The Annotated Luther Volume 4

Volume 4 of The Annotated Luther series presents an array of Luther’s writings related to pastoral work. Luther’s famous Invocavit Sermons and other selected sermons show a forthright and lively preacher. Hymn texts reveal Luther’s grasp of hymnody as a tool for conveying and expressing faith. His Small Catechism as well as several pieces on prayer, including his Personal Prayer Book and A Simple Way to Pray, show his engagement in the basic task of teaching the faith. Luther’s prefaces to his own writings contain personal reflections on his reforming work. Also in this volume are his commentary on The Magnificat, selected letters, and shorter pieces that display his pastoral responses to particular situations: Sermon on Preparing to Die, Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague, and Comfort for Women Who Have Had a Miscarriage. Each volume in The Annotated Luther series contains new introductions, annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther’s context and interpret his writings for today. The translations of Luther’s writings include updates of Luther’s Works, American Edition or entirely new translations of Luther’s German or Latin writings.

This volume (volume 5) features Luther's writings that intesect church and state, faith and life lived as a follower of Christ. His insights regarding marriage, trade, public education, war and are articulated. His theological and biblical insights also colored the way he spoke of the "Jews" and Turks, as well his admonition to the German peasants in their uprisings against the established powers.

Volume 1 of The Annotated Luther series contains writings that defined the roots of reform set in motion by Martin Luther, beginning with the Ninety-Five Theses (1517) through The Freedom of a Christian (1520). Included are treatises, letters, and sermons written from 1517 to 1520, which set the framework for key themes in all of Luthers later works. Also included are documents that reveal Luthers earliest confrontations with Rome and his defense of views and perspectives that led to his excommunication by Leo X in 1520. These documents display a Luther grounded in late medieval theology and its peculiar issues, trained in the latest humanist methods of the Renaissance, and, most especially, showing sensitivity toward the pastoral consequences of theological positions and church practice.

This volume contains a number of the writings categorized under the theme word and faith. Writings in the volume range from core documents Bondage of the Will, Against the Heavenly Prophets, The Smalcald Articles, and Large Catechism to Luther’s own Confession of Faith and treatments of Moses, the Gospels, and Two Kinds of Righteousness. Each volume in The Annotated Luther series contains new introductions, annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther’s context and interpret his writings for today.

Timothy J. Wengert provides detailed background into the development of Luther's popular Small Catechism, which began with Luther's early sermon series on the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Apostles' Creed. Luther wrote his catechism because many requested he do so but also as a response to his 1528 visitation of parishes in Saxony and Meissen, where he discovered an abysmal level of Christian instruction. Luther's Small Catechism explains the basics of Christian faith in a way resonant with his understanding of justification by faith, which also implied, for Luther, the proper distinction between law and gospel. This is applied to his explanations of the parts of the Catechism. Wengert's translation also includes Luther's own preface to the 1531 edition, the Sacrament of Baptism, Sacrament of the Altar, instructions to the head of the household, Household Chart of Bible Passages, Marriage Booklet for Pastors, and Baptismal Booklet. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, volume 4 (Pastoral Writings). Each volume and selection in the series contains new introductions, extensive annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther's context and to interpret his writings for today.

This volume provides two of Martin Luther's most significant writings on prayer. In Little Prayer Book (1522), Luther seeks to reform the theology and practice of prayer in clear and understandable language for all people by encouraging simple, direct prayer to God, who promises to hear the one who prays. Luther focuses on the Ten Commandments, Apostles' Creed, and Lord's Prayer, giving his treatment of prayer a catechetical feel that would later provide the structure of his catechisms. In A Simple Way to Pray (1535), Luther offers his barber and all other readers insights into his own prayer life. He organizes his comments around the seven petitions of the prayer Jesus taught to his disciples. He also uses the Ten Commandments and the Apostles' Creed as resources for prayer. He sets out to "kindle a fire in the heart" and increase the reader's eagerness for prayer. This volume is excerpted from The Annotated Luther series, volume 4 (Pastoral Writings). Each volume and selection in the series contains new introductions, extensive annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther's context and to interpret his writings for today.

This volume features Martin Luther the exegete and Bible teacher. His vast exegetical writings and lectures on Scripture are introduced through important examples from both the Old and New Testaments. Included in the volume is his brief treatise "On Translating" and his prefaces to both the Old and New Testaments, to key sections of Scripture (Psalter, Prophets), and to select books such as Genesis, Isaiah, Daniel, Romans, and Galatians. The content is rounded out by examples from his lectures and sermons on specific texts, including such examples as Genesis 1:26-2:3; Psalms 51 and 118; Isaiah 53; John 1:14; Romans 3:20-27; and 1 Corinthians 15:16-23, 51-57. Each volume in The Annotated Luther series contains new introductions, annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther‘s context and interpret his writings for today. The translations of Luther‘s writings include updates of Luther‘s Works (American edition) or entirely new translations of Luther‘s German or Latin writings.

Volume 3 of The Annotated Luther series presents five key writings that focus on Martin Luther’s understanding of the gospel as it relates to church, sacraments, and worship. Included in the volume are: The Babylonian Captivity of the Church (1520); The German Mass and Order of the Liturgy (1526); That These Words of Christ, “This is my Body,” etc., Still Stand Firm Against the Fanatics (1527); Concerning Rebaptism (1528), and On the Councils and the Church (1539). Luther refused to tolerate a church built on human works, whether it was the pope’s authority or the faith or decision of individual believers. This is the thread that runs through all the texts in this volume: the church and sacraments belong to Christ, who founded and instituted them. Each volume in The Annotated Luther series contains new introductions, as well as annotations, illustrations, and notes to help shed light on Luther’s context and interpret his writings for today. The translations of Luther’s writings include updates of Luther’s Works American Edition, or entirely new translations of Luther’s German or Latin writings.