4. Luther’s Funeral. The sad tidings of Luther’s death spread rapidly through town and country. A great multitude of people of all classes gathered to view the previous remains of the man who had again brought to light the saving Word of God. When the news of Luther’s death reached Wittenberg and Melanchthon told the students, he exclaimed, “Alas, he has been taken from us, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof, by whom the church was guided in this last age of the world!” On the 19th day of February the corpse was laid in a metallic coffin, borne into the Castle Church of Eisleben, and placed before the altar. On the following day Dr. Coelius preached an excellent sermon, after which the corpse was carried in solemn funeral procession to Wittenberg. With weeping and wailing a countless multitude surrounded the hearse, and in nearly every village the bells were tolled. When, late at night, the funeral approached the gates of Halle the clergy, the city council, the schools, and the citizens, together with women and children, marched out to meet it and escorted the corpse into the church. The service opened with Luther’s hymn, “Out of the Depths I Cry to Thee,” the weeping being heard more than the singing. On the 22d of February the funeral train reached Wittenberg. Amid the tolling of the bells it moved toward the Castle Church, the hearse being followed by Luther’s widow, his four children, and other relatives. Then came the faculty, the students, and the citizens. Dr. Bugenhagen preached a comforting sermon, which was frequently interrupted by his own tears and the weeping of his audience. At the close Melanchthon delivered a Latin oration, after which the corpse was lowered into the vault near the pulpit, where it awaits the coming of the resurrection morn.
CHAPTER XIX.
Afflictions of the Lutheran Church in Germany after the Reformation.
1. THE SMALCALD War. Already during the life of Luther clouds of war had frequently arisen, threatening to destroy the Lutheran church. But as long as Luther lived the storm did not break. His prophecy was fulfilled: “I have fervently prayed to God, and still beseech Him daily, to check the evil counsels of the papists and permit no war to come upon Germany while I live, and I am sure that God has certainly heard my prayer, and I know that as long as I live there will be no war in Germany. Now when I am dead, rest and sleep do you also pray. I will die before this calamity and misery come upon Germany.” Scarcely had Luther closed his eyes when the emperor and the Pope thought the time had come again to strengthen popery and oppress the Lutheran doctrine with the sword, aye, completely to destroy it. The emperor accused the Lutheran princes of disobedience because they would not submit to the Edict of Augsburg, and declared the ban of the empire against them. Soon thereafter he made war upon them. The Lutherans also gathered an army for their defense. Before the Elector John Frederick was aware of it the emperor’s army, led by a traitor, fell upon him.
On the 24th of April, 1547, the battle was fought near Muehlberg on the Elbe. The army of the Lutheran princes was defeated; 3000 remained upon the battlefield, and the elector himself was taken prisoner. Not long thereafter he was condemned to die. Only on condition that he surrender his electoral crown and domain to the Lutheran Duke Maurice of Saxony, who had joined the forces of the emperor, was he to be pardoned. The elector gave up his country without remonstrance, but he would not forsake his faith. His high courage earned him the title, “The Magnanimous.” For when the emperor demanded that he sign the resolutions of the Council of Trent in which the Lutheran doctrine was condemned, he declared with indignation: “I will abide steadfast in the doctrine and confession which, together with my father and other princes, I confessed at Augsburg, and rather give up country and people, yea, and my head also, than forsake the Word of God.”
Thus the cause of the Lutheran confessors seemed to be lost. But right in the midst of war’s tumult and the enemy’s triumph sounded the word of the Lord: “Take counsel together, and it shall come to naught; speak the word, and it shall not stand; for God is with us,” Is. 8, 10. God helped wonderfully. Maurice of Saxony demanded of the emperor the release of his father-in-law, Philip of Hesse. When the emperor refused to do this Maurice turned against him with his army and put him to flight. In 1555 the Peace of Augsburg was signed. By it complete liberty of religion and worship was guaranteed to the Lutherans for the future.
2. Doctrinal Controversies. Already in the days of Luther fanatics had attempted to darken and displace the true doctrine with diverse errors. After his death his prophetic words were fulfilled: “I see it coming, if God does not give us faithful pastors and ministers the devil will disrupt the church by factious spirits, and will not leave off nor cease till he has finished it. If the devil cannot do it through the Pope and the emperor he will accomplish it through those who now agree with us in doctrine. Therefore pray God to let His Word remain with you, for abominable things will happen. I know that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.”
Scarcely had the faithful watchman and guardian been gathered to his fathers when everywhere teachers and preachers arose who departed from the truth of God’s Word and tried to set up their own false teachings. Thus some taught: Good works are necessary unto salvation; others, again, maintained: Not only are they unnecessary, but they are harmful to our salvation. Again, it was taught that man could prepare himself for grace, and assist in his conversion. Others even secretly plotted to introduce the false doctrines of the Reformed into the Lutheran church. Thus the bright light which shone so brilliantly in Luther’s days was in danger of being obscured by the doctrines of men. But in the midst of such confusion God had His faithful confessors. After heated contests truth, by God’s grace, obtained the victory. In 1577, by the united labors of the faithful confessors, the Form of Concord, the last confession of the Lutheran church, was completed. In this confession the Lutheran church renounces all error and demands of all its members unity of doctrine and confession. The reestablished unity of doctrine called forth loud rejoicing and thanksgiving to God everywhere in Germany. In 1580 the Book of Concord of the Lutheran church, containing also the Form of Concord, appeared in print for the first time.
3. The Thirty Years’ War. This good fortune and peace of the Lutheran church did not last long. Satan did not cease to attack her. For his purpose he especially used the Jesuits, a new order of monks. These allied servants of the Pope used every means to suppress the Lutheran church. As advisers of princes, in the confessional, and as teachers at the higher schools they fanned the flame of hatred against the Lutherans, and their endeavors were not in vain. Through them a war of thirty years began to rage in Germany. During the reign of Emperor Rudolph II the religious peace guaranteed at Augsburg was broken repeatedly, and the Lutherans were sorely oppressed. Finally, when a Protestant church in Bohemia was forcibly closed and another was even torn down, the storm broke loose. By it the greater part of Germany was laid waste, and untold misery was caused. Everywhere the evangelical princes were defeated, and their cause seemed to be lost. The Pope and his minions rejoiced.
But in the hour of greatest distress help appeared in the person of Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden. Everywhere the people welcomed him. However, in his march of triumph through Germany he met with a bloody death. On the 6th of November, 1632, a battle was fought at Luetzen. In the Swedish army the trumpeters played the hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.” Then the whole army sang, “May God Bestow on us His Grace.” Whereupon the king cried, “Now at it! In the name of God! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help us fight this day in honor of Thy holy name!” The Swedes gained a glorious victory, but their king, struck by a bullet, fell dying from his horse. Sixteen years longer the deplorable war raged on. In 1648 the long-desired peace was finally concluded. In it the Religious Peace of Augsburg was again acknowledged and extended to include the Reformed church. The Pope protested violently, but in vain.
It is true, conditions after the war were terrible in Germany, also for the Lutheran church. But the chastenings of the Lord strengthened the faith in His Word, and the church fl
ourished and prospered. Faithful pastors strengthened the Christians by their sermons and their writings, and everywhere the seed grew and brought fruit. It was just in this time that pious poets made their harps resound and sang their glorious hymns to the honor and praise of God.
4. Rationalism and Unionism. In no way had the devil succeeded in smothering the Lutheran church in its own blood or in destroying it by false doctrine. Again and again courageous witnesses arose, and in loud and clear words testified that man is justified and saved by grace alone, for Christ’s sake, through faith. At the end of the seventeenth century, however, men arose in England who craftily sought to abolish the Christian faith. These were the so-called Deists, or Freethinkers. Their doctrine, at first, passed from England to France, and then to Germany. Human reason was to take the place of the Bible. Luther’s prophecy was fulfilled: “Until now you have heard the true, faithful Word; now beware of your own thoughts and your own wisdom. The devil will light the candle of reason and deprive you of faith.” Not the Scriptures, the revelation of God, but human reason was to decide matters of faith and salvation. Whatever did not agree with human reason was simply to be rejected as superstition. Whoever confessed his faith in the truths of the Bible was called an obscurant. Those were sad times.
In addition, the so-called “Union” in Germany, by sacrificing the biblical truth, made the attempt to unite the Lutheran and the Reformed churches into a mixed church, which was called the Evangelical church. In this way the ruin of the church of the pure Gospel was to be completed. Faithful Lutherans who would not join in this apostasy were violently persecuted, cast into prison, cruelly punished, or compelled to emigrate into foreign countries, Australia or America.
CHAPTER XX.
The Lutheran Church in America.
1. THE MUSTARD Seed. When the Lutheran church in Germany was in its prime it was transplanted also across the waters, into the wilds of America. As early as 1638 the first Lutheran Swedes emigrated to America and founded the first Lutheran congregation in the valley of the Delaware. In 1650 the Dutch had also founded Lutheran churches in the State of New York. The most important of these churches was in the city of New York. It was cruelly oppressed by the Reformed officials. The true Lutheran confessors were frequently fined and imprisoned. As soon as England, however, took possession of this Dutch colony the Lutherans were granted liberty of conscience and freedom of worship.
On New Year’s day, 1709, the first German Lutheran congregation, with its pastor, Kocherthal, landed on the coasts of America. They likewise settled in the State of New York and founded several colonies on the banks of the Hudson. The greatest number of Germans settled in the State of Pennsylvania. Since 1742 their most zealous pastor was Henry Melchior Muehlenberg. Together with diligent colaborers he founded many congregations, which afterwards united to form the Pennsylvania Synod. Since 1734 Lutheran Salzburgers were found in the Colony of Georgia. Rationalism and fanaticism, however, made powerful inroads also into this flourishing Lutheran church of America. The time came when very few had any idea of the nature of true Lutheranism.
But the light was once more to shine in this land of the West. In 1839 seven hundred Lutheran Saxons came to America. They brought their pastors, candidates, and teachers with them. After suffering severe persecution they had left their old fatherland to live here, in this land of liberty, in accordance with their most holy faith. A part of them remained in St. Louis and founded a congregation with a Christian school. The most of these faithful confessors settled in Perry County, in the State of Missouri, where they founded a number of colonies with congregations and Christian schools. In the colony of Altenburg a seminary was even erected for the education of ministers. Since 1841 the congregation at St. Louis was served by Carl Ferdinand William Walther as pastor and preacher. This man has proved to be of inestimable blessing for the Lutheran church of America. In 1844 he and his congregation began to issue the Lutheraner in order to gather the scattered Christians around the Word of God. This paper was to be a powerful means to acquaint people with the Lutheran doctrine and to defend it against all error. The very first number was a trumpet that gave a distinct and powerful sound. After reading it, the missionary Wyneken joyfully exclaimed, “God be praised, there are more Lutherans in America!” In the summer of 1838 he had come to this country a candidate of the holy ministry, twenty-eight years of age, in order to bring the Gospel to the scattered Germans. In Germany he had read and heard of their great spiritual need, and their misery had touched Ids heart. After a short stay in Baltimore he traveled inland, toward Ohio and Indiana. He came to the little town of Fort Wayne, where he found a little congregation. Here Wyneken preached several times, officiated at funerals, and baptized. The people learned to love him, and called him as their pastor. From here he journeyed to and fro, and, undaunted by hardships, visited his scattered brethren of the faith, brought them the Word of Life, and gathered them into congregations. In the following years other Lutheran pastors, some of them accompanied by their congregations, also came to America. In this way the Lutheran colonies of the Saginaw Valley were founded.
2. The Tree. In 1845 a number of likeminded pastors met in conference at Cleveland, Ohio, to discuss the founding of an orthodox Lutheran synod. In the following year several of these pastors met in St. Louis in order to consult with Walther and other Saxon pastors concerning the same matter. On this occasion the draft of a synodical constitution was carefully considered together with the local congregation. This draft was later on submitted to an assembly at Fort Wayne. Finally, in 1847, at Chicago, the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and other States was founded. Walther was unanimously elected president. The members of this synod had recognized that the doctrine restored by Luther and contained in the confessions of the Lutheran church is the true and pure doctrine of the Word of God. Upon this foundation they resolved to stand and in the future carry on together the work of the Lord in this country. And to this day, by the grace of God, they have remained true to this confession. They accept God’s revealed Word as the only source of knowledge for doctrine and practice. And the heart of all their teaching is the doctrine of justification of a poor sinner before God, not through his own works and merit, but alone through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. “God’s Word and Luther’s doctrine pure shall through eternity endure,” is the watchword which the synod has not only written on its Lutheraner, but which its members also dearly cherish in their hearts.
For the preparation and education of its pastors and teachers the synod has, in the course of years, established a large number of institutions. The first of these is the Theological Seminary at St. Louis. In this institution Dr. Walther labored with signal blessing as professor, and through his lectures and his many writings became the leader of teachers, pastors, and congregations. He died in 1887. In Springfield the synod has its Supplementary Theological Seminary, in which Prof. Craemer labored for many years. The Seminary for Teachers is in Addison. Its first director was the sainted Prof. Lindemann. The preparatory institutions are in Fort Wayne, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and at several other places. About sixty professors teach at these institutions. Essentially the work of the synod is carried on in the same way as at the time of the fathers. In the same manner as Wyneken missionaries travel about visiting their scattered brethren in the faith and gathering them into congregations. At the same time with the congregation the parochial school is founded and developed for the education of the children in the Catechism.
Collected Works of Martin Luther Page 912