The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1894, Page 39

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

39

Luther Starting for Magdeburg.

In our picture we see Luther starting for |
Magdeburg to attend school there. ‘The first |
school that he attended was at Mansfeld, where
his parents lived. To this 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.

church, but did not teach them to love Jesus,
the children’s loving Friend.
were told that Jesus is a very
angry Judge, whom they must
move to kindness by many good
works, and by praying to the
saints, especially to the Virgin
Mary. Luther at that time trem-
bled whenever he heard the name
of Jesus mentioned. He himself
says, ‘‘I was accustomed from
childhood to become pale and
terror-stricken when I heard the
name of Jesus mentioned; for I
was taught to think of Him only
as a severe and angry Judge.”’
“Tf this is not darkness,’’ he
adds, ‘‘I know not what dark-
ness 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 noth-
ing about the Saviour. He once
saw a prince going about the
streets of the city in a monk’s
dress, begging 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. Neither did Luther at
that time know the Saviour. In after years
God brought him to the knowledge of the
Saviour through the reading of the Holy Script-

The children

_ures.

Luther, during his school days, was often
obliged to beg food at the houses of the peas-
ants. Speaking of his school days at Magde-
-burg he himself relates the following incident:

‘*T was accustomed with some companions
to beg food to supply our wants. One day,
when at Magdeburg, about Christmas time,
we were all going through the neighboring vil-
lages, from house to house, singing the usual
carols on the Infant Jesus at Bethlehem. We
stopped in front of a peasant’s house which
stood detached from the rest, at the extremity
of the village. The peasant, hearing us sing

He instructed the |
children in the false doctrines of the Romish |

| our Christmas carols, came out.with some food |

which he meant to give us, and, having a rough, |
loud voice, he called out, ‘Where are you, |
boys?’ ‘Terrified at these words, we ran away |
as fast as we could. We had no reason to fear, |
for the peasant came out in kindness to give
us this assistance; but our hearts were, no
doubt, fearful and untrusting from the threats
and ill-treatment then used by masters towards
their scholars, so that we were seized with sud-
den fright. At last, as this good peasant con-
tinued to call out after us, we stopped, saw

that he had food in his hands, forgot our fears, |

ran to him and thankfully received what he

offered. It is. thus,’’ adds Luther, ‘‘that we
tremble and flee when conscience is guilty and
when fear fills us with alarm; we are then
afraid even of the help that is offered us, and
of those who are our friends and wish to do us
good.’” : :

Many years after, Luther said to those of
his countrymen who were in good circum-
stances: ‘‘Do not. despise the poor scholars
who try to earn their bread by chanting be-
fore your door, asking bread for the love of
God; I have done the same.’’

Punishment for False Doctrine.

“The Lord will not hold him guillless that taketh His
Name in yain.”

John Hermann, of blessed memory, who
wrote so.many of our beautiful Lutheran
hymns, preached a sermon on the theme:

“What shall move thee and me, O Christian
heart, to cling to the simple meaning of the
words of Christ, and firmly to believe the
presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in

| the Lord’s Supper?’’

As a final reason he gives the terrible punish-
ment which, even here on earth, befell many

;of those who contradicted this our doctrine,

and who denied the true presence of the Body
and Blood of Christ.

Carlstadt, who at Wittenberg began the con-
flict in regard to the Sacrament, and who after-
wards went to Basel, received from his col-
leagues the testimony: That he was a destroyer
‘ of their churches, and was stran-
gled by the devil.

Berengarius had spread this
error far and wide; but when
lying on his deathbed he lamented
it very much and said: ‘*To-day
Christ will appear to me, either,
as I hope, to my salvation, or, as
I fear, to my damnation, on ac-
count of the poor souls I have
led into error with my doctrine.’’

Dr. John Stoessel came to a
‘terrible end. Six weeks before
his death he said: ‘*I am the
devil’s own with body and soul,
a vessel of wrath, a child of hell-
fire and eternal damnation. For
I have intentionally and know-
ingly falsified God’s Word, blas-
phemed God, and reviled the
most holy mysteries and Sacra-
ments of Christ. - It is impossible
for me to hope and believe that
God could or would again be
merciful to me.’? The pastor of
Seuftenberg tried to comfort him
with numerous passages of Script-
ure, ete. He replied: ‘*I know
all these verses as well as you
do, but give me the power to be-
lieve that they are also for me.’’
When the minister, thereupon,
exhorted him to pray to God
who would awaken faith in him, he answered:
‘*Prayer? prayer? Satan, whose slave I am,
will not let me pray.”’

Other similar examples might be given. Who
will not be warned by these? Who will not
beware of their error and the more steadfastly
abide by the clear Words of Christ? O Lord
Jesus, defend us against false doctrine, and
bring back the poor people who have been led
into error.—Lutheraner.

re a

_A Roman Catholic Duke of high distinction
accompanied Charles V. into Germany in 1547. _
He heard the Lutherans sing, ‘*A mighty for-
tress is our God,’’ and mockingly said, ‘‘I’ll
blow up their mighty fortress, or I will die.”’
The story goes that on the third day after
he unexpectedly died. The fortress still
stands. % 4