Vol 35 Issue 10

The Protestant Reformed Male Chorus gave its winter program as advertised, Jan. 25, after the evening service, at First Church. The sad feature of winter programs was present: a snow storm of such vehemence that many of our people of the neighboring churches could not attend. Mr. Roland Petersen has a knack of training untrained voices to do his bidding, and the result was an outstanding program which should be repeated when the snow storms are past; not only would the absent neighbors come to hear it, but those at the first performance would be repeaters, we are sure.

Dr. William Hendriksen, writing in the Torch and Trumpet of February, 1959, in his series of Outlines on the Doctrine of the Last Things, raises the above question and devotes an entire outline to it. Though, as we remarked before concerning his writings we are generally pleased; we feel that on this subject he should have been a bit more explicit. 

We must carefully distinguish here. The independence of believers is not encroached upon when the office of believers is regarded as non-institutional in character!

We must still call attention to the meaning of the several negative statements in this article. These statements by their negative form, remember, set the limits beyond which the saints cannot fall, due to God’s preserving operation, no matter how grievous their fall and how enormous their sin. Specifically the article defines these limits in the following statements: 1) God does not wholly withdraw the Holy Spirit from His people. 2) God does not suffer them to slip to the point that they fall out of the grace of adoption and the state of justification.

The doctrine of Transubstantiation as set forth in the decrees of the Council of Trent. 

Without faith it is impossible to please God, the author of the epistle to the Hebrews tells us. And therefore we may say that unless we fear God, we cannot keep His commandments. Remembering that keeping His commandments is not simply conforming to them in the outward sense but performing an act of love to Him, we will readily see that this second matter, which Solomon says belongs to the whole duty of man, cannot be carried out unless we have that fear of God which is the first part of the whole duty of man. Of that we wrote...

It is the ever repeated warning of the Lord Jesus that as his church we shall be watchful unto prayer unto his coming. And His reassuring word is ever and anon: behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me! Thus we read in the last chapter of the book of Revelation: “He that testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly”! and all who love the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ respond from the depths of their hearts: “Amen, come, Lord Jesus”! 

“But when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.  As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” 

In conclusion, therefore, we may say that the appearance of this angel reveals to us the Christ, reveals Him to us as the King-Judge, reveals to us that judgment is to come upon the world speedily, but reveals also at the same time that through these judgments the kingdom of our God shall be permanently established and perfected in all creation. 

From J.H. Kok, Kampen, the Netherlands, I received a series of pocketbook editions of books that have been published before. On each of these I will make a few remarks. The price of each is f 1.50.  Herleefd Verleden (The Past Lived Over) by Prof. Dr. A. Sizoo. This I read some time ago and I heartily recommend it to the reader that is able to read Dutch.