Vol 31 Issue 05

The word of the Lord imperishable, Isaiah 40:6-8. The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? (Cry), All flesh is grass, And all the beauty thereof as the flower of the field: Withereth the grass, fadeth the flower: Because the breath of the Lord bloweth upon him: Truly the people is grass. Withereth the grass, fadeth the flower: But the word of the Lord shall stand forever.

Dear Editor of the Standard Bearer: 

The October-November 1954, issue of Torch and Trumpet presents the first in a series of articles by the Rev. Martin Monsma on: The Question of Woman Suffrage in the Church. In this issue he treats only the issues involved. Rev. Monsma was requested byTorch and Trumpet to contribute this series. What he will have to say on this subject should prove to be interesting, since he is supposed to speak with some authority.

We have observed that the calling of the minister is to bring the word of God in different ways and under various circumstances. Among these is his task to bring the word in a disciplinary manner unto those that walk in sin. In general this is also done through the ministry of the Word in the public assembly of the people of God on the Lord’s Day where the minister must “say unto the righteous that it shall be well with him, for he shall eat of the fruit of his doings and woe unto the wicked!

In the remainder of this article we find a discussion, first of all, concerning the manner in which the truth of election is to be preached. The fathers mention here the following elements: 1) the spirit of discretion; 2) piety (The Dutch has here: “met Godvruchtige eerbiedigheid, heiliglijk.” The Latin has: “religiose et sancte.”; 3) in due time and place (literally: in its own time and place); 4) without vainly attempting to investigate the secret ways of the most high.

Continuing with the account of Gardiner’s conversion, we quote the following: “When engaged in serious meditation on a Sabbath night in July 1719, Gardiner suddenly thought he saw an unusual blaze of light fall on the book while he was reading, which he at first imagined might have happened by some accident in the candle.

In their grasping at straws and in their desperate search for something that will as much as give the appearance of defense for their awful act of schism, those who chose to leave the path of truth and justice read and reread the works of Rev. H. Hoeksema and of the Rev. G.M. Ophoff very carefully. 

In our former article we noticed how Paul enjoins Timothy to constantly keep the Church in mind of the central truth of the gospel, that Jesus Christ is indeed in a perpetual state of being risen from the dead, and that He will come again upon clouds to judge the living and the dead. That gives reason for hope and godliness to the pious and causes them, in all tribulation, to lift up their weary heads knowing that their redemption is nigh!

The Heidelberg Catechism in Lord’s Day 43 enumerates various instances of violations against the ninth commandment.

Inleiding in de Zendingswetenshap (Introduction in the Science of Missions), by Dr. J.H. Bavinck. Published by J.H. Kok, Kampen, the Netherlands.