Luther's Works - Volume 75

Book excerpt: About This Volume From the beginning of his work on the postils, Luther had stated that they were supposed to serve common pastors and people, and thus were to be the great devotional book of the Reformation. Martin Luther's collected sermons for the church year were originally published in two series: the Church Postil and the House Postil. These were among his most popular works. Aside from his catechisms, they did more to teach people the Reformation than any other book. Volume 75 gives the sermons on the Epistle and Gospel readings from Advent through Christmastide in fresh, clear English. Benefits of Luther's Works, American Edition, vol. 75 (Church Postil I) Accurate and clear translation. (An early 20th-century version of these sermons was inaccurate and stilted.) Presents the Church Postil as the mature Luther wanted it to be: Includes Luther's often-extensive revisions to his own work, with significant variant readings from earlier editions translated in the footnotes. Includes the version of the summer sermons that Luther approved (Cruciger's edition, not Roth's edition). Epistles and Gospels are interspersed as they were originally printed, showing the progression of Luther's teaching through the course of the church year. (The early 20th-century Lenker version followed the revisionist 1700 edition of Philipp Jakob Spener, not Luther's mature, final edition of 1540 and 1544.) Includes the careful, explanatory introductions and footnotes that have become a hallmark of Luther's Works: American Edition. Includes cross-references and a table showing where Luther's sermons can be found in the German originals. Fully indexed. Edited by Benjamin T.G. Mayes and James L. Langebartels. About the Series The 28 planned new volumes are intended to reflect both modern and sixteenth-century interests and to expand the coverage of genres underrepresented in the existing volumes, such as Luther's sermons and disputations. The primary basis for the translation is the comprehensive Weimar edition.