# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S9
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

President’s Address 3

President’s Address
Ps. 51: 7-15

; Synodical Convention, Fort Wayne, Indiana
“DEAR BRETHREN AND CoworKERs:

For the second time within the short span of twenty-five years
our beloved Synod is in convention at a time when practically the
whole world is in the throes of a destructive war. Ominous clouds
have been lowering also upon the horizon of our beloved country
‘for so long that our American people are all perplexed. No one
can foretell what the future may bring. Forebodings are too dread-
ful to contemplate.

The Church dare not brush aside these horrible realities with
a mere shrug of the shoulder. They are laden with lessons which
call for earnest consideration. Unquestionably, the Savior’s specific
reference to wars and rumors of wars as a forerunner of the ap-
_ proaching dissolution of this world demands serious consideration
at this time. These catastrophic conditions seriously affect also the
work of the Church. Then, too, you and I must think of the after-
math. Wars have dreadful aftermaths, and this war, which has
reached such shocking proportions, will be no exception. For us
Christians the question arises, How are we to carry on the Lord’s
work during such abnormal days? As the Spirit of God grants me
utterance, let me direct your attention to this question: ~

~

With What Attitude of Heart Shall We Face the Work which
Christ has Entrusted to Us?
1, With deep penitence 2. With positive assurance
1

The words which rivet our attention at this time are words
from the great penitential psalm of David. This man after God’s
own heart had grievously transgressed the commandments of the
Lord. For practically a year he had imagined that no one knew of
his guilt, and had added the hypocrisy of outward worship to his
guilt. During this time, however, he was not happy. His conscience
-pricked him. And when God sent the prophet Nathan to expose his
‘sin and to accuse him, saying, “Thou art the man,” David broke
down completely and made a clean-cut confession. In this psalm
he speaks of the bones which God had broken. In another psalm
‘the declared: “My bones waxed old through my roaring all the day
long. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; my
moisture is turned into the drought of summer.” Penitently he
‘pleaded with God: “Purge me with hyssop”; “wash me”; “cast me
= not away from Thy presence”; “deliver me from blood-guiltiness.”