OLD WRITERS AND LONG SERMONS

The spirit of our time tries to lure our young people away from the old, proven truth. At the same time it attempts to present something else instead which supposedly masks the hollowness and emptiness of a fashionable religion.

Some twenty years ago, the Dutch newspaper De Rotterdammer printed an article from a certain church periodical. It contained the following disclosure:

“Whoever takes a look at the so-called OLD WRITERS, arrives at this pertinent discovery already after a quick survey: that these LONG-WINDED SERMONS were drawn out to their required length very MECHANICALLY and ARTIFICIALLY by a WORDY, TEDIOUS way of speaking in which NOT A GRAIN of Reformed solidity could be detected.”

“I am just thankful that nowadays we are spared such TORTURE. Still stronger, it is always and again an UNSOLVABLE riddle to me that the Lord has kept His church by means of THESE UNSPIR-ITUAL, RAMBLING, simply BORING sermons, which were STUFFED with all kinds of possible wearisome explanations of matters that had nothing to do with the real proclamation of the Gospel.”

Well, that is enough for now.

The article contained still more but the quotation just given is quite sufficient to show what attitude this minister had. His spiritual calibre is clear. We can only hope that there are not too many preachers who draw the same conclusions — though we must justly fear the opposite. It would be better to stress to the congregations that these so-called old writers have mostly been faithful watchmen on Zion’s walls.

And what should we go and do now? Shall we give the many writings of our fathers along with old newspapers on the next old paper drive?

So, get rid of the works of Brakel, Hellenbroek, Comrie, Gray, Durham, van der Groe, Owen, van den Oever, and so many more?

And shall we fill the garbage can at the same time with the works left behind by our deceased teachers such as the Revs. G.H. Kersten, J. Fraanje, M. Hofman, G. van Reenen, and others?

And shall we right away put the catechism sermons of the Revs. Smytegeldt, Beukelman, and the ones of Kersten and van Reenen in a forgotten corner on the bookshelf?

Yes, let us do that!

Because all those sermons are too long. And do you know why? Just read what it says in that article we quoted: those sermons were drawn out to their required length very mechanically and artificially by a wordy, tedious way of speaking in which not a grain of Reformed solidity could be detected.

My dear young friends in particular, are we really doing this? Is it necessary to get rid of it all?

No, for the LORD’S sake, no! That cannot and may not be done.

In Dutch we sometimes use the expression “overjarig koren” to signify the books written by our godly forefathers. The term “old writers” refers actually to these writings as well. But this term “overjarig koren” you can find in Joshua 5 when the people of Israel had entered Canaan and ate of the “old corn” of the land. This old corn had been produced in previous years, had been stored and preserved; it could still be eaten. Likewise the old writers are old corn — in the centuries past when the church was flourishing more than at the present, the Lord gave gifted men who wrote edifying sermons and meditations as well as warm-hearted doctrinal instructions. They spoke after the heart of Jerusalem. That corn grew in years past. But now that the harvest is so scanty, now that so little grain is growing on the field of the church — now we are still privileged to have this old corn available to us.

By means of this old corn of many godly ministers (I mentioned but a few), a generation has been nurtured that, through the blessing hand of God, found food in those sermons. It was nourishment for a poor soul who was travelling to eternity.

God gave to many of His servants talents of spiritual knowledge about which you hardly hear nowadays, and these servants are not so often shamefully despised. Solemnly they admonished about sins, they pointed earnestly to the coming destruction for those who would not that the Lord reign over them, they tried to bring to the feet of Christ such poor sinners who were lost in their own estimation; in short, they proclaimed in their sermons the pith and marrow of the Gospel of free grace.

The old writers could distinguish, they could separate the precious from the vile, real Christianity from name-Chrisitianity, the true work of God from the near-coming work of man. They also separated between the concerned and the established Church, the early beginners on the way of grace and those more advanced, the lambs and the sheep, the babes and young men and fathers.

That it was an unsolvable riddle for the author of the article we cited that the Lord through such “rambling” wanted to keep His church, we fully understand. Someone who never becomes a lost sinner, prefers something else. “Speak unto us smooth things,” (Is. 30:10), has become the fashion of our time.

It will surely remain an unsolvable riddle for such people unless they may learn: “One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). Moreover, such people slap their own fathers in their face who preached the same “rambling” sermons in their own circle just a few decades ago.

Likely you ask, “Well, was the instruction, which our old writers and also later preachers gave to us, perfect?” No, they would be the first to acknowledge that they had not told the half of what the Lord is pleased to reveal in His Word. But the Lord Himself has used the foolishness of their preaching and He still does that. Let us try to be thankful for what the Lord has left of their writings in our congregations.

Let us, also during a reading service of such a “boring” sermon, not leave our places in God’s house unoccupied. The Lord still wants to make use of these means. An old elder from Zeeland told me something on his sickbed. He was in his late eighties but now already Above for many years. Many of those “rambling” sermons he had read to the congregation. “Boy,” he said, “always go to church, won’t you. There the net is cast out and perhaps you may be a little fish that is going to be caught sometime.” This was also such “rambling” language. Nowadays people laugh about that because mostly the discovering work of God’s Spirit is completely slighted.

Now, there are thousands who reason like this: “Once to church, for the rest of the Sunday is ours to go out and visit, to make it a holiday, and so forth.” This spirit runs rife for it is widespread.

Let us be warned for it. For if this makes inroads into our congregations, the swift decline shall certainly become evident.

Young friends, do not let yourself be lured into the snare by the sweet whistling of the fowler. The devil is a hard master and he costs both money and health.

But whoever may learn to understand how far away from God we live by nature and to whomever this becomes the need of his life — that person may be assured that the Lord will give deliverance in the greatest need. Note well, though, He does not give this deliverance in the way we want but in the way it pleases Him.

Oh, would that it become more evident in God’s Church that the beginning must be grace, the continuation grace, and also the end grace. Then the smell of Zion’s ointments would be better than all spices (Song of Solomon 4:10). Then there would be more respect for the work of the Lord wrought upon His people. There would also be more yearning for that old corn. Let our eyes be open for the ongoing destruction which eats away in the church world. May many young people receive a need and desire for the way of the King which has never disappointed anyone yet.

One time the Lord will bring to light what was really “unspiritual,” “rambling,” and “boring.” But then it will also be revealed how many have received a blessing on the journey to the Day of Judgment, especially by way of that old corn. Despite everything which is sinful and wrong in our midst, that the Lord do keep our congregations close to that old doctrine and He cause one time a generation to arise that may testify with clarity against all the strange spirits that move through this world of today. And consider:

To each one that in darkness wanders
The Day spring from on High gives light.

Chilliwack, B.C.

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