# Lehre und Wehre_St. Louis Missouri_April 1863_S115
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Luther as a Preacher. 115

...theological self-seeking and labor in studying and meditating, and perseveres in prayer, that to him, as to the apostle, "the word may be given" (Eph. 6:19) — he, indeed, will also learn to preach originally and therefore popularly. That such a man naturally also looks to his congregation, and learns to know its needs, and takes its spiritual situation into account as well — that goes without saying. But far less weight should be given to that! For what does it help if someone, however much he might want to eavesdrop on the people, tried to learn from them how they express themselves spiritually! That would, after all, be nothing but vain imitation. Just as little as anyone can imitate preaching in Low German, just as little can he imitate the people in their whole being and manner of speech generally.

Paul came to the most various nationalities and was everywhere understood as a popular man, because the Holy Spirit lived in him and had so thoroughly spiritualized his nature as an instrument that it harped and trumpeted (1 Cor. 14:7–8) in a language that struck into every hearer's heart. What was the miracle of Pentecost with the "new tongues"? Were they merely the foreign idioms that the strangers in Jerusalem heard at the feast of Pentecost? Then the apostles would hardly have had such success. They learned to speak popularly through the Holy Spirit by this, that their whole nature became new and skilled at giving back again what it had received. — It can often bring real sorrow into the heart when one sees, nowadays, so many preachers who, like children, look now to this preacher, now to that one, and now want to do just as these their models did. It then often happens that precisely what is perverse is what gets imitated; and then to imitate the perverse further still — and on top of that in the pulpit — what a caricature! One would scarcely believe how far this idolizing sometimes goes! Truly, sometimes even down to the homiletical throat-clearing and spitting. Against this, everyone should rather reflect on himself, come to know his own gifts, practice them and ask God for light and knowledge for this purpose, exercise himself rightly in godliness, make his own soul blessed and study diligently, as is a theologian's plain duty and obligation — then the right trumpet-blasts or harp-tones, as each may be needed, would come of themselves. And such a preacher who is his own man, of whom one can sense that he is everything by the grace of God — because, in truth, what he has is something given to him from above, and a possession truly fought for and earned — is, even if he had few gifts, a true refreshment to so many others who from their youth have picked up a method from others by eavesdropping, and in so doing ruin themselves and their congregation. An independent preacher will always be popular — successes are not his affair; they stand in the Lord's hand; they do not belong to popularity.

Let us, however, tying on to the remark made above, that Luther preached analytically, go one step further and consider his friends and disciples, who carried on the great work of the Reformation together with him,