free variable

Erhalt uns, Herr, which I mentioned in my last entry, is perhaps not the best example of a Lutheran justification hymn, as it is primarily a polemic against those who cloak the nature and cause of justification. (A better example would be Aus Tiefer Not or Nun Freut Euch.) The English text most often seen today (and even in some RCC hymnals) is a variant of the Winkworth translation/adaptation:

Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word;
Curb those who fain by craft and sword
Would wrest the kingdom from Thy Son
And set at naught all He hath done.

Here you can listen to an mp3 file of a prelude on the tune and read a translation of the original. If you do, you’ll note that Winkworth “de-sexed” the original (below) a little.

Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort,
Und steur’ des Papsts und Türken Mord,
Die Jesum Christum, deinen Sohn,
Stürzen wollen von seinem Thron.

Hilarious, vintage ML.

That pretty much has the same affect as the explanation for the third possible topic for the Harvard Divinity School’s Dudleian Lectures. The Dudleian lectures were established in 1750 by a grant from a judge; the third possible topic for the speaker is “the Romish church”, explained as follows:

detecting, and convicting, and exposing the Idolatry of the Romish Church, their tyranny, usurpations, damnable heresies, fatal errors, abominable superstitions, and other crying wickednesses in their high places.

On the one hand, that’s pretty extreme and is certainly almost comical in these ecumaniacal^* times. (Indeed, they changed the topic in 1911 to “Roman Catholicism and Protestantism”, removing any explicit assertion of heresy.) On the other hand, it’s a little sad that no one is willing to make such strong theological statements any more. Of course, if — as some assert — there really exist no substantial disagreements of sufficient magnitude to inspire that sort of ire, then it is good that no one is expressing them these way — but that is certainly not a noncontrovertial point. As an interesting aside, I first heard of these lectures while reading Heiko Oberman’s excellent essay Quo vadis, Petre? Tradition from Irenaeus to Humani generis, which was originally given as a Dudleian lecture in 1962.

^* This is not a typo.