Today we remember and give thanks to God for Blessed Johann Gerhard. From our Synod's website:Johann Gerhard (1582–1637) was a great Lutheran theologian in the tradition of Martin Luther (1483–1546) and Martin Chemnitz (1522–86) and the most influential of the 17th-century dogmaticians. His monumental Loci Theologici (23 large volumes) is still considered by many to be a definitive statement of Lutheran orthodoxy. Gerhard was born in Quedlinburg, Germany. At the age of 15 he was stricken with a life-threatening illness. This experience, along with guidance from his pastor, Johann Arndt, marked a turning point in his life. He devoted the rest of his life to theology. He became a professor at the University of Jena and served many years as the Superintendent of Heldberg. Gerhard was a man of deep evangelical piety and love for Jesus. He wrote numerous books on exegesis, theology, devotional literature, history, and polemics. His sermons continue to be widely published and read.
From his *Sacred Meditations* (XI):
Draw me, O Lord Jesus, that I may possess in deed and in truth that which I look for with unwavering hope. Let me be with Thee, as Thy servants, I pray Thee, and let me behold Thy glory, which the Father has given Thee. Let me by and by dwell in that mansion which Thou hast gone to prepare for me in Thy Father's house. Blessed are they that dwell in Thy house, O Lord; they shall praise Thee forever and ever!
It's good to remember that the Sacred Meditations did not come from a learned looking old man with inscriptions around his portrait, but a 23 year old.
ReplyDeleteWould that we had more "youth pastors" like that!