feels that he is being swallowed up; he laments, he yells, he supplicates, he raises his eyes to the clouds; he wrings and twists his arms and hands; he is driven to despair.

The sand has now reached the man’s stomach; the sand then comes up to his chest; now only his head, shoulders and chest may be seen. He raises his hands on high, he pours out woeful lamentations, he scratches in the sand with his nails, he wants to hold himself to it, and leans upon his elbows in an effort to raise himself out of the unstable sand.

He begins to sob in a heart-rendering manner, and … the sand mounts still higher. The sand now reaches his shoulders; it reaches his neck; only his face is now to be seen! The mouth cries, but the sand now flows into the mouth … quietness! The eyes do yet see, the sand closes them … then night! The forehead now disappears; there is a quivering of the hair yet a moment above the sand; a hand appears above the sand, it digs convulsively on the surface, it moves yet a moment, then is quiet and disappears.…

What a horrible death! But has not this terrible, inevitable death a counterpart on moral terrain? That man is in the same calamitous position who cherishes his sins; who sets his feet upon the quicksand of lewdness, of dipsomania (craving for intoxicating drinks), and of lying. Yea, of how many terrible and public sins are not poor creatures guilty! Ah, we have sunk away before we know and realize it, and if the Lord shall not prevent it, we shall sink still deeper towards a wretched and fatal end. The need to evade this dangerous quicksand should be bound upon the heart of every one. Oh, that it might be our constant prayer that it might please the almighty God to protect us against it. And those who have landed in this quicksand (are we not all in it by nature through the lamentable fall in Adam? — Ed.), that sovereign grace might teach him or her to cry to God, Who alone can deliver a poor sinner from this spiritual need and distress in Christ Jesus and for the sake of His merits.

Those are safe and shall be delivered with the psalmist, who can say with him: “Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice: let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.”

— A Translation

ELECTION

The important subject upon which I addressed your brother involves the topic on which I shall write to you, praying, that the Holy Ghost may render it as consoling and profitable to you as he has to me.

The election of grace must necessarily follow upon the admission of the absolute sovereignty of God: but as this doctrine has always been, and still is, so offensive to those who have only a name to live, but are spiritually dead; and as your comfort, and peace so much depend on your knowing “your election of God,” I will endeavour to present you with a concise view of it, and to assist you in coming to some decision concerning it.

That the Lord has a chosen people, peculiarly his own, cannot be denied by a spiritual Bible reader; but the grossest misapprehensions of the act of choosing them, have warped the judgments, and harassed the minds of young disciples; while many have been afraid to read, hear, or speak of it, lest the enemies of the Lord should be hardened in sin: and awakened sinners be discouraged and distressed, forgetting that the only firm ground of consolation is electing love.

The Holy Spirit has directed the apostle Peter to address the household of faith, with the sacred appellation of “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, etc.” Now we must either deny the foreknowledge of God, or admit his choice of his people; “for, whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son.” When he foreknew that my dear I — would repent, and pray, and believe in Christ;he also foreknew that he should give you the grace by which you repent, pray, and believe, which was in the strictest sense of the phrase, electing you to be a subject of his grace; and if a subject of his grace, then an heir of his glory.

Therefore, beloved, I am “bound to give thanks always to God for you, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth.” (2 Thess. ii., 13).

It is then very absurd to suppose, that God elected you because he foreknew you would repent, etc., when even that foreknowledge was no less than an absolute decree to give you repentance unto life.

I feel persuaded you are convinced, that had repentance, prayer, and believing, been the cause of your election, you would never have been elected; each of these exercises have been performed imperfectly, and with such a mixture of sin, that they appear to you more likely to incur divine displeasure than to secure electing love; but when you find upon the authority of God’s word, that the first cause of election is sovereign love, and that repentance, prayer, and believing, are its fruits and effects, you take encouragement to trace your broken petitions, and your godly sorrow up to the electing love of God; and this is as warrantable, as from the eating of fruit, to inquire after the tree on which it grew; and from the sight of the tree, to acknowledge its root, though unseen.

That sweet declaration, “my people,” which so often occurs throughout the sacred volume is a striking testimony of electing love; but the personal comfort of this testimony was not enjoyed by you, my dear I – –, till the Holy Spirit blessed you, with the experience of the Lord’s people, gave you a capacity to enjoy God himself in all his covenant relations, and thus distinguished you from the world.

Having done all this for you, it would be ungrateful in the highest degree to deny, or neglect the source from whence such precious streams descend; nor would it be less baneful to your peace of mind; for when the streams of sensible enjoyment cease to flow for a while, the keenest distress of soul will be felt, unless the spring of electing love is explored, and the thirsty pilgrim enabled to drink there, and even while they are flowing, the nearer we can get to their source, the more pure and salubrious will be the streams of which we partake.

It was the act of God the Father to choose his people from among the ruined posterity of Adam, in which he consulted nothing but his own will; and who shall dare dispute his prerogative to choose? May not the architect choose the stones with which he will erect his own residence? May not the husbandman choose the plants which he will introduce to his own vineyard? And shall not God be allowed, in building and planting his church, to elect whom he pleases, and pass by whom he pleases? (Rom. ix., 18,24).

How delightful is it, for the trees of righteousness to grow up into Christ Jesus, under the sweet consciousness of being chosen in him to bring forth fruit to the glory of God; and how blessed is the assurance that you stand in the garden of the Lord, as the object of his irrevocable choice; yea, “the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified” (Isa. lxi., 3). The grand first cause is electing love; the final issue is the glory of God.

Read, my dear young friend, that soul-animating description of the economy of grace, which the Holy Spirit has given, in the commencement of the epistle to the Ephesians; in which, after recording in the believer’s portion, viz., “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places,” he points out the grand depository of them, “in Christ,” and then traces them up to electing love, “according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.”

See here, my brother, how, the reception of spiritual blessings proves your interest in Christ; and how your interest in Christ leads you up to the Father’s electing love, as to the source whence all spiritual blessings come. And shall this be considered a dangerous doctrine? Yes, it is dangerous to the existence of pharisaical pride, and the interest of the prince of darkness! Shall this be called high doctrine? Yes, it is highly honourable to God — highly characteristic of his word — and highly encouraging to every awakened sinner!

There is something striking in the expression just cited, “chosen in him before the foundation of the world”; which at once instructs us, both in the order and the antiquity of election.

Its order is “in Christ”; so the choice of Christ, as the new convenant head of the church, included the choice of all that should be saved, as the members of his mystical body; every one of whom were as truly and essentially beloved, and chosen of the Father, as Christ himself was in his mediatorial character; this fact is clearly demonstrated by the prayer of our Lord, “That the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them.”

The choice of your soul to eternal life, was therefore an act of the same love, that chose Christ himself to be the surety of his people, and head of the church; yea, in a sense, the choice of Christ as his people’s portion, and his people as his portion – the gift of Christ to his church, and the gift of the church to Christ, may be considered as but one grand transaction of electing love, fixing upon the head and its members — the vine and its branches – the foundation and all the stones of the building at once.

Cherish the sweet thought, my brother; chosen in the person and righteousness of Jehovah Jesus; to be atoned for by him — to be pardoned through him — to be virtually united to him, and everlastingly saved in him.

Observe, also the antiquity of electing love “before the foundation of the world”; the thought of your eternal salvation engaged the attention of Jehovah before the creation of the world; yea, from everlasting, and he has never lost sight of it through the ages of time which have rolled away; he has connected the glory of his own perfections with it, and you may therefore rest assured, he will never abandon it; learn his mind from his own work, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.”

Should the tempter insinuate, that this is not personal but general election, allow him not to rob you of your comfort, by listening to him; but, remember everything that pertains to salvation is personal.

Was not your effectual calling personal? Are not your justification and sanctification personal? And will not your glorification be personal? Yes, and so was your election, or how could your name have been written in the book of life, and your person given into the hands of Christ?

Let me now attempt to assist you, in appropriating the personal comfort of this precious truth, by pointing you to the fruits and effects of electing love in your own experience. Have you not chosen Christ as your portion? Then you have evidence that the Father chose you in him. Do you not love God, or at least desire to love him? Then it is, “because he first loved you,” for, “the carnal mind is enmity against God,” and no man can love God until divine love is shed abroad in his heart.

The apostle was directed by the Holy Spirit, to remind the Thessalonians of their experimental evidence, that they were the elect of God and I trust it will not be difficult for my dear young friend to recognise the very same evidence in his own heart. “Knowing brethren, beloved, your election of God: for our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance.”l Thess. i., 4, 5. Now you have only to review those precious seasons, in which the gospel has come to your soul, in such convincing, melting, transforming, and constraining power as proved it to be the Holy Ghost, and contrast them with the seasons in which it has come in word only, to obtain positive evidence of your election of God. For if the Holy Spirit has communicated spiritual life to your soul, it is in consequence of Christ’s obedience and death for you; and, Christ’s obedience and death for you, were pursuance of the Father’s electing love to you.

Thus tracing effects up to their cause, you will be able to make your calling and election sure, and then your peace of mind will be permanent — your joy in the Holy Ghost will abound, and your unfeigned gratitude will excite to extensive and zealous obedience to the Divine will. Thereby you will be enabled to put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, who (affecting to be “wise above what is written”) suppose that this doctrine should be kept in the background, or brought forward in the most guarded language, lest some evil consequences should result, which is, in fact, calling in question the wisdom of God, relative to the phraseology of his own word. I tremble at the thought of attempting to dilute the language which the Holy Ghost has condescended to employ, in order to accommodate the taste of the carnal mind, and erect the fence of human reason around the impenetrable truth of God; such however is the awful practice of the present day, to which may be attributed the aboundings of heresy, and the barrenness of Christian churches. The Holy Spirit puts an honour upon Scripture language, which he never confers upon the most elegant of mere human composition: “My word,” he says, “shall not return unto me void”; but he has never said so much of the “excellency of speech” or of “man’s wisdom,” too frequently made use of, to the neglect of the express phraseology of inspiration.

Beloved, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for you is, that you may be able to maintain your hold of divine calling, the middle link of the chain of redemption, go back in holy contemplation from this to electing love, and look forward with sweet assurance to eternal glorification, satisfied that what God has joined together, neither sin, death, nor hell can put asunder. Joseph Irons

It is lamentable that we should live so long in the world, and do so little for God; or that we should live so short a time in the world, and do so much for Satan.

SOCIALISM AND MARRIAGE

Socialism is the religion of Humanity, and Humanism exalts Man to the place of God. Socialism proposes to abolish the family and the institution of marriage. It is a logical doctrine of the creed, because one of the fundamental principles of Socialism is that “Society” is responsible for the care and training of all children from their birth, and is bound to discharge to every child the obligations which now rest upon its parents. Thus the family, as an institution for the nurture, protection, and instruction of children, will be no longer needed, and its utility, having ceased, it will be abolished as an outgrown device.

In the new order of things, marriage will have become a superfluous institution; and not only so, but marriage is already under attack as an unnecessary restraint upon human liberty. Why should such limitation be imposed? And by what authority are “free human beings” to be restricted in a matter of personal choice of the very highest moment? Certainly this marriage-yoke was not imposed upon humanity by “the will of the people”; and inasmuch as the will of the people is the “supreme law,” Society has power and authority to abolish the bondage and to establish perfect liberty of the sexes. The Spirit of God, speaking “expressly,” says that “in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons… forbidding to marry.”

Marriage was the first institution which God ordained for human society, Gen. 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” It is the ONE and ONLY survival of man’s state of original innocence. It is, hence, the LAST Divine institution to be set aside by man in the exercise of his unrestrained will. The determined assault on the institution of marriage, which is now being carried on, is a striking indication that man is nearing the very end of his rebellious doings.

Society as a whole is being rapidly educated to accept the teaching of Socialism. The divorce statistics have forced themselves upon public attention, and have been made the subject of still some warnings by those who appreciate in some measure the dangers and evils into which this tendency is leading. As is usually the case with public warnings, they impress only those who have no need of them. The “affinity” doctrines and practices are doing their part to banish from the minds of the people the idea of the sacredness of marriage. The “problem” news publications, magazines, novels, plays, and T.V. of the day are making their contribution to destroy the minds of young and old.

Is it not alarming that respect for modesty in apparel in our generation is almost abolished? This also is one of the evils why the present generation has become so demoralized in respect to the state of the sacredness of marriage. This can be observed at home, on the street, and in some instances even to the house of God. Respect for God’s institution to live godly, is fearlessly trampled upon. Therefore it is highly essential that parents, Pastors, and teachers warn our generation in love as to this God dishonoring mode of dress which shall bring His judgments upon us, when we shall have lost all control of our children, and Socialism shall have gained its influence over them.

No love for God or His precepts, no love and respect for parents, no love for law and order; but a slave to our lusts, and a slave of Socialism.

May we all give heed to the serious warnings from God’s Holy Word. “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.” Psalm 1:1

C.F.B.,Sr.

THE COMFORTER

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father he shall testify of me. John 15:26

The special work and office of the Holy Ghost is to testify of Jesus, to glorify Him, to take of the things that are His, and to shew them to the soul; and therefore without these teachings and testimonies of the Holy Ghost we have no true, no saving knowledge of Him, no living faith in Him, no sweet communion with Him, no tender and affectionate love toward Him. And are not these the marks which peculiarly distinguish the living family of God from the dead in sin and the dead in profession? A bare knowledge of the letter of truth can communicate no such gracious affections as warm, soften, melt, and animate the soul of a child of God, under the felt power and influence of the Holy Ghost; can create no such faith as gives him manifest union with Jesus; can inspire no such hope as carries every desire of his heart within the veil; can produce no such godly sorrow for sin as makes him loathe and abhor himself in dust and ashes; can shed abroad no such love as makes him love the Lord with a pure heart fervently. But the same blessed and holy Teacher who takes of the things that are Christ’s and reveals them to the soul, thus raising up faith, hope, and love, and bringing into living exercise every other spiritual gift and grace, first prepares the heart to receive Him in all His gracious characters and covenant relationships by deeply and powerfully covincing us of our need of Him as our all in all. Is He a Priest? We need His atoning blood and His all-prevailing intercession that we may have peace with God, and that our prayers and supplications may rise up with acceptance into His ears. Is He a Prophet? We need His heavenly instruction, that we may sit at His feet and hear His word, so as to believe His promises and obey His precepts. Is He a King? We need His powerful and peaceful sceptre to subdue every lust, crucify the whole body of sin, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

We have, all of us, especially those of us who are Christians, the power to do good to others. We have not all the same ability, for we have not all the same gifts, or the same position, but as the little maid that waited on Naaman’s wife had opportunity to tell of the prophet who could heal her master, so there is not a young Christian here but what has some power to do good to others. Converted children can lisp the name of Jesus to their sires and bless them We have all some capacity for doing good.

Now, take it as an axiom that power to do good involves the duty of doing good. Wherever you are placed, if you can bless a man, you are bound to do it. To have the power and not to use it is a sin. In withholding your hand from that which you are able to do for the good of your fellow-man you have broken the law of love.

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