l importance to the Church, which have to do with the
office of the ministry and with God's Word. Where the ministry and
the Word of God are preserved, there will always be some among the
masses to attend upon the preaching of the Word and to conform their
lives to it. But when the Bible leaves the pulpit, little good will
be accomplished, even though one here and there be able to read the
Scriptures for themselves and imagine they have no need of the
preached Word. Where will the untaught masses stand? Note how it has
been with the poor people in our time who were misled by Munzer and
Munster, and their prophets and factionists.

PUBLIC PREACHING OF THE WORD ENJOINED.

Then let everyone lend earnest effort to promote public preaching of
the Word everywhere, and public attendance upon that preaching; and
thus rightly to found and build up the Church. Let him also put on
the wedding garment himself (mentioned in the Gospel for today); let
him take care to be found an earnest advocate of the Word of God,
uninfluenced by thoughts common to the secure spirit: "Oh, there are
pastors and preachers enough for me. I can hear or read the Word when
I please; have access to it any day. I must give first attention to
bread-winning and like things. Let others look out for themselves."
Take care, my dear sir; you can easily fail by carelessness here and
be found without the wedding garment, perhaps may die without it,
unaware how you are being deceived. Whose fault will it be but your
own since you would not hear Paul's admonition to walk wisely and
circumspectly?

9. We should make provision while the opportunity is at our doors,
for, judging from the present course of the world, it will not long
retain what it has. Everywhere men are diligently helping to hunt
down ministers, or at least to so bring to bear upon them hunger and
poverty, to so oppose them with secret fraud, as to drive them from
the land. And little trouble and labor will be required to accomplish
it. We shall only too soon be rid of our ministers and have their
places amply supplied by deceivers. I would much rather suffer in
hell with Judas the Betrayer than to bear the guilt of accomplishing
one minister's death or of being instrumental in offering place to
one deceiver. For it would not be so intolerable to suffer the
anguish of the betrayer of Christ as to endure that of one who, by
his sin in this respect, is responsible for the loss of countless
souls.