TIMOTHY MISSION FUND

This month we are pleased to acknowledge the receipt of gifts for our mission fund totalling $211.00. Our sincere and hearty thanks to those who gave so generously. The balance in our fund at the end of September was $255.90. May the material blessings which the Lord has so bountifully bestowed upon us also be used for the benefit of our fellowmen, especially where it may benefit the welfare of their never-dying souls. That His Word may be sent out to the healing of many.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROMWYCLIFFE

Dear friends,

Thanks for your gift, which not only makes our work here possible, but encourages us with the realization that you are sharing in the work, that you pray with us in the difficulties, and praise with us for the wonderful things God is doing.

We went to the tribe as a family as soon as school was out at the end of June. We had our goals before us. In three weeks we were to do a very thorough check of the epistles to Timothy, the final check for the abridged Genesis, and a complete one for the book of Acts.

Harold is currently preparing a first-draft translation of the epistles to the Thessalonians, hoping to finish the pastoral epistles as well before taking his next trip alone to the tribe in October and November. Pray for the new believers. There are many problems facing them. It is a spiritual warfare in which we who cannot be with them can also take part.

Harold & Fran Popovich

(in Brazil)

LETTER FROM ANN HERFST

Dear Mission Friends,

We’re in the midst of our rainy season. It’s such a Blessing to have an abudance of rain water.

The Ggede people are very happy with it as well. They’ve planted their rice quite recently and are looking forward to have a good harvest of it.

At present, it is the time of the so called “famine” again.

People are waiting for the new crop of yams and are lacking food.

As a result of this we see a great many children suffering from malnutrition.

It’s not a very pleasant experience to visit the people in their compounds around this time of the year.

Many children are just sitting in front of the huts. Too listless to do anything — if nothing is being done about it they get a swollen face, hands, legs, and feet, as well as various skin disorders. Only a small number of children are taken to our clinic.

In most cases the relatives expect us to give one dose of medicine - which according to them should cure the child instantly.

What the child really needs is admission, so that it can be treated regularly.

Even then it takes generally speaking, at least a month before the child is “getting over it.”

Practically every time we go out to the villages for health teaching we mention the type of food the people need.

Some people do pay attention to it and practice what has been advised to them.

There are compounds where the people respond in the manner of, “Well, it could be so — maybe for other people but it is nothing for us.”

Last week we visited one of our orphans and his sister. They had been taken home about two months ago.

We came unexpectedly and noticed that Hydia was taking good care of her little brother David, and that both were accepted by their relatives.

It’s encouraging to find them in a home situation like this.

Hydia has been one of the girls who are listening attentively during Bible lesson.

She usually knew her lessons as one of the best.

We hope and pray that her interest in the Word of God may continue and that it may be blessed to her heart by the Holy Spirit, and that she may be a blessing to the people in her surroundings.

With friendly greetings,

Ann Herfst

GIFTS RECEIVED FOR MISSIONS IN SEPTEMBER 1971

CLASSIS EAST SOURCE AMOUNT

Franklin Lakes Collection 984.00

CLASSIS MIDWEST

G.R. Ch. Col. Collection 1013.45

In G.R. Ch. Col. Gift 135.00

Friend in Michigan Gift 50.00

Unionville Collection 602.12

In Kalamazoo Col. Gift 3.00

Kalamazoo Ch. Boxes Gifts 500.00

Friend in G.R. Gift 25.00

Esther Guild, G.R. Gift 100.00

In G.R. Ch. Col. Gift 75.00

In G.R. Ch. Col. Gift 25.00

Friend in South Holland Gift 5.00

CLASSIS WEST

Friend in Rocky Valley Gift 10.00

In Memory of Mr. and Mrs.

Paul Groeneweg Gift 1800.00

CLASSIS FARWEST

Linden Ch. Col. Collection 180.00

Port Alberni Ch. Col. Collection 121.45

TOTAL: $5629.02

NOTICE TO SUBSCRIBERS

Most subscriptions to the Banner of Truth expire with the December 1971 issue. To avoid missing future issues please send in your renewal ($4.50) within the next 60 days if possible. A postage free envelope is enclosed in this issue of the Banner for your convenience.

Subscribers living in Canada are required to place postage stamps on the provided envelope.

It is suggested that remittance be made via personal check or bank and post office money order.

Dear Friends,

Through the goodness of the Lord, we are able again to list a nice income for the mission fund. In the name of the mission committee you are all heartily acknowledged. May the Lord bless you and your gifts. At present Rev. Kuijt is in great danger. May the Lord spare him, strengthen him and encourage him to perform his labors. We include in this report the expenses beginning the first of April, and extending through the last of September. Holland Mission Fund and salaries amounted to $9256.20. Mission Committee meeting expense was $366.50. Printed material sent out to various missions in the way of Bibles and other books amounted to $ 170.00, making a total expense of $9792.70. May the Lord remember all our mission laborers and all of us together in His condescending mercy in Christ Jesus.

American General Mission Fund

Netherland Reformed Congregations

of America and Canada

John Spaans, Treasurer

Plankinton Box 106 RR1 South Dakota 57358

REPORT ON OUR MISSION ACTIVITIES IN

IRIAN BARAT, NIGERIAN AND AMERICA

From reports out of Holland we have learned that Rev. Kuyt has encountered some serious problems in his new mission field. Exactly what has happened we do not know, but one thing is certain — he met with hostile resistance from the people in this new area. One of his helpers was killed, and it was necessary for him to ask for assistance from the government in Irian Barat. The police officers sent by the government restored order and took Mrs. Kuyt and the children to a safer place.

Some time before this took place, a plane of the Mission Aviation Fellowship, which was bringing goods to our new mission field, crashed in that area. As other helicopters were searching for the wreckage and some sign of the pilot, the natives were shooting at them with bow and arrow. Finally the pilot was found dead in his plane. It is quite understandable that these developments were most depressing and discouraging for Rev. Kuyt and his helpers.

The loss of a pilot and also a plane are severe blows for the mission activities of all who labor in Irian Barat, and therefore financial help for the M.A.F. is necessary. Although it is true that our mission organization pays for the services rendered by the M.A.F., yet some extra help is needed, especially after the loss of several planes. Last year the deputies in the Netherlands bought a new plane for the M.A.F. by means of special donations and the regular mission fund account. We also sent an extra gift from our fund to help finance the purchase. Just recently we sent a gift to the M.A.F. from the money received from you this year. But more has to be done. The planes of the M.A.F. are not insured and another plane costs quite a lot of money. We are not certain as yet what we are going to do, but one thing is certain - we need your help?

We are thankful for every penny received, but we find that the amount received by our treasurer this year is substantially less than that received last year. For example, last year 19 of our 23 congregations held a collection for the mission at Pentecost, as we requested. By July of this year only 12 congregations had sent in a Pentecost collection, and there are some congregations which have never acted on our request. If the idea that collections are thermometers registering interest and love for the mission is applicable in this case, then the situation is sad indeed.

As you may have noticed in the mission fund reports in the Banner of Truth, we regularly send advance payments to the Netherlands for our share in all of the mission expenses, as was decided by our Synod. In addition we support other mission causes. Dicisions have been made in Holland to send more laborers to the mission fields in Irian Barat and Negeria, and we have heard that some medical students have presented themselves to the deputies for this purpose when their studies are completed. Possibly we may be able to send out another medical helper from this country. Holland decided to open another mission field in Nigeria in an area where nobody is presently working, and a plan is under serious consideration and investigation for mission activities in South Africa.

We are grateful that as yet we have some funds in reserve, but if our share in the mission expenses would increase substantially because of the above mentioned projects, and if the contributions to our fund would continue to decrease, then each of you can easily determine what the result would be. Let us do as Joseph did in Egypt, laying up in store during the years of plenty, so that in years of greater needs the work can be continued. May the Lord bless and help our mission workers in their labors. May He also incline the hearts to continued cheerful giving and spending, so that His Kingdom may come within us and through us.

Rev.A.Elshout

Main Street in the Village of Landikma Sister Janny Hofland stops to chat on the way to clinic. Seeing the “heavy traffic”, it is evident that one-way traffic might soon be necessary.

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

Using The Catechism Book

SPECIMENS OF DIVINE TRUTHS

by Rev. A. Hellenbroek

A continuation of the subject - The Attributes of God. Lesson 5-part 2

(God’s people are often characterized as being “wheat” and the world as “chaff.)

As long as there is “wheat” hidden under the “chaff, common grace will be present on the earth. But common grace ceases to exist for the unconverted man when he dies, and will never be restored to him again.

Is there a difference between common grace which men receive here and “the time of grace”? You are well aware that the warning is often given from the pulpit, “Now is the day of grace, now one may still be converted.”

You have heard that said at various times, too, haven’t you?

Will the time of grace continue, indefinitely, until death comes?

It is not for us to know what God has determined for any one person, so we cannot apply one example to all, but we do read in God’s Word that the time of grace has passed, irretrievably, for some persons even though they may still be living. They are special cases but they are certainly there. Do you know of the instances to which I refer? You remember the history of Saul. It is not necessary to relate this. When Saul had been disobedient in allowing King Agag to live, Samuel had to pronounce judgment upon him. It grieved Samuel, as expressed in I Samuel 15:35 “And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death, nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul.” What follows? Now we come to what I want to tell you, “And the Lord said unto Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him?” And in I Samuel 16:14 “But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.”

It is evident, is it not, that from that time forth, the time of grace was passed for Saul?

Yet Saul lived under common grace until the day of his death, having health, food and various privileges. He could never more be converted, however.

It is the same with all those who have sinned against the Holy Ghost. They live under common grace until they die. The time of grace is past for them, too. There is no more hope for their conversion.

This is not the time this afternoon, to speak about the sin against the Holy Ghost. You must not assume, however, because someone lives an ungodly life, he has sinned against the Holy Ghost and will never be converted. Oh no. Those that really have done the unpardonable sin, are never savingly convinced in their conscience and if they but once believe, before their death, that they have committed it, their end is despair. They have intentionally slandered the Holy Ghost, knowing that He is the Holy Ghost. For example, Ananias and Sapphira were aware that they lied intentionally. They wanted to try the Holy Ghost to see whether He would know the amount of money for which they had sold their land.

That was a dreadful sin. That is why Peter, having known this through the Holy Ghost within him, said, “How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?”

You must understand now, that this is entirely different than living with the world in all kinds of sin, which are pardonable, even though grievous.

It is still the time of grace for the greatest of sinners. Since we do not know what God’s decree for us is until it is revealed, those of us under common grace, who have not sinned against the Holy Ghost, can be converted.

There will be no common grace in hell. You need not think that the devil will permit it there for even one person. Oh no. He does not have it for himself, so he will not allow it for us either. He does not share in the fruits of Christ’s merits as do the creatures on earth. Immediately after his first sin it became and remains eternally impossible for him to be restored.

Always remember this, boys and girls.’ we have not deserved common grace either. It is a gift of Christ’s merit and it is a gift effectual only for time, terminating at death. Furthermore, you cannot be saved by it. What then would seem fitting for us to do? We should acknowledge this gift.

I have known two persons who were husband and wife. God converted the woman, but the man remained unconverted. The man was spared, though, through common grace, of becoming hostile toward his wife. He had seen all that had taken place with her and was submissive to it. He went to church, lived among God’s people with her and read the Bible and other good books, just as she did.

But later he became sick and was about to die. One day before he passed away, knowing it was to take place, he said to his wife, “God has converted you but I remain unconverted. I have eaten and drank with you; have attended church and had close relationship with God’s people but now I must die and be eternally lost. In Adam, I am justly damnable before God.”

This man was soundly convinced, through historical faith, of his state and condition before God but it had never been impressed upon his heart.

A little later he said to her, “Please give me some cool water. I may still partake of that through the common grace of Christ’s merits. In hell there will be no more benefits of His merits.” That pitiable man was soundly convinced of the reality. But, alas, it was only being convinced of the truth. He had never been convinced of his own sin.

We have, in that way, spoken something about common grace.

Hellenbroek asks now: What is God’s mercy?

Answer: God’s goodness toward a miserable, elect sinner, by which He daily restores him in the state of grace through the Mediator Jesus.

How can it be possible that God can be merciful and still remain just? Does He ignore that justice and, by way of speaking, overlook their sin, because He sees some good in the elect?

We have said often in our previous lessons that it is possible for God to be gracious and merciful to them, only, because His justice is satisfied through Christ. Through Christ He can be merciful unto them, through Christ He can deliver them from the three-fold death, but through Him God can also restore them day by day in the state of grace, just as our answer explains.

Does God’s mercy mean the same as His long-suffering or patience?

No, because His mercy is extended to the elect alone in Christ but His patience extends to all people.

God’s long-suffering is that goodness of God whereby He delays the well-deserved punishment in order to bring the elect to repentance and to convince the reprobate.

He proves this answer from Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”

God is free from all persons, not alone because of our willfull unrestrained disobedience, but also because He makes Himself free.

Therefore, it is not unrighteous if God allows whole generations of savages and heathen to be lost, never having heard of God. God is free of man.

But for whom do you think the punishment will be the heavier, for the blind heathen, that never heard of God’s Word, or for the Jews and ourselves, that is, so-called Christians, who die unconverted.

The heathen will be lost as a punishment for sin, but we shall be lost because of the sin of unbelief.

The gospel of redemption has been proclaimed unto us. If we have not been willing to believe it, the punishment will be the heavier.

Does it not become clear, that God postpones the deserved punishment and during that time brings His elect to conversion and convinces the reprobate of his guilt?

You are still young, but even so, confess the truth, have you not noticed how the conscience warns when you have done a wrong?

I am very sure that everyone here, at one time or another, has had a warning given to them. Am I not correct in this?

Sometimes by father or mother, or by means of a sermon, or perhaps when you were sick your conscience spoke to you.

God directs all these callings to us so that we will be without excuse.

It is as someone knocking on a locked door a long time and calling out, “Open the door, let me in!”

Oh, boys and girls, do you intend to let the Lord stand there always; won’t you ever listen to Him? Are you going to tramp upon His convictions and warnings, trying to quiet your speaking conscience, but continuing to sin nevertheless?

I know very well that we cannot open our own heart. I do not mean it that way. Conversion comes from God and not from man. But the Lord can justly say: “I have called you and you have neglected to answer.” You really do not want to; isn’t that so?

May the Lord teach you to cry out, “Lord, turn me and I shall be turned, draw me and we will run after thee!”

Are there some among us, that have been convicted; sometimes crying about their sins and praying in solitude?

I would warn you from jumping, as it were, from the water into the fire. Today crying on account of your sins and tomorrow morning seeking out the fire of sin. Praying on account of sin and then sinning on account of praying. The heavier the conviction in the conscience, the heavier the judgment shall be if you try to quiet it.

Oh, listen no longer to the voice of the deceiver in your heart. The devil tries to draw you and places the world and your young life enticingly before you. But do not believe that he means to be good to you. Do you know what he shall say as soon as you die unconverted? He will say, “Well, boys and girls, why have you listened to me so faithfully? You know very well that I am a liar.” He shall laugh and mock with you saying, “You were warned often enough, why have you been so faithful to my desires?”

Oh, if it must come to pass that you are lost, you will surely remember this hour that we have spent together and it will be a cause of shame to you.

I hope and do wish that you do not come to that, oh no, and I pray in submission to God’s will for your preservation. I shall surely do it too. However, I must warn you that the long-suffering of God is not meant solely to bring the elect to conversion but also to convince the unconverted, so that they can never say, “We have never been informed of it.”

All of you that would rather not hear it here will hear it there eternally and what you never cared to know about here, you will know eternally. You need not think there will be no knowledge in hell !

There will be a clear knowledge of the justice of God and of the guilt of man. That knowledge will be the worm that does not die. That knowledge shall always cause a gnawing in our conscience, and in addition, the fire of God’s wrath will never be quenched.

Because of that, may you come to know these things now; with the result that you may be brought to conversion in the time of God’s long suffering. May your guilty soul (even if the body is still young) find reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ, “for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

We shall conclude by singing from the first Psalm and close in prayer.

That man is blest who fearing God
From sin restrains his feet
Who will not stand with wicked men
Who shuns the scorners’ seat

Yea, blest is he who makes God’s law
His portion and delight
And meditates upon that law
With gladness day and night.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. WILLIAM TENNENT (Cont.) Part IV

When the late Rev. George Whitefield was in this country, Mr. Tennent paid him a visit as he was passing through New Jersey. Mr. Whitefield and a number of other clergymen, among whom was Mr. Tennent, were invited to dinner by a gentleman in the neighbourhood where the late Mr. William Livingston, since governor of New Jersey resided, and who, with several other lay gentlemen, was among the guests. After dinner, in the course of an easy and pleasant conversation, Mr. Whitefield adverted to the difficulties attending the gospel ministry arising from the small success with which their labors were crowned. He greatly lamented that all their zeal-activity and fervor availed but little; said that he was weary with the burdens and fatigues of the day; declared his consolation was that in a short time his work would be done, when he should depart and be with Christ; that the prospect of a speedy deliverance had supported his spirits, or that he should before now have sunk under his labors. He then appealed to the ministers around him, if it were not their great comfort that they should soon go to rest. They generally assented, excepting Mr. Tennent, who sat next to Mr. Whitefield in silence; and by his countenance discovered but little pleasure in the conversation. On which Mr. Whitefield, turning to him and tapping him on the knee, said, “Well! brother Tennent, you are the oldest man amongst us, do you not rejoice to think that your time is so near at hand, when you will be called home and freed from all the difficulties attending this chequered scene?” Mr. Tennent bluntly answered, “I have no wish about it.” Mr. Whitefield pressed him again; and Mr. Tennent again answered, “No, sir, it is no pleasure to me at all, and if you knew your duty it would be none to you. I have nothing to do with death; my business is to live as long as I can — as well as I can — and to serve my Lord and Master as faithfully as I can, until He shall think proper to call me home.” Mr. Whitefield still urged for an explicit answer to his question, in case the time of death were left to his own choice. Mr. Tennent, replied, I have no choice about it; I am God’s servant, and have engaged to do His business as long as He pleases to continue me therein. But now, brother, let me ask you a question. What do you think I would say if I was to send my man Tom into the field to plough, and if at noon I should go to the field and find him lounging under a tree, and complaining, ‘Master, the sun is very hot, and the ploughing hard and difficult; I am tired and weary of the work you have appointed me, and am overdone with the heat and burden of the day; do, master, let me return home and be discharged from this hard service?’ What would I say? Why, that he was an idle, lazy fellow; that it was his business to do the work that I appointed him, until I, the proper judge, should think fit to call him home. Or suppose you had hired a man to serve you faithfully for a given time in a paricular service, and he should, without any reason on your part, and before he had performed half his service, become weary of it, and upon every occasion be expressing a wish to be discharged or placed in other circumstances. Would you not call him a wicked and slothful servant, and unworthy of the privileges of your employ?” The mild, pleasant, and Christian-like manner in which this reproof was administered, rather increased the social harmony and edifying conversation of the company, who became satisfied that it was very possible to err, even in desiring with undue earnestness “to depart and be with Christ,” which in itself is “far better”, than to remain in this imperfect state; and that it is the duty of the Christian in this respect to say, “All the days of my appointed time I wait till my change come.”

Among Mr. Tennent’s qualifications, none were more conspicuous than his activity both of body and mind. He hated and despised sloth. He was almost always in action — never wearied in well-doing, nor in serving his friends. His integrity and independence of spirit were observable on the slightest acquaintance. He was so great a lover of truth that he could not bear the least aberration from it, even in a joke. He was remarkable for his candour and liberality of sentiment with regards to those who differed from him in opinion. His hospitality and domestic enjoyments were even proverbial. His public spirit was always conspicuous, and his attachment to what he thought the best interests of his country was ardent and inflexible. He took an early and decided part with his country in the commencement of the late revolutionary war. He was convinced that she was oppressed, and that her petitions to the sovereign of the mother country were constitutional, loyal, moderate, and reasonable ; that the treatment they received was irrational, tyrannical, and intolerable. As he made it a rule, however, never to carry politics into the pulpit, he had no way to manifest his zeal for the public measures but by his private prayers and by his decided opinions delivered in private conversations. But in this way his sentiments became universally known, and he was considered as a warm friend to the American cause. Notwithstanding these political opinions, he was not blind to the errors of his countrymen, and especially to their moral and religious conduct. The following extract from a letter to the author of these sketches, dated Feb. 14, 1775, strongly marks the temper of his mind:

“My very dear Sir. — Your kind letter came to hand three days since. Your comforts and sorrows are mine in no small degree; I share with you in both; the tie is such as death cannot dissolve. This is a day of darkness in my view, and few are in any degree properly affected with it. I have, through grace, perhaps as little to fear for myself or mine as any living. I humbly hope we are housed in Jesus; but I am distressed for the nation and land. The ruin of both is awfully threatened; and, though now defered, may ere long be accomplished, unless reformation takes place. It behooves every one to cry, ‘Spare Thy people, O Lord, and give not Thine heritage to reproach.’ I know God is merci-

ful; He has, notwithstanding, disinherited a people as dear to Him as ever we were, whose sins were not more aggravated than ours. The Lord can deliver, but have we reason to think He will, having told us that He will ‘wound the head of His enemies, and the hairy scalps of such who go on in their trespasses?’Is there any appearance of reformation? Yea, is it not the reverse? Are not our meetings for the preservation of our liberty often abused by excessive drinking? &c. &c. Have not politics taken the place of religion in all our conversations? Is it not become unconstitutional (to use vulgar language) to mention God’s name in company, unless by way of dishonoring Him? Are not things sacred neglected by some, and burlesqued by others? Is not the newspaper substituted for the Bible on Lord’s Day, yea, at church? What will the end of these things be? Blessed be God, through Christ Jesus, He is for a sanctuary.”

Mr. Tennent was on a visit within less than twenty miles of New York, when a British frigate attempted to pass the batteries, and to proceed up the North River, while General Washington lay with the American army in that city. A heavy cannonading took place, which was mistaken by the surrounding country for a general attack on our army. Mr. Tennent was deeply affected and after a violent struggle within himself, he turned to a friend or two present, and said, “Come, while our fellow citizens are fighting let us retire to prayer.” They accordingly, went up into his room, where he most devoutly poured out his soul for about half an hour in the most fervent prayers, wrestling with God in behalf of his suffering country.

In the winter of 1776-7, the British overran a great part of the state of New Jersey, and particularly the county of Monmouth, where a number of the inhabitants were in the British interests. Such was their apparent power, and the distressed situation of the American army, retreating before them, that it was generally supposed, by the people of the country that the dispute was almost at an end, and that all hopes of successful opposition were nearly extinguished. A British party arose in the country, who seized and dragged their fellow-citizens to a British provost, where they were treated in the most cruel manner, as rebels and traitors. Even citizens from other parts of the state, who had taken refuge in the country depending on the known hospitality of the inhabitants, were not respected. In this situation Mr. Tennent very justly thought himself in great danger; but having no place to flee to for safety, he remained at home, committing himself to the protection of Almighty God. In the month of Dec. 1776, a number of inhabitants came to his house, and insisted that he should go to Princeton without delay, and take the benefit of General Howe’s proclamation, offering a pardon to those who should seek it within a limited time. He refused, till he found himself in danger of being taken off and committed to the British provost, which he well knew was but another word for a lingering death. He also found that, in his present state, his usefulness as a minister of the gospel was at an end, unless he complied with the wishes of the people, most of the whigs of influence having fled. Concluding that present duty enforced the request which was thus urged upon him, he promised to go to Princeton. On his way he lodged at the house of a young clergyman, and on rising in the morning he seemed greatly oppressed in spirit. On being asked what troubled him, he answered with a sigh, “I am going to do a thing for conscience sake, directly against my conscience.” Soon after his return home, to the surprise of every body, the British quarters at Trenton were beaten up, and a British regiment taken at Princeton; the American army again advanced, and took a strong position at Morris-town, by which the British in their turn were obliged to retreat and contract their lines to Brunswick and Amboy. The Americans again got possession of the county of Monmouth, where the whigs returned in force. Mr. Tennent’s mind was greatly oppressed with his untoward situation, and he severely blamed his untimely submission.

About the latter end of February, or beginning of March, 1777. Mr. Tennent was suddenly seized with a fever, attended by violent symptoms. He sent for his family physician, who was in the act of setting off for the legislature of the state, of which he was a member. He called on his patient on his way, but could spend but a few minutes with him. He, however, examined carefully into Mr. Tennent’s complaints, and the symptoms attending the disorder. With great candour the physician informed his patient that the attack appeared unusually violent; that the case required the best medical aid, and that it was out of his power to attend him. He feared that, at his advanced age, there was not strength of nature sufficient to overcome so severe a shock, and that his symptoms scarcely admitted of a favorable prognostic. The good old man received this news with his usual submission to the divine will; for, as he had always considered himself as bound for eternity, he had endeavored so to Uve that when the summons should come he would have nothing to do but to die. He calmly replied, “I am very sensible of the violence of my disorder; that it has racked my constitution to an uncommon degree, and beyond what I have ever before experienced, and that it is accompanied with symptoms of approaching dissolution; but blessed be God, I have no wish to live if it should be His will and pleasure to call me hence.” After a moments pause he seemed to recollect himself, and varied the expression thus: “Blessed be God, I have no wish to live, if it should be His will and pleasure to call me hence, unless it should be so to see a happy issue to the severe and arduous controversy my country is engaged in; but even in this, the will of the Lord be done.”

During his whole sickness, he continued perfectly resigned to the divine will, until death was swallowed up in victory on the 8th day of March, 1777. His body was buried in his own churchyard at Freehold, a numerous concourse of people, composed not only of the members of his own congregation, but of the inhabitants of the whole adjacent country attending the funeral.

Mr. Tennent was rather more than six feet tall, of a spare thin visage, and of an erect carriage. He had bright, piercing eyes, a long sharp nose, and a long face. His general countenance was grave and solemn, but at all times cheerful and pleasant with his friends. It may be said of him with peculiar propriety that he appeared in an extraordinary manner to live above the world and all its allurements. He seemed habitually to have such clear views of spiritual and heavenly things, as afforded him much of the foretaste and enjoyment of things hoped for, and the evidence of things unseen. Literally, his daily walk was with God, and he lived “as seeing Him Who is invisible.” The divine presence with Him was frequently manifested in his public ministrations,

and in his private conduct. His ardent soul was seldom satisfied unless he was exerting himself in some way or other, in public or private, in rendering kind offices and effectual services of friendship both in spiritual and temporal things to his fellow-men. Taking him in his whole demeanor and conduct, there are few of whom it might more emphatically be said, that he lived the life and died the death of the righteous.

He was well-read in divinity, and was of sound orthodox principles. He professed himself a moderate Calvinist. The doctrines of man’s depravity, the atonement of the Savior, the absolute necessity of the all-powerful influence of the Spirit of God to renew the heart and subdue the will, all in perfect consistence with the agency of the sinner, were among the leading articles of his faith.

At Mr. Tennent’s death, the poor mourned for him as their patron, their comforter and support; and the rich lamented over him as their departed pastor and friend. The public at large lost in him a firm asserter of the civil and religious interests of his country.

To conclude these imperfect sketches,—may all who read the memoirs of this amiable and useful man, fervently and constantly beseech that God, with Whom is the residue of the Spirit, that their life may be that of the righteous, so that their latter end may be like his; and that the great Head of His Church, while He removes faithful and distinguished laborers from the gospel vineyard, may raise up others, who shall possess even a double portion of their spirit, and who shall be even more successful in winning souls unto Jesus Christ, the great Bishop of souls.

End.

GOOD AND BAD SCIENCE Dr. J. W. Millier, B.Sc, Ph.D.

In the last article I tried to show that it is impossible to reconcile the early chapters of the Bible and the theory of evolution by considering some of the attempts to do so that have been made. Since all of these attempts have proved futile and since it is clear that Genesis 1-11 must be taken as literal history then we are driven to the conclusion that, in advocating the theory of evolutior, scientists have gone astray. In this article I want to show why I think scientists are in error in this respect and, in doing so, I hope to show what science is capable of doing and what are its limitations. In other words, I want to demonstrate that there is good science and bad science and that the theory of evolution comes in the category of bad science.

Science is, basically, a study of the creation which we see around us. The early scientists were men who began to notice and admire the world we live in and the vast universe of the heavens around us. Many of these men were genuine Christians and even those who were not had minds moulded by the Biblical doctrine of creation. Since they thought in a basically Christian way they had the right attitude in their studies and experiments and were, as a result, very fruitful in their work. Their belief in the Creator produced two effects which, to me, are fundamental to a true view and practice of science and without which science will inevitably go astray. The first of these was the realization that God created the world and governed it according to His plan.

They were convinced that this plan was discoverable, at least, in part, and that they were justified in searching for the laws by which God governed His creation. The second effect flows naturally from the first and it is that God Who is unchangeable, does not have one plan today and another tomorrow. They believe that if they made a discovery by performing an experiment today in England they would get the same results tomorrow in France or next year in Australia, for that matter. They believed in what is known as the principle of uniformity.

The convictions that there are “laws of nature” and that these laws are universally operative are sound ideas and form a good basis for scientific study. However, these very ideas not only indicate the correct way to go scientifically but they also hedge the scientist in and tell him the limits of validity of his subject. For example, the term “laws of nature” is often used in a way which gives the impression that these laws are in some way over and above God Himself and that He must govern the world according to them. If these laws are viewed in this way then it is easy to see how the average scientist’s opposition to miracles arises. Hand in hand with the idea behind the use of “nature” in “laws of nature” we usually find the deistical notion of God as One who has set the universe going and now lets it operate according to these laws. If miracles are believed in at all they are viewed as God interrupting the natural course of events. To think Biblically one must view the regularity of the operation of the universe as the way in which God normally rules His creation. It is perfectly correct for the scientist to plan his work in full confidence that the principle of uniformity will not disappoint him. However, since God is sovereign He may suspend, reverse or alter His usual mode of operation. In miracles this is just what God does. A miracle is a temporary suspension of the “laws of nature.” It is the very uniformity of these laws which makes the idea of a miracle possible. If anything can happen at any time then there can be nothing unusual! In miracles God has suspended His normal mode of controlling His creation to prove to men the divine nature of His works of redemption. The point I wish to make is that the idea of a regularly ordered natural world is scriptural but to use this very idea to express one’s antipathy to miracles is a false use of it. A scientist who does so has abused the very principles which form the basis of his subject. Science, as such, cannot “disprove” miracles — it is the scientist abusing his subject to express his opposition to the supernatural.

We can further illustrate what a scientist may and may not do by reconsidering some of the things I said in “Creation in Six Days.” It will be remembered that I contrasted some of the events of creation week with some of the processes by which God preserves His creation as follows: — In creation week I noted that: —

1. On the first day we see light in existence apart from the sun.

2. On the third day God created the vegetation before the sun was created.

3. The sun, moon and stars were created on the fourth day, yet, prior to this, there had been three 24-hour days without the sun’s existence.

Then I observed that the present order of things with respect to the above matters is: —

1. All our light comes from the sun and stars.

2. Vegetation cannot exist without heat and light from the sun.

3. Our experience of day and night, of months etc. comes from the rotations of the sun, moon and earth. Our notion of a day is dependent on the existence of the sun but in Genesis 1 we have three days prior to the creation of the sun. I repeat these contrasts in order to emphasize the impossibility of guessing how things came into existence by studying them as they are now. A further example is to be found in the creation of Adam and Eve. We all have to undergo the process of birth and growth from childhood to maturity yet our first parents were created fully grown. A biologist can tell us the wonderful way in which we are born. He can describe how we assimilate food and use it to produce energy. He can tell us how our limbs work. For all of these things we can and ought to be grateful. However, when he tells us where our limbs came from and how we came to be the creatures we are we ought respectfully to bid him good-day! He has changed his ground and moved from factual matters to speculation and ceased to be a scientist.

A true scientist is a man who observes the world around us, performs experiments to help him in his observations and tells us what he has seen. Usually a scientist theorises to try to find the pattern of law which causes things to behave as he observes them. There is nothing wrong with this since he is trying to find the rules God uses as He controls the worlds. If the scientist’s theory is wrong then further experiments usually reveal this. Sometimes it happens that a false theory can give good results! However, whatever happens a scientist is always concerned with present processes in the creation around us. When the scientist starts to tell us how the world and how we came into existence he has transgressed and gone beyond himself. He would then by trying to tell us how, for example, Adam and Eve came into being by his study of how we are born, grow and die. This is clearly impossible since the creation of the world was a once and for all event. It is never to be repeated and therefore the scientist cannot study it and cannot say anything about it. A scientist is a man who observes. No one has ever observed the creation of the world except God, the Creator, and so the only way we can know about creation itself is for God to tell us.

Let me clarify this by an analogy. Imagine a watch ticking away, that it is the only watch in the world and that I have never seen its like before. By observing it working I could, presumably, find out how the balance wheel regulates it, how the gears make the hour, minute and seconds hands rotate at the correct rates, how the spring provides the energy and so on. In doing all this I would be acting as a scientist. I could even find out how far the spring had unwound and conjecture how long the watch had been running and how long it had left to run, though I would be on shaky ground here as I will show later. However suppose I then, being rather proud of my success at finding out how the watch worked, began to speculate as to how it had been made. I could imagine it being made by hand over many months, or being made by a machine in a few hours, I could even imagine it having existed eternally so that it had never been made at all. Now, the point is — does my success in finding out how the watch works lend any weight at all to my speculations as to where it came from? None whatever!

The only way I could know with certainty would be to ask the manufacturer. (In the case of the watch, my speculation about it never having been made would invite ridicule — it is amazing that scientists who say similar things about the world are not ridiculed also).

My principal contention here is that a scientist is a person concerned with things as they are. He can only study present processes and therefore these are all he is concerned with. All he can speak of with any authority are the things he has seen for himslf. If he starts to speculate about the origin of the things he studies, he no longer speaks as a scientist and his ideas must be treated as his opinions. For example, the bodies of animals and men have definite similarities. There is sufficient similarity between the skeletons of a cat and of a man for an anatomist to be able to name the corresponding bones. There are also corresponding muscles etc. A lizard also has these corresponding parts but the similarity between us and a lizard is less than the similarity between us and the cat. An evolutionary biologist will conclude from this that we are related to both the lizard and the cat and that the lizard is the more distant ancestor. He assumes that similarity automatically implies kinship and then presents his interpretation of the similarities as evidence for evolution. On the other hand, I would look at the same similarities and come to a quite different conclusion. I believe, from the Bible, that God has created the world and its inhabitants according to His plan. From this I would argue that the similarities between the parts of different creatures exist because God created according to a basic design and that differences between creatures arise because God modified His basic design to suit the purpose for which he made each particular creature. Who is more likely to be correct? I would say I was because I am interpreting what I see according to the teaching of Scripture which is infallible. Which of us is being scientific? Neither! Science ended with finding and classifying the similarities and differences between the creatures. The evolutionist then interprets the origin of what he sees in a way consistent with his anti-supernatural nature. The Christian interprets the same evidence according to his previously held belief in creation.

Evolution and creation cannot be scientific theories since neither has been observed to take place. Evolution is a theory or speculation designed to explain why we are here and ultimately it is accepted by faith (or, rather, credulity, since in many cases it is clearly absurd.) Creation is a fact of revelation and it is received by true faith.

Many reading what I have said will probably agree with me up to a point but will be puzzled about how the fossils, the rocks and geological ideas fit into my reasoning. I have stated my satisfaction with the principle of uniformity, yet this very principle is supposed to be basic to the science of geology and it is geology which is mainly responsible for a system of dating the earth which violently contradicts the chronology of the Bible. I would like to consider this particular problem before drawing this article to a close by a summary of the principles underlying all that I have said.

It is well known that the geologists divide the history of our planet into a series of ages spreading over many millions of years. Each age is characterised by certain kinds of rock strata and certain kinds of fossils. A “geological column” has been reconstructed with the supposedly older rocks containing very simple fossils at the bottom and the

younger rocks with the fossils of much more complex animals towards the top. The remains of man himself are only found, it is said, right at the top of the column against the most recently deposited rocks. This is claimed to be proof positve that evolution has taken place. Whenever evolution is denied, the usual retort is to the effect that geology has proved evolution to be true. The geological evidence for evolution is generally regarded as the strongest of all. The first thing to be noticed is that the geological column is a reconstruction, the full range of rocks exists nowhere. Also it is often found that so-called “younger” rocks with complex (more evolved) fossils are found underneath the “older” rocks with simpler (less evolved) fossils. When this happens all sorts of reasons are invented to account for it. The geological column is built up by assuming the theory of evolution to begin with. A rock is old if it has simple fossils and young if more complex fossils — i.e. rocks are dated according to the fossils in them and the fossils are dated or arranged according to the theory of evolution. Then all this is presented as proof of the theory! A number of geologists are willing to admit the force of this argument but would still deny that we could take Genesis to be true because even with the theory of evolution out of harm’s way they would still maintain that they had proved that the earth was vastly older than the age which can be calculated from the Bible. Geologists were, in fact, thinking in terms of these great periods of time last century before the theory of evolution became popular. In many ways the age of the earth and of the rocks is a problem separate from the theory of evolution. Yet the two stand or fall together since the theory of evolution was the natural outcome of the attitude of mind which led to the postulation of vast ages for the rocks. It is at this point that the principle of uniformity comes in. If there are fixed laws which operate in the physical world, and these laws have never changed, then, presumably, it is possible to use them to reconstruct the way the rocks were deposited and how long ago. This is the reasoning of the geologist. He says that the laws discovered to be operating at present can tell us about the past. One of his slogans used to be “the present is the key to the past.” The following example illustrates how he applies his version of the principle of uniformity. At present, in lakes, etc., it is found that sand settles at the rate of a small fraction of an inch per year. Sandstone has been formed in the past by its settling in water and then being compacted after the water, somehow or other, drained away. If a bed of sandstone several tens of feet thick is discovered then the time it took for it to be formed can be estimated by using the present rate of deposition. Obviously the time is going to be very great. Once the fault in this reasoning is seen, one wonders how one was ever taken in by it. The true principle of uniformity, when applied to this example, would say that sand is denser than water and therefore sinks through it. There is no reason to suppose that matters have been any different from this ever since the creation of the world. However, to say that sand has always been deposited at the same rate as at present is a violation of the principle. During floods we know that vast quantities of sediment can be deposited in a very short time. Since the whole earth was destroyed by a worldwide flood in the days of Noah then beds of sandstone could easily have been deposited in the space of the one year for which the flood lasted. I believe that sand always has sunk and always will sink through water. I do not believe it must always be deposited at the same rate. The true principle of uniformity tells me that it is the very nature of sand to be denser than water and so it must sink. However it is not in the nature of things for sand to be deposited at a particular rate. The only reason the geologist says that the “present is the key to the past” in this particular way is because he wants it to be like this. He is exhibiting the attitude of mind of those who say “Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” Peter adds that these people who say this know that it isn’t true for they are “willingly ignorant” of the fact that the earth was once destroyed by the flood. The geologist must know, unless he is brainwashed by his teachers, that the present is not the key to the past. Even without the revelation of the Bible he ought to realise that however the rocks were formed there is nothing happening at present which can account for them. For example, fossils are not being formed now, dead animals rot before they are buried. Only sudden burial can account for the existence of the fossils. Also, the earth must have been rent by huge fissures for there to be the amount of volcanic rock which can be seen in the earth’s crust. Nothing comparable is to be seen anywhere today. All the rocks point to a catastrophe in the history of the earth. This, however, savours too much of the unusual, not to say the supernatural and, therefore, men distort the evidence. In obtaining great ages for the earth the scientist abuses the principle of uniformity in every case in which he pretends to apply it. The kind of geology which has produced the geologic column ite. is called uniformitarian geology and it should be noted that this uniformitarianism is not related to the true principle of uniformity which, remember, stems from the Biblical doctrine that our unchanging, faithful God governs the world according to His plan. This last section shows why I said I was on shaky ground at one stage in my watch illustration.

There is very much more which could be said on this matter of good and bad science. I do not wish to be tedious or technical so I have kept to general principles (which are surprisingly untechnical). For this reason I have deliberately avoided the discussion of radioactive dating etc. However, if it is a trouble to anyone, let them look into the basic assumptions and avoid the mathematics. They will discover another example of false conjecture and the false use of the scientific method.

I maintain then that true science is limited in its scope and that, provided scientists realize the limitations of what they can do, their work is valid and even useful. I summarize what I have said as follows:

1. True science is concerned with present processes in order to find out “how things work” or, rather, how God controls His world.

2. The initial acts of creation are not matters for scientific study since they cannot be repeated. They can only be revealed to us by God Himself.

3. A scientist cannot probe into the past or the future and remain scientific. He enters the realm of conjecture and opinion.

4. Present processes, however apparently uniform and constant, cannot be used to date past or future

events. The past was catastrophically non-uniform because of the Flood. The future will be non-uniform because time will end catastrophically at the judgment.

In my final article I hope to show how the outline of the earth’s early history given in the Bible is a much better key to help us understand why the earth is as it is than evolution and uniformitarian geology could ever be.

MARTIN LUTHER THE TROUBLED MONK

S. M. Houghton

Luther’s resolve to become a monk was very distasteful to his parents and especially to his father, who told his son in very passionate language that the course he had adopted was not only hasty and in utter disregard of parental authority, but that it might well prove to be a snare of the devil rather than a pathway marked out by God. ‘My father,’ said the Reformer, ‘was near going mad about it; he was ill-satisfied and would not allow it. He addressed me in terms renouncing all further affection.’ It was not indeed until Hans Luther had lost two of his sons by the plague that he was persuaded by his friends to regard his eldest son as having been devoted to God and His service in the monastery. This persuasion, however, was lacking in joy, for, as Luther informs us, he only yielded with a sad and reluctant heart.

The Order of monks which Luther joined was that known as the Augustinian Order, so named after its supposed founder, the famous Augustine of the fifth century, the author of many works which contain true teaching about the saving grace of God. Within the Roman Catholic Church at this period were several such orders, but the Augustinian Order was the strictest of all. Whereas in several the monks were extremely corrupt and depraved, that to which Luther bound himself was known throughout Germany for the exactness with which its rules and regulations were enforced.

The Augustinian monks, in their ignorance of God’s will, were seeking the divine favour and grace in a course of duties and services which kept them afar off from God, yet it cannot be denied that the vice and depravity so common in other Orders were rare among them. Doubtless there have been monks who have renounced salvation by their own works to trust entirely upon the grace of God in Christ, but the whole monkish system is at heart one of salvation by works, which is flatly contrary to the teaching of the Bible. How many, alas, have believed that the wearing of a hair-shirt next to the skin, the repetition of hundreds of prayers, the infliction of painful bruises upon the body, and many other sundry practices, avail to recommend a man to God and to purify the flesh!

The case of Luther well illustrates the insufficiency of these things for pleasing God on the one hand and giving peace to the burdened conscience on the other. Our Reformer had not long been received into the monastery at Erfurt before he was clothed in the garb of his Order. The regulation dress for a ‘novice’ consisted of a white woolen shirt over which was a black frock and cowl, with a black leathern girdle around the waist. A scapulary — a narrow strip of cloth hanging from the shoulders down to the feet — was worn above the frock, and completed this somewhat strange dress.

The novice, or learner, spent his days in attendance upon various services and in the repetition of many set prayers. At intervals he was required to sweep out the cells of the monks with brush and broom, to open and shut the doors of the monastery church, or to go through the streets, bag in hand, to beg for his monastery. Care was taken that Luther received more than his due share of such menial duites, as it was suspected that he was somewhat proud and haughty in spirit, and that a specially severe course of practical lessons in humiliation would serve in his case a very useful purpose. Yet, through all his trials andduties, Luther fought his way unflinchly. He was resolved that cost what it might, if holiness and heaven were to be obtained in this way, no exertion on his part would be spared to achieve them. Severe though many of his duties were, yet so ardent was his zeal that he could have wished them even more severe, if he might but will the favour of God thereby, and merit something at God’s hands. But it is possible to be proud of humility and into this snare the young monk fell. ‘A proud saint,’ he declared later, described his condition at this time.

After a year of such discipline the rulers of the monastery concluded that Luther, who had thus far been merely upon probation, was fitted to become a member of the Augustinian Order, and, with liberal use of ‘holy water’ and incense, the ceremony of admission solemnly took place. This was the time also for more definite instruction in the beliefs and teachings of the monks, and in this instruction the worship of saints played a very considerable part. Prayer to particular saints was urged as essential to any advance in spiritual life. Luther’s monastery specially stressed prayer to Mary, and from a catalogue of other saints Luther also selected several more upon whom to place reliance and trust and who might recommend him to the Saviour. St. Anne, St. George, St. Thomas (the Apostle) were among these. As there were twenty-one in all upon whom his choice fell, he directed his prayers to three every morning so as to include them all in his week’s devotions. Once a week also the monks were required to reveal all their sins to a ‘father-confessor,’ and this, it was stated was a sure method of receiving forgiveness and blessing.

Strange as it may appear, however, the Augustinian Order combined with these wrong teachings and practices a recommendation to all its members to study with zeal the very Book which condemned them, and which proved how utterly impossible it is for sinful men to merit anything at the hands of God save hell and wrath. Hence it was that even in the cell of the penance-performing monk, or in the chapel where anything but the truth was taught, the Word of God was present with its silent witness to the way of death and the way of life. But a witness, though silent, may none the less be ‘quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,’ and Scripture was not without its solemn influence in at least one soul in Erfurt monastery.

Luther’s study of the sacred page was persevering and earnest, and often he would meditate for days at a time upon any passage which attracted his special notice. One such passage was Ezekiel 18:23: ‘Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not

that he should return from his ways and Uve?’ In the New Testament the Epistles of Paul were far from clear to his mind. Certain passages which he rightly understood to contain the very kernel of the Gospel seemed dark and mysterious. He was still a stranger to the grace of God, and was vastly perplexed as to the meaning of the phrase, ‘the righteousness of God,’ so often used by Paul. In the Gospel of Christ, said the Apostle, the righteousness of God is revealed. Luther had been taught that this expression does not refer to the ‘gift of righteousness’ which justifies the believing sinner, but to God’s punishment of the sinner for his sins. When, by the Spirit, he rightly understood the meaning of this wonderful passage he was filled with joy and seemed to be at the entrance into Paradise.

But before this happy experience came to him he passed through much inward conflict, and at times such storms of doubt, and fear, and temptation swept over his heart that they almost seemed to rend him asunder. Often, he says, he endured agony of mind which was so terrible in its violence and intensity, that had it lasted for half-an-hour, or even five minutes, he must have died under the strain, and his body have been consumed to ashes. Of this period, also Luther afterwards said that once for a whole fortnight he neither ate, drank, nor slept. As yet he knew not the cleansing power of the precious blood of Christ; he was seeking for cleansing in other ways, and the result is given in what proved to be in after years one of his favourite sayings, ‘The more we wash our hands the fouler they become.’

God saw fit to grant some measure of relief to Luther amid these trying experiences through a channel which seemed far from promising. At the head of the Augustinian Order in Germany was a certain John von Staupitz, a refined and cultured man for whom Luther always had the greatest esteem. Correspondence and occasional visits of Staupitz to Erfurt caused a strong friendship to spring up between the two men, and sometimes the counsels of the elder were of considerable use to the young and tempted monk. Almost in despair on one occasion, Luther wrote, ‘Oh, my sins! my sins! my sins!’ ‘Remember that Christ came hither for the pardon of our sins,’ replied the other. At another time the very thought of Christ terrified Luther, and Staupitz advised, ‘Thy thoughts are not according to Christ; Christ does not terrify, He consoles.’ The words filled Luther with joy, and he records that they were a great relief to his mind.

Luther remained in the monastery about three years. Towards the end of this period the Lord saw fit to teach him a little as to what the Gospel really was, and caused him to know something of its power in his heart through the Holy Spirit. Time was, he says, when ‘I felt painfully within me the uneasy conscience of a sinner. I did not love, nay, to say the truth, I hated this righteous God, the Punisher of sin; I was indignant against Him and gave silent utterance to murmuring, if not altogether to blasphemy. At last I perceived that the Gospel reveals the righteousness of God not as that whereby God menaces us with His anger, but whereby He justifies us by faith. Thereupon, I felt as if born again, and it seemed to me as though heaven’s gates stood full open before me and that I was joyfully entering therein.’

Little by little Luther now advanced in his knowledge of the Gospel, and though several more years were to elapse before he stood forth before Europe as a witness for the Truth of God, the foundation was laid, and henceforth Christ, the true Light, is seen shining upon his pathway. Much, very much, had he yet to learn, but he could now say:

‘What things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord … And do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.’

OF PRAYER

None can believe how powerful prayer is, and what it is able to affect, but those who have learned it by experience.

It is a great matter when in extreme need, to take hold on prayer. I know, whenever I have earnestly prayed, I have been amply heard, and have obtained more than I prayed for; God, indeed, sometimes delayed, but at last he came.

Ecclesiastes says, “The prayer of a good and godly Christian availeth more to health, than the physician’s prescription.”

Oh how great a thing, how marvelous, a godly Christian’s prayer is! How powerful with God; that a poor human creature should speak with God’s high Majesty in heaven, and not be afraid, but, on the contrary, know that God smiles upon him for Christ’s sake, his dearly beloved Son. The heart and conscience, in this act of praying, must not fly and recoil backwards because of his sins and unworthi-ness, or stand in doubt, or be frightened away.

When Moses, with the children of Israel, came to the Red Sea, then he cried with trembling and quaking; yet he opened not his mouth, neither was his voice heard on earth by the people; doubtless, he cried and sighed in his heart, and said: Ah, Lord God! What course shall I now take? Which way shall I now turn myself? How am I come to this strait? No help or counsel can save us; before us is the sea; behind us are our enemies, the Egyptians; on both sides high and huge mountains; I am the cause that all this people shall now be destroyed. Then answered God, and said, “wherefore criest thou unto me?” As if God should say, What an alarm thou dost make, that the whole heavens ring! Human reason is not able to search this passage out. The way through the Red Sea is broad and wide, if not wider, than the distance between Wittenberg and Coburg, that so, doubtless, the people were constrained in the night season to rest and to eat therein; for six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, would require a good time to pass through, though they went one hundred and fifty abreast.

It is impossible that God should not hear the prayers which with faith are made in Christ, though he give not according to the measure, manner, and time we dictate, for he will not be tied. We have an example of how God dealt with the mother of St. Augustine. She prayed to God that her son might be converted, but as yet it would not be; then she ran to the learned, intreating them to persuade and advise him thereunto. She proposed unto him a marriage with a Christian virgin, that thereby he might be drawn and

brought to the Christian faith, but all would not do as yet. But when our Lord God came thereto, he came to purpose, and made of him such an Augustine, that he became a great light to the church. St. James says: “Pray one for another, for the prayer of the righteous availeth much.” Prayer is a powerful thing; for God has bound and tied himself thereunto.

Upright Christians pray without ceasing; though they pray not always with their mouths, yet their hearts pray continually, sleeping and waking; for the sigh of a true Christian is a prayer.

The Lord’s prayer binds the people together, and knits them one to another so that one prays for another, and together one with another; and it is so strong and powerful that it even drives away the fear of death.

Prayer preserves the church, and hitherto has done the best for the Church; therefore we must continually pray. Hence Christ says, “Ask, and ye shall have; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”

First, when we are in trouble, he will have us to pray. For God often, as it were, hides himself, and will not hear; yea, will not suffer himself to be found. Then we must seek him; that is, we must continue in prayer. Martin Luther

LUTHER’S REFORMATION HYMN

A mighty fortress is our God,
A trusty shield and weapon;
He helps us free from every need
That hath us now o’ertaken.
The old bitter foe
Now means our deadly woe:
Deep guile and great might
Are his dread arms in fight,
On earth is not his equal.

With might of ours naught can be done,
Our loss were soon effected;
But for us fights the Valiant One,
Whom God Himself elected.
Ask ye, Who is this?
Jesus Christ it is,
Lord of Sabaoth,
There is no other God,
He holds the field for ever.

Though devils all the world should fill,
All watching to devour us,
We tremble not, we fear no ill,
They can not overpower us.
This world’s prince may still
Scowl fierce as he will,
He can harm us none,
He’s judged, the deed is done,
One little word o’erthrows him.

The word they still shall let remain,
Nor any thank have for it,
The Lord’s with us upon the plain
With His good gifts and Spirit;
Take they then our life,
When their worst is done,
They yet have nothing won:
The kingdom ours remaineth.

Martin Luther, 1529.

ALL KINDS OF TROUBLES III

The man began to waver, but the woman cannot accept it all as yet. No, it is not that easy. She cannot see that there really is no difference in the doctrine. The minister that she always heard formerly, and to whose Catechism she went, did not speak as this one. That minister has passed away, God has dealt bountifully with him, but many times his voice still sounds in her ears. No, it is not easy to forget all those things. It is not only that minister or elder, but she has also heard several of God’s people speak and pray, and they always spoke of the necessity of true conversion, and of a wonder of grace that must take place in man.

It was a difficult time for the woman, but finally she decided to go along with her husband to seek affiliation with another church, because if you are married you should not belong to separate churches. That often causes troubles, especially in the bringing up of the children. Father and Mother should be one.

The case is decided. The man soon feels himself at home there, and also partakes of communion. The woman remains in her seat. She feels she may not partake, she has no right to it. The people of the church visit her, the minister comes to talk with her again and again, and finally she begins to believe that she is also converted. Nothing special has happened, but now she hears every Sunday that that is not necessary for a person who has never lived “in the word.” She was brought up under the truth, she stayed with it, and she has a love for it, and those are all evidences that she possesses spiritual life. She cannot speak of a change, she cannot say much, but she does have a desire to Uve for God, and she does want to go to heaven when she dies. So then all is well.

Thus they both became Christians, and now they, too, believe that their parents and grandparents took these matters much too seriously. Their father said, “What a terrible day that will be!” And their mother wept so much. What a sad life!

Now they do not hear that “alas” so often. They believe, too, that it can be otherwise, and still be all right. They now have a cheerful life. The old writers are still in the bookcase, but they do not read them anymore. The only time they are taken out is during house cleaning. That, too, becomes a chore at last. In the States there probably is no one that can still read Dutch, it is all English there, and here they cannot cling to the Dutch either. They are in an English country, the language in school and in everyday life is English, and in church the Dutch language is being pushed to the background. We must go along with our times. They might as well bring the old writers to the museum. A person who is still happy with an old writer is a rarity now. And in Canada they are so busy, they must work so hard to pay for their house, and soon to set up their own business, that they have no time to read. Oh, yes, there are still some of those stubborn Hollanders whom no one can convince. They still read those old books. Maybe they should offer the books to them. And, indeed, they were happy to receive them. Good riddance. They burned up the old bookcase, but that left an empty place in the house. What to do now? It would be a nice place for a television set.

At first they had such a lonesome life here, but now they have so many friends. Those friends also take the same

standpoint, that they must not take those matters so seriously. A Christian cannot and must not live as a hermit. The times have changed. Television is such a wonderful invention. They ought to buy one, too, then the children would stay home. The parents will see to it there is control. All that killing and stealing, all that blasphemy and immorality is absolutely forbidden. That remains so for a few weeks, but before long there is no more control any more. I once asked a man who professed to be a child of God, and also had a television set in his house, why he had such a show-box of the devil, as the late Prof. G. Wisse called it. His answer was, “It is the old man of sin that looks at it.” Oh, it should make a person tremble. Formerly there was still some respect, but now there is almost none. The world has come into the home, and God has left it. God will not be mocked. Conscience speaks no more. It seems as if everything is permitted, and man does not realize that this is the greatest judgment. Unstable as water. They had been zealous and had striven for the truth, and now in practice they denied everything. They took the world into their home, because the world had never been out of their heart.

Be patient: Christ went to heaven with many a wrong. His visage and His countenance was all marred more than the sons of men. You may not be above your Master; many a black stroke received innocent Jesus, and He received no mends, but referred them all to the great Court-Day, when all things shall be righted.

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