In the year 1721, Reinhard published his celebrated Inquiry into the Plan which the Founder of Christianity devised for the good of the race. The fourth edition of this work was issued in 1798; the fifth, under the superintendence of Heubner, in 1830. He commenced, in 1782, a Psychological Inquiry concerning wonder and the wonderful. Between the years 1788 and 1815, were published the five volumes of his System of Christian Ethics, of which the first volume has passed through five editions; the second and third, three each. All things considered, this is the most elaborate of his treatises. In 1801 was published his work, originally written in Latin, on the Worth of little things in Morals, of which a second edition was issued in 1817. His Lectures on Dogmatic Theology appeared in 1801, and the fourth edition of them in 1818. His Epitome of Christian Theology was published in 1804, and the second edition in 1819. His Opuscula Academica appeared in 1809, in two volumes. He published, in 1810, his far-famed Confessions relating to his sermons and ministerial education. The fifth edition of this work was issued in 1811. Besides the above-named volumes, he printed several learned dissertations, and contributed largely to the periodical literature of his time. In the homiletical department, the number of his printed works is larger than we could expect from a philosopher so deeply read. The uniform collection of his sermons is contained in the thirty-five octavo volumes, published between 1795 and 1813, many of which have passed through several editions, and some have been translated into foreign languages; the four volumes for the use of families, edited by Hacker, in 1813; one volume, edited by Kenzelmann, in 1825; and one, edited by Haas, in 1833. In addition to the preceding, are two volumes of sermons, published in 1793; one on the Refining of the Moral Sentiments, in 1798, a second edition in 1813; one on Providence, in 1805; and three volumes of Reformation Discourses, published between 1821 and 1824. Many of the sermons issued by his editors since his decease, had been previously given to the public by himself; but, on the other hand, some which he had occasionally published, are not inserted in the above-named volumes; so that it may be safe to affirm that his printed sermons occupy forty-six or seven octavo volumes, each containing from three to five hundred pages. The extent of his labors will be best appreciated by a comparison of them with those of our own Pres. Dwight, who was born one year before Reinhard, and died four years after him, of the same disease. Both of these distinguished men were obliged to struggle, in their lite 'Reinhard's Plan and also his Confessions, were translated into English, by Rev. O. A. Taylor, and published in 1831 and 1832. 1849.] Number of his Sermons. 303 rary efforts, against obstacles resulting from impaired health. Reinhard was necessitated often to suspend his studies for successive months. Dr. Dwight was occupied in collegiate instruction twenty-seven, and Reinhard taught in the university fourteen years. Moreover, while Church Councillor at Dresden, the superintendence of both the school and university education of Saxony was, in a considerable degree, confided to Reinhard. His published works are at least sixty octavos and one quarto; those of Dr. Dwight, if printed in the same style with Reinhard's, would be less than twenty octavos. Both wrote systems of theology; Dwight in the form of sermons, Reinhard in the form of a logical treatise. All the published sermons of Dwight are not more than two hundred and fifty; those of Reinhard are about nine hundred. The discourses of Dwight, however, are longer and more argumentative than those of Reinhard, and he wrote hundreds which were never published. Nearly all of Reinhard's written sermons have been given to the public. What he wrote, he finished for the press. We read of Wesley that he preached annually eight hundred sermons, of Whitefield that he preached during his life fifteen thousand; these, however, were not different discourses, but many of them repetitions of each other. One of our New England clergymen wrote three thousand sermons, which having been consumed with his house by fire, he began anew and wrote fifteen hundred more. Several of our divines have written, each, four thousand discourses; one, at least, has left to his heirs five thousand; but these preachers have not prepared their manuscripts, either in substance or style, for publication. It had been wiser if they had written no more sermons than Reinhard, and had elaborated with more care the few hundreds on which they should have concentrated their energies. Dr. Chauncey, who spent fifteen hours every day in his study, lamented toward the close of his ministry that he had written so many sermons, and remarked that two hundred were sufficient for a long life. His motto was, "Think much, write little." Before we give any abstracts of Reinhard's discourses, it may be well to consider the § 3. Novelty and Variety of his Themes for the Pulpit. When a reader, familiar with the strain of English preaching, opens In the Repertorium sämmtlicher Predigt Sammlungen of Reinhard, which is confessedly imperfect, there are in the first edition 873, in the second 880 of his sermons enumerated. 2 He is said to have written a thousand in twelve years. the volumes of Reinhard, he seems to come into a new hemisphere, and like a traveller into the Oriental world, he is interested in the hitherto unseen flowers and fruits which attract his vision. There is a contracted circle of subjects on which some divines run a perpetual round; but our author has overstepped the circumference of this circle, and expatiated on themes which have seldom been approached by others. The variety of his subjects is as remarkable as their novelty. Like all other authors he has, indeed, his favorite themes; he recurs with pleasure to the dignity of human nature, the virtues of the Messiah, his relations to men as they are mortal, bereaved, prosperous, etc.; but many of these themes he was obliged to discuss by the ecclesiastical rules which fettered him. While hampered by these rules, to have prepared nine hundred sermons for the press on subjects so different as his from each other and from those ordinarily discussed in the pulpit, indicates a fertility of genius, an extent of observation, a richness of spiritual feeling, a practical tact, which are but seldom combined in one man. The following are selected, not by any means as the most peculiar, or the most fruitful of his topics, but as giving a fair specimen of their original, fresh, diversified character; We should derive nourishment for our philanthropy from the unexpected discovery of good qualities in others; The influence of old age upon our love to men; The desire of living long enough to witness certain expected and important events; The results of that Providence by which men of different ages in life are associated together; Necessity, a means of intellectual and moral improvement; The connection between humility towards God and a hearty confidence in him; The union which Christianity forms between the love of one's country and the love of the entire race of man; The evil influence which the pleasures of the table exert upon the human heart; Why do the most weighty truths generally excite the greatest opposition? How important for us is the connection which Christianity, at the beginning, formed with the lowest classes of society; The instruments which God chooses for executing his benevolent purposes, are not such as man would have chosen; How happy should we be in taking our departure from the world, if, like our Saviour, we should leave no one behind us who would regret that he had formed our acquaintance; The history of Christ's resurrection gives the best instruction on the rapid changes in the affairs of men; We should live for those high ends which will make our existence important for our fellow men, and worthy of mention when we are dead; How appropriate it is to the feelings of true Christians, not to distrust the future amelioration of human character; The best men do not receive their merited honor until 1849.] Effort to avoid Monotony. 305 they are dead; The duties imposed upon us by the promising prospects of the young; The duties resulting from the fact, that many persons have far more good qualities than we have usually ascribed to them ;1 The injurious influence of sudden prosperity upon the moral feelings of men; Even in our opportunities of doing good, there are sometimes temptations against which we should be on our guard; The disposition of men to strive for communion with the higher orders of being; Warnings against false conscientiousness; A cheerful, equable temper essential to the most active piety; Hindrances to true peace of mind among real Christians; How carefully good men should guard against becoming the sport of circumstances; The impossibility of satisfying the unwarranted hopes which men cherish concerning us; The birth of Jesus is the most instructive memento of our own birth; The serious thought on the incarnation of the Son of God, is the best means of awakening within us a lively feeling of the dignity of our own nature; In entering upon a new year, how much reason we have to be thankful for the pressure of duty; The providence of God toward our little ones; The furtherance of truth by means which are uncongenial with it; The duty of deriving useful lessons from our past mistakes; We should not be offended at the mingling of worthy and unworthy members in the Christian church; What shall we think of the uncertainty in which our religion leaves us, with regard to the particulars of our residence in the future world? etc. The question arises, where does Reinhard find passages in the Bible suggesting such themes? This leads us to consider the § 4. Connection of his Themes with his Texts. The German Lutheran church, it is well known, prescribe a series of biblical lessons, a pericope, for every sabbath and religious festival day of the year. From these lessons the preacher is obliged to take his texts.2 Year after year, therefore, he is compelled to preach on the same passages of Scripture. Hence results a danger of monotony in the choice of his themes. In order to guard against this tiresome sameness, an inventive mind like that of Reinhard is prompted to search out the hidden meanings of the lessons selected for him, and to found his discourses on implications rather than on assertions of Scrip The text of this discourse is Luke 17: 11-16; which is said to imply that the Samaritan who was healed had more gratitude than was expected of him. The supposed advantages of preaching from such prescribed texts, rather than from such as each clergyman chooses for himself, are stated in Bib. Sac. Vol. III. p. 473. ture. The reader is constantly surprised at the ease and naturalness with which our author merges his texts into Propositions which, but for his ingenuity in explaining them, would seem altogether too farfetched. The artifice with which he connects his novel themes with the lessons which suggest them, may be seen in the following examples. Often it is a fault incident to the circumstances in which he wrote; although it is far more disagreeable in these insulated illustrations, than in the neat and flowing discourses from which they are detached. From the fact mentioned in John 4: 47-54 that Christ, when urged to visit the nobleman's house, persevered in refusing the entreaty, and even rebuked the supplicating father, although he restored the dying son, Reinhard discourses on the doubtful value of complaisance, and the duties resulting from the ambiguous morality of this trait. We should not say, yes, to every solicitation. From the same text he discourses2 again on the immodesty which leads men to ask too much of God. The narrative, in Matt. 9: 1-8, of the palsied man who was brought to Jesus by persons who showed great faith in the Messiah's willingness and power to heal their friend, is the foundation of a discourse by our author, on the conduct required of Christians by the confidence which others repose in them.3 An English or an American divine discoursing on Luke 8: 4—15, the passage containing the parable of the sower, would have derived from it a lesson with regard to the duty or the mode or the results of hearing, or preaching the gospel, or with regard to the good and evil influences which operate upon man while listening to the truth. But the German divine shows from this text, how we ought to be influenced by the known fact, that we must live and hold intercourse with men of the most widely different characters and manners.4 In another sermon from the same text,5 he proposes to state some grounds of consolation for those who think that they can effect nothing by their most faithful exertions A discourse in relation to Christ's healing the dropsical man on the sabbath, Luke 14: 1-6, would ordinarily be devoted to the mode of keeping holy holy time; but as the Pharisees were inquisitive to know whether the Saviour would heal on the sabbath day, and as he at once performed the miracle without previously explaining the reasons for it, Reinhard devotes his sermon on this text to the habit of answering men by acPredigten im Jahre 1795 gehalten, Band II. ss. 332–345. 2 Predigten im Jahre 1796 gehalten, Band I. ss. 312-330. 3 Predigten im Jahre 1795 gehalten, Band II. ss. 356-370. Predigten im Jahre 1801 gehalten, Band I. ss. 116-137. Predigten, 1797. Band L. ss. 87-104. |
