MISSION TIDINGS

GIFTS RECEIVED FOR MISSIONS IN AUGUST 1979

CLASSISS MIDWEST SOURCE AMOUNT

Friend in Michigan Gift $135.00

Friend in So. Holland Gift 20.00

Friend in Lynwood, ILL. Gift 125.00 CLASSIS WEST

Friend in Pella Gift 25.00

Friend in Oskaloosa Gift 350.00

TOTAL $655.00

Dear friends,

Herewith we want to thank everyone for their gifts for the missions. May the Lord bless you and your gifts.

As the time has arrived that Mr. & Mrs. Warmenhoven have finished their work in Baldwin, we feared that Baldwin mission would be closed, but we hope that the Lord has opened the way that it can be continued on a part-time basis. There are some men from Grand Rapids who have volunteered to go by turns every Saturday to visit the people and to have a Bible study in the afternoon. The mission board is very pleased with this decision and wish these men the Lord’s indispensible blessing upon their feeble labors in that way. We hope there will be a people who will remember these men in their prayers, also amongst the people of Baldwin, that the Lord may work a true conversion, for they are the fruits that are desired to be seen by doing mission work. May it redound to the honor and glory of God.

Mike Meeuwse has completed his flying lessons and practice and is now preparing the helicopter for shipment to New Guinea. We have not yet received shipping permission from the government of New Guinea. He also does not have his visa, but we hope that that Lord will work out all these things in His time. We include a letter from Meta Moerdyk.

On the 27th of September the Lord willing, three members of our mission board will visit the country of Haiti to speak with the government, to try and find out the possibilities and the cost to have something valuable to bring to our next Synod, the Lord willing. Really friends, we hope that you may pray that the Lord will direct all these things, for it is truly the desire of the mission board with Moses of old, if Thy presence does not go before us, lead us not up hence. We trust that you will all order your mission calendars for 1980 early, and also other miscellaneous items that you know we have. In behalf of the mission board.

American General Mission Fund

Netherland Reformed Congregations

of United States and Canada

John Spaans, Treasurer

Plankinton, So. Dak. 57368

Phone: 1-605-732-4539

A LETTER FROM NIGERIA

August 1979

PMB49

Abakaliki, Nigeria Dear friends,

Quite some time has passed already, since we wrote our last news letter, even though some of you have just received it. It is surprising that some went by airmail and others via surface mail. They were mailed at the same time.

It is the middle of the rainy season now. So far we have received sufficient rain. In other parts of Nigeria it is quite different. The Lord is good to us. The rain brings cooler weather, but also more insects.

Since our last letter, it has been a busy time. Many smaller building projects, which all took a lot of time and coordination have been nearly or completely finished. Quite a few remain yet, but our cement could not reach us any more, due to the rain and the extremely poor road to Abakaliki. We have not seen the road this bad before. Consequently, our masons have returned to their own tribe, until we get cement again. Since the work load for Tom has been very heavy, it was a welcome break. The work at the airstrip has continued. Large and small trees have been uprooted. A culvert was made in the low swampy center, and the filling in is nearly completed. It took around 400 tractor wagon trips, all hand filled, to do it. Now the hand leveling will start and at the end we hope to pull a blade across it, which another mission is letting us use.

Our new teacher, Hielke Visser and his wife Jannie arrived from Holland. They have three children. At present, they are in Jos for language study. At the end of the month they hope to return, D.V. They are living in Commelins former house. It has been refinished. The past weeks mom and dad have lived there with Chris and his friend. We are happy to have them here. The boys hope to return next week and mom’s return is not sure yet. Dad hopes to stay till December and return in April again. During his stay here he will be taking over a lot of work from Tom. He is our field director. He will also give lessons at the Bible school, take over a large part of the church work, teaching as well as visiting. This fall we hope to have baptism again, D.V. Special catechism classes for this are starting now. Mr. Visser’s presence is a welcome change. He has been a teacher for 8 years. Our shortage was severe, but the coming of the Vissers and mom and dad shows that the Lord does care for us and the work here. Now we hope to set new goals, starting with new curriculum planning and different admission requirements. Lately many older persons would like to attend, but most of them are completely illiterate, and much slower in grasping lesson materials. This results in problems. Class 1 actually has four different levels, so that continuity and challenge for the student is very difficult.

This time of the year is also hungry season again. Although some have been able to earn money by working on the strip and in the different compounds, in general the suffering is much. Changes in food habits come very slowly. Tom has not had sufficient time or resources for it either. Hopefully this will change in the future. The Bible-school students have their farm plots, but very few apply what they have learned to their own farms yet. We do see them eating more rice this year and some soybeans. Prices also continue to rise rapidly. It is hard for the poor people here. Last month the postage doubled, food prices soar.…tomato paste went from 10 to 35 kobo, a can of vegetables is $10.00 Our garden is not so well this year. Many insects and diseases have spoiled a large part. But we have enough to eat yet, which is a great blessing.

One day a week no one comes, so we can have a quiet day. Almost all our evenings are occupied with meetings or group work. All this added to the delay of this letter. We sure were surprised again by a big stack of cards and letters for our birthdays and Paula’s. One time we had over 50, and we read them all at once! Thank you for all your wishes and prayers. We have to learn more and more to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.

Yours, with warm greetings,

Tom, Meta, Eric, and Paula

MARTIN LUTHER

Life in the Land of the Birds

S. M. Houghton

Upon his departure from Worms Luther fully expected a speedy journey to Wittenberg, his former home, but such was not to be the case. The Lord saw that His weary servant, who had been engaged in public controversy for five years, required rest and retirement away from the bustle and turmoil in which a Mr. Valiant-for-the-Truth is often, of necessity, found. The place of retirement was not chosen by Luther himself, and he was taken there in a somewhat alarming manner. When he had got a considerable distance from Worms the path entered a glen, thickly forested even to the tops of the hills which rose steeply on either side. Suddenly there emerged from the woods a company of horsemen, armed to the teeth. Uttering threats and harsh language, they attacked the carriage in which Luther was riding, and, while the coachman and attendants of the Reformer made little or no resistance, Luther himself was seized and hurried rapidly away. Actually this was a plot organised by friends of the Reformation, who feared that the Catholics might burn or slay their intrepid opponent. Two or three of the attendants were in the secret, but appeared to be terrified when the horsemen approached so that the suspicions of their companions might not be aroused. All went well. Luther was conveyed on horseback to a stately castle some eight miles distant from the scene of pretended violence. This castle, the Wartburg, occupied the summit of a hill overlooking Eisenach, and was to furnish a secure retreat for God’s servant for many months to come.

The Wartburg was reached at eleven o’clock on a moonless night, and when the great gates closed behind the cavalcade the Reformer lost sight of the world, and the world of the Reformer. To Luther the castle was ‘a Patmos’, a place of banishment indeed, yet not so unpleasing as was the real Patmos to John the Apostle. His chief fear was that his enemies might spread the tale that he had at length become panic-stricken and had fled from the face of his foes, just as Elijah had done after the wonderful scene upon Mount Carmel. Be this as it might, Luther was not responsible for his seclusion in the Wartburg, and he could calmly leave the consequences with God.

Luther’s sudden and mysterious disappearance caused no small stir in religious circles throughout Germany. Many Protestants belived that some treacherous plot had been hatched by the Catholics, who had contrived to murder the zealous Reformer before the cause of their church received further damage. But Catholics themselves were equally ignorant of Luther’s whereabouts, although this did not prevent them from taking legal action against the monk who had defied them at Worms, and whose teachings were turning the world upside down. Accordingly, the Emperor and the princes of Germany, advised by the Pope, issued a decree forbidding any of their peoples to receive or feed Luther. On the contrary, wherever he was found he was to be seized and handed over to the officers of the Emperor.

It was not possible to give effect to this decree so long as Luther’s retreat was unknown, and, on their part, such friends of the Reformer as were in the secret, were extremely careful to withhold all information from the public ear. It was known, indeed, that Luther was safe, but otherwise the world had no sure knowledge of what had transpired. Luther, therefore, remained unmolested, and, for the first time for many years, he tasted the sweets of leisure and the quiet opportunities for prolonged meditation which undisturbed solitude affords, and which are so welcome to a contemplative mind. In the Wartburg he was required to conduct himself as a knight prisoner under the name of Squire George. Further to hide his identity, he grew a thick beard, whereas formerly he had been cleanshaven. His monkish garb was exchanged for the dress of a knight, and when he finally left the castle he was accoutred with the steel breastplate, the ponderous sword, the plumed casque, the boots and the spurs, of a sixteenth-century soldier of fortune.

Inside the castle Luther was entertained by the governor with the greatest liberality, and accorded the utmost honour and respect. The whole of the Wartburg was open to him, and occasionally, in company with a trusted retainer, he was allowed to take short rides and walks in the woods and the surrounding country. Here I am up aloft,’ he wrote, ‘in the region of birds which sing sweetly in the branches of the tall trees, and praise God night and day with all their might. ‘ No doubt such inactivity, continued day after day, was galling to Luther’s spirit. It was in complete contrast with his mode of life in the past, and though he valued the solitude and accepted it as the will of God, he was at times inclined to wish himself back again in the forefront of the Reformation battle.

Yet Luther did not waste his time in this castle of refuge. He applied himself to the study of Scripture, especially in the original languages. Writing to a friend ten days after his arrival, he said, ‘I sit here the whole day at leisure and read the Greek and

Hebrew Bible’. Not infrequently he wrote expositions of certain psalms and other portions of the Word of God. The chief labour, however, in which he now engaged was a German translation of the Bible.

In recent years a great deal of research into the origins of the German Bible has furnished us with a considerable amount of accurate information. In Germany, of course, as elsewhere, the Roman Catholic Church was unwilling that any Bible should be used by priest or people but the Latin Vulgate, and from time to time stern attempts were made to suppress vernacular translations. As early as the thirteenth century in Germany, parts of Scripture in the language of the people were being circulated secretly. A document pertaining to the Inquisition, written about 1260, says of these German translations: ‘I have heard and seen a certain unlettered countryman who used to recite Job word for word, and many others who knew the whole New Testament perfectly’. It has even been conjectured that the entire Bible existed in a German translation about this time.

The invention of the printing press took place in Germany, and naturally this gave a tremendous impetus to Bible production. The famous Gutenberg Bible (the Latin Vulgate: now available in facsimile) was printed at Mainz in 1455. Nine years later there appeared the first printed German Bible. It is called the Mentel (or Mentelin) Bible after the name of its Strassburg printer, and appears to have been made from a version produced at least a century and a half previously. Eleven more editions appeared before the century closed. In the same period another Bible in Low German was published at Cologne, and yet another at Lubeck.

The Roman Church feared greatly at this new activity, realising that it was a virtual impossibility to muzzle the printing press, which could multiply copies of books with such great ease and cheapness. Yet an effort to check the printing of vernacular Bibles was made, for in 1486 the Archbishop of Mainz, the city where the press began, published an edict in which he claimed the ancient right to censor all translations. But there was little that he could do to enforce it. The press could quite easily be concealed in cellar or garret, or in some out-of-the-way-spots, and escape his vidictive hands.

The Mentel German Bible suffered from two radical defects. Like Wycliffe’s English Bible, it was a translation from the Latin Vulgate and not from the Hebrew and Greek originals. Also it was ‘clumsy in its linguistic form and partly incomprehensible’. Luther thought badly of it, and his strong desire to promote a thorough reformation among his fellow-countrymen led him to aim at the production of a much more accurate work. Yet before 1514 he knew but little Greek and even less Hebrew. Arduous study remedied the defect in himself and by 1521 he was competent in both biblical languages. In the background was his friend Philip Melanchthon who, in 1518, at the age of twenty-one, had been appointed Professor of Greek at Wittenberg University. The same young man was also skilled in Hebrew and, needless to say, in Latin.

But Luther had one further qualification for his task. As the gift of God, he stood head and shoulders above all his contemporaries in his skill in the German tongue. Melanchthon gave the following as his opinion: ‘Bugenhagen is a grammarian, I am a dialectician, Jonas is an orator; but Luther is all in one; no one can be compared with him’. The verdict of another capable critic ran thus: ‘Our Lord. …illumined the German language through Doctor Martin, so that, as long as the world has stood, no human has written or spoken the German language as well as he’. The general verdict of the entire German people is well summed up in the words of the eighteenth-century poet Klopstock: ‘No one who knows the nature of a language dares to appear in the presence of Luther without reverence. Among no people has one man done so much to help create their language’.

In the Wartburg (‘the land of the birds’, as the reformer termed it) Luther first gave attention to the New Testament. Using the revised Greek text published by Erasmus in 1519, and working at immense speed, he completed the original first draft of his German version in two and a half months (eleven weeks). With Melanchthon’s help he next gave it a thorough revision. Between May and September, 1522, it was in the hands of the printer, and in the latter month it was put on sale in folio form in an edition of 3,000 copies. The cost was half a gulden, equivalent to the week’s wage of a journeyman carpenter. It sold at great speed. From May onwards Luther put all his strength to the work of Old Testament translation. Naturally this required much more time, and was much more difficult than the work of the New. Also it was bound to be more costly than the New. For both these reasons it was published in parts, beginning with the Books of Moses in the summer of 1523. The work was not finally completed until 1534 when the first complete Bibles in Low and High German were published at Lubeck and Wittenberg respectively. The cost was approximately that of five calves. Eleven folio editions appeared before Luther’s death, all carefully revised, as well as portions of the Bible in quarto and octavo editions. For many years Wittenberg remained the centre of German Bible-printing, over sixty editions being produced before the close of the sixteenth century. Readers who know the story of the production of the English Bible in the Tudor period may well make a comparison between the two countries. It is doubtless true that the very numerous political divisions of Germany greatly assisted Bible

production, for many princes favoured the Lutheran cause, whereas in England a centralised government, often unfavourable to the Word and its free circulation, hampered and usually controlled the work of the printers.

It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of Luther’s work of translation. It has been said that his Bible was ‘a literary event of the first magnitude,’ for it is the first work of art in German prose. Luther showed himself to be a poet of genius, and with a true feeling for the properties of other languages …The Bible first became a real part of the literary heritage of the German people with Luther. He belived—contrary to the teaching of the Catholic Church—that the Holy Scriptures were the one true key to faith and doctrine, and so his translation was also the sure foundation of the Reformation. In the history of the language his version is also a factor whose significance cannot be over-estimated in the development of modern literary German’. Our quotation, that of a present-day German expert, is taken from the volume of the Cambridge History of the bible which appeared in 1963. It well represents the latest assessments of Luther’s impact on his own and on later ages.

Clearly, therefore, the time spent by our Reformer in the Wartburg was not given up to idleness. The work of reformation progressed even more rapidly because, for a period, its chief instrument was in compulsory retirement, ‘sanctified, meet for the Master’s use’, and prepared and able to give to the German people a German Bible for daily use. The bible in the home is as potent, under God, as the bible in the pulpit. In all classes in Germany multitudes were learning to enquire at the Word of God, and in the quietness of the domestic hearth they drank in the unpolluted, unadulterated, truth. ‘On the Scripture,’ said Luther, ‘I take my stand; there I take my seat; there my resting-place; there is my triumph, there my glory; from thence I defy popes, Henricists,* and the gates of hell. I heed very little the words of men, and as little do I heed tradition or untrustworthy custom. The Word of God is superior to all else. If I have the Divine Majesty on my side, what care I even though a thousand churchfuls of Henrys rise up against me. God cannot err or deceive; others may err and have erred.’

Occasionally Luther’s studies were varied by recreation in the countryside immediately around his secluded retreat. During some of his walks he used to look for strawberries, and at rare intervals he joined the other occupants of the castle in hunting small game. ‘I have been out sporting two whole days,’ he wrote in September, 1521. ‘I caught two hares and two poor little partridges. I did not entirely waste my time, for, in meditation amid the nets and dogs, I found a mystery of grief and pain in the very heart of all the joyous tumult around me.

Is not this hunting the very image of the devil going about seeking what poor beasts he may devour by the aid of his nets, his traps, and his trained dogs—that is to say, of his bishops and his theologians? There was an incident which made the mystery and the image still more manifest. I had saved alive a poor little hare I picked up, all trembling from its pursuers; after keeping it in my sleeve for some time, I set it down, and the creature was running off to secure its liberty, when the dogs getting scent of it, ran up, first broke its leg, and then pitilessly killed it. The dogs were the pope and Satan, destroying the soul which I seek to save, as I sought to save the poor little hare.…I have had enough of such hunting as this.’

*A reference to the opposition of Henry VIII of England.

GOD IS OUR REFUGE

God is our refuge in distress,
Our shield of hope through every care,

Our Shepherd watching us to bless,
And therefore will we not despair;
Although the mountains shake,
And hills their place forsake,
And billows o’er them break,
Yet still will we not fear,

For Thou, O God, art ever near.
That Word above all earthly powers—
No thanks to them—abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours
Through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go,
This mortal life also;
The body they may kill,
God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.

Martin Luther

SONGS OF DEGREES

Psalm 123:1, “Unto Thee I lift up mine eyes, O Thou That dwellest in the heavens.”

Psalm 123 is almost the smallest of the well-known songs of Hamma’aloth, but certainly not the least. Yes, for the oppressed church it will always remain a song in which her life in the midst of the oppressors is depicted.

The well-known reformer Luther expressed it this way: “This is a serious sighing of a frightened heart that looks about to all sides and seeks a friend, supporter, and comforter, but cannot find one anywhere. Therefore he speaks: where shall I, poor and despised man, seek refuge? I am not so strong that I can remain standing of myself; wisdom and discretion in so many happenings which place themselves against me, I lack; therefore I come unto Thee, my God, unto Thee I lift up mine eyes, Thou That dwellest in the heavens. The poet places the inhabitants of heaven over against the inhabitants of the earth, and admonishes himself thus that even

though the earth is high and mighty, nevertheless God is greater. Now, what will you do when the world mocks with you and scoffs you? Turn your eyes to this so that you behold God with all His dear angels and elect, and you praise and extol.”

Thus far the well-known reformer.

It is a song of an oppressed soul whose eyes are fixed upon the Lord.

Bowed down under the scorn and mockery of the enemy, both inwardly and outwardly, the poet knows no other way anymore but to be enabled to lift up his eyes unto the Lord.

He is a lover of the true Congregation of the Lord and is not just busy for himself, as also becomes clearly evident from the entire psalm. Together they are in need; together, then, they also need to call upon the Lord.

Deep reverence already speaks forth from the first verse, for it is not a haughty one who impudently lifts up his eyes. No, on the contrary. You can truly read that when he is praying, for then it sounds forth: “Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us: for we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorning of those that are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.”

The poet with his people is in need, in soul-need, on account of the comtempt of the enemy. And then it does not really concern themselves, no, the enemy scorns and mocks Zion’s great King. And in Him all His dear ones.

The poet and his company were being vexed for the sake of the Lord.

Happy is he that has a Refuge in these day of affliction.

My reader, do we also have a refuge, that is, the Only Refuge?

It is so wonderfully great if the soul may lift up the eye in meekness of heart unto the Lord, the God of hosts.

Oh, he has learned something of it: with Him alone is counsel and deliverance. Oh, that also in these times there were more people who might expect it from Above alone. In our personal and in our church life, things would then truly look differently.

The poet knows where His Lord lives: “That dwellest in the heavens.” Thence He sends His commands. Thence He governs the entire universe. But thence He also has His special watching eyes upon those who are in contempt with the world, but with Him elect and precious.

Behold, this poet not only needs the Lord for everything which is necessary for life and eternal bliss—which is an invaluable privilege of free grace—but he may also prayingly hope for the protection and help from Above.

From heaven he expects not only His Lord and Saviour, but from heaven must also come that protection against the enemy against whom he has no weapon in the battle.

Blessed privilege, thus to be bound to heaven.

That, indeed, we might ask: “Lord, teach us to pray that which we all of necessity must have to meet Thee one time without terror.” For if something is known of that, it becomes a matter of course that days will come—might it be many days—that in all oppression and strife we continually need Him Who lives in heaven. Has it become your frame already from free favour which did move Him from eternity:”unto Thee I lift up mine eyes, O Thou that dwellest in the heavens”? Chilliwack, B.C.

Rev. A. W. Verhoef

THE INVITATIONS OF THE GOSPEL

We owe it to the sovereign mercy of God, that there is salvation. It is true we are sinners, and as such, we are condemned, and deserve to perish. We therefore stand in need of salvation: but this is no reason why it should be provided. The fallen angels need salvation as much as we do; and yet none is provided for them: nay, “they are reserved in everlasting chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 6. But what no man can claim by right, what no man can demand because of his necessity, what no man can merit by his doings or sufferings, that flows from the infinite compassion of “Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will.”

And in this He is exceedingly glorious in Himself, and in the eyes of all who know Him. For what more excellent than love; what more venerable than infinite love; what more precious than infinite sovereign love! “Herein,” says the Apostle, “is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us.” I John 4:10.

Redemption Purchased

The salvation that flows from this source is every way worthy of its Author, and suitable to those for whom it is designed. The glory of it lies in this—it is salvation from sin. Now, sin is infinitely evil; it is so in the judgment of God; and it is thus regarded by all who know it. To most people, it is a very light thing; it gives them little uneasiness, and awakens slight apprehensions. But this is a grievous error—a deep delusion—a fearful corruption. And if men are not delivered from it, the consequences must be unspeakably dreadful. Can a man take fire into his bosom, and not be burned? Can he drink up poison, and not be injured? Can he trifle with sin, and not be damned? “The wages of sin is death.” Rom. 6:23.

In keeping with this view of the evil of sin, is the method which Divine wisdom had taken to save men from it. The honour of Jehovah’s name must be vindicated; the claims of His justice must be satisfied; the precept of the law must be obeyed, and the

penalty of the law endured, ere any of the children of men can be freed from that which is the death of the soul; which robs it of the image of God, shuts out from His favour, and unfits for His service. Now, all this is done by the Lord Jesus Christ,—a person of infinite dignity and matchless excellence, bearing essentially a mysterious relation to the Father, and entering by His Incarnation into a close affinity to His people—the Son of God, and the Son of Man: “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh.” I Tim. 3:16.

He appeared in the fulness of time in this world, as the Saviour of sinners. He condescended, in their behalf, to step into the place of a law-subject, though in Himself the lawgiver.

He rendered to His Father the obedience which it required, though entitled in Himself to demand obedience from His creatures. He became a curse, though the blessed and only Potentate. He died, though the prince of life. By this amazing work did He purchase redemption for His chosen. And in reward of His toils and sufferings, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, “the author of eternal salvation, unto all them that obey Him.” Heb. 5:9.

But salvation needs to be applied as well as purchased. For men are by nature far from God, and need to be brought nigh to Him; they are destitute of His image, and must have it restored to their souls; they are dead in trespasses and sins, and must be quickened into newness of life. The same love that provided for the purchase, ensures the application. And accordingly, in virtue of the death of Christ, at the instance of His intercession and in connection with the means of grace, the Holy Ghost is given, that men may be born again; made partakers of spiritual life; become the subjects of saving illumination, and awakened to a sense of their guilt and wretchedness, be led to spiritual apprehension of the Lord Jesus, that they may receive Him and look to Him: “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” Is. 45:22.

Gospel Invitations

Now, the gospel brings tidings of this salvation, and the blessings which it involves. We find these set forth in the Scripture, under a variety of metaphors, but all of them most apt and beautiful. Among others, they are compared to waters; because they are designed and fitted to relieve the wants of the soul, and impart to it solid refreshment. The children of men are by nature in a condition very like to that of one who is dying of thirst, with this difference, that he is aware of destitution, and desirous of that which will cure it.

But they are so blinded by sin, their sensibilities are so deadened, and their hearts so stupified, that though they are in want and wretchedness, they think themselves rich; and though they have secret cravings, they do not perceive what it is that will allay them. The cry therefore, that prevails in the world is “What shall we eat? What shall we drink? Wherewithal shall we be clothed?”

The invitations of the gospel break in upon these infatuated creatures, fragrant with the pity and love of Him who sends them out. But the greater part give no heed to the heavenly voice; a few think for a moment of the subject, and then dismiss it, to return, one to his farm, and another to his merchandise! A smaller number appear to be captivated for a while; but the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the fear of trouble, the love of ease, or the charms of sinful pleasures, drive them away from Him, who would have them take up the cross and follow Him. In many instances, indeed, a profession is made of a reception of the gospel, of faith in Christ, and hope of eternal life: but as such profession has no root of grace in the soul, it brings forth no saving fruit. The storms of this life sometimes blast and destroy it, as, in the case of him of whom the Apostle writes: “Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world,” and at other times it may continue to hold its place, a dry and withered thing, till the approach of the Judge and the advance of eternity; and then, like the foolish virgins, it may be said, “Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.” Matt. 25:8.

Nor will it be otherwise with any, until the Lord by His Spirit take a dealing with the soul, awaken it to a sense of sin, and the destitution which it has occasioned, and implant a desire after better things than this world can yield, even the blessings of Christ’s salvation.

The cravings of the old man are all for fleshly things; and no discipline, however gentle and faithfully applied, will alter their nature—”that which is born of the flesh is flesh,” and carnal things alone will gratify its appetite. But where a new nature has been wrought by the Spirit of God, there are desires which can be satisfied only by the water of life—”that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,” and the desires of such are “towards His name, and the remembrance of Him. ”

Addressed to Sinners

By persons of this description, and by them only, are the calls of the gospel appreciated. For as they are addressed to sinners, guilty, helpless, and hell-deserving, so it is only those that are subjects of a work of grace, that look upon themselves in this light. We have no warrant to limit the invitations of the gospel. The terms in which they run are broad and liberal: “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity: and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at My reproof: behold I will pour out My Spirit unto you, I will make My words known unto you.” Prov. 1:22 and 23. “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.

and let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Rev. 22:17. But, however broad and liberal these terms are—and we must not make them other than they are in the Word of God,—it is plain from the nature of the case, from the testimony of Holy Scripture, and from the evidence of experience, that none but sinners will care to embrace such invitations. And does not our Lord expressly declare, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance”? Matt. 9:13.

Operation of the Holy Spirit

Now, it is just at this point we see the necessity of the work of the Spirit of God in regeneration, and the riches of Divine grace in providing that such a work shall be wrought in any of the children of men.

For however large and free the invitations of the gospel are, it is not to honour the grace of God, but utterly to make it void, to suppose that they can take effect on the soul, without the life-giving power of the Holy Ghost. No doubt men may delude themselves with the idea that they have embraced these invitations, and in the faith of them, have “come to the waters,” though they give no evidence of conversion to God, and perhaps do not even pretend to any such change. But sooner or later they will discover that they have embraced a phantom, and not the Christ of God; and thus sink into endless perdition, when they had hoped to rise to everlasting blessedness. Is there no meaning in our Lord’s solemn words, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. And if there be, where, in the economy of grace, is the place they hold? Where, if not at the very point of the soul’s closing with Christ in the invitations of the gospel?

Closing with Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ, as proclaimed in the gospel, is Himself the avenue by which any are to come to the waters: “I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 19:9. He is the friend of sinners. He has given ample proofs of His love in laying down His life for them. And now He stands with outstretched arms to receive all who come unto Him. Oh, that sinners would awake to consideration; that they would bethink themselves of their state; that they would lay it to heart, that except they repent they must perish! For if they knew the day of visitation, and did not forsake their own mercies, they would comply with the earnest call that is addressed to them, “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him, while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Is. 55:6,7.

In connection with such calls, and by means of them, are men, through the power of the Holy Ghost, brought to Christ; for “no man can come unto Me except the Father which hath sent Me draw him.” John 6:44. And in Christ do they find the waters of salvation which refresh the soul. The fall has robbed them of all spiritual excellence; it has shut them out of all true happiness, and stripped them of all real glory. By birth, therefore, in their own nature, and through wicked works, they are needy and perishing creatures. Oh, sinners, look at what you are in the glass of the word, till pride be hid from your eyes, and, affected by the view of your miserable case, you be constrained to cry out, “What must we do?” In Jesus Christ, and in Him alone, can such a question find its proper answer: “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no name given under heaven nor among men whereby we must be saved, but the name of Jesus.” Acts 4:12. Is the soul parched under a sense of guilt and exposure to the wrath of God? In Christ there is relief; for “this is the name by which he shall be called, the Lord our Righteousness!” Jer. 23:6. Is the soul bowed down under manifold corruptions, and the power of indwelling sin? In Christ there is relief; for “the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth from all sin.’“ I John 1:7. Is the soul dried up and withered, by the influence of the world? In Christ there is relief; for “He gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world.” Gal. 1:4. Is the soul scorched with the heat of tribulation, or exhausted with the temptations of the devil? In Christ there is relief; for “the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” I John 3:8. Is the soul ready to faint under heavy afflictions, with sorrow of heart because of the state of the world, and still more with the state of the church? In Christ there is relief: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.” John 14:1.

The warrant to come to this all-sufficient Saviour is to be found in the invitations of the gospel. A man needs not to wait till he makes himself better; for this is vain, seeing that he is a self-destoyer, and that all his righteousnesses are as filthy rags. He needs not to look that he bring a price in his hands; for he is bidden to buy wine and milk without money, and without price. He needs not to strive to work himself into a frame by which he may recommend himself to the divine Redeemer. Let him see to it that he come as a sinner, confessing his guilt, for “he that covereth his sin shall not prosper, but he that confesseth and forsaketh it shall find mercy.” Prov. 28:13. Accepting the punishment of his iniquity, and having the sentence of death in himself, he will then find the Saviour’s words made good in his experience, “Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out.” John 6:37.

Final Caution

Nor let him delay, for delays are dangerous; and in no case so much as here. If convictions are produced, do not stifle them; for, though painful, they are your best friends. Do not, like Felix, say to them, “Go thy way for this time, when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee,” but at once, and heartily, yield to them. Beware of resting in convictions, for however sharp and pungent, and however long-continued, they cannot save you. A sense of his guilt could not protect the man slayer from the avenger of blood: only entrance into the city of refuge could do that. The pain inflicted by the fiery serpents could not heal the wounded Israelite; only a sight of the serpent of brass had that virtue. In like manner, it is a look of Christ by divine faith, and not convictions of sin, that will deliver the soul from death, “they looked unto Him, and were lightened.” Psalm 34:5.

But beware of despising the invitations of the gospel. In many cases it is easy to do this. Men have only to continue in their sleep of ignorance and carelessness. In others it requires an effort to get rid of solemn thoughts of eternity. In some, it may demand the stifling of convictions, the violation of engagements, and the casting away of a profession, to escape from invitations which are like the sound of rain to the weary traveller, but of no account to those who are at their ease. However it is with you, rest assured of this, if the invitations that are given in the gospel be dismissed in carelessness, in worldliness, in unbelief, they will meet you another day and in another place. But then, they will appear, not surrounded by all that is lovely, and tender and attractive; but rendered awful by the glory of Him “who shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2Thes. 1:7,8.

To escape this awful doom, be persuaded to hearken to the voice of mercy now pleading with you. The language in which you are now addressed is that of entreaty; then it will be changed into that of condemnation. The lot that will be assigned to you then will be everlasting perdition. In the word of the truth of the gospel, the divine Redeemer says to you, “Come.” But if the gracious call be neglected, He, from His great white throne of judgment will say to you, “Depart.” Oh, dread reversion! Oh, heavy doom! Oh, overwhelming misery! “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all My counsel, and would have none of my reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind.” Prov. 1:24-27. Oh, flee from the wrath to come, and lay hold of eternal life! Jonathan R. Anderson

(The above is No. 3 in a series of 4 Free Grace Tracts written by a Glasgow Minister and commended by J.C. Philpot in the ‘‘Gospel Standard. ”)

STRANGE PEOPLE

The old prophetess Anna out of Luke 2:36, knew all the addresses of all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem. At all times there will be such souls upon earth. But still it seems, that the number of those is continually becoming smaller. One of our old fathers wrote: “There are cities and villages where God never comes anymore”. And whereby shall we know that God still comes and works among us? That God is still near? If God still comes to our cities, villages, streets and homes to convert people? Also, when He still keeps the wounds open which He has made, and that there are still some crying and looking for the balm of Gilead, and for the blood of Christ that washes and cleanses from all sin, under Whose wings there is healing. When some are looking for the forgiving of their sins; for the restoration into the fellowship of God; for the Spirit of adoption of children; for the entering in and proceeding in the covenant of grace, with the knowledge of it for themselves. And that their purpose is not to become something with that but that God thereby may receive the honor, and that they through the grace of the Holy Spirit might be confirmed in their state.

I was moderator in a congregation for sometime already, when an old woman drew my attention, who was disregarded and lived a solitary life. At a certain time I went there, and that visit was not disappointing. I promised that I would come back again. At another time I was in that city with an elder who had traveled with me. I rang the door-bell, but at first the door was not opened, but when I rang again the door was opened, and that old woman said: “That is a disappointment, because I had asked the Lord, that you would pass my door this time.” “Well,” I said, “then we will go back.” “Oh no,” said that old woman, “just come in.” The end of that conversation was, that she said: “I am glad that God did not hear my prayer.” So I asked, “Why did you ask that then?” With tears in her eyes she said, “Oh, I am so poor and so empty, and I thought those people will be so disappointed, if they hear of nothing but my misery.” She thought we could better have gone to people who had more to tell.

No, it is no wonder, that the world calls us “strange people”, and that the nominal Christians draw up their nose for that. Yes, there are times enough for those people themselves, that they cannot give themselves a name; that they cannot understand it themselves.

As soon as the Lord according to the sovereignty of His sovereign good-pleasure, upon the basis of the mediatorial work of His Son, has drawn a sinner out of the power of darkness and translated him into the Kingdom of the Son of His eternal love, then the strife begins. The devil unto whom they have fallen in paradise, and whom they have served for a longer or shorter time, now becomes their enemy. Because they have been drawn out of this present wicked world, and now no longer are of the world, the world turns against them. And besides that, their flesh is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. That flesh is in conspiracy with the devil and the world, and that is a continual warfare.

Christ is the faithful keeper of Israel who neither slumbers nor sleeps, but the devil is always busy twenty-four hours, day and night, to plague and to oppress. Thus it is not an easy life. The number of those who are endowed with the consciousness of grace is not so great. There are more for whom it is a question most of the time, and who are in strife about whether God has begun, than those who can say with Paul, “I know in Whom I have believed.” There are various souls who are often being attacked whether it is the true work. They are often afraid, that they shall deceive themselves, and that they are but hypocrites. It is not possible to write it all down, how that such souls are cast to and fro, from the one thing to another, and that, sometimes for years. The Christians of today laugh about it. They say, “What poor wretches.” They are glad that they don’t belong to those people of oh and alas. They have done (so they say) what God has commanded in His Word. They have accepted Jesus, and now they feel themselves so happy, so cheerful and so glad, they banish all doubt from their heart, and they believe, yea, are assured that they will soon have a place in heaven. Suspicion is unknown to them, they give the devil no place nor chance. It seems that they have nothing to do with the corruption of their heart. Neither are they afraid to meet people. No, they know absolutely nothing of all those things. They can always talk, testify and believe, thus there is nothing in the way.

They know nothing of praying and supplicating, groaning and sighing, only of giving thanks, that is their daily life. They are also insured outwardly from top to toe, thus there is nothing that can harm them. In a “Christian” way they enjoy the things of the world, and they thank their heavenly Father for all that they have. They do not murmur like that ancient people Israel. If God takes away their relatives out of this life, they do not mourn about that either. They say that is God’s will, and it would be ingratitude to come against that. And thus man lives on quietly, satisfied and content.

But still it is peculiar and remarkable that those poor people, that must often go their way with much fear, still never are jealous of those people, and they would not exchange with those people for a thousand worlds. Indeed, they are strange people, when they are in bands and oppression, then they pray to be delivered out and from them. And if there are times that they are not oppressed, then they are not at ease either. Then they fear, that it is nothing with them but a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away, Hosea 6:4.

They are often afraid, that there are some among those people, who still have a good thought about them. Oh yes, sometimes a word slips from their tongue, they cannot keep still, but it often is: “Had I only never opened my mouth, I deceive those people and myself.” Oh, how sad the end shall be. For them it often becomes such a serious matter because it is still concealed for them, that upon Golgotha it has become such a serious matter for Christ, because He trod the winepress alone, and of the disciples there was none with Him. He has trampled the winepress in His fury, and has stained all His raiment. Oh, when a door of hope is opened in the valley of Achor for those people, then it becomes different. When that wondrous God, whose doings are wonderful comes to those strange people, to explain and reveal the child that was born, in the Son that was given, whose name is called wonderful. Isa. 9:6.

Day and night they tried to satisfy God. They attempted to climb up to God by means of the ladder of the broken covenant of works, but the one rung of that ladder after the other broke for them. They continually sank deeper away in their lost state, so that from their side it became an impossible matter, without hope.

Oh no, by hearing and by reading we do not come to the knowledge that salvation lies outside of us in Christ. It must be personally passed through and experienced. When it is no longer possible, then it is still possible. And when our hope fails, then alone can God work a living hope in our heart. That hope can be contested, but it maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us, Rom. 5:5. Strange people. When God gives opening, then there is opening; when God gives faith, then they may and must believe. When God gives love, then it is: “I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength,” Ps. 18:1. When He gives gladness in their heart, they rejoice in the Lord; when He gives peace in the heart, no one can take that peace away. If they receive something, they have something. They cannot make anything themselves. For the first time or by renewing they remain deeply dependent upon the influence and ministration of God’s Spirit. If God hides His face then they are troubled, even though God by His kindness has made their mountain secure.

They remain strange people, with a strange life, but with a life which God maintains, a life that God sometimes excites, and a life that God sometimes strengthens, and a life that is sometimes so quickened, that they sing with the poet of old:

I shall not die but live before Him,
And all His mighty works declare,
That all may joyfully adore Him
Who in His loving kindness share.

Psalter No. 427:3

Christ merited that life when He fulfilled the law.

God the Holy Ghost quickened them. And it was also He, who caused them to lose their life, to find it in Christ alone. And that life in unity with Christ, the Fountain and Prince of life, shall never die. Once those strange people shall eternally admire that God of wonders without end in a blessed eternity. Do we also belong to those people? If it is true, then it is only because He has added and placed us with them.

Rev. W. C. Lamain

GOD’S LOVE

It is said that man’s life is like unto a flower
that flourisheth, then passeth away;
or e’en like the green leaf now withered,
wind driven and quite past its’ day.

Yet God’s children are given to view things,
so that they cannot share this belief;
for they slowly, so slowly, see clearer,
what man truly is underneath.

The blossom, with its’ delicate petals,
and life giving sap coursing, grew;
yet we, since our day of conception,
are nothing but sin, through and through.

Blindly onward, by nature, we tumble,
looking not past our earthly detail;
for self service and coveting clothe us,
carnality’s the prince that we hail.

How blessed is that man-become-debtor,
who’s waiting and thirsting began,
with the Lord’s “Hitherto and no further,”
and later, “I thy salvation, am.”

Finest gold is no match for the treasure
which, like dew, raineth down from above,
for who upon earth can yet measure
the height, length, or breadth of God’s love.

(anonymous)

Deze tekst is geautomatiseerd gemaakt en kan nog fouten bevatten. Digibron werkt voortdurend aan correctie. Klik voor het origineel door naar de pdf. Voor opmerkingen, vragen, informatie: contact.

Op Digibron -en alle daarin opgenomen content- is het databankrecht van toepassing. Gebruiksvoorwaarden. Data protection law applies to Digibron and the content of this database. Terms of use.

Printen