Luther and the Reformation.
By J. Clarke
LUTHER was not a Lutheran, he was a Reformer, and his whole soul was in the work. To reformers of this age we would say, Luther was like you, and you may claim him a brother; he is yours, and you are his; and could he now arise from the tomb, he would turn with disgust from those who shut their eyes and ears to the light, by whatever name they may be called. He read from the Bible that a few centuries from his day would bring the close of time, and could he now arise from the dead, finding those centuries elapsed, with what eagerness would he investigate history and prophecy, to determine his position on the ocean of time. Luther was raised up at the right time, and how mightily he worked. Only a peasant boy, he became a noble and powerful man, by diligence, honesty, and devotion to God. At his birth, the world was dark in morals and in education, wrong and perverted and distorted ideas of God and his character, wrong ideas of duty in all the social, domestic, and private and public walks of life, wrong ideas of government, civil and ecclesiastical, existed in the minds of men, and whole nations were moved by superstition, ignorance, and bigotry. A good thought was not known as such, and wicked deeds were often applauded as virtuous, for the Bible existed only in the dead languages, and it being carefully kept from the common people, Satan exalted in the ruin and confusions he had wrought. A mother might forsake her darling children, and leave them exposed to want, neglect, and sorrow, while she, by taking the veil, and becoming a recluse in some convent, smothered her grief and dried her tears in the consolations held out to her of becoming a saint. Papal priests applauded her devotion, and sister nuns welcomed her as one of the faithful. A faithful and devoted son or daughter, or father, or friend, might at any time leave his or her home, however afflictive or embarrassing such a step might be to friends or relatives left behind, and seek for a home in the cloister, where he could be of as little service or comfort to them, as if he were dead. Violence was committed upon the moral and intellectual powers of man, by the Romish priest, who taught relatives to sunder their ties of nature, and break the bonds of natural affection; and the cloistered nun fasted and prayed and did penance, because her heart still longed for dear ones left at home, in the valley or on the mountain side, weeping the loss of a devoted relative, self-buried from home, and friends, and usefulness. Or if a monk, yet a novice, perhaps a dutiful son wishing most fervently to do the will of God, and being taught that the cloister was the school of the prophets, and having entered, he finds a school of immorality and idleness, his doubts and fears and conscientious scruples, only call for fasting and penance, or perhaps the prison and the rack. Or, if some mighty man appeared, and endeavored to enlighten the world, and break the fetters which held men and governments, he was quickly disposed of, as in the case of Huss and others. But Luther, the peasant boy, arose, and as he fought his way, at every step encountering difficulties, and obstacles, and all patiently removed, he, by slow degrees, opened his eyes to the evils of his age. He saw with pain, the priest at the altar acting his part as a mountebank at a show; and the same priest who declaimed against marriage, was a companion of prostitutes; and the coarseness of the street was transferred to the sanctuary, and the pardon of sin was bought and sold as goods are disposed of in the market. More than this, he found a Greek Bible in his cloister, for he too was early taught that here he would find his God and his salvation, and truly he did, but this book pointed him to a nobler work, and resurrected him from a living grave. Bloody racks and damp dungeons waited anxiously for him, and poisoned meats and drinks were prepared, and cruel monks and haughty bishops longed to rid the earth of him, but in vain, for God determined otherwise. By little and little, Luther, the peasant's son, opened his eyes to the scene around him; all was darkness. He looked within, all was weakness and sin; but in his newly discovered Bible, all was light; angels strengthened and encouraged him, and his kind, loving, but powerful words, entered the hearts of men. At his reasoning, so simple yet so deep, kings and magistrates, peasants and citizens yielded; the time had come for the power of the Papacy to be subdued, and nuns left the cloister and reassumed their place at the fireside, and monks became teachers, and professors, or mechanics, farmers, or tradesmen; and those who had meditated entering upon seclusion, abandoned so wild a plan and entered upon the walks of life. Never since the days of Jesus Christ has so great a revolution taken place in society, and without tumult and strife, bigotry, superstition, and ignorance failed to hold the masses, and truth gained the victory. At the same time, God raised up other workmen in Switzerland, France, England, and various other places; and although at first unknown to each other, they worked for the same end, and the Papacy reeled almost to its downfall, and ever since it is slowly fading away. Luther worked hard to establish good schools everywhere, for the common people; and used all his influence to have them upheld by government; and he strove hard to find competent teachers for them, and with all he taught the Germans to sing in the schools, and witness the result! And shall we say that our civil and religious liberty, our schools for the people, our extended and wise policy, our intelligence as a people, are not in a great measure the fruit of the labors of those wise reformers, of whom Luther was the leader? Let not the world despise reformers; this was what the monks did to Luther, and what the Jews did to Christ; the world has no friends like the reformers, who leveled old corrupt systems, and set up the banner of truth, and ye reformers take heart to think of what Luther, your brother, accomplished.
J. CLARKE.
Portage, Ohio.