Frage 129. Question 129. Was bedeutet das Wörtlein: Amen? What is the meaning of the word Amen? Antwort. Answer. Amen heißt: das soll wahr und gewiß sein; denn mein Gebet viel gewisser von Gott erhöret ist, denn ich in meinem Herzen fühle, daß ich solches von ihm begehre. [187] Amen means: So shall it truly and surely be. For my prayer is much more certainly heard of God than I feel in my heart that I desire these things of him.
[180] See here the critical note in my German edition, p. 5.
[181] In the Apostles' Creed, Hell has the meaning of Hades, or the state and place of departed spirits; but the Heidelberg Catechism explains the descent figuratively of the vicarious sufferings on the cross.
[182] In the Apostles' Creed, Hell has the meaning of Hades, or the state and place of departed spirits; but the Heidelberg Catechism explains the descent figuratively of the vicarious sufferings on the cross.
[183] This 80th Question, as is now ascertained beyond controversy, is no part of the original Heidelberg Catechism, and was inserted by express order of the Elector Frederick III., as a counterblast to the anathemas of the Council of Trent (which closed December 4, 1563). It appeared in part in the second edition, and the passages in brackets were added in the third, with the remark at the close: 'What in the first edition was overlooked, especially on p. 55 [the place for the 80th Question in the first edition], has now been added by command of his Electoral Grace.' For further information on this famous Question, which caused even a temporary prohibition of the Catechism in the German Empire, see Vol. I., and my German edition of the Heidelberg Catechism.
[184] This 80th Question, as is now ascertained beyond controversy, is no part of the original Heidelberg Catechism, and was inserted by express order of the Elector Frederick III., as a counterblast to the anathemas of the Council of Trent (which closed December 4, 1563). It appeared in part in the second edition, and the passages in brackets were added in the third, with the remark at the close: 'What in the first edition was overlooked, especially on p. 55 [the place for the 80th Question in the first edition], has now been added by command of his Electoral Grace.' For further information on this famous Question, which caused even a temporary prohibition of the Catechism in the German Empire, see Vol. I., and my German edition of the Heidelberg Catechism.
[185] The words 'so viel' are to be found in all the German editions, but they are superseded by the following word 'desto;' they were, therefore, omitted in the Latin and English translations.
[186] The plural form 'Himmeln,' as given in the editions of 1563, 1684, and 1724, follows closely the Greek original, Matt. vi. 9 (en tois ouranois; Latin, in coelis), though it is unusual in German.
[187] The first edition of 1563 (pp. 84-94), as also the third (Niemeyer, p. 424), conclude with a 'List of such important proof-texts as have been explained in the preceding Catechism.' The List contains the summary of the divine law in the words of our Lord. Matt. xxii. 37-40, as a mirror of repentance, with the threat, Deut. xxvii. 26; then the Apostles' Creed, the words of institution for Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, the Ten Commandments, and the Lord's Prayer. The large and fine pulpit edition in the 'Kurpfälzischen Kirchenordnung' of 1724 adds to it 'A Short Summary of the Catechism,' and a number of Scripture passages for all sorts and conditions of men. The second and third editions of 1563 close with a remark already noticed with reference to the 80th Question, which was wanting in the first edition. Most editions are fortified with Scripture proofs, a careful selection of which has been made for my German tercentenary edition.