# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 08 07_S198
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

198

Concerning the American-Lutheran and Reformed Hymn-Book.

Third Letter.

Dear Jacob!

For the third time I set about the unpleasant business of furnishing further proofs of the correctness of my judgment concerning the hymn-book. In order, I come this time to the hymns on the Sacraments. Here, according to my slight understanding, I have not much to say, except that, as I already said in my first letter, the chief hymns are lacking, such as, for example, Luther's hymns: Christ unser HErr zum Jordan kam, etc., IEsus Christus unser Heiland, etc., and: Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet, etc. These belong by right in a Lutheran hymn-book. As for the hymns, however, that are there, everything is said in a few words: that they suit the Reformed Church better than ours. — If thou readest them through carefully, thou wilt find it so. If thou now turnest the leaves further with me, thou comest to No. 197. There the poet wishes to be taught by the "Creator" that he may grasp what true repentance is. But I believe he did not rightly let himself be taught by the "Creator," but knew better than the "Creator." For he begins at once to show that true repentance is: "To hate sin and to amend one's life." Now, I think, when one would set himself up as a teacher of true repentance, he must first speak of the knowledge of sin, of contrition and sorrow, before the hatred comes. But now he has not done this, nor yet something still more important. For he has not spoken of the other chief part of repentance, of faith in Christ; he leaps at once over to the amendment of life, as though one could amend life without Christ. — One sees that here everything is again aimed at one's own fist, that is, one's own powers. Think now, if such a hymn is sung at confession, how falsely the people are taught by such a song. But if thou sayest, the pastor will surely not teach so, but will surely teach the way of God aright; then I say to thee: dear Jacob, whatever pastor lets such a hymn be sung, he also teaches the people nothing different and leads them the wrong way. And when a pastor teaches rightly concerning repentance, the people nevertheless read such hymns at home, and think wonders how they are edified by such a hymn, and do not notice how contradictory it all is. Yes, perhaps they take in what is read much better than what is heard, and in spite of the right instruction remain upon the wrong way; especially as the doctrine of such a hymn pleases the natural man more readily than the pure doctrine of the Word of God. Thou wilt understand me. —

If thou searchest now further, thou findest No. 210, which treats of sanctification; but thou findest in the whole long hymn not how thou canst be rid of sins, and through whom or what God can sanctify thee and will. Verily, if we poor people had no other guides than such hymns, we should be ill advised. I cannot think otherwise than that these people themselves did not know the right way, and how can then one blind man show the other the way? —

The hymn No. 216 seems to want to ape the Apostle Paul, but it has turned out badly. In the 6th verse the hymn speaks just as all self-righteous people speak, who make shift with the false comfort that God punishes only open sins, and these they certainly have not; the "infirmities" and "weaknesses," however, these amount to nothing further, for the Father is indeed merciful. — Of a believing exclamation concerning Christ, such as Paul made, nothing is to be read, but the author tries (verse 7) his best, as well as he can, to live righteously, and with that, full stop. — One would almost say that one perceives in him, the poor man, that his self-made comfort may not have quite satisfied his soul. But how could it be otherwise? —

Now let us open another drawer, in which the "moral precepts" are, and there at once, in No. 229, in the 4th verse, a few words come before thy eyes, which however stand quite perverted and strike straight against the doctrine of Scripture. There it says: "Sanctify yourselves and believe." One must then first make himself holy and afterwards believe. We should surely then never come to faith, but also not to blessedness, if we had first to sanctify ourselves! Thank God that the "messengers" of the Gospel do not teach as the poet says there. — But thou repliest perhaps: The man certainly did not mean it as thou interpretest it for him; he has simply arranged it so that it rhymes. It may be that thou art right; but bad enough, if at the expense of the order of salvation one rhymes so long until it is turned upside down. I understand, to be sure, nothing of hymn-writing, but I believe thus much, and also maintain, that everything, therefore also the hymns, must be like unto the faith. Rom. 12, 7. Moreover, however gladly I should often like to let thy objections pass and change my conviction, yet I always get stronger proofs again that I am not mistaken. There thou hast, for what has been said, again the hymn No. 232. If thou canst still doubt there, then I must tell thee frankly, dear Jacob, thou art not sincere; yea, thou sinnest, if thou takest this sorrowful hymn-book under thy protection for even a moment. Behold, there the "Advantages of Virtue in Dying" are lauded. Here I must, whether I will or not, once more heave a deep sigh. O Jacob, Jacob! when we once come upon our death-bed, our virtue will stand us in poor stead, and if we wish to comfort ourselves with it, then woe to us! we shall go to the devil together with our virtue, and he will still rejoice that he was able to blind such virtuous people. Thou art alarmed at my strong words; but be alarmed, I cannot do otherwise, it is only too great truth. Where, then, in the whole Holy Scripture is there mention that one can "earn" to "die blessed," as the last verse says. Do not let it mislead thee that the little word "inherit" also stands there; it stands there plainly only so that it rhymes again. The whole hymn gives the most perfect testimony to this. Tell me, if thou wilt not sin against thy conscience and against the Word of God known to thee, whether such hymns are not to be called ungodly, and whether an honest pastor can use such a book with a good conscience, wherein Christ and Belial, light and darkness, truth and lie are so openly mingled? I confess that I now readily see how a poor pastor must be plagued by his conscience when a congregation insists that the hymn-book is good and beautiful and for that reason must not be abolished. No, if I were a pastor, I could not stain my conscience with the dreadful sin of leaving such books in the hands of the people, or even of still commending them, as many do.

But I must now hasten to a close, and so I will give thee from No. 252 once more a sample that my proofs are correct. There the "high pattern of perfection" is set up as the goal and all the virtues named which one must practise if one would become like, yea equal to, the "high pattern of perfection" (verse 7), for that "creates joys on earth already and in heaven high blessedness"! — Wilt thou, Jacob, now be as wise as Herr Sucro, then strive after the "high pattern of perfection" and blessedness will not fail thee. — — Is it not so, that is a little too much for thee? Neither will it, I hope, occur to thee that these hymns deal with "non-essentials," as people so gladly say. No, they deal with the fundamental truths which are necessary to salvation; they proclaim a false Gospel, and whoso proclaimeth a false Gospel, let him be accursed; that I say not, but the Apostle, Gal. 1, 8. With a bleeding heart I must close, when I think how our congregation could for so long endure among itself so accursed a Gospel, in the opinion that it was the right, the "beautiful" one, and how many congregations are still so deceived by their shepherds and let themselves be deceived with the poison of false doctrine. God have mercy!

Thy brother
Andreas.

(The last letter follows.)

Twice Fifty-two Select Biblical Histories out of the Old and New Testaments, composed for the Benefit of Youth by Johann Hübner.

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