Bible translations: God's Word? Walther, Pieper speak

      There are many attacks on the Bible today... from many sides.  Sometimes these attacks aim at a Christian's faith in his particular translation of the Holy Bible as opposed to the original languages – Hebrew and Greek.  Can a Christian be divinely certain even if he does not know Hebrew or Greek... do the scholars have an advantage in this respect?  Must a Christian be made uncertain in his faith when scholars “lord it over” Christendom?

      This is where the Lutheran Church shines in its teaching.  In Franz Pieper's Christliche Dogmatik, volume 1, p. 420-421 (Archive), (Christian Dogmatics I, p. 348), he writes the following, including a quote from Walther (translation by BTL, all emphasis mine):

[Holy Scripture] is by divine arrangement a light that cannot easily be extinguished even by translation. We find confirmed what Luther says of the Scriptures: “There is no clearer book written on earth than the Holy Scriptures.” (St. L. V:334) [On Psalm 37:40; not in CPH Am. Edition] We should not say, therefore, that even the best translations are merely a human conception or view of God's Word. No, in so far as the translations are really translations, and right translations are especially difficult to avoid in the sedes doctrinae, so they are also God's Word itself. Walther therefore correctly says: (Northern District 1867, p. 34.) “Even he who is ignorant of the basic languages can nevertheless be divinely certain that his German Bible [also his English Bible] is the Word of God, because he receives the testimony of the Holy Spirit through it.” As the Scriptures in the original text prove themselves to be the Word of God, so this also happens through a translation, provided it is a correct translation. Nor is there any lack of Scriptural proof of the fact that Holy Scriptures do not lose the character of the infallible Word of God through translation.

      So the next time someone challenges my faith in the Holy Bible, I, as a Christian, can be assured that there is no basis for the argument that translations are not the actual Word of God.

Psychology today, 150 years ago- Mueller overview: “criticism of modern psychology”

      I have blogged several times where the field of “Psychology” was at least partly the subject matter.  Being a former patient of that field, and having come out of it, I have wondered where and why this field of study went wrong, and why so many Christians are fooled by modern "counseling" today.  Before I comment further, I am republishing Prof. J. T. Mueller's brief book review on this subject – of an author who has been grouped with B. F. Skinner and is labeled a “radical behaviorist.”  Translation was not needed, but I added some reference hyperlinks and an image of the book's author. The text is taken from Concordia Theological Monthly, vol. 1, no. 9, (September 1930), p. 719-720:

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Prof. R. H. Wheeler

The Science of Psychology. An Introductory Study. By Prof. R. H. Wheeler, University of Kansas. Thomas Y. Crowell Co., New York. 556 pages. Price, $3.75.

There is an abysmal difference between the psychology of half a century ago [~1882] and that of the present time. The old psychology, known as mental philosophy, purposed to “ascertain the facts and laws of mental operation” and occupied the middle ground between metaphysics and natural science. It presupposed the “soul” to be an entity distinct from the body and regarded man as endowed by his Creator with a “moral consciousness,” or conscience, which functioned on the basis of a natural knowledge of God and His divine Law. (Cp. Dr. J. Haven’s Mental Philosophy.) [p. 15] The theory of Evolution, with its corollary of man’s descent from the primates, has wielded so tremendous an influence also on the science of psychology that its metaphysical content has been entirely eliminated. Psychology has become a matter of biological study, of laboratory and experimental investigations, of reactions to stimuli, of (page 720) social attitudes, etc. Professor Wheeler’s text-book is one of the most modern and forward-reaching of any published on the subject. It is written from the so-called configurational and organismic standpoints. Psychology, according to the author, is the “study, first, of social behavior with its various limited and specialized activities, and second, of those forms of behavior which can be abstracted from it” (p. 3). Behavior is “the activity of an organism-as-a-whole.” The organism is living in an environment which furnishes constant stimulation. Stimulations are the “activating influences of physical forces or social situations upon the organism.” Whatever the organism does as a result of this stimulation is called a response. The mechanisms of response in man are the nervous system, the muscles, and the glands. With these bodily structures the human being sees, hears, thinks, fears, loves, hates, and carries out all forms of overt action, such as locomotion, manipulation of objects, and talking. From the time of its conception the organism commences to grow and mature in certain definite directions which are laid down in the history of the species or race. The history of the species or race is therefore a remote condition of behavior (p. 3). These are some of the guiding principles of modern organismic psychology as presented in this book. Of course, the Christian student cannot satisfy himself with such a foundation for his psychological studies. It leaves out the fundamental facts of man’s original creation in the image of God, of the tremendous problem of sin as sin, of the divine Law inscribed in the heart, of conscience, etc. The human being “sees, hears, thinks, fears, loves, hates,” etc., not merely with the “bodily structures of nerves, muscles, and glands.” To understand his intellectual, volitional, and emotional acts, we must go beyond the “bodily structures” to the hidden realm of the soul. Psychology is more than a “biological science from the standpoint of the individual.” The “physical, chemical, and physiological facts” do not explain all the causes of “human behavior,” nor do the “social stimulations” account for it. All this must be stated in criticism of modern psychology, which is built up entirely on evolutionistic premises. But although the student of the Bible cannot agree with such psychology, he will recognize Prof. Wheeler’s Science of Psychology as a notable text-book on modern psychology.

J. T. Mueller

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      Prof. Mueller's identification of the “theory of Evolution” as the major contributing factor in the downfall of “psychology” showed that he was not blind to what was actually happening 90 years ago. It was refreshing for me to read that this “psychology today” means something quite different than in times past.  And Mueller at least partially answers the question: “Just what was psychology in times past?” I read in one of C.F.W. Walther's articles where he used the old field of “Psychology” when discussing a matter, before it changed into what “psychology” is today.  But today it is used as the source of “counseling” when people, including children, are in greatest distress, like I was.  I was in that group a few decades ago, and I sought counsel from my LC-MS pastor, which was helpful.  But I recall now that he did not warn against secular counseling and I ended up going to the care of a psychiatrist and a psychologist, attending “Group Therapy” for a number of years.  I always felt ashamed that I, a born-and-raised Missouri Synod Lutheran, would go to… worldly counseling.  Now I know why I felt ashamed, for I knew even then that this was a matter for spiritual counsel, something that modern secular counseling knows nothing about.  But even today's “spiritual counsel” is woefully lacking because it does not trust the Word alone, but mixes it with the methodology of modern psychology.  I recall distinctly how one of my psychological “counselors” groaned when I told them I attended a Lutheran church. They knew that their counseling did not mix with Christian counsel. 

      May other Christians caught in the trap of modern psychological “counseling” rather seek counsel and comfort from the Holy Scriptures, i.e. Christ's Word, and from those counselors faithful to it.  

Xmas-Ruhland-2: 2nd Christmas sermon, Ruhland's legacy (Part 5 of 5)

   This concludes from Part 4 (Table of Contents in Part 1), a series presenting 2 Christmas sermons by outstanding Lutheran pastors from the past  — This segment publishes the full English translation of the full Christmas sermon by the pastor that Walther judged to have ‘rare preaching gifts’. — Excerpt from Friedrich Carl Theodor Ruhland’s Halte im Gedächtniss Jesum Christ! : Predigten, H. J. Naumann, 1880, p. 52-67.  To preface this sermon, I present an English translation of the "Foreword" by the succeeding president of the Free Church in Germany to this book:

Foreword.

by Otto Willkomm, 2nd Pres., Ev.-Luth. Free Church, Saxony and other States

      There were two main reasons for publishing sermons from the legacy of the late Pastor Ruhland. First, among his former parishioners, especially among those in Saxony who were so suddenly deprived of his oral preaching, his testimony, which produced such rich fruit, should be preserved even longer. During his lifetime, they had often asked for the printing of this or that sermon, which request he had almost always refused in excessive modesty. — On the other hand, a public testimony is to be given of what is preached in the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Saxony. The slanderous speech has reached wide circles that in the pulpits of the separated Lutherans there is only rebuking and scolding. Now, without a doubt, the rebuke or, to speak Biblically, the punishment of the adversaries, the threats and calls of the watchman necessarily belong to the Ministry of an evangelical preacher. And those who refrain from the same are called by Scripture "dumb dogs". But it would be wrong and pernicious if the refutation and punishment of false doctrines and sins, which is especially necessary in our slack times and softened by a false love of peace, were to be practiced without first and always laying a proper foundation of wholesome teaching. These sermons should help to show that the latter really happens within the Saxon Free Church, that doctrine and reproof are in the right relationship and that the congregations are thus shepherded by the whole Word of God, especially by the sweet Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Savior of sinners and eternal Son of God, and are kept on the right path under God's grace. —

      As sermons from a legacy, they admittedly have many shortcomings in their form, which the author would have avoided or eliminated if he had been able to make the selection and arrange for the publication himself. But as testimonies of truth, in which God's Word is rightly shared, we hope to God that they will bring blessing. From the beginning, it has been strived to find a sermon for every Sunday and feast day, if possible, and thus perhaps to produce a whole year's volume. However, for some feast days no sermons suitable for printing were found, and in some cases a sermon on a free text was preferred to a sermon on the Pericopes.… (continued following sermon below)

Some quotes from Ruhland's Christmas sermon:

59, 61: “unconverted men do not admit this;… [they give] praise to their spiritual natural righteousness… there is no peace in their bones, no true joy fills their souls, no true consolation falls into their hearts, no rest is in their consciences; but restlessness, discord, desolation, fear, dread, terror, dissatisfaction chase them through all their lives. Even the most beautiful earthly good cannot make them truly happy. If they have much, they want more.”
60-61-62: “But now on Christmas Day it says: We shall become rich! What a change!… But not only to them, but to all men, and to us, too… God is pleased with all men”

65: “No king, no father, no man would act so against rebels, disobedient ones, and enemies. No one in heaven, not even an angel, has ever experienced or practiced such love.”

66: “God dwells again in grace among men, heaven has been opened to them, the gate of Paradise has been opened. Nothing more hinders our salvation. For God has not only wanted it, but created it for all, also for you, whoever you may be.”

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One will note that Ruhland, like Gustav Knak, highlights the universality of God's grace, like a true Missourian Lutheran preacher. Below is the full English translation:

As a fitting end to this series, the conclusion of Willkomm's “Foreword” above:

      The publication is commissioned by the Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church [of Germany]. Any net proceeds will go partly to the author's widow and partly to the synod treasury. May the gracious God, who must also give prosperity to His words and the work of His servants, help to produce fruit for eternal life, so that these sermons may serve to engrave Jesus Christ, in whom alone stands our salvation, firmly in the hearts and memories of all readers!

Niederplanitz, December 3, 1879.

O. Willkomm, Pastor.

May the gracious God, who gave prosperity to Germany through Ruhland's sermon, now grant to this English translation also prosperity in His Word. With Pastor Willkomm we add our Amen!

Xmas-Ruhland-1: Unsung pastor from Old Missouri Synod – Theodore Ruhland (Part 4 of 5)

Theodore Ruhland   —   G. Stöckhardt
Both chosen by Walther

 

   This continues from Part 3 (Table of Contents in Part 1), a series presenting translations of two Christmas sermons by outstanding Lutheran pastors from the past. — This segment presents 

2) Pastor Theodore Ruhland (1836-1879).  Although his name is typically associated with a tragic death, an accident while on a visit back to America,  he should rather be remembered because C. F. W. Walther commended him twice, at two different times, for two difficult pastoral positions:  

• 1866: to the contentious church near Grabau in the Buffalo NY area
• 1871: to the separated Free Church in Germany.  

Walther judged Ruhland to be highly capable for these positions where it was known that he would face stiff opposition, especially from the State Church in Germany.  Walther, in an 1871 letter to the separated Free Lutherans in Germany (Walther, Briefe, vol. 2, p. 229-231, full text here), in response to a request for a pastor for them, stated of Ruhland (p. 230): 

“He is a man… of no small education and great dexterity, of excellent insight, of proven Christian character, of unusual energy, of rare preaching gifts, and of rich ministerial experience. As for the latter, he has already had to serve the most diverse congregations and has accomplished in the most difficult relationships what few would have accomplished.”

And the Free Church confirmed his value to them by placing Ruhland into the role as its President for the few short, but fruitful, years of 1876-1879.  The following is the full English translation of this pivotal letter of Walther for the future of the Free Church in Germany:

After Ruhland's accidental death, C.F.W. Walther wrote the following short essay in Der Lutheraner to announce it and give the particulars of the accident, and to provide comfort for his readers.  Some memorable quotes:

1. 89: "always longed for his 'dear America', for his 'dear Missouri Synod.'"
2. 89: Funeral sermon on Isaiah 57:1-2 – "the righteous is taken away from the evil to come."
3. 90: Ruhland's letter from Germany to Walther, 1872: “If I consider our presence in all its smallness and weakness, then still no thing seems to my reason more foolish and hopeless than this. But since, in spite of this, it has a foundation and a foothold in God's Eternal Word, it must surely be God's holy cause itself, — the glory of God wrapped in rags. That will be and must remain my consolation.” [What a fitting analogy of Christmas itself!]

In the last Part 5, we publish an English translation of the Christmas sermon by the pastor that Walther judged to have ‘rare preaching gifts’. 

Xmas-Knak-3: The passing of Lutheran Pastor Knak

      This continues from Part 2 (Table of Contents in Part 1) in a short series presenting Christmas sermons to be treasured.  —, and gives the account of the passing, or as the Germans say the “home going”, of the dear Gustav Knak, pastor and hymnist.  What adds to this account is that the source of the material is from a descendent, Knak's great-great-grandson Paul G. Preuss, who adds the Lutheran heritage of Knak's descendants.  This record was related to me in two separate communications. The first:

I do not know if I told you before but Pastor Knak died at the home of his daughter and son-in-law. Rev. Preuss  I have a report of his death. As his body was carried out of town to return to his home in Berlin a crowd gathered and sang “Las mich Gehen”. [“Let Me Go, That I May Jesus See” (ALH 642, de)]  The Preuss family consisted of five sons and a daughter.  Each of the sons became a Pastor and the daughter married one.  My Grandfather, George U. Preuss was, I believe, the youngest son.  He came a missionary to German speaking Lutherans in America – first in Ohio, then Pennsylvania and finally in New York.  My father was born in Ohio but was raised in Pennsylvania.  My father continued the tradition being ordained in 1928.  Although serving as an LCA pastor, in his later years he felt more comfortable worshipping at the Missouri Lutheran Church.

Paul

After further inducement, Mr. Preuss furnished the following more detailed account:

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Gustav Knak dies at Dünnow

On July 27^th 1878, shortly before 11 o’clock in the evening at the Dünnower rectory Gustav Friedrich Ludwig Knak, pastor of the Bethlehem Church in Berlin died of a heart attack.

The church choir had gathered on the previous Sunday, July 21, in the renovated church to sample the new organ in preparation for its dedication.  Attending, next to the pastor’s family, was the old Pastor Knak, the father of the pastor’s wife. The choir sang for Knak the most famous of the many songs written by him "Let me go ... " After the last verse Knak left the church and said," Wonderful, wonderful! The Lord brings us all to paradise!" On Friday, July 26^th Knak had still bathed in the Baltic Sea. On the evening of the 27th Kannenberg and Preuss still discussed the configuration of the upcoming dedication. Knak became animated to ensuring that the opening hymn “O that I had a thousand tongues...” according to the melody of his most favorite after a short testing day should be sung.

 

Kannenberg considered his own melody of the hymn and sang it properly, after which Knak agreed with him.  Knak then ate supper with the family with a good appetite, then went upstairs to his room to bed, but immediately called to his daughter, Little Marie, “I am so totally different.  Quickly call Ernst, I will probably leave you now”.  All family members rushed to his bedside, where they heard him pray more:

 

“Lord Jesus, receive my Spirit ", then with barely audible voice: “Last Supper ".

 

Then he died.

 

Kannenberg, who had summoned the maid, closed the dead man's eyes.

 

All knelt down and prayed silently. They sensed the nearness of death, but also the truth of the thoughts of the deceased he has put into words in his hymn "How they so softly rest, all the saints":  

 

              Da schlug die Stunde, deren            [Then the hour struck, of which]

              sie längst geharrt, da brach die Hütte, [he had long been waiting, when the hut broke down,]

              die sie so oft beschwert;                   [that so often weighed him down;]

              und auf der Engel Himmelswagen    [and on the angels' chariot]

              eilte der selige Geist nach Hause.    [the blessed spirit hurried home,]

 

On Sunday morning the body was dressed in Knak’s black suit and gown and since Knak was a tall, heavy man, was carried down with some difficulty on the narrow staircase to the ground floor by Pastor Preuss, Kannenberg and the master tailor Frederick Voll.

 

On Tuesday evening, July 30^th, a brief funeral was held at the Rectory and the coffin was then led from the village with the pealing of bells and the large participation of the community singing as it was transported to Berlin.

 

(Other documents indicate that the community sang Knak’s favorite hymn “Laßt mich gehen” as his coffin was transported away from the Rectory.)

 

*Translated from the original German document written by Hans Schreiber on the
“History of the vicarage Dünnow, District Stolp (Pomerania) and its Surrounding”.

by Paul G. Preuss, great grand-son of Karl Ernst Preuss

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Thanks to Mr. Preuss for the encouragement provided by the above account, as all Christians are strengthened by the story of a Christian's, such as Pastor Knak's, blessed end.  

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      Pastor Knak was described by Prof. J.C.W. Lindemann as not taking “faithfulness to the Confession of the church very seriously”, yet praised him for his stand against a tyrannizing “Science”.  We see by Knak's sermon that in spite of any slackness, he held to the Word of Christ. And his world-renowned confession, along with his famous hymn, is how I will always remember him:

“Yes, that I believe; I know of no other worldview than that of the Holy Scriptures.”

In the next Part 4, the second Christmas sermon, by another notable Lutheran pastor of the 19th century, Theodore Ruhland.

Xmas-Knak-2: “It is Christmas… the place is filled but silent as he continues” (Part 2)

      This continues from Part 1 (Table of Contents in Part 1), concluding an English translation of a Christmas sermon by Pastor Gustav Knak. —  Before I present the concluding text, I am inserting the background on the congregation that Pastor Knak served in Berlin. This was provided by the great-great-grandson Mr. Paul G. Preuss, images and text that he appended to his translation.  Even more important was the joyful comment that Mr. Preuss provided below in the text of the sermon, where he expresses the heartfelt comfort he received when working on his translation. — There is much more to be reported on Pastor Knak and his illustrious career, and in the next Part 3, we present an excursus – the details of the blessed end, along with the Lutheran history of the descendents, of Pastor Knak.

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An illuminated sculpture remembers the destroyed Bohemian Bethlehem Church. 

Although easy to reach, the small Bethlehemkirchplatz [visitberlin.de] can easily be overlooked on the city map by visitors of Berlin. The place is being situated west of the subway stations “Stadtmitte” and “Kochstraße” (U6) in between “Check-Point Charlie” and the “Museum for Communication”. Where deterrent border fortifications could be found until the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, the foundations of the “Bethlehemskirche” (Bohemian Bethlehem Church) were excavated. The church, being inaugurated in 1737, was built as a homestead for bohemian refuges and other foreigners. Today, a mosaic in the pavement of the Bethlehemkirchplatz shows the ground plan of the former church. In the meantime, a sculpture called “Houseball” was added which symbolizes all the household goods that a refugee might be able to carry. At the turn of the millennium, the square was renamed to „Bethlehemkirchplatz“. A downsized advertising pillar contains explanations in German, English and Czech language. It was this impressive square that inspired the conceptual artist Juan Garaizabal.

 

The church was destroyed in WWII and its site was immediately adjacent to the infamous Berlin Wall.	The church as it may have appeared on a snowy Christmas Eve in the 1870’s Painting by Franz Skarbina 1849-1910
The site of the church today – its outline marked on the ground and known as the Bethlehemkirchplatz.

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A Christmas Sermon By Rev. Gustav Knak

                                   (Part 2, concluding from Part 1)

Yes, He is the hero who should and would take on the strong armed one, i.e. the devil who had forced us under his power, to overcome him and to crush his head. “Eternal Father” is the name of the wonderful child, for He is the same yesterday and today and in eternity, and He has mercy on us, just as a father has mercy on children. This child is called “Prince of Peace” or Solomon, for that earthly king Solomon was only a weak example of Him, who was to kill all hostility and bring back the peace on earth that had been lost. Behold, beloved, this is the child in the manger in Bethlehem, what do you think? Can you believe it? St. Paul calls the Word of the Incarnation a foolish sermon, because the natural, unenlightened (page 56) reason shakes its head over it and cannot find it. But the same apostle further testifies: “In the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”  [1 Cor. 1:21] For all our happiness and salvation, my dear ones, depends on this child; without this little child it would be better for us all never to have been born. But — God be praised eternally! this Child is born to us, and God has revealed the riches of His grace and mercy through the same. Hallelujah!

Let us now continue our journey into the glorious history of the festival! “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” [Luke 2:8] — simple-minded shepherds waiting for the comfort of Israel. “And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them.” [Luke 2:9] The glory of “the Lord,” the glory of the little child lying in the manger, who is the Lord of all lords, shone in a bright, shining, far-reaching light around the shepherds in the dark night; for He who is the light of the world was born, the ascent from on high had visited the world lying in darkness and the shadow of death. This was to be indicated by the glory, by the bright shining light that accompanied the angel and shone around the shepherds. But when the dear shepherds saw this great, blinding glory of the Lord, this brightness of His glory, they were terrified and felt deeply that they were sinners — like Adam and Eve when the Lord came to them after the Fall and called them out, hiding behind the trees of the garden and being afraid. And if the Son of God had not come to redeem us, we would all have had to tremble and shake all our lives for fear of death and judgment and the horrors of eternity. But when the shepherds were so afraid, the angel said to them, as the first New Testament preacher of the sweet Gospel, “Fear not; there is no cause for fear. For “behold, I proclaim (bring you)”, I preach to you the Gospel, the good news, the Word of the “great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.” Then one hears, from the mouth of the heavenly messenger of our God, who this little child is. It is “Christ” who was to come, Christ the Anointed, who as our (page 57) heavenly prophet, high priest and king was anointed with the oil of joy of the Holy Spirit without measure.  This is the child in the manger. Christ, for whom the fathers hoped, Christ, the seed of the woman, lies in the manger, Abraham's great offspring, the blessing for the whole world, is there, Christ, the Savior, is the child in the manger.

- - - - - - - - - - - - Note by Mr. Paul G. Preuss:

As I read and re-read this passage above I feel transported back in time and place, to the nave of the Bethlehem-Bohemian Church in Berlin in the 1870’s and Pastor Knak is preaching these very same words from his pulpit.  It is Christmas, the place is filled but silent as he continues.  PGP 1/13/2020

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2 Xmas sermons—Lutheran pastors: Gustav Knak; Part 1

Pastor Gustav Knak

 

      In this period approaching Christmas, I have come across two sermons from 19th century Lutheran pastors that were delivered in the German language.  These became quite special for me because they not only presented the Christmas message wonderfully, they revealed two great Lutheran pastors and leaders in that century. The first one is… 

 1) Gustav Knak (and his great-great-grandson)

      This blog has previously published information about the 19th century German Pastor Gustav Knak in the past (here, here, here, and here).  His testimony for Holy Scripture in response to a "Science" that would overturn it – Copernicanism – was noted around the world.  

great-great-grandson
Paul G. Preuss

      I have been honored to be contacted recently by a great-great-grandson of his, Mr. Paul G. Preuss of New York. Mr. Preuss has studied Pastor Knak's published sermons in the German language and translated a few of them, even though his early education in the German language has weakened with time.  The fruit of Mr. Preuss's endeavor reveals one of the great Christmas sermons of the 19th century, and so it merited having a good English translation for Lutherans around the world who lack the knowledge of German – like me.  I have taken Mr. Preuss's translation and polished it using all available tools, and added reference hyperlinks, Bible verses, and notes on the hymns verses that Knak used.  But in his translation, Mr. Preuss made a few heart-felt comments and these are included in the work published below. — It is a great honor for me to present this sermon of Pastor Knak.  One of the Baltic Lutheran pastors martyred by the Communists 100 years ago, Walther Paucker, had for his epithet (page 11) the title of Knak's famous hymn “Let Me Go, That I May Jesus See (ALH 642, de). So Pastor Knak was not only a great preacher, but also also a well-known hymnist.  I have thought that some of his translated hymns should have been included in Missouri Synod English language hymnals. — One of the things that caught my attention in his Christmas sermon was his preaching of universal grace in several places, and I had to highlight them, for they are a mark of a true Lutheran preacher, as the fathers of the Missouri Synod were. — 

- - - - - - - - - -  Table of Contents  - - - - - - - - - -  

Part 1: Knak sermon, 1st part — Part 2: conclusion of Knak sermon — Part 3: account of Knak's passing 

Part 4: Unsung pastor from Old Missouri – Theodore Ruhland 

Part 5: Otto Willkomm's "Foreword" to Ruhland sermons, Xmas Sermon of Friedrich Ruhland

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Translation of sermon by Gustav Knak published in the 1901 book Predigten über die Evangelien auf alle Sonn= und Festtage des Kirchenjahres; translation is a composite of the work done by Pastor Knak’s great-great-grandson Paul G. Preuss of New York and BackToLuther; underling follows the printed emphasis; highlighting, red text in square brackets [ ] are mine.

= = = = = = = = = = = 

A Christmas Sermon By Rev. Gustav Knak

    

        Rev. Gustav Knak        —        Bethlehem-Bohemian Church in Berlin

page 52 

On the First Christmas Festival Day.

text: Luke 2:1-14

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!

Lord God, Holy Spirit, stand by Thy poor servant, who is quite unfit in himself, who is to proclaim to these immortal souls the great and godly mystery that God has been revealed in the flesh. Alas, Lord, thou knowest how wretched thy servant is, how clumsy in proclaiming the love of God in Christ Jesus that transcends all thought. But thou also knowest how much he loves the most beautiful among the children of men, the most blessed Lord Jesus, and so would like to paint Him before the eyes of these souls that they would be drawn all together completely to Him (page 53) and must love Him and give themselves to Him with body, soul, and spirit for eternal possession. Alas, dear Lord God, Holy Spirit, come to the help of your poor servant; it is thy real office to transfigure Jesus, to testify of Him, to exalt His grace in the hearts of poor sinners and to convince them inwardly that He is the promised one, in whom all generations on earth are to be blessed. O then let thyself be abundantly settled upon us all, open ears and hearts and make all these souls equal to that of Lydia, whom thou once opened the heart, so that they may grasp the great Word of the grace of God in Christ Jesus with faith and be saved, and that the Father may be honored in the Son. Amen.

My dear, dear friends in the Lord! Our dear Lord God does everything well in His time. This is why St. Paul also says in the letter to the Galatians: “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” [Gal. 4:4-5 KJV] Already in Paradise He was promised, the wonderful, glorious Savior, who, as the “second Adam” of the first Adam, would make up for the deep Fall. [1 Cor. 15:45-47] He was promised as the seed of the woman, who would crush the head of the serpent who would strike Him in the heel. [Gen. 3:15] Our ancestral mother Eve already said, when she gave birth to her first son, that this must be Him, the promised Messiah. [Knak takes Luther’s understanding, as the Hebrew reads] Therefore she said this — oh, how she was so bitterly mistaken! —: “I have the man, the Jehovah!”  [Gen. 4:1, Luther 1545: “HErrn” or “Lord”] God's time was far from coming; centuries, millennia passed. Indeed, He always pointed out new things through the prophets, to the One who was to come; He confided the great mystery to His friends — as to Abraham — when He said to him: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” [Gen. 22:18] But many prophets and kings wanted to see Him in whom they believed with all their hearts, and on whom they hoped with fervent longing, and yet they had to fall asleep without having seen Him. Because God our Lord's time had not yet come. King David, full of a burning desire for Him through whom the world was to be saved, bursts into a sigh: “Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! when the Lord bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad!” [Psalm 14:7] But he, too, from whose house the blessed seed was to come, was gathered to his fathers without seeing Jesus. The time determined by (page 54) God was not yet fulfilled. One prophet after another appeared, and the promise of the coming of the wonderful Savior became more and more clear. Finally, after almost 4000 years had passed, the time of waiting and waiting for the Messiah was fulfilled, as the arch-father Jacob had prophesied on his deathbed, when he looked at Judah and cried out with a piercing eye: “Judah, thou art he!” [Genesis 49:8] — and: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” [Genesis 49:10]

Let us now look into our Gospel today, dear ones, and be amazed and adore the wonderful wisdom of our God, who, when His time comes, will put everything in order and arrange everything in such a way that his good and gracious will must be done.

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