REV. W.C. LAMAIN - GRAND RAPIDS

February 21,1947

February 21, 1977

Part III

It becomes reality. At my age life lies behind me, and death comes in view. I have often heard the old Rev. Van Oordt say, “It seems easier to die when we are 20 or 30 years old, than when we are 70 or 80 years old.” We know that we can die any day, any moment, and young people can die, but old people must die. God’s Word speaks of it in Psalm 90: “The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.” The old pastor also warned his people from the pulpit, “Never speak lightly about death, for it may be that then we shall hear dogs bark that we have never heard before.” Even the Mediator of the Covenant did not think lightly of it when in Gethsemane He came into a personal conflict with death. We even read in Luke 22:44 that His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. By Christ, death has been put to death, it is swallowed up in victory, the sting of death, namely sin, has been removed, and that for the entire church of God. But it remains a personal matter to be able to meet God.

The Holy Spirit is the great Applier of Christ and of all His saving benefits. We must keep our hands out of it all. It remains true for all God’s children and servants: “Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory”. Psalm 73:24.

We need grace to live, but also grace to die, and to inherit eternal life. Also in this respect we receive nothing in our hands. In all things and with all things we must remain dependent upon God, to expect everything from Him, and from Him alone.

In my life it has been true, and by severe struggles it has become true, “His merciful kindness is great toward us.” Psalm 117:2. Then the Lord Himself explained every word, and the entrance of His words gave light. When the words come from above at just the right time, when we think we have come to the end, then we become aware of its liberating power, as we read in John 8:32: “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Then these words are also made true: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” And although later it must still be confirmed, still there lies a Divine virtue in it, that will never depart.

With all that comes from heaven there is something that is lovely, and something that is of good report. Yea, the greatest of all is that God then receives the honor of all those things: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. It all flows out of that precious blood of the Son of God Who merited and acquired all good, redemption, and salvation only for His elect. It is God the Holy Spirit Who works in their hearts to receive those blessings in nature and in grace. Also the perseverence of God’s children and servants is assured and guaranteed in the Triune God.

Although in the life of even a minister there are many strong evidences that the Lord has delivered them out of six troubles, with the seventh one he must also enter and pass through death, so that the Lord shall prove to be a present help in trouble time and again. Yea, that in all those ways, oppressions, and strife, it shall be experienced that the blessed Christ was afflicted in all their afflictions, and the angel of His presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them: and He bare them, and carried them all the days of old. Isa. 63:9. It is for that reason, and for that reason alone, that they shall not faint under the burden of their oppression.

For the minister himself and for the congregation it is profitable when he can say not only with his lips, but also with his heart, what Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 12:11, “Though I be nothing”. It is contrary to our nature, but it is a blessing if the Lord prevents us from becoming “Domine”. It is good that the Great Physician uses good medicines. Psalm 147:3. There is something to learn, and so much to unlearn. In the first we also took various courses necessary for the ministry, but also received so many lessons for our pastoral life. The Rev. W. DenHengst once said to us, M. Heikop and me, “Boys, you must never preach to people that are not in church.”

If the Lord makes us honest, we shall be most disappointed with ourselves. When there is more fire that light, we shall have so many stones to cast upon others, but it is a blessing when that changes. Then we accuse and condemn ourselves before the Lord because of our foolishness, our lovelessness, our heartlessness, and so much more that we will not mention here now. Moses had to say to Joshua, his servant, one of his chosen young men, “Enviest thou for my sake?” Numbers 11:28,29. Even the godly Ledeboer, who led such a self-denying life, once wrote, “When it concerns God’s honor, I am usually asleep, but when it concerns my honor, I am awake.”

I have written before that we have been murdered and killed so often in our life, but it is a blessing when we also learn to know ourselves as companions of Peter who had two swords with him. Luke 22:38. In all the past years we have murdered so many people, cut off so many ears. It was a good thing that Christ out of love to His Name, cause, and people, immediately healed the ear of Malchus, otherwise we would spend most of our lives in prison. What a blessing it is that the great King is standing behind the wall, watching what is happening with His people. He shall neither slumber nor sleep. Psalm 121. Yea, that Intercessor in heaven ever liveth to make intercession for His people. Heb. 7:25.

What a great privilege it is to become aware that we can not trust ourselves for a moment, and that when we stand in our own strength we do more harm than good. It becomes and remains a more and more impossible work to preach and to catechize, and to do all the work related to those tasks. Then there is also the terrible resonsibility for all those souls created for eternity. Their blood shall be required at our hands. Would we not lose our courage when we think of all these matters? Indeed, if the Lord did not occasionally remove the burdens from our shoulders, we would say with David, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then I would fly away, and be at rest.”

Regarding eternity I would like to write something briefly.

Once I sat at the deathbed of an old widow of my congregation. Her husband had served the church at Grand Rapids as elder for many years. She had always been an active church member, had always taken God’s people into her home, especially during the meetings of classes and synods. It was never too much for her, but being thus active does not mean that she was a living member of the church. In her mind and in her conscience she felt and was aware of her condition.

A very short time before she died, she said to me in the presence of some of her children, “You are free of my blood.” It struck me. I had never thought she would say such a thing to me. It occupied my thoughts for days. Then I thought what if that dying mother had said, “you are not free of my blood.” What would the rest of my life be? Inexpressible!

Some years later I was called to the deathbed of a friend who had also served the church as elder for many years. It was a man who formerly had lived a very wicked life. I will not write more about it, except that it came so far that under the ministry of a godly pastor he was excommunicated. However, it pleased the Lord according to His free and sovereign good pleasure in Christ Jesus to bring him back from the paths of sin and destruction.

After the Rev. C. Pieneman had left the congregation, and the Rev. J.C. Wielhouwer was serving them as Moderator, this man was again accepted with the Form for Readmitting Excommunicated Persons. I have often heard him say with hot tears that when that took place in church on that Sunday morning, no one in the world was as guilty as he. When he spoke of that only Name under heaven given among men, Christ Jesus, he sometimes could be washed in his tears.

The Lord had given him rich gifts, and especially when the congregation was vacant, he edified both young and old by reading sermons in either the Dutch or the English language.

For years he conducted the catechism classes and led a Bible Class during the 25 years that the congregation was vacant, and he officiated at funerals. He also translated many sermons from Dutch into English. They are still read in many of our congregations. His name was Abe DeBruyn. When the old truth was at stake, he was not afraid to speak up for it.

When I was called to his deathbed, I was assaulted in such a measure as I have but rarely experienced. The enemy within said, “Now when you come to his deathbed, that friend will say, ‘you are not free of my blood’ “. The nearer I came to his home the worse it became. I trembled and was afraid to enter the home of that former elder while he lay at the gates of death. We all know that there has been only one perfect minister in the world, and that is the great Prophet, the Teacher of righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, “Who teaches like Him?” Not one, although called by God, can equal Him. All that He has heard and learned from the Father, He has made known. In John 7:46 we read that the officers sent by the chief priests and Pharisees to take Jesus came back without Him, and said, “Never man spake like this man”. Christ taught as one having authority. He had the power to bring that which He preached into the hearts of the hearers.

When the Son of God speaks to Levi, he leaves all and follows Jesus, and when He calls Zacchaeus, he comes out of the tree and down to the ground.

(to be continued)

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