# The Lutheran Pioneer_St. Louis_1880_S39 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) The Lutheran Pioneer. 39 The Life of Dr. Martin Luther. XX. LUTHER'S BURIAL. The sad tidings of Luther's death rapidly spread through the country and soon reached Wittenberg. Melanchthon, in communicating the painful news to the students of the Univer- sity, used the words of the prophet Elisha: “Alas! he has been taken from us, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof, by whom the Church was led in this last age of the world.’’? The Elector of Saxony sent letters to Hisleben, expressing his wish that the body be brought to Wittenberg to be buried in the Castle Church, the same in which Luther re- gularly preached during his lifetime. On February 19th the corpse was laid in a metallic coffin and taken to the parish church of Eisleben, princes and lords, and an immense number of people following it—all in tears. At the church Dr. Jonas preached a funeral sermon on 1 Thess. 4, 13—18. On the follow- ing day the minister at Eisleben, M. Coelius, delivered an excellent sermon on Isaiah 57, 1. 2., after which the corpse was with great solemnity removed from Fisleben. Hundreds and thousands of people, princes, nobles, counts, and lords accompanied it, weeping, and chant- ing a low funeral dirge as they moved along. On the way from Eisleben to Halle, the bells were tolled in all the villages, and the people came out and stood with tears and uncovered heads as the corpse of their beloved Luther was borne past them. When the corpse, late in the evening, arrived at the gates of Halle, it was received with great honors and taken to the church while Luther’s hymn: ‘‘From deep distress to Thee I cry’’, was sung by the people with voices broken by sobs and floods of tears. On the next day the corpse was taken further on its way, was every- where received with great solemnity, and at last reached the city of Wittenberg on the 22d of February. And no one can describe the grief shown by the people of Wittenberg when the corpse reached that scene of his life-long labors, where he was revered and loved so dearly by all classes as a father. Amid singing and the tolling of all the bells, the mournful procession moved through the town to the Castle Church in the following order: First came the school choirs and the ministers, fol- lowed by the commissaries of the Elector and the Counts of Mansfeld with a train of 60 horse- men. Next came the hearse, drawn by four horses, covered with a large costly pall of black velvet. Then followed Luther's widow and his three children and other relatives; next the Rector of the University in his official robe, accompanied by princes and nobles. These were followed by the professors, the city council, the students and the citizens. When they reached the Castle Church, the corpse was set down before the pulpit, and the funeral services Were conducted with great solemnity. A funeral Sermon, in German, was preached by Dr. Bugenhagen, who was frequently interrupted by his own tears and those of his hearers. Melanchthon then delivered a funeral oration in Latin, after which the coffin was taken up by several distinguished members of the Uni- versity and let down into the grave that had been opened near the pulpit where Luther, during his life, preached those powerful sermons that stirred the hearts of electors, princes and people as they never were stirred before. There his body found its last resting-place, awaiting the day of the resurrection when it will arise to eternal glory. Luther’s monuments are the many blessings of the glorious Reformation, and all that enjoy those blessings will at all times honor the memory of Martixs Lurner.—‘Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversa- tion’”’, Hebr. 13, 7. o> Thurlow Weed on Ingersoll. Thurlow Weed, a citizen of high standing in New York, says: ™ “Colonel Ingersoll, whom I do not know, has the reputation of being a gentleman of educa- tion, with a well stored mind, and attractive personal manners, who speaks fluently and eloquently. A man thus gifted can do much good, but much more evil, according to the principles espoused and the line of conduct marked out for himself. Colonel Ingersoll, it seems, upon his entrance into active life chose the left instead of the right pathway, and be- comes a reviler of, instead of a believer in, a religion which has been making the world wiser, better, and happier, for almost nineteen cen- turies.... Isit not painful to see men richly endowed perverting their gifts, misusing their talents in presumpteous reviling and ribald jesting against a Creator and a Saviour from whom every earthly bounty and blessing ema- nate? “No act of the Saviour’s life and no word He ever uttered has been or can be construed or tortured into hostility to the welfare and happiness of every member of the human fa- mily. Human laws are founded upon the di- vine law. All that concerns our happiness here and our hopes of happiness hereafter is derived from the Scriptures. On the other hand, what has infidelity done for us? Who profits by its teachings? After depriving its followers of their belief in a future, how does it compensate them? What does it offer in exchange for a life of immortality? If, for example, Colonel Ingersoll should be summoned to the bedside of a dying friend or relative, what words of comfort or of hope could he offer? Of what service could he be to that stricken friend? Would he aggravate the sufferings of one whose last hours needed soothing by telling him there was nothing but the cold, dark grave awaiting him? The cruel theory is repelled not only by revelation, but by the laws of nature. .. . “Civilization and its beneficent institutions abound by the religion which our Saviour in- structed His apostles to preach to the heathen. Geographical lines are not more distinctly established than those that mark the progress of missionaries; and, while religious light brightens the Christian world, it rays down upon the darkest portion of the earth. What have the doctrines of Confucius, Mohammed and other false teachers done for their followers but to hold them for centuries in ignorance and barbarism? “‘T invite Mr. Ingersoll or any of his followers to inform the public how and to what extent they have profited by his own missionary labors in this city, what salutary reforms he has in- augurated or even suggested, or in what man- ner and to what extent he has contributed to the general welfare or happiness of his fellow citizens.” Don’t want to Grow up Bad. Really, of all the spectacles of neglect and want in a “cold world,’ none is more pitiful than that of a child begging—not for charity, but for Christian care and moral training. A case of this kind was recently given by the New York Times.