Vol 97 Issue 12

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Psalm 19:12 Psalm 19 traces the inspired psalmist’s thought process leading up to his earnest prayer to God. The journey that starts as a contemplation of creation ends with a prayer for cleansing from secret faults. As we go along with David on his meditative journey, God leads us to the same prayer for cleansing. David begins his journey by looking at creation. But, as soon as he looks at the creation, his thoughts rise above the creation to the God who created. What does creation reveal about God?...

The last editorial (March 1) was a lament for the schism in the PRCA. Our hearts, grieving for the division, look to God for mercy and long for the good of the Protestant Reformed Churches and all her members whom we love. This love motivates this editorial, explaining why membership in the PRCA is membership in the true church. In January of this year, many members of our Byron Center PRC in Michigan separated from the Protestant Reformed Churches. Two elders and three deacons led them out. These five officebearers called all the members of the congregation to come out...

Witsius on sanctification I write in response to the December 15, 2020 editorial “Herman Witsius: Still Relevant (3).” Herman Witsius is unfamiliar to me and your discussion of him is interesting. Although I am sure there is more to be said in the series, the following statements in this third installment are difficult for me to reconcile with my understanding of the Christian life: …there arises suspicion by reflex when mention is made of good works as being necessary and having a vital value in the life of the believer in any real sense at all. If one does speak...

Jonah 1:4-17 That God turns all things to good is evident in the salvation of the sailors who threw Jonah into the sea. We know nothing of these men, who they were and where they were from, how many of them there were, or what gods they worshiped. We know only that God used Jonah’s disobedience and flight for their salvation, and that therefore they too were among God’s chosen, among the few outside of Israel who were His in the Old Testament. When their voyage began these sailors were still heathen men. While the storm raged they still prayed...

Lord’s Day 45 Question 116. Why is prayer necessary for Christians? Answer. Because it is the chief part of thankfulness which God requires of us; and also, because God will give His grace and Holy Spirit to those only who with sincere desires continually ask them of Him, and are thankful for them. Question 117. What are the requisites of that prayer which is acceptable to God and which He will hear? Answer. First, that we from the heart pray to the one true God only, who hath manifested Himself in His Word, for all things He hath commanded us...

God once said, “The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; …I will destroy them with the earth” (Gen. 6:13). So shall it be at the end of this world when the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just (Matt. 13:49). He that shall endure unto the end shall be saved. When the gospel of the kingdom is preached in all the world for a witness, then shall the end come, and with great sound of a trumpet the angels shall gather together the elect...

Previous article in this series: October 1, 2020, p. 17. In the PRC’s covenant theology, there is a significant truth that, though not entirely overlooked in the past, is still frequently overlooked in the present.1 Not long ago, I revised my lecture on Lesson 18 (“The Covenant of Grace”) in the Essentials of Reformed Doctrine class that I teach to the young people of Provident PRC in Metro Manila. I first made that lecture nearly ten years ago, but I had not taught it since moving to our mission field in the Philippines in 2017. Regretfully, I discovered that in...

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. II Chronicles 7:14 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep...

Trivia question Which church was organized in 1932 as the third Protestant Reformed Church in Grand Rapids? Find the answer later in this column.   Minister activities Rev. J. Smidstra (First PRC, Holland) received the call to Hudsonville PRC and, after consideration, declined it on February 14. Kalamazoo PRC formed a new trio consisting of: Revs. M. DeBoer (Edgerton, MN), E. Guichelaar (Randolph, WI), and J. Laning (Hull, IA). Rev. Guichelaar received this call. A trio was formed by the consistory of Wingham, Ontario consisting of Rev. N. Langerak, Rev. J. Smidstra, and Rev. S. Regnerus. On February 23, the...

Not many churches can claim a list of worship service locations like Southeast Protestant Reformed Church (SE PRC). On March 7, 1944, thirty-three families met and organized as Fourth Protestant Reformed Church (Fourth PRC). The meeting was held in a vacated butcher shop in Boston Square (a grouping of retail stores) located in south Grand Rapids. The organization of this congregation was occasioned by the rapid growth of First PRC, then over 500 families. Shortly thereafter, the congregation purchased a two-story gas station just south of Boston Square on Kalamazoo Ave. After renovation, this location was home for this small...