0.3. Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments We are indebted to the following persons for rendering us valuable assistance in preparing this translation for print:

Garret’ Moerdyk, elder of the Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Kalamazoo, Michigan. Mr. Moerdyk, who is proficient in both Dutch and English, carefully compared the entire translation with the original and forwarded numerous valuable suggestions.

John C. Wesdyk, member of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Mr. Wesdyk’s thorough grasp of English style and grammar uniquely qualified him for a thorough proofreading of the manuscript. Due to his probing and meticulous analysis of every sentence and paragraph, he has made a significant contribution to the linguistic quality of this translation.

Rev. Cornelis Vogelaar, pastor of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Rev. Vogelaar’s knowledge of seventeenth century Dutch proved to be most helpful in arriving at the correct translation of difficult passages and phrases.

Nicholas L. Greendyk, elder of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Mr. Greendyk, who is well-versed in the writings of English divines and has an extensive knowledge of Reformed doctrine, carefully read the entire translation to assure doctrinal and semantic accuracy.

Dr. Joel R. Beeke, pastor of the First Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Mrs. Laurena Quist, his personal secretary and member of the same congregation. After implementation of the suggestions and/or corrections forwarded by all individuals involved, both Dr. Beeke and Mrs. Quist very ably proofread the manuscript prior to being typeset.

Dr. Willem Fieret and Den Hertoo B.V., Publishers, for their permission to translate and include Dr. Fieret’s biography of à Brakel in this work.

Gary andLinda den Hollander, the typesetters of these volumes and members of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Mr. den Hollander, in assisting his wife in her typesetting duties, did a final and thorough proofreading of the manuscript in typeset form.

William D. Berkenbush, member of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Mr. Berkenbush, who frequently contributes his time and talent to NRC publications, provided the excellent negatives for the photography found in this work.

Robert Fletcher and Samuel Van Grouw, Jr., members of the Ebenezer Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Mr. Fletcher did the artistic design work, and Mr. Van Grouw did the final layout and design of the cover. I assume full responsibility for any remaining improprieties in this translation. Among those who have contributed directly or indirectly to the translation and publication of this work, also my dear wife, Joan, deserves special mention. In having been directed providentially to do the translation of this work, it has been confirmed for us in a most personal way that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts than our thoughts. As my faithful helpmeet, her support behind the scenes has been invaluable in my pursuance of this task.

Furthermore, I wish to pay tribute to my beloved natural and spiritual father, the late Rev. Arie Elshout, pastor of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations from 1955-1991 -- seven years in the United States and twenty-nine in the Netherlands. At the age of eighteen, shortly after the Lord had begun His saving work in him, he received, upon personal request, the Redelijke Godsdienst as a birthday present from his parents. He immediately began to read these volumes with great diligence -- the first religious works he had ever read. à Brakel’s work had a profound and lifelong influence upon him and clearly was used by the Lord to mold him for the ministry to which He would call him. He rejoiced in the fact that the Lord led me to translate this unique work into English. He, together with my beloved mother, often encouraged me to persevere in this task, being convinced that the Lord would also cause the English version of this work to bear fruit -- as has abundantly been true in the Netherlands.

Finally, it is my foremost desire to acknowledge the Lord humbly for having enabled me to complete this rewarding and edifying task. I have truly experienced that the Lord makes His strength perfect in weakness. To Him alone be all the glory for what has been accomplished. May it please the Lord, who sovereignly has caused this valuable work to become available to the English-speaking world, to bless the writings of this beloved servant of God. May this work also contribute to stimulate the growing interest in the writings of the divines of the Nadere Reformatie (the Second Reformation) as well as an ever-deepening appreciation for the rich Puritan heritage the Lord has preserved for us.

Above all, may God’s kingdom come -- also as a result of this work. If it may please the Lord Jesus Christ to use this work to build up His people in their most holy faith and add fallen sinners as jewels to His mediatorial crown, my labors will have been richly rewarded and the deep wish of “Father Brakel” will have been fulfilled -- a wish expressed in his preface: “May the almighty and good God, who repeatedly encouraged me when I had intentions of discontinuing this task and who is the Author of whatever good is to be found in this work, pour out His Holy Spirit upon all who will either read or hear this book read.” The Translator

Second Printing

We are grateful that a second printing is being called for of volume 1 of Wilhelmus à Brakel’s classic, The Christian’s Reasonable Service, and pray that it may continue to be a blessing for many. This printing is identical to the first with the exception of the correction of some Hebrew and Greek spellings and transliterations, and the correction of a few typographical errors, for which we thank Rev. Charles Krahe and Raymond Van Grouw respectively. The entire four-volume set of à Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service is now available; volume 4 contains detailed indexes.

-- BE/JRB August 1995