A Bit of Reformation History
By H. F. Schuberth
'ON a missionary tour through South Germany, it was my privilege to visit our small church in the ancient imperial city of Worms. While there are no more remarkable councils of state such as were held in that day, yet on the other hand, in the year 1868 a grand monument of Luther was erected here, in commemoration of a wonderful event of those stirring times. [See first page. —ED.] The following words give a good description of this monument:— “Above and in the midst of his surroundings, stands Martin Luther, with his hand clinched upon the Bible, as if he were saying a second time, before emperor and kingdom, his world-shaking words: ‘Here I stand; I can not do otherwise; so help me, God!’ At his feet are the heralds, and a little farther removed are the comrades, the fellow workers, the guardians and protectors of the Reformation.”15 That we may more closely observe this fortress of statues, in which there are sixteen hundred cubic feet (Luther’s monument is twenty-seven feet high), we will approach it from the east, on which it fronts, and admire the twelve statues, each one of which is a work of art in itself. On the wall, facing the pedestal, stands twenty-four pinnacles bearing the coat of arms of these states: Braunschweig, Bremen, Constance, Eisenach, Eisleben, Emden, Erfurt, Frankfurt-on-the-Main, Schwäbisch-Hall, Hamburg, Heilbronn, Jena, Königsberg, Leipzig, Lindau, Lübeck, Marburg, Memmingen, Nördlingen, Riga, Schmalkalden, Strasburg, Ulm, Wittenberg. These principalities had a leading part in the work of the Reformation. The chief pedestal on which the Luther statue rests, is made of one socle of polished syenite. On this stands a smaller cube of bronze, with its four sides decorated with bas-reliefs, as follows: Luther nailing the ninety-five theses on the door of the Wittenberg castle church, by which he threw down the glove to the indulgence-venders and their defenders, is on the west. Naturally enough, Luther’s defense before the Diet at Worms, on the 17th and 18th of April, 1521, appears on the east, or front side of the monument. The Bible translation and preaching of Luther to the masses, are commemorated on the north side; and on the south, we find Luther serving the Lord’s Supper (including the giving of the bread and the wine), and Luther’s marriage with Katharina von Bora, the ceremony performed by his friend Bugenhagen. Upon this cube rises a second cube of bronze, whose sides are decorated with portrait medals of men who had an acting part in the work of reformation: Ulrich von Hutten, Franz von Sickingen, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, the electors of Saxony, John ‘The Constant,’ and John Frederick ‘The Magnanimous,’ and, farther, Justus Jonas and John Bugenhagen, the intimate friends and co-laborers of Luther, whose advice he sought while translating the Bible. On the front side of Luther’s statue we read: “Here I stand; I can not do otherwise; so help me, God, Amen!” On the south is inscribed: “Faith is nothing else but true and righteous life in God himself; the Spirit of God is given us that we may understand the Scriptures rightly.” On the west is written: “The gospel which the Lord put into the mouth of the apostles is the sword with which he smites the world as with lightning and thunder.” Lastly, we read on the north: “Those who rightly understand Christ can not be bound by man-made enactments. They are free, not after the flesh, but in conscience.” On the southwestern pillar of the chief pedestal we find Peter Waldus, with a sack hanging by his side, his feet covered with wood sandals, holding a Bible in his left hand, and pointing to that blessed Book with his right. Next to him on the northwest pillar, we see a statue representing John Wycliff. On the northeast pillar we come to John Huss. On the fourth pillar appears Savonarola, with the index finger of the right hand threateningly lifted up. On the four outward pillars we see Frederick ‘The Wise,’ elector of Saxony; Philip ‘The Magnanimous,’ of Hessia; Philip Melanchthon; and John Reuchlin. Among these are three statues, representing the protesting Spires, the peace-pronouncing Augsburg, and the mourning Magdeburg. The influence of the whole is inspiring; but whither has the time flown, which could display such men? The recent transactions of the German Reichstag show us to what Protestantism has come. That very government which formerly in the so-called Culture Controversy withstood the bad doings of the Jesuits, is to-day going hand in hand with the Catholic party, to again reinstate the Jesuits. May this little bit of Reformation history remind us of that time, and may we be inspired with the courage and faith that should characterize true reformers, who are seeking to hasten the glorious appearing of our Lord.