Achtemeier, E - Aids and Resources for the Interpretation of Lectionary Texts.pdf

Aids and Resources for the Interpretation of Lectionary Texts ELIZABETH AGHTEMEIER Visiting Professor of Homiletics Union Theological Seminary in Virginia

The scope of the lectionaries currently in use require the preacher to master a vast range of biblical material. A wide variety of resources are available to help them in this work.

HEN VATICAN II issued its call for lectionary reform, it stipulated that "the treasures of the Bible are to be opened up more lavishly, so that richer

fare may be provided for the faithful at the table of God's word." That has always been the challenge to the preacher, of course, but now the church is being presented with an abundance of resources to aid us in that task. The fifty-nine different lectionary systems previously in use among Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Reformed Churches have now given way to the new three-year lectionary which includes readings from thirty-three books of the Old Testament and twenty-four books of the New. Only Second and Third John, Jude, Judges, Ezra, Esther, Obadiah, Nahum, and Haggai are not used in it. The preacher is now called upon, as seldom before, to master a vast range of biblical material, in many instances in a new fashion. Through the foresight and labors of many, we are being given the tools to do so.

Because the new lectionary is framed in terms of "continuous readings" from the Gospels, with one year devoted to each of the Synoptics, supplemented by John, the preacher who follows the lectionary now has an unprecedented op-portunity to acquaint his congregation with the special outlook and theological emphases of each of the Evangelists. But to get at the particular nuances and thrusts of each Gospel, the preacher must utilize the tools of redaction criticism,

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as John Reumann has so cogently pointed out in a recent article.1 For example, the Advent I Gospel lesson in all three years deals with the Lord's coming in glory at the end of time. The Advent II Gospel lessons all concern John the Baptist, first as he is portrayed in Matthew, and then in Mark and in Luke. The preacher can avoid preaching the same message on those Sundays year after year only if he becomes aware of the ditsinctive kerygma of each of the Evangelists in turn, as that unique proclamation is revealed by redaction criticism.

There are numerous tools available to aid us in this endeavor. Fortress Press is now issuing a series of PROCLAMATION COMMENTARIES, dealing with each of the biblical books utilized in the three-year lectionary. These are not commentaries in the usual sense of the term and they provide no verse by verse exposition of the biblical text. Rather, they furnish the preacher or the general reader with the historical-sociological-political background of the biblical book, its major themes and thrusts, an overview of scholarly work on it, and indications of its relevance for the present day. In short, they are background for preaching, although they would also be useful for lay Bible study. The following volumes have already appeared: Mark, by Paul J. Achtemeier; John, by D. Moody Smith; Luke, by Frederick Danker; Hebrews, James, Peter, Jude, Revelation (one volume), by R. Fuller, G. Sloyan, G. Krodel, and E. Fiorenza.2

In addition, INTERPRETATION has published a series of articles on the Synoptics which are of enormous help in redaction criticism: on Matthew in January 1975, on Mark in April 1976, and on Luke in October 1976.* For those preachers unfamiliar with the methods of redaction criticism, Norman Perrin's book on What Is Redaction Criticism? (Fortress Press, 1969, paperback) is also recommended.

Because the new lectionary is fashioned in such a way that there are also readings from a single New Testament epistle extended sometimes over a period of three to sixteen weeks, the preacher also has the opportunity to do in-depth expository and doctrinal preaching from a single biblical book, and the PROCLAMATION COMMENTARIES will help with that. The old lectionaries stressed the ethical sections of the epistles, the new concentrates on the epistles' kerygma. The preacher now has an unprecedented opportunity to give his congregation solid meat to aid them in their growth into mature Christian belief and action.

1. Redaktionsgeschichte and Roman Ordo: "Some Principles and Problems in Pericope Reform," Vita Laudanda: Essays in Memory of Ulrich S. Leupold, in Erich R. W. Schultz, ed. (Waterloo, Canada, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1976).

2. The other three volumes on the N T {Acts by G. Krodel; Matthew by J. D. Kingsbury; The Pauline Epistles by G. Krodel) will follow in 1977 and 1978, as will six vols, on the O T books (Psalms by R. Murphy; Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, by E. Achtemeier; Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, by W. Rast; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, by F. McCurley; Isaiah, H osea, Amos, Mie ah, by . Anderson; Ezekiel, Second Isaiah, by J. L. Mays. PROCLAMATION COMMENTARIES are in paperback at $2.95 per volume and are highly recommended, although they do not replace the use of standard commentaries in exegetical work.

* Editor's Note: Issues on the Gospels of John and Mark with similar articles will be published October 1977 and 1978.

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However, in emphasizing the special message of each of the biblical books, the preacher should realize that he has forfeited something of the presentation of the unity of the New Testament and he therefore must make a special effort to convey that unity in the worship service (see below). In addition, the use of redaction criticism gives some sense of a loss of the "historical Jesus," and the preacher must be alert to show that the faith has not thereby lost its historical anchorage. Leander Keek's work on A Future for the Historical Jesus (Abingdon Press, 1971) might be of help in this regard, for the more advanced reader.

One of the best features of the new lectionary is its recovery of the Old Testa-ment for the church, although readings from Acts replace the Old Testament lessons during the Easter season. On other Sundays, the Old Testament pericopes are related to the Gospel lessons by means of allusion, support, or contrast. Again this places a new responsibility on the preacher: that of relating Old Testament and New in a legitimate fashion. Three books deal specifically with this problem : John Bright, The Authority of the Old Testament (Abingdon Press, 1967) ; Elizabeth Achtemeier, The Old Testament and the Proclamation of the Gospel (Westminster Press, 1973) ; and Foster McCurley, Jr., Proclaiming the Promise (Fortress Press, 1974). In addition, Essays on Old Testament Hermeneutics, edited by Claus Westermann ( John Knox Press, 1964 ), is still enormously helpful for the sophisticated reader, as the theologies of the Old Testament by Gerhard von Rad and Walther Eichrodt always will be.

The preacher must constantly bear in mind that the new lectionary is intended to be used for preaching within the context of worship. Thus its framers assume that the psalms will be used responsively in the worship service, as the liturgical churches use them, and there are no psalm readings included among the stated pericopes in the CO CU version of the lectionary (used by the Presbyterians, United Church of Christ, Christian Church). Unless the non-liturgical churches therefore deliberately include a psalm in their worship each Sunday, preferably as a responsive reading, the invaluable treasure of The Psalter will be lost to many congregations. The new Worshipbook of the Presbyterians (Westminster Press, 1972) does not adequately deal with this problem. It lists psalms which may be used for responsive readings in connection with each season of the church year, but these do not seem to be well chosen and there is no psalm text printed in the Worshipbook itself. These will have to be supplied on the bulletin or in the pews. It would perhaps therefore be helpful to know, that Fortress Press ( 2900 Queen Lane, Philadelphia, Pa. 19129) publishes leaflets containing the RSV text of the three appointed Lutheran lessons plus the text of the appointed psalm, printed out for antiphonal or responsive reading, and the text of the newly pre-pared collects for each Sunday. These can be ordered in multiples of fifty. The new Hymnal of the United Church of Christ (United Church Press, 1974) has

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the psalms in the back, but it also includes some modern renderings of The Psalter which are so different from the biblical text as to be almost irresponsible.

In planning the service of worship which forms the context of the preaching of the Word, the preacher must realize that the entire service interprets the biblical Word, just as the Word also interprets the service. The total liturgy should fill out and complete the Word (especially in the Eucharist), so that the whole gospel is proclaimed on any given Sunday. Similarly, the total liturgy gives its peculiar nuances to the Word so that it becomes the final interpretation of the Word for today, in the long history of its interpretation. Care in planning the liturgical setting of the Word is therefore a sine qua non for responsible preaching.

There are helpful books in this regard. For a general treatment of worship, Paul Hoon, The Integrity of Worship (Abingdon Press, 1971), is highly recom-mended. For a specific treatment of liturgical preaching, Reginald H. Fuller's What Is Liturgical Preaching (London, SCM Press, 1957), though old and based on previous lectionary tradition, is still one of the most brilliant explications of the inner relations of the service of Word and sacrament. George M. Bass's The Renewal of Liturgical Preaching (Augsburg, 1967) is a good treatment of preach-ing and liturgy, and includes fine chapters on the meanings and themes of each of the church seasons, as well as an extensive bibliography on liturgy, preaching, and the Christian year. One of the newest works is David E. Babin, Week in Week Out: A New Look at Liturgical Preaching (Seabury Press, 1976). This book discusses the whole task, purpose, and method of preaching and is a good textbook for any preacher. But it also has two fine chapters on the nature of liturgical preaching and one chapter on the preaching of postils (very short sermons on a Scripture passage, especially on the Gospel or epistle for the day). Specifically for Roman Catholics, The New Liturgy edited by Lancelot Sheppard (London, Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd., 1970) has a good series of articles.

One of the finest aids for planning and integrating preaching and liturgy is The Church Tear: Calendar and Lectionary (Contemporary Worship 6) , pre-pared by the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship ( 1973), and available from Augsburg, Concordia, and the Board of Publication, LCA, Philadelphia. This worship guide has fine introductory sections on the prayers, the seasons of the church year, the lesser festivals, and the history, development, and rationale of the new lectionaries (both the three-year and the revised, historic one-year systems). Then follow the Propers for each Sunday : the prayer or collect for the day, psalm, lessons, preface, and seasonal color. At the end are indexes to the one-year lec-tionary and to saint's days, a topical index to the prayers, an index to the psalms, and to the three-year lectionary, plus short biographies of all the saints. The new worshipbooks put out by the other denominations do not begin to approach this guide in instruction and usefulness, though the Presbyterian Worshipbook does

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give suggested Propers for each season and includes a number of litanies for responsive readings. Helpful too is The Draft Proposed Book of Common Prayer and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the (Episcopal) Church (. Y., The Church Hymnal Corporation, 1976), since it includes both traditional and contemporary Propers, as well as a wealth of devotional and doctrinal material. It does not have the instructional introductory sections, however, which are so helpful in the Lutheran volume.

One of the newest treatments of the church year alone is The Christian Calendar, by L. W. Cowie and J. S. Gummer (Springfield, Mass., G. and C. Mer-riam Co., 1974). This is an art book, designed for the general reader, which gives not only the history of the development of the Christian calendar, but popular customs associated with each season. In addition, there are copious color reproductions of great religious art and quotations from some of the best religious literature, both of which can be helpful in stimulating and instructing the preacher's imagination in the use of biblical texts and illustrative material.

If preachers will avail themselves of these worship and liturgical aids in planning worship services, they may achieve a unity of liturgy and Word far too often ignored in non-liturgical congregations; and this may often prevent the worship service itself from distorting or hindering the Word of proclamation.

There are also a number of exegetical and expositional aids based on the new lectionary, which are available to preachers for sermon preparation. The best among these are: Proclamation: Aids For Interpreting the Lessons of the Church Tear (Fortress Press) ; Reginald H. Fuller, Preaching the New Lectionary: The Word of God for the Church Today ( Collegeville, Minn. : The Liturgical Press, 1974) ; Gerard S. Sloyan, Commentary on the New Lectionary (Paulist Press, 1975) ; Robert Crotty and Gregory Manly, Commentaries on the Readings of the Lectionary (N. Y., Pueblo Publishing Co., 1975). In addition should be mentioned Guide for the Christian Assembly: A Background Book of the Mass, by Thierry Maertens and Jean Frisque (Notre Dame, Ind., Fides Publishers, Inc., 1971 ), although I regret that this latter work has not been available to me. Each of these publications has its own particular character and strengths, and we shall look at these in turn. However it should be emphasized that none of them is an adequate substitute for detailed commentaries on and exegeses of the biblical text, and the preacher should beware of substituting these ' 'shortcuts" for his own rigorous exegetical study, aided by the standard commentaries and dictionaries, of the appointed lessons. Though none of these aids present "canned" or pre-prepared sermons or outlines, they all suffer under necessary limitations of space; and they therefore are only suggestive of sermon approaches and indicative of the direction which further research on the text should take. From this standpoint alone, however, they can serve as "time-savers" for the busy pastor.

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Proclamation: Aids for Interpreting the Lessons of the Church Year has ap-peared in a set of 26 small paperback volumes, eight for each year of the three-year cycle (Advent-Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost 1, 2, 3 ), plus two additional volumes on The Lesser Festivals. While based on the Lutheran version of the new lectionary, the Roman Catholic, Episcopal and COCU lessons are also given and, where different, often treated. An editor-homiletician and an exegete, usually from different denominations, write for each volume (the exception is in the Holy Week volume of Cycle A, where Krister Stendahl does it all), and with only rare exceptions, both exegesis and homiletical treatment are well done. Each lesson is exegetically interpreted, followed by a homiletical exposition which sometimes treats the lessons separately, sometimes in their thematic unity. The advantage of these Aids is that they devote more space than any of the other works mentioned above to the lessons of each Sunday; they therefore can often do a more thorough job. Fortress Press now has plans to revise the whole series by the beginning of Cycle C in 1979, to accommodate ongoing lectionary revisions and issues of contemporaneity and ecumenism, but the pur-chase of the series at any time is a good investment. Its major drawback is that there is no index to the biblical readings. Those who are not strictly following the order of the stated lessons therefore have to hunt through the volumes for their selected texts, a shortcoming which, it is hoped, Fortress Press will remedy at least in the revised series if not in a supplemental volume to the first editions.

Fuller's work, Preaching the New Lectionary, first appeared in Worship be-ginning with the Lenten season of February 1971 (Cycle C) , and this collection covering all three cycles still begins at that point and proceeds accordingly through the three years' readings. It follows the Roman Catholic version of the lectionary, and this differs at certain points with the Protestant lectionaries ( e.g. Christmas I and I I ) . However, a particular reading occurring in the lectionary of another communion will often be used elsewhere in the Roman lectionary, and comment upon it can easily be found in this volume by consulting the Biblical Index of the Readings at the back of the book. At the beginning of each season of the church year, Fuller has a brief discussion of the season's themes. There are then brief exegetical and expositional comments on each of the three lessons for each Sun-day, often followed by specific suggestions for the homily, as well as cogent com-ments on problems and pitfalls of interpretation. It is all well done. In addition, Fuller's is the only work which treats the stated Responsorial Psalm for each Sun-day, an invaluable worship aid. Readers have the advantage in using Fuller's work of profiting from the wisdom of one thoroughly steeped in the history and theology of liturgical practice, and Fuller's learning is indicative of the contribution which liturgy can make to biblical interpretation.

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Sloyan's Commentary on the New Lectionary is solely exegetical in nature, with little expositional and homiletical treatment of the stated readings. The exegeses are brief, but very well done and sometimes can therefore be more helpful in getting at the meaning of the texts than more homiletical treatments. Father Sloyan follows the Roman lectionary, and he uses the Vulgate's verse enumeration, which does not always coincide with that of the KJV, RSV, NEB or Jerusalem Bible. The reader must therefore often look at adjacent verses in these versions to find the passage being treated. Greek and Hebrew words are transliterated, and there is an Index of Biblical References. Roman readers will find treatments of the readings for the Feasts of Jesus, Mary, and the Saints, but Protestants will miss any mention of the readings for the days within Holy Week ( Maundy Thursday, Good Friday). The exegeses are however helpful for those of any communion.

Commentaries on the Readings of the Lectionary by Crotty and Manly has some distinctive features to recommend it. There is an excellent introductory section setting forth the theology and interpretive principles which the authors follow, based upon the approach of the Second Vatican Council. This includes brief essays on the nature of the Bible, of revelation, of the church, of the life of the Word in the church, and of the liturgical year, and while these occasionally put too much emphasis on the developmental aspects of revelation and resulting theology, they nevertheless are some of the clearest, simplest, and yet most pro-found statements on these subjects that I have read anywhere. If you have any doubt about the convergence of Roman Catholic and. Protestant understandings of the Bible in recent years, you should read these essays. Second, the volume in-cludes an Index of Principal Biblical-Theological Subjects and themes, with cross-references, and this can be enormously useful in helping the preacher interpret a text in its total biblical context. The Roman lectionary is followed, with biblical quotations, again an interpretive aid, given from both the Jerusalem Bible and the New American Bible. For each of the three lessons, there is an interpretive comment; and these are then followed by a "thematic synthesis" of the meaning to be drawn from one, two, or all three of the lessons. The authors intend their work to be "theological reflections" which will aid and deepen the reflective medi-tation that takes place before the preparation of the sermon. Over all, they have admirably achieved their purpose.

I cannot give an adequate evaluation of Guide for the Christian Assembly because it has not been available to me. The work was first written in French at St. Andrew's Abbey and published in five volumes by Biblica, Bruges, in 1965. It was completely revised after the introduction of the new Roman lectionary, and the English version is based on this revision. Each volume is over 300 pages long, paper-bound, the first dealing only with Advent/Christmas, the second only with Eastertime. The length of the volumes is due to the fact that not only the

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Sunday lessons are treated, but also the stated Roman lessons for weekdays as well. For those holding daily services or pursuing daily Scripture study, they would therefore be very helpful. Each lesson commentary is divided into two parts: exegesis and doctrine, with only enough exegesis given to prevent false leads or a priori interpretations. The doctrinal discussion considers the principal themes of the exegetical commentary and relates them closely to the eucharistie celebration in the liturgy. Thus there is a wedding of Word and Sacrament. The work has been recommended in some Protestant periodicals, for example, Con-cordia Theological Monthly (November 1972).

Mention should also be made of Merrill R. Abbey's book, The Shape of the Gospel: Interpreting the Bible Through the Christian Tear (Abingdon Press, 1970). Published before the new lectionary was issued for Protestants, Abbey's work follows the lectionary adopted by the United Methodist Church in 1964. However, many of the stated pericopes are the same as those in the new lectionary, and the book can still be very helpful. At the beginning of each season of the church year, there is a brief history of the development of the season and a dis-cussion of its characteristic themes. There follows an exegetical exposition of the meaning of each of the lessons for the given Sunday, and these are then related to the contemporary scene. The book is well written and responsible, fulfilling much the same purpose as do the volumes discussed above.

In addition to these volumes of commentaries, three denominational periodicals have run a series of exegetical or homiletical commentaries on the lessons of the new lectionary. The first to do so was Concordia Theological Monthly, beginning in November of 1971 and continuing through January of 1974, when the pub-lication of the periodical was suspended altogether. These were presented in the "Homiletics" section of each issue, under the general editorship of George W. Hoyer, and were written by various pastors and teachers in the Lutheran Church. The November 1971 issue also contained some background articles on the history and rationale of the new lectionary. It began its commentary on the lessons in that issue with the Roman pericopes for Advent, Cycle A, and commentaries on Roman A continued up through the October 1972 issue. At that point, the Lutherans had published their Revision of the Historic Western Pericopes for the Church Year. Beginning with the November 1972 issue, Concordia therefore ran a series of commentaries on that one-year lectionary, and these continued up through the May 1973 issue, although not all of the Sundays of every season could be dealt with in the space allowed. By September of 1973, the new three-year Lutheran lectionary had come into being, and the November 1973 issue of Concordia therefore began a commentary on the lessons of Cycle C. The pub-lication was suspended after the January 1974 issue, which had dealt with some of the readings up through Lent C.

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The format of the commentaries presented by the Concordia Theological Monthly was pretty much always the same. There was a brief interpretive exposi-tion given for each lesson, followed by a suggested sermon outline for that Sun-day. As might be expected, some of these were very good, some were rather poor. The series did seem to improve as it went along, although it is always ques-tionable if someone else's sermon outline is very helpful for a responsible preacher.

A series of commentary articles was also issued by The Lutheran Quarterly, published by the Editorial Council of the Theological Seminaries of the American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church in America. These began in No-vember of 1973 with a general article by Walter R. Bouman on the context and language of Christian worship, and on the theology of the Christmas (Advent-Christmas-Epiphany) cycle. The following two issues continued the discussion of theological perspectives on each season: Edvard Riegert on the Lent-Easter Cycle, in the February 1974 issue, David Tiede on the Lukan Gospel lessons (C) for Pentecost, in May 1974. These general articles were quite helpful, point-ing out strengths and weaknesses in the liturgical year as it has developed, in connection with the stated pericopes. Beginning in August of 1974, The Lutheran Quarterly then published a series of brief exegeses and expositions of the Gospel lessons in Cycle A. Jack Dean Kingsbury dealt with Advent-Christmas-Epiphany A (August, 1974), Wilhelm C. Linss with Lent A (November 1974), Cora Klick with the Easter Gospels A (February 1975). In addition, in the November 1974 issue, Leroy Norguist presented brief theological expositions of the themes in the epistles used in Cycle A: First Corinthians 14, First Peter, Romans, Philippians, First Thessalonians. It is regrettable that The Lutheran Quarterly did not con-tinue this series of articles after the February 1975 issue.

INTERPRETATION, too, has been publishing occasional exegetical interpretations of some of the pericopal lessons, although the choice of these has been somewhat puzzling. The January 1975 issue dealt with the Gospel for Lent 1 and 2 A and then for Epiphany 3 A. Similarly the October 1975 issue dealt with the Old Testa-ment lesson for Advent 2 B, the Gospel for Advent 4 B, and the Gospel for Epiphany 3 C; the Ocotober 1976 issue treated Advent 4 C, Christmas 1 C, and Advent 2 C. When the series began, the editor stated that the texts would fre-quently, but not always, come from lectionary lists. It would be helpful however to know what principle is being used in the selection of pericopes, since to date, all have been from the lectionary, but sometimes a single issue will deal with lessons from two different seasons of the church year. Suffice it to say that texts from Matthew were dealt with in January and July of 1975, from Isaiah and Luke in October 1975, from Mark in April and July of 1976, and from Luke in October 1976.

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The aim of the INTERPRETATION articles has been to move beyond exegesis to the exposition of the meaning of the textthat stage which lies between exegesis and preachingand most of the articles have admirably fulfilled this purpose. They have probably been most helpful for the preacher who is only loosely follow-ing the new lectionary, but certainly they are methodologically instructive for any preacher.

Augsburg Publishing House has put out four volumes of sermons based on the new lectionary, entitled Augsburg Sermons. Each of the first three volumes con-tained sixty sermons on the Gospel texts of Cycle A, B, or C. The newest volume contains fifty-eight sermons on the epistle texts of Cycle C. Contributors to the 288 page volumes are pastors, church leaders, and college and seminary teachers from the major Lutheran church bodies, including David Preus, Richard R. Caemmerer, W. A. Poovey, George Bass, Hoover Grimsby, George Hoyer, Harry E. Olson Jr., Paul Bretscher, and Arndt L. Halvorson, among many others. In-deed, the volumes are practically an anthology of Lutheran preaching within the United States today and would form a useful object of study for anyone assessing that communion's proclamation. They are issued under the editorship of an Ad-visory Committee composed of George Bass (LCA), Lowell O. Erdahl (ALC) and Alton F. Wedel (LCMS). As with any collection of sermons, the volumes are a mixed bag. Most of the sermons in them are solid, a few are very, very good, a few are rather poor. But all are deserving of study, if only sometimes to discover what not to do in preaching. The men who wrote the sermons "were encouraged to be free in style and form, creative in use of language and illustrative material," and the volumes are instructive in the extent to which new ideas and directions are being explored in Lutheran pulpits.

The advertising blurb on the volumes states that they will "provide preachers with sermon ideas, inspiration, and illustrations," but that is probably the way in which the volumes should not be used. Unfortunately, too many preachers in the country today are borrowing other preachers' outlines and illustrations, rather than wrestling with the Word of God in their own situations, as that Word speaks afresh each day. Such borrowing was known already in the time of Jeremiah (cf. 23:30) , and it has the effect of preventing a preacher from hearing the living and active Word, as that Word speaks through the text and is illumined by the present Spirit. The best thing a preacher can do with other sermons is, first, to do his own exegesis and exposition. Then he can turn to other sermons and study them with regard to form, outlining them, noting their manner of introduction and conclusion, their main points, their transitions, their use of illustrative ma-terial, their method of communication. In short, we preachers can learn methodol-ogy by critiquing others' preaching. Second, the preacher can use other sermons as he does other commentary materialas checks on his own exegesis and exposi-

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tion. But the message of the text should come through the preacher's own work with the text and not from that of others. When the preacher fails to do his own work with the text, then others' sermons have simply taken the place of the Bible, and the preacher is preaching others' ideas and not the Word of God.

Some time ago, it was announced that the Concordia Pulpit for 1976 would also publish sermons based on the Gospel lessons of Cycle B, but I have been unable to obtain these.

Clearly, preachers who wish to preach from the new lectionary have a wide variety of resources available to aid them in their work. There may perhaps be volumes which have escaped my attention. Certainly those listed above would give the conscientious preacher ample help with his task, and it is hoped that they will bear such fruit in the future that the faithful will indeed be provided a "richer fare . . . at the table of God's Word."

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