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But the prophecies further present us with the character of the gospel as well as of its author, and with a description of the extent of His kingdom as well as of His suffering. It was prophesied that the Messiah was to reveal the will of God to man, and to establish a new and perfect covenant,—“I will raise them up a prophet,—and will put my words in His mouth, and He shall speak unto them all that I shall command Him; and it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which He shall speak...

In my previous article, under the above caption, I pointed out that, according to Rev. D. Zwier, our gospel message—the gospel as we, ministers of Protestant Reformed churches preach it, lacked “aangenaamheid” pleasantness. Zwier, so I wrote, ought to tell his readers just what he means. What he means is not that our message for God’s believing people lacks “aangenaamheid.” He knows that our message to God’s people is that with body and soul, both in life and death, they are not their own but belong to Christ their faithful Savior with all that this implies. Now this message is...

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose ye this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your grandfathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15 Apparently Joshua speaks foolishly here. He bids the children of Israel to choose—between Jehovah and the gods of the Amorites. As if Israel would choose anyone but Jehovah. Israel was the Lord’s portion. He found him in a desert land,...

The Puritans had always insisted in a strict observance of the Sabbath. This strict Sabbatism was aided by the publication of a work bearing the title, Doctrine of the Sabbath. In this work a plea was made for the perpetuation of the fourth commandment in Jewish rigor. In opposition to Puritanism King James issued his famous Declaration Sports in which he advocated the ‘old popular games and dances on the Sabbath. This action of the king aroused Puritanism and from this time on it began to grow into a political force. The king’s Declaration of Sports seemed to the Puritans...

In the articles appearing under the above caption, I am addressed to the task of setting forth the place which the Levitical priest occupied in the scheme of things that formed the symbolical-typical apparatus of the Old Testament dispensation. As has already been said, the book of Genesis and the first twenty-seven chapters of the book of Exodus make no mention of a priesthood in the line of Seth (the third from Adam) and of Abraham, that is, make no mention of a class of individuals vested with the office of priesthood as an exclusive prerogative, thus a class of...

Queen Elizabeth had embraced Protestants not for principle’s but for expediency’s sake. She, too, was glad to throw off the yoke of the Pope, who had made himself obnoxious to potentates by his encroachment on their temporal power, through his arm, viz., the clergy, (bishops, arch-bishops, etc.). The Catholics did not resent her rejection of the authority of the Pope. They, too, were eager to dispose of him for a similar reason. Elizabeth made the acceptance of her religious settlements as easy as possible. The church in its service, worship and government was only slightly modified. Her policy was to...

In the (American) De Wachter for Jan. 23, the editor in chief of this weekly wrote, “Ds. Pekelder zond ons tevens een rapport aangaande het werk der commissie (the radio committee of which Rev. E. B. Pekel der is the secretary. G.M.O.) . . . . in the Engelsche taal. De lezers, onze afkeerigheid van vertalen kennende, zullen ’t zeker niet bwalijk nemen, dat we de boodscihap der commissie op onze eigene wijze en in onze eigen taal overbrengen.” [DUTCH REMOVED] The heart of the reverend vibrated with joy. Indeed! But did not his heart also have reason to quake...

Just what is a sect in distinction from the Church, or even from a church? This question would appear to be of practical interest, both for the Church in general, and for our churches in particular. For, we surely believe one holy catholic Christian Church. Yet, always in the history of the Church of Christ in the world there were schisms, divisions, separations, secessions, and the one Church was divided into so many separate groups, distinct from one another in their confession of the truth, that it is difficult to maintain the oneness of the Church on earth, that, at...

So reads the caption of an article appearing in a recent issue of a certain radical magazine—an article in which its author voices the bitterest anguish of soul and the false hope of the children of the world in a language seldom heard. The article reads in part: Today the promise of the Angels to the Shepherds on the fields of Bethlehem sounds like a cruel hoax. Not all the eloquence and elocution of the followers of the crucified Prince of Peace can make it sound otherwise. The world is torn by hate and fear and war. From the icy...

The Levitical priests were so peculiarly connected with the tabernacle and its service, that a study of the typology of Scripture would not be complete that did not set forth the place which these persons occupied in the scheme of things that formed the Old Testament Dispensation. In this article we therefore consider the Levitical priesthood. Attention must first be directed to the fact that the book of Genesis and the first twenty seven chapters of the book of Exodus make no mention of a priesthood in the holy line of Seth (the third from Adam) and of Abraham, that...