From Henry Sieck:
Of the early Christians at Jerusalem we read that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and the apostles themselves spoke not as of themselves, but preached and propagated the doctrine committed to them by their Lord and confirmed to them by the Spirit whom He had sent from the Father. Thus did they, preachers and hearers, bear the first and foremost token of true discipleship, according to their Master's word. If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed. Again, when Antichrist set up his throne in the church, the chief abominations in holy places were the false doctrines whereby the souls of men, instead of being made free by the truth of the gospel, were fettered and held in bondage and the thralldom of a worse than Babylonian captivity. And when, in the days of the Reformation, the bulwarks of Satan were laid low and Israel was set free, this wondrous work of God was performed by the restoration of the doctrine of Christ to the preachers and hearers of Christendom.
Alas, then came a time when this kindly light of saving truth was again obscured, when rationalism was enthroned in the pulpits of what went under the name, but no longer fought under the standards, of the Lutheran church. It was then chiefly in the old books handed down from better days and read and reread at the firesides of humble people, whose libraries consisted of the Bible, the Hymnbook, the Catechism, and the family postils, that the pure doctrine of the grace of God in Christ Jesus was still the bread of life which nourished immortal souls unto life everlasting. God bless those old postils and those who read them, the old German postils, of which there are thousands also in this country, where they have contributed and still contribute not a little toward keeping preachers and hearers steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. For though by the goodness and mercy of God the Lutheran church is no longer an unknown quantity in America, and its light of pure doctrine is not hidden under a bushel, but shines throughout the land from coast to coast, and to far distant shores beyond the seas, it must not be forgotten that this light of pure Scripture doctrine came to the restorers of sound Lutheranism in America largely through the quarto and folio volumes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and was to a considerable extent exhibited and communicated to hearers and readers directly from these sources. Nor are the days of their usefulness now at an end. May their blessings never cease. (emphasis added)
Amen!
From Sermons On The Gospels Of The Ecclesiastical Year. Part First by Henry Sieck (1850-1916). Published by Concordia 1902.
Of the early Christians at Jerusalem we read that they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine, and the apostles themselves spoke not as of themselves, but preached and propagated the doctrine committed to them by their Lord and confirmed to them by the Spirit whom He had sent from the Father. Thus did they, preachers and hearers, bear the first and foremost token of true discipleship, according to their Master's word. If ye continue in my Word, then are ye my disciples indeed. Again, when Antichrist set up his throne in the church, the chief abominations in holy places were the false doctrines whereby the souls of men, instead of being made free by the truth of the gospel, were fettered and held in bondage and the thralldom of a worse than Babylonian captivity. And when, in the days of the Reformation, the bulwarks of Satan were laid low and Israel was set free, this wondrous work of God was performed by the restoration of the doctrine of Christ to the preachers and hearers of Christendom.
Alas, then came a time when this kindly light of saving truth was again obscured, when rationalism was enthroned in the pulpits of what went under the name, but no longer fought under the standards, of the Lutheran church. It was then chiefly in the old books handed down from better days and read and reread at the firesides of humble people, whose libraries consisted of the Bible, the Hymnbook, the Catechism, and the family postils, that the pure doctrine of the grace of God in Christ Jesus was still the bread of life which nourished immortal souls unto life everlasting. God bless those old postils and those who read them, the old German postils, of which there are thousands also in this country, where they have contributed and still contribute not a little toward keeping preachers and hearers steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine. For though by the goodness and mercy of God the Lutheran church is no longer an unknown quantity in America, and its light of pure doctrine is not hidden under a bushel, but shines throughout the land from coast to coast, and to far distant shores beyond the seas, it must not be forgotten that this light of pure Scripture doctrine came to the restorers of sound Lutheranism in America largely through the quarto and folio volumes of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and was to a considerable extent exhibited and communicated to hearers and readers directly from these sources. Nor are the days of their usefulness now at an end. May their blessings never cease. (emphasis added)
Amen!
From Sermons On The Gospels Of The Ecclesiastical Year. Part First by Henry Sieck (1850-1916). Published by Concordia 1902.
