# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 08 21_S203
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

203

evening to hold divine service, and my letter arrived only after I had already been there more than an hour. My host, a faithful, sincere soul, told me how the Methodists had for some time been arranging regular meetings, and that their preaching pleased all who still asked at all after God's Word (therefore him also) very much; yet nobody had as yet gone over to them completely. This naturally led us to the false doctrines of the Methodists, which by God's grace he soon recognized. "But," said he, "what shall we do? We are still too poor, and too few of us, to be able to call a Lutheran pastor." Quickly I laid aside my spoon, with which I was just sipping up with great appetite a milk soup. Dismayed, the man asked me what was the matter? whereupon I replied that I feared I should bring him and his family to beggary, if they did not have so much that a preacher of the divine Word could eat with them. It was not so bad as that, he said, God be thanked! I should just go on eating quietly. They had always supposed, however, that for less than 500 to 600 dollars yearly salary they could not get a Lutheran pastor (!) and that of them there were perhaps only twelve to fourteen to whom God's Word was a real concern. Naturally I replied to him thereupon that while it was indeed a grievous sin against the LORD if the people did not do their utmost toward the bodily support of their pastor, yet God could and would richly bless even the little, and upright servants of the Word had always let themselves be content when they had food and raiment. Then the man became heartily glad and asked me to put down on paper what had necessarily to be communicated to the people, and he wished then to go around to those whom he knew to be sincere, to lay the matter upon their hearts, and jointly with them to send in a petition for a Lutheran pastor. But I should take this to heart, that if we assigned to them an unbelieving preacher, he would make the journey for nothing, and a believing one would have to endure a hard struggle there also with the Rationalists. About the former I reassured him sufficiently, and as to the struggle, we knew indeed that the LORD would carry it through to the end with and for us. — Not until 2 o'clock at night did we betake ourselves to rest, of which I stood in no small need. Gladly would I have yielded to the entreaties of my dear host to stay there some days longer, in order to speak myself with several others, had not the cholera raging in Chicago urged me to the greatest haste. So I had to content myself with putting him off with the prospect of a visit from Herr Volkert on the occasion of his passing through. Early in the morning I set out again on foot, accompanied for some miles by that dear man, who told me at parting how, at his emigration from Germany, he had been asked whether he was going to America for the sake of worldly or of spiritual things? whereupon he had been able to answer only that he was certainly not leaving his fatherland in order to gather the treasures of this world; for the sake of spiritual things he could not say either that he was emigrating: but he was driven by force to the removal. "If it should now succeed with God's help," he added, "in establishing a rightly believing Lutheran congregation, in which we and our children might have God's Word, then I should not have come to America in vain after all." With a glad heart, with laud and praise of God, my Savior, and with fervent supplication for His blessing, I hastened with vigorous steps back toward Sheboygan, where a steamer soon took me up, which brought me the next morning to Chicago. It was the highest time that I came again to my dear congregation, because the dreadful pestilence was raging in it also now. — On the next Sunday evening, Dom. VIII. p. Trin., the ordination of Herr Volkert took place in my congregation, with the assistance of Pastors Brauer and Hoffmann, and on the Tuesday following he began the journey to Calumet. God protect and bless him and his work! Amen.

The addresses of these two new laborers in the vineyard of the LORD are:

Rev'd. W. Stubnatzy, Coopers Grove P. O., Cook Co., Ill.

Rev'd. N. Volkert, Calumet Village P. O., Fond du Lac Co., Wisc.

(Contributed.)
On the American Lutheran and Reformed Hymn-Book.
Fourth Letter.
Dear Jacob!

As I ended the last time, I could begin again at once and go on; but I will see to it that I come to an end, else you might become vexed and no longer read it at all, and I should have taken pains in vain. But keep your soul yet a little in patience; it will soon be done. With the "Sittenlehren" I will finish it, so that we come to the last large drawer, to look at the things there also a little; otherwise you might think that the best came only at the last and that I did not want to show it to you. We should indeed have pulled out some small little drawers yet, in order to acquaint you with their contents. For in the large drawer "of the moral doctrines" there are found, wonderful to say, also the hymns "of the last things," which according to my dull understanding are certainly not to be reckoned among the "moral doctrines." Yet I did not mind in which drawer they were, if only something pure and powerful were behind them, but that, alas, is not so either. There one sings here and there likewise once more of virtue, of merit, and such things, as you have now heard often enough. And so far it seems indeed to be right that these hymns also belong in the drawer of the "moral doctrines." —

In the last drawer now you find the hymns for "special times and circumstances." But it appears that even the last is not the best. That you can see at once from the thunderstorm hymns. There only the "sinner" needs to become anxious, but not he who "honors the Creator," but to him thunder and lightning pour a still, gentle calm into his breast. — One almost thinks the manufacturer of this hymn wants to begin himself to thunder and to lighten and to strike all people, only not himself and his like, because he "honors the Creator." Of a humble confession of sins there is no talk at all. Read once the old weather hymns; there it sounds otherwise; how humble, and yet how full of faith in the merit of Christ the old songs sound! So it is with the hymn "in dear times" (in time of dearth), No. 433; there is not a word of well-deserved punishment for sin's sake. As if a time of dearth came quite undeservedly. What pride! — In the hymns on sickness No. 449 tells you straight out that you may measure your reward by your sufferings.

In order, however, that self-righteousness, virtue, and one's own merit may surely be transplanted also to the children, faithful provision is made for it, since in No. 466 the parents are instructed concerning the duties toward their children. Everything is in it, only the little children's verse is not: "Christ's blood and righteousness, that is my beauty and my glorious dress; therewith will I stand before God, when I shall enter into heaven"; and likewise nothing similar besides. So it is also with the school songs. — Now we would have gone through it as briefly as possible; but I am not quite finished yet. I have still two things in it to censure, which I have touched until now not at all or only in passing. And these are, 1st, that the old hymns, which are still found there and really make up the better part of the hymn-book, with very few exceptions are entirely disfigured and altered, so that almost all power and all life has been eradicated and I can only wonder that the hymn-improvers, or rather hymn-worseners, could be so shameless as to set the names of the dear old fathers to them. They had far better have set their own names to them. One grows wrathful at times in spirit when one makes a comparison of these with the old ones. And the worst is that people still think there is not much difference. — But the difference in the hymns is just as it is in the authors. The old fathers composed and sang as they believed, and they believed with simplicity in God's Word. But with the newfangled bunglers it is quite otherwise; they have a newfangled faith, or rather unbelief, therefore they also had to remodel the hymns according to the new fashion and so to spoil them. There the devil had to give way from such virtuous societies, and all expressions which could come too near "virtue, high dignity, and merit" were naturally not to be tolerated. But if you will not believe me that it is so, then just look up the numbers: 36. 59. 83. 87. 88. 125. 276. 289. 371.