An ornate woodcut headpiece featuring a smoking urn or incense burner at the center, flanked by elaborate scrollwork and stylized clouds.

Preface

A large decorative initial 'E' enclosed in a rectangular frame with baroque scrollwork, featuring a crown at the top and a swan at the base. It has already been over twenty years since God-loving hearts expressed a desire to see the letters of that chosen instrument of God original: "Rüstzeug Gottes"; a Pietist term for a person specifically selected and equipped by God for a divine purpose, the late Mr. Johann Wilhelm Uberfeld, in print. Although he—for holy reasons dwelling within him—always urged those who repeatedly knocked at his door for this purpose and offered to contribute the necessary funds to have patience, and kindly indicated that his spirit would not agree to undertake such a task during his lifetime—