Q!uurnrbtu m4rulugtral flnutlJly Continuing LBHRB UNO WBHRB MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILBTIK THBOLOGICAL Q UARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL M ONTHLY VoI.XIX May, 1948 No.5 CONTENTS Page Discourse of Luther on the Holy Trinity. Translated by W. Arndt .. 321 Our New Altar Service Books. w. G. Polack .. ............... .... __ .. ..... ........ . 327 Rhetoric in the New Testament. W. A. Jennrich .. ... ... __ ...... ........ __ ..... . 331 The Nassau Pericopes . .. ... . .......... . " .. " .......... ........... ................... . .. 346 Miscellanea ..................... . . .. ................................................ ................ __ .... 355 Theological Observer Book Review ........ Eln Predlger muss ntcht allein wei. den, also dass er die Schafe unter- weise. wle sic rechte Christen sollen seln. sondem auch daneben den Woel· fen wehTen, dass sle die Schafe nlcht angreifen und mit falscher Lelu'e ver - fuehren und Irrtum e1nfuehren. LutheT 371 . .................... .... 397 Es 1st kein Ding. das die Leute mehr bel der Kirche bebaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apologie, An. 24 U the trumpet give an uncertain sound. who shall prepare himself to the ba tUe? - 1 Cor. 14:8 Published by the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis 18, Mo. PRINTED IN t1. s. A. Our New Altar Service Books By W. G. POLACK After a long delay caused chiefly by the wartime paper shortage which prevented our Publishing House from obtain- ing suitable paper, our new altar service books are finally coming off the presses. As previously announced, the material in the old Liturgy and Agenda, together with new items, has been divided to make two volumes. In addition, a third vol- ume, the Lectionary, will contain the standard pericopal les- sons, the Psalms, and the Passion Story. The fourth volume, containing the music for the liturgy, has been ready for some time. At the request of the editorial staff of CONCORDIA THEO- LOGICAL MONTHLY we are herewith offering a detailed descrip- tion of these new books for the benefit of our pastors. THE LITURGY TIlls volume has been ready since last summer. In gen- eral it contains the liturgical material whlch is in The Lu- theran Hymnal, plus the prayers for the various seasons of the Church Year and the occasional prayers and collects. The format is 65fsX9. The type page is 5X7. The type size of the pastor's part is 12-point Benedictine on 14-point slugs. The rubrics are in red. The congregational responses are in 12-point italics, all of which makes for easy reading even in a dimly lighted chancel. Immediately after the title page, two facing pages con- tain the calendar of the Church Year and a Pastor's Prayer before worship. These two pages are beautifully illuminated. Then comes the Table of Contents, giving the same se- quences of items as in The Lutheran Hymnal. In the rubrics of the orders additional suggestions have been added for the position of the minister at various points in the services. In the section containing the Introits, Collects, and Graduals, the collects for the Epistles and Gospels, after careful revision, have been added together with some new ones, as for Mission Festivals; headings for the latter are also given to aid the minister. Under Good Friday, Collects on the Seven Words are new. In the section headed Prayers, a Bidding Prayer for the Time of War is new. Under the Special Intercessions [327] 328 OUR NEW ALTAR SERVICE BOOKS and Thanksgivings, the Prayers for the Sick have been revised, a prayer has been added for use at the death of a suicide, when the circumstances are such as to make it possible for a Christian minister to officiate. Prayers have also been added for use at the death of a pastor and at the death of a teacher. Under the heading, In Times of Distress and Special Visita- tions we find prayers for the following occasions: In time of drought and famine, in time of unseasonable weather, in time of pestilence, after a great disaster, in time of insurrections and tumults, in time of war, in time of peace restored, thanks- giving for rain, during unemployment. Under the heading, During Vacancies in the Church, there are the following prayers: After a call has been extended to a pastor, but not yet accepted; after a call has been issued to a pastor or a teacher; after a call has been issued to a teacher; after a call has been accepted by a pastor; after a call has been accepted by a pastor or a teacher. The prayers in the old Liturgy and Agenda under the heading, Prayers for Evening Services and Other Occasions, have been placed in The Liturgy under the heading, Prayers for Temporal and Spiritual Gifts and Graces, with the follow- ing subheadings: For Success of the Word and of the Sacra- ments; For Blessing on the Word; For Profitable Use of the Word; For Success of the Word; For Profitable Use of the Means of Grace; For Obedience to the Word; For Pardon, Growth in Grace, and Divine Protection; For Peace, Thanks- giving and Praise; Praise and Supplication (two); Thanks- giving and Supplication (three); For Pardon and Renewal; For Repentance and Improvement; For a Holy Life; For De- liverance from Sin and Sorrow; For Help to Overcome the W orId; For a Heavenly Life During Our Earthly Pilgrimage; For Grace to Live as Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth; For Wisdom to Redeem the Time; For Absent Ones. After the prayers in connection with the Church Year we find the following sequence of headings, some of which are new: For Church Schools (for Educational Institutions, for Day and Sunday Schools); Teachers' Conference; Pastoral Conferences, and Close of a Conference; Mission Festivals (including Home and Foreign Missions); A Minister's An- niversary; A Teacher's Anniversary; Anniversary of a Con- gregation; Anniversary of Confirmation; Anniversary of Young OUR NEW ALTAR SERVICE BOOKS 32D People's Society; Anniversary of a Women's Society; Anni- versary of a Men's Society; Church Organizations and Bible Classes; Charities; Home-Finding, Orphanage, Children's Friend, Foundling-Home Society; Home for the Aged; Hos- pital; Graduation of Nurses; Home for the Feeble-Minded; For the Deaf; For the Blind. At the end of the volume there are the General Rubrics, Tables of Movable Feasts and Festivals with the Lessons for the Church Year, including the Synodical Conference Series, the Psalms, and a detailed Topical Index, which will enable the minister to find what he wants with little loss of time. THE AGENDA The externals of this volume, which should be off the press during this year, are the same as in The Liturgy. The Orders follow the same sequence as in the old Liturgy and Agenda. All the orders have been carefully checked, and if they are to be used in connection with any of the stated services, their proper place is indicated. Again it should be emphasized that everything possible has been done to make the use of the volume easy for the minister. It might be added here that Concordia Publishing House will issue this volume also in a pocket-size edition for the minister, keeping the pagination the same as in the larger edition. In addition to the former orders of marriage, a new order is given which allows participation by the congregation. This new order precedes the old ones because the Committee hopes to see the old Lutheran custom of the participation of the con- gregation in a church marriage service generally revived among us. The orders for the burial of the dead have been carefully re-arranged to meet our modern conditions. A reading serv- ice for the unbaptized or stillborn child IS new, also the prayer at the burial of a suicide. To the fornler orders of installation have been added an order for the commissioning of a missionary, one for the in- stallation of professors, one for the induction of synodical officers, one for the induction of women teachers, and one for the induction of Sunday school teachers. To the orders in connection with a church or school build- 3·30 OUR NEW ALTAR SERVICE BOOKS ing project has been added an order for ground breaking. In the church dedication order special items have been included for the dedication of the furniture, vessels, etc., of the sanctuary. A Topical Index concludes this volume. THE LECTIONARY This volume is intended to revive among us the old church custom of having a special book from which the stand-