The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1892, Page 39

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-, ‘The Tmtheran Pioneer.

Luther Starting for Magdeburg.

The first school that Luther attended was
at Mansfeld. To that school he was sent at
an early age, he being so young yet, that a
friend of his often carried him on his arms to
the school-house. The school-master was a
tyrant, of whom the boys were afraid, but
whom they could not love. He instructed the
children in the false and superstitious doctrines
of the Romish church, but did not teach them
to love Jesus, the children’s loving Friend.
The children were told that Jesus is a very
angry Judge, whom we must move to kindness
by many good works, and by praying to the
saints, especially to the virgin Mary. Luther
at that time trembled whenever he heard the
name of Jesus mentioned. He himself says,
“*I was accustomed from childhood to become
pale and terror-stricken, when 1 heard the
name of Jesus mentioned; for I was taught
to think of Him only as a severe and angry
Judge.”’ ‘If this is not darkness, I know not
what darkness is.’’

Luther’s father desired his son to become a
learned man. So, when Martin was fourteen
years old, he, together with a friend of his,
was sent to the Latin school in the city of
Magdeburg. Here Luther again heard much
about the holiness of the pope, and the priests,
and the monks, but nothing about the Saviour.
He once saw a prince going about the streets
of the city in a monk’s dress, begging for
bread, with a heavy sack on his shoulders.
The prince had fasted until he looked like a
skeleton. Indeed, shortly after he died. The
poor man had tried to be his own saviour, not
knowing Jesus, the only Saviour of sinners.

Luther also tells us of a horrible picture
which he saw in the city of Magdeburg. ‘‘A
large ship was painted, which they called the
‘Holy Christian Church’, in which there was
no layman, not even a king or prince, but
only the pope with his cardinals and bishops,

with the Holy Ghost hovering over them, the

priests and monks with their oars at the side;
and thus they were sailing to heaven. The
laymen were swimming along in the water.
around the ship. Some of them were drown-
ing ; some of them were drawing themselves up
to the ship by means of ropes, which the ‘holy
fathers’, by grace and by sharing their good
works, cast out to them, that they might not
drown, but be taken along to heaven, cling-
ing to the ship. ‘There was no pope, nor car-
dinal, nor bishop, nor priest, nor monk in the
water, but laymen only.”” It was a dreadful
picture, by which the people were taught that
2. common man could get to heaven only, when
he had some friend in the cloister, who had
done more good works than he himself needed,
and who could then make those good works
over to him, and thus help him along to heaven.
A dreadful picture!

In after years God brought Luther to the
knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus through the
reading of the Holy Scriptures. Having found

peace and salvation in this Gospel, Luther pro-
claimed if to the world and thus became the
Reformer of the Church.

We still have this Gospel in our Lutheran
church and in our Lutheran schools. The chil-
dren of our Lutheran schools are through this
Gospel led to the Saviour, the Friend of sin-
ners. May God protect our schools and make
all their pupils thankful for the great blessing
which they enjoy through the Reformation of
Dr. Martin Luther.

——> <> -

Mission Work through Luther’s Catechism.

Dr. Luther published his smaller Catechism
in the year 1529. Some years later a poor
laborer traveled from the city of Wittenberg,
where Luther resided, into Northern Germany.
He came to a small village, where the people
had not yet heard much of Luther and his
work. It was winter, and the poor traveler
suffered greatly from cold and hunger. He
therefore went to the priest’s house and asked
for some bread and a night’s lodging. The
priest was a kind man. He took him in, told
him to sit down by the fire and gave him some-
thing to eat and to drink. ‘The stranger said
grace, and after having finished his meal, he
took a little book out of his pocket and be-
gan toread. The priest noticed this and was
astonished to see a poor laborer reading; for
in his village the poor people very seldom
learned to read. He asked the stranger what
he was reading so eagerly, and the latter
handed him the little book. It was Luther’s
Smaller Catechism.

The priest began to read, and the longer he
read the more he became convinced, that the
little book contained the truth of God. ‘‘My
friend,’’ said he to the stranger, ‘‘you must
stay with me until I have copied this book.”’
The stranger was very well pleased with this
arrangement. He had just come from Witten-
berg, and he told the priest all about Luther,

and about his powerful sermons, and about

the German Bible, and about the beautiful
hymns of the Lutherans, and about the cele-
bration of the Lord’s Supper in the Lutheran
churches according to the institution of Christ,
and about the joy of so many thousands that
accepted the pure Gospel-truth.

The priest listened to the eloquent speaker,
and his heart was moved. He saw that there
is a great difference between God’s truth and
the human opinions of the Romish church.

A few days later the poor laborer left the
priest’s home, taking with him that little mis-
sionary, Luther’s Smaller Catechism, through
which the priest had come to the knowledge
of God’s truth. ;

The priest had copied the book and soon
learned it by heart. He longed to learn more
and got Luther’s translation of the Bible. This
he read carefully, comparing every word of
the Catechism with the Bible, and thus became
more fully convinced, that the Catechism con-
tained nothing but God’s truth. He was very

39

sorry that he had preached the false doctrines
of the Romish church to his congregation for
somany years. From the Catechism, however,
and from the Bible he had learned to know the
Saviour, and in the blood of that Saviour he
found forgiveness of all his sins. He now be-
gan to preach the pure Word of God, told his
people the only true way of salvation, cele-
brated the Lord’s Supper as it was instituted
by Christ, and instructed the children in Lu-
ther's Smaller Catechism. ‘Thousands came
from the surrounding country to hear God’s
Word; they were hungry, and with joy they
took the Bread of Life.

The pope’s people, the enemies of the truth,
persecuted the pastor and all that accepted
the Gospel. But the pastor and his people
proved faithful to their Catechism even in pri-
son. By order of the duke they were soon
set free, and the Gospel was freely preached
in that part of Germany.

The name of that place is Hermannsburg,
and many years ago a mission-house was built
there, and many a missionary has been sent
from that house into. Africa, to preach the
Gospel to the African people. -

A Holy Talk.

A missionary some years ago, returning from
South Africa, gave a description of the work
which had been accomplished there through
the preaching of the Gospel. Among other
things he pictured a little incident of which
he had been an eye-witness. :

He said that one morning he saw a converted
African chieftain sitting under a palm tree,
with his Bible open before him. Every now
and then he cast his eyes on his book and read
a passage. Then he paused and looked up a
little while, and his lips were seen to be in
motion. ‘Thus he continued, alternately, to
look down on the Scriptures and to turn his
eyes upwards towards heaven.

The missionary passed by without disturb-
ing the good man, but after a little while he
mentioned to him what he had seen, and asked
him, why it was that sometimes he read and
sometimes he looked up.

This was the African’s reply: ‘‘I look down
to the book and God speaks to me. Then I look
up in prayer and I speak tothe Lord. So we
keep up this way a holy talk with each other.”

As I read the account of this touching little
scene, the words of Psalm 27, 8. flashed over
me. This picture is but a mirror to reflect the
8th verse of the 27th Psalm: ‘‘When Thou‘
saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto ,
Thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.’

First, God talking tous; and then, ourtalk- —
ing to God.— The Bible Society Record. }

——> +o

Some one once went through the Bible to
find the promises therein and counting them,
assured himself that there were thirty-one
thousand of them. ‘‘Surely,’’ he said, ‘‘here

are enough to meet all the possible wants of
man,”’ ;