# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1872_S78
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

— 78 —

and preached alongside it in all its force and sharpness, then even the
gospel cannot show its power. That can only happen where the law has
first worked hunger and need in the heart. Then, too, because no true
contrition and remorse and no true faith and no living refreshment of the
soul has been worked, the works done are only feeble and are performed
only drowsily. The comfort of the gospel must indeed be dispensed quite
abundantly; but it is received only by souls that hunger for salvation. Yet
there are not many such souls, because often enough the fault lies also with
the preaching itself, in which the distress and misery of sin is not set forth
urgently enough. It is to be feared that we do not do enough in this
regard.

Here a few apt passages were shared from the preface of the elder Dr.
Walch to Stock's homiletical lexicon. —

It was further remarked that the devil uses cunning when he wants to
do harm. The principle is indeed true that if a man only preaches God's
word, that is enough, and he can add nothing to its effect; but this
principle is falsely applied when a man then thinks or says: my
faithfulness makes no difference, I can be careless in composing and
delivering my sermons, so long as nothing actually false appears in them.
God's word ought to be delivered with the utmost diligence, in right order.
God has not only given different gifts; there is also a great difference with
regard to faithfulness. Truly faithful servants of the Lord, even if weakly
gifted, grow in skill at handling God's word. It would be dreadful if we
wanted to say, as a matter of our confession, "good preaching keeps people
at church," while being quite indifferent as to whether our preaching is
actually good. One need only think of the official title of a preacher — that
he is called a shepherd. For just as a shepherd does not throw the fodder
to his sheep in a heap, unconcerned whether it is good, or whether his sheep
make themselves sick on it, so too a shepherd of souls should give his sheep
their spiritual food with all diligence and great care. The danger of
preparing less carefully for one's preaching is especially close for those
preachers who have small congregations, and thus few hearers, or only
simple people. Woe to the preacher who thinks that whatever he presents
is good enough for his people. He should consider, first, that his hearers
are immortal souls, dearly bought by Christ, whom he is to lead to
salvation; and second, that besides these he has still other hearers, namely
the holy angels, indeed, the great God himself; he should therefore give the
best he has, the best he can give. It is indeed true that through our own
skill God's word is not made better; but it is precisely in the word — that
is, in the right selection of its content — that something will be lacking, if
we apply no diligence and earnestness in our sermons; it must also be
presented in its context, in its fullness, in its depth. Preachers who