The beginning of a series of eighteen articles reprinted from De Heraut. Written to provide a clear understanding of what does and does not constitute the service of the Word, the articles in the series address such themes as the gifts, calling, preparation, ordination, task, and position of a minister of the Word. Kuyper also deals with topics such as the importance for pastors of scholarship in general and, in particular, of a knowledge of church history (see 1896.02, no. XIV). These first six articles are reprinted from De Heraut, no. 679, December 28, 1890–no. 686, February 15, 1891. In De Heraut the articles were originally preceded by 1896.17.

Gereformeerde Stemmen uit vroeger en later tijd [Reformed voices from earlier and later times] was edited and published by the Gereformeerde mannenvereniging “Voetius” [Reformed men’s society “Voetius”], which was founded on September 13, 1894 in Rotterdam. The monthly installments—with continuous pagination—were made available by subscription only. The original plan was to publish Gereformeerde Stemmen in twelve installments, but because subscribers requested that all the articles in the series “Service of the Word” be published together, the installments were increased to seventeen. The printer, A. ter Weeme in Rotterdam, also provided a title page and table of contents for the series.