The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029294133 Cornell University Library BS2685 .L97 1832 Commentary on Saint Paul's Epistle to th olin 3 1924 029 294 133 (J bv ^l' b J"i eejnti jyiA^T]]^ LUTJ^EK, y/^ J,'!// ^ I'/'! //: /mw;/ J'/,'/ '/V-///V//- ■/■o\ l.onk'noweth not the doctrine' of^rue godlitaesi ,.t ib. Only by grace is the :oDsdence> quieted ib. What peace Paul wisheth to Chris- . , tians w IS P«bce of the World', favour of the - world... ib. Why this is added, " and from our Lord Jesus Christ" ib. Merit-mongers, seekkig to justify themselves by their works, shut out Christ, and will have to do with God alone 13 Alcoran is a book containing the Turk's religion, received from Mahomet, a false prophet.that was . among them. ib. Will of God to be sought in!Cbrist. ib. Fall of Lucifer .< Ui. What God is in his own nature.... ib. Where God's will is to be sought . ■ 14 Cbrist,^ the way, the truth, and the ^ --^iife ib.' The aiflicted cofiseiebce ' 'wrestliiig ' with the jtidgmeut of God, is ■iraised up by' only fdith in Christ, ib. Chriaftiandivinit^beginneth at Christ ■ lying in. the lap of the Virgin Mary ^.t 15 Christ God ;....... ib. The deril an adversary to faith. . . . ib. Power of the Father and of Christ equal, ...;.. ..^. .. ^. ..: ifb. How Christ givetli grace and peace. 18 The works of Christ. are divine and ' proper to God....^ ib. One and) the. self-same Godhead of ■^tht FatheV and of the Son ib. Mahomet '.•> ib. The works of Christ which gave •r^himself IT Greatness of sin is to be esteemed by theig'featueas of the price whereby ifris abolished ib. Sin amighty tyrant, holding all men .dSu,eapcivity and' thraMom. 18 The jh^ineitbof the godly ib,. There is a gr«at vehemency always -to be marked in pronouns ....!.. ib. The weakness of faith in us.. . . ':', , ib, Beason extenuates and lessens siu, 19 ^pocrites woiild'that these words c!' of Paul wei'e rather spoken., to ' • .shew his humility, than the.fereat- iiess of.i Our sins ; for that they .', /. cannot bear ..ib. The picture of the justiciaries, and '• -such as seek righteousness by ' works ib. y ; PAGE Chief wisdom of Cbristaans.**. .. . 19 Sins against the first table ^^ Satan is wont to change righteous- _ ness into sin........ • lb. How we must answer the devil disf, puting with us • 21 ITrue definition of Christ ib. Let every man learn to apply this proDouu " our" unto himself.. . 22 True picture of Christ ib. What snares Satan layeth forns.. . 83' This sentence is diligently to be urged, ," which gave himself for us'', ,.,... Vl»-. Why Paul calleth the world present _ . 'And evil ib- The world, the kingdom of the deril ib.: Sins are not taken away by works, . 34 The , ungodly, vvith all their gifts, do _ serye the devil..'. ib. They that know not Christ, the more wise and righteous they - ai'e, tlie -more do tfiey hate and persecute the gospel ib. Thie white devil. Spiritual whoie- dom the most Abominable ib, Christ only can deliver us out of this present world S5 The world obeyeth his prince the devil., , ..< ib. What sins are iu the world ....... ib. iWhat.thje world is, with alibis vir- I tues and righteousness ib. KiUgdpm of the world S6 Kingdom of Christ ib. It is a great consolation to know that Christ is given for us by tjie willi , of his Father '; ib. God is a common P^atber both to Christ and to us .,.,.., ,,.27 The apostle useth gentle speech to- wards those that are fallen, that through his mildness, he may re- ,; voke them and win them again,, ib. How the, weak and such, .as are fallen, ought to be handled , , . . . 28 The study of bishops to maintain their lordship and sovereignty. . . ^9 That which, in long time, of godly preachers is builded up, of one wicked, teacher is quickly; des- troyed... , ib. A true picture of fantastical bragging and glorious spirits , , 30 The churches are overthrown while teachers sleep, , ib. Nature and disposition of the Ger- mans ....;..: )b. (This may well be said of us English- ,men, for our heat is s&on cooled, and that may i^ppear by our cold proceedings at this day.) A. double exposition upon this place 31 Drift, andipu«po|8e of Paul hi this . ,v '-■) ^.whole Epistle 5b. CONTENTS. VU PAGE An antitliesis or comparison be- tween the t^aIliDg of Christ to grace^ and the calling of Moses to the law and worlcst t ' 31 Good^ things- the doctrine of grace bringeth with it, ... ; ib. The world- -hifteth tlie light and . loveth darkness .-. 32 What recompence the world ren- 'dereth unto Christ for his benefits ib. Moses calleth unto wrath, but Christ calleth to grace ib. The white devil ib. The blatk devil 33 Satan changeth himself into an an- gel of light ib. Paul's doctrine condemned by the false apostles ib. Nature of heretics lively pointed out ib. The devil will not be black in his ministers ib. Tlie devil doth more hurt on the right hand than on the left ...... 34 By what means pure and sound doc- trine is preserved ib. Troublers of the church ib. How the false apostles had slan- dered Paul ib. Contentions always in the church . . 35 Every one who teacheth that works do justify, is a troubler of men's con^..^...i ib. Sum of the doctrine of the gospel. . ib. To teach the things that.are of God ib. Sigus that testify Paul's doctrine to be true.. ....'■'. ..,.,..... 41 False apostles seek to .please men , . ib. JTeachers of men's traditions seek to please men 43 Reward of godly, teacher;! ib. Rewardof falseandungodly teachers ib. Lies and slanders devised by the false apostles .against Paul 43 ;The chief purpose of Paul in this disputation ib. Paul's doctrine was not after man . . il>. Christ both God and man 44 Where Paul received the gospel... . ib. jTlie argument of the false apostles taken from the. authority of the _ apostles....... ib. So great is the weakness even of the godly, that they are hai-dly drawn to God's promises^ though they he mostcertain. . . ^ ... . . .: 45 Office of the law ib.- Conflicts of the godly.......... .. ib. Faith is the gift of God.... ib: What inconveiiienees, follow the.- loathing of Gad's word. ib. 'Speculation is a naked, knowledge without practice........ Ib. Doctrine of true godliness is kept by prayer and earnest study of the word ..k. .'. :. ib. Enemies of the godlyu.'. . . .u.. ..... 46 The reason which at this day is used against us, and prcvaileth with many .....:....: ib. The devil's argument ib. Or. Staupitius a favourer of Luther'.'i i > doctrine, when he began topreachfib. Doctrine of the gospel attrihutetln. '.•■': all things unto God, and nothing < to man .:. .. ib. Neither angels nor apostles, nor any , other are to be believed, if they teach anything against the word*. of God 47 Papists' argument against ns lb. A preacher must be sure of his,call- ing and^doctrine >. 4B Zeal of Paul iHH .;....: . ib. What Paul calleth the traditions of .'' the fathers tbi The ifirst journey of Paul.. ...... y . 49 Paul's merit of desert. .........!.. ib. By wbatdeserts we obtain grace . ... 50 What ' manner of saints the> devil dloveth ...:........ ; '>ib. Publicans and sinners are far better n than mwt-niongers ........... :n>. (i>Hr duserts.. ib. Yin CONTENTS. PAGE Papists a bloody generation SO By wliat deserts we attaiu grace ... 61 Deserts of Paul ib. Paul's .t ib. Christ is the true diamond, and not . chai'ity ib. Charity fe Papist's diamond reject- ;eth -Cldist -• • ib. Sleights practised of the false apos- tles a^inst Paul 65 Luther was content in the time cf blindness to bear with those ' things which now in the light of the gospel are utterly to be re- jected ib. Pope's thunderbolts 66 Jt is a point of true Christianity to be stout against merit-mongers, for keeping the Christian liberty ib. When faith is found, all things are safe.... .;. ib. Holy obstinacy and stoutness of the godly ib. Doctrine of the law ib. Doctrine of the gospel. ib. Why Paul giveth not unto the apos • ties any glorious title 67 Argument of the false apostles against Paul 68 The word of God must be preferred before all persons and titles what^ soever ib. Man regardeth the person 69 Every creature of God may be called the veil of God, because God is, as it were, covered and shadowed under it w ib. Man trusteth to the veils of God, and not to God himself , ib. Outward veils are God's . ib. CONTENTS. PAGE The majesty of the article of justifi- cation , 78 It behoveth U9 to b& obstinate in God's matters ib. A Christian will openly reprdve vices in his brother 79 The propiiets and apostles sinned, and had'their infirnilties ib. (To saints without sin ib. Dissension between Paul and Barna- bcis . . . i > ib. The falls ef the saints bi'ing comfort unto us 79 Peter lireth with the Gentiles like a Gentile 80 The offence of Peter ib. What the believing Jews gathered of Peter's abstaining 81 The dissimulation of Peter ib. Sin of Peter 82 Dissimulation, what it is ib. The law and the gospel must be dis- cerned one from the other. Law and reason are against faith. .. .. 83 What we must do, when our, con- science is terrified ib. Moses, in the mountain, was above the law ; so in matters of faith we must have nothing to do with the law ib. We must not trust in our strength . . 84 Without God we can do nothing. . , ib. Peter knoweth not his ei'ror ib. The difference of the law and the gospel ought most diligently to be learned 85 When the law is to be urged ib. The law hath nothing to do with the conscience ib. When we must hear the law 86 Liberty of conscience 88 Faith justifieth, and nothing but faith . . . , : ib. All things are deadly without.faith . 89 Works done before and after justifi- cation ., . ib. The first part of true Christianity, is the preaching of repentance, and the acknowledging of our sins, . . 93 The second part is the preaching of the forgiveness of sins ib. Scotus and Occam, doctors of hellish darkness 93 Clirist, faith, imputation 96 Imputation necessary 97 They that believe in Christ, shall not be charged with their sins ib. The doctrine of good works must be taught after thedoctrine of faith, ib. Who is a right Christian ib. A Christian man hath noUiing to do with the law 98 Christians are judges of all kinds of doctTine ib. Faith justifieth without the law. ... 100 PAGE The doctrine of good works is not to be neglected ,. . , .. 109 Faith only justifieth, because it only taketh hold, of the benefit of Christ lOI The law must not be suffered to reign in the conscience ; . ^ . . . 102 Our salvation conaistetb not in doing but in receiving ili. The dignity of theJaw ICS The office of Christ 105 The difference of the law and grace is very easy, and yet are they soon confounded and mixed together. . ili. They who jsay that. the law is neces sary to righteousness, are like to the false apostles 106 If righteousness come by the law, then is Christ unprofitable, 107 Faith in Christ ib. There is no perfect obedience to the law, even in the justified. . i 109 'l"he scupture calleth the teachers of the law, exactors and tyrants, bringing men's souls into spiri- tual slavery ib. History, of publishing of the law, in - Exod. xix. 20 1 1 Who maketh Christ a minister of siu ib. Christ hath taken away all evils, and hatli brought unto us all good things Ill Whatsoever the afflicted conscience desireth, it fiudeth in Christ abun- dantly , ib. What Paul had destroyed by tlie mi- nistry of the gospel 1 13 Moses giveth place to Christ, and the law to the gospel , , ib. The differenceof the lawand the gos- pel must be diligently marked . . . 113 Faith without works 114 Paul's manner of speech unknown to man's reason 115 He that is dead to tlie law liveth to God ib. The whole law is abrogated 116 Christ free from the grave, &c ib.' What it is to die to the law tb. Let the flesh be subject to the law, but not the conscience ,,,,117 How afflicted consciences must be comforted ,..,.,..,.. ib. To live to the law, is to die to God, and contrariwise, to die to tlie law, is to live to God .,,.., 1 18 The conscience, by grace, delivered from the law ib. In the matter of justification there is , r nothing for us to do ; but to hear what Christ hath done for us, and to apprehend the same by faith . , 119 This sentence well understood in the time of trouble, maketh a man sitrong against all temptatioiis. ... 130 CONTENTS. PAGE A speech or dialogue between the law aud' conscience, ISO A consolatibii against the terrors of the law, &c ib. ■Hie binding law, through Christ, is ^bound itself. .' ib. A new name given to the law, that it is dead and condemned. . . :': .i : . 131 The most sweet aiid comfortable names of Christ J . . 133 Christ a poison against death . . . . .".*'1b. The law of the mind set against the law of the members ........... ib. The flesh subject to the law, but not the conscience ........... ;i...l23 To be ci-ucified with Christ ib. The tiTje life of the faithful ......;. ib. The faithful are crucified and dead to the law ....;124 The glory of the faithful ib, Christian righteousness ib. We must have Christ only in sight ■before our eves. •■.••■ ib. Such is our rdisery, that in tempta- tions and a£9ictions we set Christ aside, and look back into ourselves .and our Itfepast. . ..'. ib. The old man,. . . .,.,.,..■. 13S T^e worlis of Christ living in the faithful ib. Christ, living in the faithful, com- municateth uuto them all gifts of " grace and spiritual blcssing.t .... ib. The faithful both jigjifefius and sin- ners .........'..'. .i.. .... ;12S Faith so knitteth us and Christ toge- ther, that we become one witt him ib. True fnth is not idle. . , ib. What occasion, the malicious take of this doctrine.... ...137 Good works are not the cause, but the fruits of righteousness ib. The faithful live not their own life, but the life of Christ 128 The faithful live in the flesh, but not according to the flesh ib. Tolive In the faith of the Son of God ib. The difference between the faithful and unfaithful 139 The true manner of justification . . . ib. To do what in us lieth.. ..130 Christ first loved us, and not we him. 131 The disnity of the price given for us. 133 How sects may be withstood ......133 The majesty of Christ the Son of God ib. Whicli loved me, &c. ib. The true force of faith , ib. The law lovethi not sinners, but ac- cuseth them ib. The offices of Christ .,. . „, , . 134. Christ is a lover of the afflicteds ^nd,,, , such as feel the buiden of their sins 1 35 Mejfornie ib. As by Adam all became guilty, so by Christ all that believe are made righteous ,.....>•.> ....135 To sefiSrigliteonsneSs by the law, is _ to veject the grace of God ib. The world is so wicked and per- verse that it rejecteth the grace of God .......J.. 136 A common sin to reject the grace of God 137 The devilish perverseuess of the , world 138 The righteousness which is accepted before God 139 Reason, although it be lightened with the law, yea, with the law of God, _ remaineth blind ib. The commendation of the righteous- ness of the law. , ib. To ihake the death of Chr.ist unpro- fitable 140 Just anger is :called in the scripture, zeal or jealousy 141 The sharp rebukings of the' Holy Ghost .i........ i......l43 Remnants of natural vices remain in the godly '. ';...... fo. None pure but Christ ............ 143 Luther's qonflicts with Satan.'. . . . . 144 The profit that comcth to the godly by the temptation of Satan ....;. ib. Tlie false apostles bewi tellers of nien,145 The godly must diligently watch ... 146 Worldly and secure irien are sOon bewitched ib. They that seek to be justified by the law, crucify Christ 149 The fall of Lucifer 151 The Holy GJiost is received by hear- ing the word of faith, and not by the law 152 The law bringeth not the Holy Ghost ib. The appearing of the: Holy Ghost. . . 153 Cornelius 1 ... . ib. Both Jews and. Gentiles are justified by faith only.. 154 The Gentiles justified by faith .... ib. That the Holy Ghost is given bj' the ' only hearing of faith 1 56 Difference between the law and the gospel ........ .... .. ...J .. l.lsT Cornelius, a Gentile, is justified by' faith ..;.158 The lavvhelpeth not to righteouiiness ib. Conscience wituesseth that the Holy Ghost is not given by the law, but by the hearing of faith 160 Orders and kinds of life appointed of pod Ifil By what means the Holy Ghost is ^iyen unto us ib. |To w^^ipm the l^iugdom of heaven is given ......'.' 162 A man is made a Christian by hear- ing the doctrine of faith ..,..;' ^ ib. CONTENTS. PAGE The striving of the flesh against the spirit, -ill the godly ,163 The doctrine of the false apostles . . 164 What iucommodities the righteous- ness of the law, or man's own righteonsness bringeth 16S The judgment of reasou, touching articles of faith. 170 Failh slayeth reason ib. The uufaitljful give not glory to God. 17 1 Beinnants of sin in the godly 172 A definition uf the Christian faith., 173 Howthey that feel the heavy burden of sin , ought to be comforted . . , . 1T4 Imputation of righteousness 176 Carnal begetting doth not make us the children of Abraham 178 The believing and the begetting Abra- ham ib. Faith thinlieth rightly 179 The errors of the false apostles . . . . 182 Abraham's faith and ours, all one . . 184 A working and a believing Abraham .185 It is good to follow the example of Christ; but justification cometli not thereby .186 The faithful Abraham must be sepa- rate from the working Abraham . . 1 87 Righteousness of faith and civil righ- teousness are easily confounded. .189 The law of sin, wrath, and death . . 190 The godly are not made righteous by doing righteous things, &c 194 Judas did the same works that the other apostles did ib. The eri'or and impiety, of hypo- srites 195 Hypocrites go about to do that thing which belongeth only to Christ . . 197 The godly do not the law perfectly. . 198 Hypocrites do many things, but with- out faith ' g04 The difference between a true and a false faith 206 Faith only taketh hold of Christ. . .208 The believing man obtaineth righ- teousness and everlasting life withr out the. law and charity ib. Remnants of sin in the saints, and the elect of God 212 Christ must be wrapped as well in our sins, as in our flesh and blood. 313 A marvellous combat between sin and righteousness in Christ, ..... 315 Sin and death abolished to all be- lievers , 217 It is the work of God, to abolish death and to give life 318 Christ is our righteousness, and our siu is his ,.319 An inestimable comfort for all piior con.scieuces beaten down witli siu ib. A.feeling sinner bruised and broken- hearted for his sins, is counted no Bioner .,..220 Page How Christ is truly known 221 The fathers of the' Old Testament rejoiced more for the benefit of Christ than we do .334 The promise of the spirit 226 The love of ourselves is corrupt.. 228 The nature of hypocrites. . . • 229 Abraham was not made righteous by the law, far when he lived there was no law ........232 We must give to the la\^and the pro- mise their own proper place . . . .233 All things are done for the elect's sake .337 All men naturally judge that the law doth justify 337 God hath ordained magistrates, pa- rents, laws, &c. that sins might be bridled 239 The light of the gospel 343 The doctrine of the gospel belongeth to those which are terrified with the law 244 The law not only ^heweth unto a man his siu, but also driveth him to Christ , 845 Faith in Christ driveth away the ter- rors of the law 263 The law is good and holy, and yet in- tolerable to man's nature 355 The promises of God are not hin- dered, because of our sins 267 Upon whom Christ bestoweth his benefits .258 Tbe judgment of men, as touching the law 359 If the law justify not, much less do works justify 361 The commendation of good works out of the cause of justification . .262 Caia being shut up in the prison of the law, and abiding there, des- paired .266 The temptation of the godly 268 Paul an excellent teacher of faith . .277 In the world there is a difference of personSj bm not before God ^ . . .280 The brazen serpent a figureof Christ 281 When we feel the terrors of con- science, the law must be abased, and the promise magnified 388 The Holy Ghost is sent in two man- ner of ways ...296 We must assure ourselves that we are under grace .399 The cry of the Holy Ghost in the hearts of the godly 302 The cry of Moses at the Red Scay and tTie office of the Holy Ghost . . . .304 'ITie godly have need of the comfort of the Holy Ghost ~ 312 The fruit of sound doctrine ..... .327 Who be the true sons of Abraham .346 The church begetteth children by teaching 351 xu CONTENTS. PAGE Reason is delighted witli hypocriajr.SSS The people of grace 354 Grief afler the flesh, and glory after tlie spirit 363 False brethren at the first are friends, but afterwards they become deadly enemies •• 364 The world embracetb the righteous- ness of works, and -condemneth that of faith . . ,i ;,..'. .»•. 367 The godly must stand fast, that they lose not their liberty in Christ . .370 A remedy against the anguish and terrors of conseietice 372 The devil's martyrs 3T5 Good works arc not condemned, but confidence in good works ..... .377 True faith 382 llie righteousness of the faithful standeth not in feeling 385 A sweet consolation in anguish of spirit .388 A true and lively faith 390 The life of a Christian is a course or a race ......391 Christ, a gift and example '. . .393 No error in faith 398 Lather will be at no unity with the enemies of the gospel 400 Good works .403 Carnal men understand not faith . . ib. Carnal men abuse Christian liberty. 405 Natural corruption remaineth in the fai thful 407 An hypocrite described .409 How faith and works are to betaught4rl2 God first loved us 414 Desires and lusts of the flesh in the godly 415 Flames of carnal lust in St. Jerome 417 The godly feel concupiscence or lust of the flesh, which in the faithful the spirit resisteth 418 PAGE The godly, feeling the corruption of the flesh, must not despair 420 The battle of the flesh and spirit in the godly, and what they must do when they feel sin 421 The wisdom of the godly, who pnly feel sin 424 To be led by the spirit. 425 How a troubled mi^d is to he, com- forted .......».i ....4)26 What it is to crucify the flesh 441 The armour of God 443 Why God layeth the cross upon the preachers of the gospel ....... .445 What oflences are to be forgiven . .448 How they that are fallen ought to be intreated 449 The authors of sects painted out in their right colours 452 The people delighted with novelties 454 What it is for a man to prove his own work, ..456 The work of every man's calling . . .iSIT In death, and in the day of judgment, other men's praises pro|lt not ... ib. A commandment for the nourishing of the ministers of the word of God.... .....458, The ministers of Satan have plenty, but the ministers of Christ do want 459 Satan oppresseth the gospel two ways.460 Fulness of God's word bringeth loathing ib. The world loadeth the ministers of Satan with all worldly good things.461 Gentlemen, citizens and husband- men, despisers of God's ministers ib. Reverence and necessary living due to the ministers of the word 463 What it is to sow in spirit iS$ We must do good without weari- ness 464 LIFE or MARTIN LUTHER, THE GREAT REFORMER. 1. HE subject of this Memoir was a most wonderful man, whom God raised up in these last ages of the world, to break the chain of superstition and spiritual slavery, which the bishops of Rome and their dependents had, for many centuries, cast over the consciences of all men. He was an instrument truly pre- pared for this great work ; and yet but a mean and obscure monk, to shew us, that He, who ruleth aU things, effected him- self the important design, in which the greatest prince upon earth would have undoubtedly failed. The conduct of the dignified clergy throughout all Europe had long given scandal to the world. The bishops were grossly ignorant : they seldom resided in their dioceses, except to riot at high festivals ; and all the effect their residence could have, was to corrupt others by their ill example. Nay, some of them could not so much as write, but employed some person, or chap- lain, who had attained that accomplishment, to subscribe their names for them. They followed the courts of princes, and as- pired to the greatest offices. The abbots and monks were wholly given up to luxury and idleness; and it appeared, by the un- married state both of the seculars and regulars, that the re- straining them from having wives of their own, made them con- clude they had a right to all other men's. The inferior clergy were no better; and, not having places of retreat to conceal their vices in, as the monks had, they became more public. In siun, all ranks of churchmen were so universally despised and hated, that the world was very apt to be possessed with preju- dice against their doctrines, for the sake of the men whose in- terest it was to support them. And the worship of God was so defiled with gross superstition, that, without great inquiries, all men were easily convinced that the church stood in great need of a reformation. This was much increased when the books of the fathers began to be read, in which the difference between the former and later ages of the church very evidently appeared. They found, that a blind superstition came first in the room of true piety; and when, by its means, the wealth and interest of the clergy were highly advanced, the Popes had upon that es- tablished their tyranny; under which, not only the meaner XIV LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. people, but even the crowned heads, had long groaBed. All these things concurred to make way for the advancement of the Refonraiation; Wickliffe, Huss, Jerome of Prague, and ftthersj had laid the seeds of the Reformation, which Luther nourished with great warmth. The scandalous extoUing of indulgences gave the first occasion to all the contradiction that followed between Luther and the church of Rome; in whichs if the corruptions and cruelty of the clergy had not been so visible and scandalous, so small a matter codid not have produced such a revolution: but any crisis wiU put ill humours into a ferment. As Protestants, we are certainly much obliged to Erasmus; yet we are far more obliged, under God, to those great instru- ments of the Reformation, viz.Lnther, Zuinglius, Oecolampadius Bucer, Melancthon, Cranmer, and others. The greatest enemies of Luther cannot deny but that, he had eminent qualities; and history affords nothing more surprising than what he has done. For a simple monk to be able to give popery so rude a-shock, that there needed but such another, entirely, to overthrow the Romish church, is what we cannot sufficiently admire, and marks the hand of Providence condncting the wliole. It was said, with reason, that Erasmus, by his railleries, prepared the wky' for Lutherj: and Simon Fontaine, the; popish historian, com- ?lained that Erasmus occasionally had done more mischief than .uther, because, Luther only opened the door wider, after Erasmus had picked the look, and half opened it. Notwith'- standing all tWs, says Bayle, there must have been eminent gifts in Luther, to produce such a revolution as he has done. Martin Luther was born at Isleben, a town in the pounty of Mansfield, in the circle of Upper Saxony, on the tenth of No- vember, 1483, at nine o'clock at nightj being St. Martin's eve, which made his parents name him Martin^ His father was called John Luther, or Luder, because he was a refiner of metals; for Luder, in the German language, has that signification; It is agreed that his business was about the mines; and that he w^ the chief magistrate of the city of Mansfield. His mother's name was Margaret Lindeman, who was remarkable for her piety. Among the falsehoods which have been published concerning Martin Luther, no regard has been had to probability, or to the rules of the art of skmdering. The authors of them have as- sumed the confidence of those who fully believe that the public will blindly adopt all their stories, however absurd. They have dared to publish, that an incubus hegjit him; and have even falsified the day of his birth, to frame a scheme of nativity to his disadvantage. Father Maimbourg has been so equitable as to reject this ridiculous story: but Gauricus has made himself contemptible for his astrology. When Martin Luther was fourteen years of age, he was sent to the public schools at Magdeburg, where he continued one LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XY year, and was then removed to that of Evsenach, where he studied four years. The circumstances of his parents were at that time so very low, and so insufiScient to maintain him, that he was forced, as Melchior Adam relaites, mendictto vivere pane, to live by begging his bread. When he had finished his gram- mar ladies, he was sent to the famous sbhool at Eysenach in Thiffingia, for the sake of being among his mother's relations, where he applied himself very diligently to his books for four years, and began to discover all that force and strength of parts, tJiat acuteness and penetration, that warm and rapid eloquence, which afterwards were attended with such amazing success. In the year 1501, he was entered at the university of Erford or Erfurt, in Thuringia, where he went through a course of phi- losophy, and was admitted master of arts, in 1503, being then twenty years old. He was soon after made professor of physic, and ethics; but he chiefly applied himself to the study of the dvil law, and intended to advance himself to the bar, from which he was diverted-by this uncommon accident. As he was walking in the fields with a friend, he was struck by a thunderbolt, which thr«w him to the ground, and killed his companion: whereupon Luther resolved' to withdraw from the world, and enter mto the order of the hermits of St. Augustine. He made his pro- fession in the monastery of Erfurl^ where he took priest's orders, and celebrated his first mass in the year 1507. It is reported that there was an old man in this monastery, with whom Luther had several coiiferences upon many theo- logical subjects, particukrly concerning the article of remission of^ins. This article was explained by the old monk to Luther, "that it was the express commandment of God, that every man should believe his sins to be forgiven hitn in Christ." Luther found this interpretation was confirmed by the testimony of St. IBernard, who says, " that man is freely justified by faith." He then perceived the meaning of St. Paul, when he repeats, " we are justified by faith." He consulted the expositions of many writers upon that apostle, arid saw through the vaioity of those interpretations which he had read before of th&schoounen. He compared the sayings and examples of the prophets and apostles. He. also studied the works of St. Augustine; but still consulted the sententiaries, as Gabriel and Camarencis. He likewise read the books of Ocicam, whose subtilty he preferred before Thomas Aquinas and Scotus. In 1508, the university of Wittenberg, in the duchy of Saxony, was established under the direction of Staupitius, whose good opinion of Luther occasioned him to send for him from Erfurt to Wittenberg,' where he taught philosophy; and his lectures were attended by Mellarstad, and many other wise and learned men. He expounded the logic and philosophy of Aris- totle in the schools; and began to examine the old theoldgy, in the churches. , i XVI LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. Mellarstad usually said, that Luther was of such a wonderful spirit, and of such ingenioTis parts, as to give apparent signifi- cation that he would introduce a more compendious, easy, and familiar manner of teaching; as also alter and abolish the order that was then used. In the year 1512, he was sent to Rome, to take up some con- troversies which happened among his order; and he conducted himself so well as to obtain the character of a prudent man. This is represented to have happened before he came to Wittenberg; which is a mistake': for it was three years after he was at that university. The occasion was this: Seven convents of the Au- gustines quarrelled with their vicar-generalj and Luther was chosen by the monks to maintain their cause at Rome. He was of an active spirit; a bold declaimer; was endued with a most firm and steady temper, and had a prodigious share of natural courage, which nothing could break or daunt. In short, he suc- ceeded in his business, for which he was made doctor and pro- fessor of divinity, upon his return to Wittenberg. At Rome he saw the Pope and the court, and had an opportunity also of observing the manners of the clergy, whose hasty, superficial, and impious way of celebrating mass, he has severely noted. " I performed mass," says he, " at Rome; I saw it also performed by others, but in such a manner, that I never think of it without the utmost horror." He often spoke afterwards of his journey to Rome, and used to say, that " He would not but have made " it, for a thousand florins." A monkish poet himself, upon the view of the barefaced iniquity of the Pope's pretended holy city, could not help singing : " Vivere qui ciipitis sancte, discedite Rom&; " Omnia cum liceant, non licet esse bonum. If you would live righteously, keep clear of Rome: For though her priests can license every thing else, they allow of nothing good." The degree of doctor was forced upon him, against his will, by Staupitius, who said to him, " that God had many thuigs to bring to pass in his church by him." . These words were care- lessly spoken ; yet they proved true, like many other predictions befijre a great change. Luther was graduated doctor at the expense of Frederic, elector of Saxony, who " had heard him preach, well understood the quietness of his spirit, diligentiy considered the vehemency of his words, and had in singrilar admiration those profound matters which in his sermon he ripely and exactly explained." After this, he began to expound the ^istle to the Romans, and the Psalms ; where he shewed the difference between the law and the gospel. He refuted the error that was then predominant in schools and sermons; that men may merit remission of sins by their own proper works. As John Baptist demonstrated the LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XVU Lamb of God which took away the sins of the world; so Luther, shining in the church as a bright star after an obscure sky, ex- pressly shewed that sins are freely remitted for the love of the Son of God, and that we ought faithfully to embrace this boun- tiful gift. His life was correspondent to Ills profession; and these happy beginnings of such important, matters procured him great au- thority. However, he attempted no alteration in the ceremo- nies of religion, and interfered with no doubtful opinions ; but contented himself with opening and declaring the doctrine of repentance, of remission of sins, of faith, and of true comfort in times of adversity. His doctrine was generally approved by the learned, who conceived high pleasure to behold Jesus Chi'ist, the prophets, and apostles, to emerge into the light, out of darkness, whereby they began to understand the difference be- tween the law and the gospel, between spiritual righteousness and civil things ; which certainly could not have been found in Aquinas, Scotus, and other schoolmen. Erasmus revived learn- ing, while Luther was teaching divinity at Wittenberg. The for- mer brought the monks' barbarous and sophistical doctrine into contempt by his elegant work : which induced Luther to study the Greek and Hebrew languages, that, by drawing the doc- trine from the very fountains, he might pass his judgment with more authority. We how come to turbulent and tempestuous times between the reformed and the Romanists. The monks loudly com- plained of Erasmus, whose bold and free censures of their pious grimaces and superstitious devotions, had opened the way for Luther. Erasmus, as they used to say, " Laid the egg, and Luther hatched it." The ridiculous Maimbourg tells us, that the catholic church enjoyed a sweet peace in the sixteenth cen- turyj and held the Pope in profound veneration, till Luther raised commotions : a story which was only fit to be told to boys and girls at Paris. It is hard to name two persons, who were more generally, and more deservedly abhorred, than Alexander VI. and Julius II. ; and as to Leo X., all the world knows that he sat very loose to religion and morality. The year ISIT, was the 356th from the reformation of reli- gion in France by the Waldgnses ; the 146th from the first confutation of popish errors in England by John Wickliffe ; the 116th from the ministry of John Huss, who opposed the errors of popery in Bohemia; and the 36th year from, the con- demnation of John de Wesalia, who taught at Worms. The papal power was re-established, and carried farther than ever. All the western world, except the Waldenses* in France, * The rise of the Waldenses was from Waldus, or Valdo, a man of eminenca and property at Lyons in France, about the year 1160. He was brought to seriousness by the sudden death of one of his friends; and, having some learn- ing, he read the scriptures, probably in the vnlgate translation, which he rea- Xnu LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. and a few Hussites in Bohemia, having' embraced the commu- nion, and submiitted to the authority of Rome; when all of a sudden, and from a most inconsiderable accident, as it might seem, a strange discontent arose, which ended in the revolt of great part of Europe; and the Pope, who might, just before, have been considered in all the meridian of his glory, was ift danger of losing all. The divine providence delights to accom- plish the greatest purposes by the smallest means, that the hand of God might appear rather than the hand of man, and the great Governor of the universe have all the glory. Leo X. succeeded Julius II. in 1513. He was of the rich and p&werful family of the Medici of Florence, naturally proud and lofty. But it is also said, that he was of a courteous dis- position, very generous to men of learning and integrity: and would, if he had been tolerably well skilled in divinity, or shewn any regard to piety, although but feigned, have passed for a very good Pope. The magnificent church of St. Peter was begun by Julius II., and required very large sums to finish; but Leo was desirous of having it completed, notwithstanding he had contracted many debts before his pontificate, and thfe treasure of the apostolic chamber was exhausted. To bear the great expense of finishing that superb edifice, Leo found him- self obliged to have recourse to some extraordinary means for raising money; which he was advised, by cardinal Pucci, to do by selling indulgences; as the court of Rome, upon several occasions, had formerly experienced to her advantage in raising troops and money against the Turks. Leo, therefore, in I61T, published general indulgences throughout all Europe, in favour of those who would contribute any sum to the building of St. Peter's. dered into Freiicli, and expounded to others. This alarmed the clergy, who threatened him with excommunication, if he persisted ; but he, persuaded of the truth and utility of what he had done, regarded not men, but God. He was, therefore, driven out of the city, with his friends and followers,who were stripped of their property, for which reason they were called not only Waldenses, but the poor of Lyons, having nothing but the scanty subsistence which they could pick up on the mountains of Savoy, where they remained for several ages. They were joined by some men of learning, who hated the clergy, and maiataine^ that the bishop of Rome, and the priests, had corrupted the holy scriptures by their tenets and glosses. They paid no tithes, made no offerings, observed no festi- vals, and celebrated no fasts : they believed that prayers for the dead were useless and superstitions ; they denied the authority of priests, and despised confession. They led pure and holy lives, and asserted that they only were the true church, and that the church of Rome was a prostitute, which taught aii infinite number of errors. The Romish priests called the Waldenses, heretics ; and llieir priests, who were called Barbes, were persecuted. But their posterity now inhabit the valleys of Piedmont, called the Vaudois. Peter Gilles, triinister of the reformed church of La Tour, in the vale of Lucerne, composed, by order of Ills superiors, an ecclesiastical history o|f.the churches of the Vaudois, and published it at Geneva in 1644 : and QJaudius Seysseliur, archbishop of Turin, wrote a Treatise against the Vaudois, with the hopes of converting them to popery. LIFE or MARTIN LUTHER. XIX Some say, that these indulgences were published under the pretence of making war upon the Turks; arid that the Pope sent a jubilee, with his pardons, through all Christian reahns, whereby he collected an immense treasure. Several persons were sent into different countries, to preach up these indulgences, and to receive money for them. The col- lectors persuaded the people, that those who gave to the value of about ten shillings sterling, should at their pleasure deliver one soul from the pains of purgatory. But if the sum was less, they preached that it would profit them nothing. The Pope employed the Dominicans in this dirty work in Germany, at which the Augustines were irritated, and pretended that the office of retailing indulgences belonged to them. As all the money, raised this way in Saxony and thereabouts, was granted to Magdalen, sister to the Pope, she, to make the most of it, appointed Archuabald, a bishop, by habit and title, but as well versed in the tricking part of trade as a Genoese, to ma- nage for her. But we are told, that Albert of Brandeuburgh, archbishop of Mentz and Magdeburg, who was soon after made a cardinal, had a commission for Germany: that, instead of em- ploying the Augustine friars, who had laboured above aU the religious orders to make them pass, he gave his commission to John Tetzelius, a Dominican, and to other friars of the same order; because he had lately collected great sums for the knights of the Teutonic order, who were at war against the Muscovites, by preaching up the like indulgences, which the Pope had granted to these knights. Tetzelius, or Iccelius, as he is called by some, boasted that " He had so ample a commission from the Pope, that, though a man should have defloured the Virgin Mary, for a proper sum of money he could pardon him;" and assured the people, that, "He did not only give pardon for sins past, but also for sins to come." John Staupitius was the vicar-general of the Augustines in Saxony; and he was greatly esteemed by the elector, who was one of the most opulent and potent princes in Germany. Stau- pitius informed tiie elector of the pernicious consequences of these indulgences. On this occasion, Luther, who was of the Augustine order, and professor of divinity at Wittenberg, began to examine the doctrine of indulgences, which the Dominicans sold in the most open, and in the most infamous manner; and having found it full of errors, he refuted it publicly in 1517. It is said, he was naturally passionate, and zealous for the interest of his order, which made him declaim against the abuses of indul- gences, and maintain doctrinal theses about them, contrary to the common notions of divines. But it seems not to have been any spleen against the Dominicans that set Luther to work; it was only his dislike to such practices. Some say that Leo X., whose sordid traffic, to which he reduced the distribution of indul- gences, gave birth to Luther's Reformation, spoke honourably XX LIFE OF MARTIN LCTHER. of this reformer in the beginning. Silvester Prierio, master of the sacre4 palace, shewpa Leo the doctrine which Luther had vented in his hook concerning indulgences; but Pope Leo answered, that Friar Martin had a fine genius, and that these surmises were monkish jealousies. . Teteeiius, or TeceUius, impudently sold the Pope's indul- gences about the country. Luther was greatly exasperated at the blasphemous sermons of this shameless Dominican; " and having his heart earnestly bent with ardent desire to ma.intam true religion, published certain propositions concerning mdul- gences, which are to be; read in the first tome of his works, and set them openly on the temple that joineth to the castle of Wit- tenberg, the morrow after the feast of All-saints, in 1317." He challenged any one to oppose them, either by writing or dispu- tation. John Hilten, a German Franciscan, of Eysenach, pretended to ground some predictions upon the book of Da;niel, in 1485. Melancthon, who had seen the original of that work, says, the author foretold, that, in 1516, the power of the Pope should begin to decay. We are informed that Hilten was put into prison, for having reformed some monastical abuses; and that being very sick, he sent to the guardian and told him, "I have spoken no great matter against the mockery; but there shall come one, in 1516, who shall overturn it." Du Plessis adds, that Luther began to preach in that year; in which he is mis- taken, for the era of Lutheranism began not tiU 1517. ryhe first thesis published by Luther contained ninety-five S repositions, in which he plainly declared his opinion about in- ulgences. He maintained "that the Pope could release no punishments but what he inflicted; and so indulgences could be only a relaxation of ecclesiastical penalties : that Christians are to bei instructed: that the purchase of a pardon is not to be com- pared to , works of mercy, and that it is better to give to the poor, than to buy pardons: that no confidence should be placed in indulgences, which cannot remit the least venial sin in re- spect of the guilt: that those who believe they shall be saved by indulgences only, shall be damned with their masters; ' and that it is a matter of indifi'erence whether men buy or not buy any indulgences." He also condemned several propositions which he attributed to his adversaries; and reproved several abuses, of which he declared them guilty. He pronounced an anathema upon those who spoke against the truth of apostolic indulgences; but hoped for all blessings upon those, who should be vigilant in, stopping the licence and zeal of the preachers-up of papal indulgences. Luther vindicated his thesis in a letter to the archbishop of Mentz, who promoted the sale of these indtilgences, and told him, "he could not keep silence, when he saw the so als in- trusted to the care of such an illustrious person so ill instructed, LIIE OF MARTIN LUTHER. and. for which he must one day give an account;" assuring him at the same time, that what he did in opposing this monstrous traffic, was entirely from a principle of conscience and duty, and with a faiddul and submissive temper of mind. . Tetzelius assembled the monks and sophistical divines of his convent, whom he commanded to write something against Lu- ther; while he cried out froni the pidpit, that Luther was a heretic, and worthy to be prosecuted with lire. In a public dispute at Francfort upon the Oder, he laid down a thesis, in which he opposed that of Luther; and he, also published a piece in German against a sermon which Luther had preached on indulgences. This preaching friar, who was an inquisitor in Germany, maintained, " that the ministers of the church may impose a punishment to be suffered after death; and that it is better to send a penitent 'with a small penance into purgatory, than to send him into hell by refusing absolution: that heretics, sclusmatics, and wicked men are excommunicated after death; and the dead are subject to the laws of the church : that the Pope, by granting plenary indulgences, intends to remit all pimishments in general: and that indulgences remit punish- ment more readily thaji works of charity." Tetzelius also composed fifty other propositions aboat the authority of the Pope, which he said was supreme, and above the universal church, and a council; that there are many catholic truths, which are not in the holy scriptures ; that the truths defined by the Pope are catholic ; and that his judgment in matters of faith is infallible. These famous positions of Luther and Tetzelius were like the challenge and defence of the dispute set on foot by both parties. Luther wrote with great moderation in the beginning of this important dispute; but Tetzelius treated him as an he- resiarch. The former trusted to the goodness of his cause, which he defended by his parts and knowledge: the latter was so ignorant, that he could not write his own answer, which was drawn up for him by Conradus Wimpina, the divinity-profes- sor at Frankfort. Luther was protected by the elector of Saxony; but Tetzelius had more authority by his offices of com- missioner and, inquisitor, though he was a man of such very profligate morals, that he had been condemned to die for adul- tery at luspruck, and was pardoned at the intercession of the elector of Saxony. The emperor Maximilian, being, at Inspruek, was so offended at the wickedness and impudence of Tetzelius, who had been convicted of adultery, that he intended to have him, seized upon, put in a bag, and flung into the river; and would have done it, if he had not been hindered by the solicitations of Frederic, elector of Saxony. Tetzel, or Tetzelius, was a person tpo mean and worthless, to be compared on any account with Luther; and Seckendorf tells.a pleasant tale of a gentleman of XXU LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. Leipsic, who bought an indulgence of Tetzellus, only by way of absolution for robbing and cudgelling him afterwards. Tetzelius caused the propositions of Luther to be burnt, which enforced Luther to treat more amply of the cause, and to maintain his matter. Thus arose this controversy,: " wherein Luther, (says Fox,) neither suspecting, nor dreaming of any change that might happen in the ceremonies, did not utterly reject the indulgences', but required a moderation in them. And therefore they falsely accuse him, which blaze that he began with plausible matter, whereby he might get praise, to the end that he might change the state of the commonwealth, and purchase authority either for himself or others." As it was not expected, and perhaps Luther did not think at first of falling off froni the Pope, many divines, some cardi- nals, and George, duke of Saxony, pleased with the justice of his cause, and his manner of defending it, sided with him; and the emperor Maximilian said, that he ought to be protected. Nor had Luther any enemies, while he confined himself to writing against the abuse of indulgences, except the monks and their agents, whose interest was at stake. These, indeed, raised a great clamour against him; but their malice, without argu- ment, increased, instead of lessening, his party. John Eckius, professor a,nd vice-chancellor of the university of Ingoldstadt, ialso opposed Luther; in which he was joined, by Silvester Prierias, professor in the university of Padua, vicar- general of the Dominicans, and master of the sacred palace under Pope Leo X. Luther opposed the indulgences by reasons. But Eckius and Prierias, not finding themselves suf- ficiently strong to answer him, had recourse to common places, and laid down for a foundation, the authority of the Pope, and consent of the schoolmen; concluding, that indulgences ought to be received as an article of faith, since they proceeded from the Pope, who had approved the doctrine of the schoolmen, and was infallible in matters of faith. Eckius wrote his Obelisks against Luther's thesis, without intending to publish it, and Luther published it, together with his own refutation. As for Prierias, nothing can make us better understand the success of his writings, than to know that he was commanded by the Pope to write no more on matters of controversy. Luther answered Ecikius in another thesis, about repentance ; and as- serted " that the just man lives, not by the works of the law, but by faith." He also answered Prierias, who had treated him with threats, and imperious reflections. He had a fourth adversary in Jacobus Hogostratus, a friar-preacher, who wrote against some of his propositions, and advised the Pope to con- demn Luther, and burn him, if he would not retract. Luther made a kind of manifesto against this author, in which he re- proached him with cruelty and ignorance. The Christian world, at that time, was overwhelmed with HFK OF MARTIN LUTHER, XXIU ceremonies. Divinity was mere chicanery, or sophistry. New and absurd notions were every day advanced in the schools ; and the clergy of all orders, by lording it over men's con- sciences, rendered themselves hated and despised. The turbu- lient humour, infidelity, and ambition of the two last Popes were not forgotten. Bishops in general; were without integrity or capacity; and the inferior clergy, besides being grossly ignorant, and notoriously immoral, were become intolerable, on account of their insatiable avarice. The clergy, for a long time, had been vicious and illiterate ; but these things were takfen notice of, now learning began to revive in Europe. Priests and monks, whose actions would not bear the light, were highly incensed against the restorers of literature ; and scrupled not to accuse them of heresy, when they found they had no share with them in argument. On this account they commenced a dispute with John Reuchlin, commonly called Capnio, the great He- braen, because he opposed the destruction of the Tedmuds, the Targums, and the writings of the Rabbins, which some wished to aimihilate, because opposed to Christianity. Reuchlin shewed that these weapons might be turned against the Jews, and that it would look but ill, if, instead of answering, we should burn the arguments of our adversaries. These ignoramuses maintained tlieir cause so very poorly, that it was no wonder it eAded in their confusion, and gave the learned Ulric Van Hutten a fine handle to expose them, in a book called EpistolcB obscurorum Virorum. Erasmus also espoused the cause of Luther, though he afterwards, in a treatise, De libera arbitrio, started some ob- jections to his opinions. It was obvious that this was done rather at the solicitation of others, than of his own inclination. But the main point was not afiected by them, and they were suffidendy refuted by Luther. As Luther opposed the scandalous sale of pardons and indul- gences, so in the countries where the Reformation had got an entrance, or in the neighbourhood of them, this was no more heard of; and it has been taken for granted, that such an infa- mous traffic was no longfir practised. Seckendorf, in his history of Lutheranism, hath confuted the falsehood and calumnies of Varillas, Maimbourg, PaUvicini, Bossuet, and others of the same stamp. But we will now select a few things from various authors, which characterise Luther. It is said he was rough in controversy, and that his reply to Henry VIII. was disrespeetfiil : but he had a very unfavourable opinion of sovereign princes; which is evident from the smart remark that he made on Charles V. snatching \m spiritual liv- ings, as a dog did meat from the shambles. He used to say that the Pope and his partisans were such incorrigible repro- bates, that they ought to be treated in the severest manner; and that Erasmus spoiled all, by shewing them too much cour- tesy and respect. As he thus lashed the Papists, so he did not XXIV LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. greatly spare his own briethren of the reformation, if they de- parted from his sentiments. He accounted matrimony to be not only lawftil, but a duty incumbent upon all who were ca- pable of entering into that state. Bellarmm, and the Abbe Richard, hare accused Luther of Arianism. Their accusation hath no better foundation than this, that Luther declared his dislike of the wor A consuhstantitil ; and said, that the Arians, though otherwise in the wrong, were in the right to reject unscriptural terms, introduced by men, who thought they could speak better upon the subject, than the Spirit of God: but it appears from Luther's works, that he was not at all in the sentiments of the Arians. Luther was an enemy to the allegorical and mystical way of expounding the scriptures, as being precarious and dangerous, tending to fanaticism, and exposing religion to the scoffs of in- fidels. He also blamed those, who pretended to interpret the Apocalypse to the people. He abhorred the schoolmen, and called them sophistical locusts, caterpillars, frogs, and lice. He declared himself agauist persecution, comptdsioil, and violence, in matters of religion. Luther said, " When my first positions concernihg indul- gences were brought before the Pope, he said, a drunken Ger- man wrote them; when he hath slept out his sleep, and is sober again, he will be of another mind." But Luther often apolo- gised for his roughness. " I am accused," says he, " of rude- ness and immodesty, particularly by adversaries who have not a grain of candour or good manners. If, as they say, I am saucy and impudent, I am, however, simple, open, and sincere, without any of their guile, dissimulation, or treachery." The Pope and the emperor were equally concerned that Luther was allowed to propagate his opinions in Saxony, where the great number of his followers, and the resolution with which he defended his opinions, made it evident, that it would become troublesome both to the church and empire, if a stop was not put to his proceedings. Luther defended his propositions by reason and scripture against Tetzelius, who had recourse to the authority of the Pope and church. This made it necessary for Luther to examine upon what foundation one was founded-, and in what state the other remained. In the course of this in- quiry, monstrous errors and abuses were discovered; the cheats and scandalous lives of monks and priests were brought to light ; and Luther, for securing to himself the assistance of temporal princes, took care to explain the nature and extensive- ness of civil power. Temporal government is founded on" the highest reason, as well as on divine institution ; for, without it, men would be constantly exposed to rapine and confusion ; but it has never yet been proved, that a spiritual monarchy is either necessary o^ serviceable to Christianity. It is an artificial fabric, wliieJi LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XXV must be supported by arts ; and the views of Popes will always be different from temporal princes. If the Pope's partisans say, his authority is founded on the positive command of God ; that should be proved clearly from scripture. If they say it is derived from St. Peter, it ought to be proved, not only that such an authority was vested in him, but that he was bishop of Rome, exercised it there, conveyed it, down to his successors, and that that succession has not been interrupted. Instead of proving these things, the popish doctors declined meddling with them, and fiUed the heads of their people with things foreign to the main point. They talked of a long succession of Popes ; of the great antiquity and universality of the church ; and laid great stress upon the promise, that " the gates of hell shall never prevail against it." Fathers, councils, and miracles, were also appealed to; and if any one was still dissatisfied, he was branded with the name of heretic, without so much as hearing his reasons ; and he had good luck if he escaped burning. The papal constitution was admirably contrived upon the foundation of a singular kind of monarchy. Princes have for- merly strengthened their authority by giving out that they were descended from the gods, or that tfteir government was founded by their express command ; and if success attended them, which was looked upon as a mark of divine favour, they were after death reckoned among the deities. But the Pope calk himself the lieutenant of Jesus Christ ; arrogates to him- self, while living, aU power in heaven and earth, and would have it believed that such as refuse to acknowledge his autho- rity cannot be saved. If these points are well settled, the whole business is done : for what is more proper to draw the venera- tion of men, than the notion that the majesty of God resides in him ? Or, what stronger motive can there be to the most absolute submission, than the fear of damnation ? The Pope does not, like other sovereigns, bind himself to any terms, on his entering upon the government; and, indeed, it would be absurd for him, who is said to be guided by the Holy Ghost, to be laid under any restriction. The subjects of this monarchy may be divided into clergy and laity. The first, which comprehends all ecclesiastics, may be considered as his standing army. The second, which takes in all else of the Roman communion, are no better than slaves, on whom large contributions are raised for the support of the others. The clergy are not allowed to marry, under a pretence that worldly cares would prevent a faithful discharge of their duty; but the true reason is, that they may be free from the ties of paternal or conjugal afieqtion, and be ready on all occasions to promote the interest of the church. Pope Paul I,V. boasted of having 288,000 parishes, and 44,000 monasteries, under his jurisdiction. . What a prodigious number of ecclesiastics were then under the papal power f As XXVI LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHEB. a blind submission of the laity to the clergy was absolutely n^ cessary for supporting this spiritual tyranny, they were forbid to read the scriptures ; for if these had been well understood, it would have been obvious that no one was authorised to lorij, it over the conscience of another ; and, by keeping these among the clergy, they had an opportunity of mixing something with every doctrine they taught,, that might promote the interest or power of the Pope and themselves. In order to make way for tradition, the holy scripture was represented as imperfect ; and whatever could serve the cause of Rome was imposed upon the, poor deluded people under, that name. As the first decay and ruin of the church began through ig- norance and want of knowledge in. teachers ; so, to restore the church again by doctrine and learning, it pleased God to open to man the art of printing, shortly a.fter the burning of John Huss and Jerome. The art of printing being found, the grace of God immediately followed, which stirred up men pf better parts to receive the light of knowledge and of judgment; whereby darkness began to be espied, and ignorance to be detected ; truth to be discprned from error, and religion from superstition. The first push and assault against the Romish church, about this period at least, was given by Pious Mirandula, Valla Petrarch, Wesalia, Revelinus, Grocin, Colet, Ilhenanus, and Erasmus, whose learned writings opene4,a window of light to the world, and made a way more ready for others to come after. Imme- diately,, according tq God's gracious appointment, followed Martin Luther, with others after him, by whose ministry it pleased the Lord to work a more full reformation of his church. The Lord ordained and appointed Luther to be the principal oi-gan and minister under him, to reform religion, and subver|; the popish see. Tetzielius stirred up the archbishop of Magdeburg and others against Luther, who boldly answered all their writings. The emperor Maximilian, on the 5th of August, 1518, wrote to Pope Leo X. and required him to stop these dangerous disputes by his authority ; assuring him that he would execute in the empire, whatever his holiness should appoint. The Pope or- dered Hyeronymus de Genutiis, bishop of Ascoli, and auditor of the apostolic chamber, to cite Luther to appear at Rome within sixty days, that he might give an accoimt of his doctrine to the auditor, and Prierias, master of the palace, to whom he had committed the judgment of the cause. The Pope, on the t>venty-third of August, wrote a letter to the elector of Saxony, desiring him to give Luther no protection, but to put him.into the hand, pf cardinal Cajetan, his legate in Germany; assuring him, that if Luther was innocent, he would send him back ab- solved; and if guilty, he would pardon him upon his repen- tance. At the same time, the Pope likewise sent a brief to cardinal Cajetan, in which he ordered him to bring Luther tJFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XXVli before him as soon as possible; and, to hinder the princes from being any impediment to the execution of this order, he de- nounced the ordinary punishments of excommunication, inter- diction, and privation of goods, against those that should re- ceive Luther and give him protection ; and promised a plenary indulgence to those who should assist in delivering him up. The elector of Saxony was unwilling that Luther should ap- pear personally at Rome ; and the university of Wittenberg interceded with the Pope, who consented that the matter should be tried before cardinal Cajetan, in Germany. This prelate was a Dominican ; yet Luther met him at Augsburg, in Oc- tober. Cajetan asserted the authority of the Pope, and said he was above a council. Luther denied it, and alleged the au- thority of the university of Paris. Luther delivered Cajetan a formal protestation, in the presence of four imperial counsellors and a notary, wherein he declared, " that he had only sought after truth, and would not retract, without being convinced he was wrong: that he was satislied, he had advanced nothing contrary to the holy scripture, the doctrine of the fathers, de- cretals of the Popes, and right reason : that he had advanced nothing but what was soimd, true, and catholic : and that he would submit hbhself to the lawful determination of the church." The legate threatened Luther with the censures of the church, if he would not retract, and bring his recantation. Luther knew that Cajetan had orders to seize him, if he would not submit : and, therefore, on the sixteenth of October, he made an act of appeal, before a notary, wherein he vindicated himself, and declared that he was oppressed and injm'ed, and obliged to appeal from the Pope ; for which purpose he de- manded letters of mission, and protested he would pursue his appeal. Luther told the legate, that as he had not deserved ms censures, so he disregarded them ; and then returned to Wittenberg, where he was safe under the protection of the elector of Saxony. Luther was powerfully supported by the university of Wittenberg, where he continued to teach the same doctrines, and sent a challenge to all the inquisitoi-s to dispute with him there, under the sanction of a safe conduct fi-om his prince, and the most respectable hospitality from the university. The cardinal, mortified at Luther's escape, wrote to the elector, on the twenty-fifth of October, 1518, desiring him to five him up, to send him to Rome, or to banish bun from is dominions. To this letter the elector answered, on the eighteenth of December following, and told the cardinal, that "he hoped he would have dealt with Luther in another man- ner, and not hfive insisted upon his recanting, before his cause was heard and judged ; that there were several able men in his own and in other universities, who did not think Luther's doc- trine either impious or heretical ; that if he had believed it XXVIII UFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. suehy there would have been no need of adnionishing him not to tolerate it ; that Luther not being convicted q{ heresy, he could not banish him from his states, nor send him to Rome>«, and that, since Luther offered to submit himself to the judg- ment of several universities, he thought thfiy ought to hear him, or at'least, shew him the errors which he taught in his writings." , While these things passed in Germany, Pope Leo attempted to put an end to these disputes about indulgences, by a decision of his own; and for that purpose, upon the ninth of Noveinber, published a brief, directed to cardinal Cajetan, in which he der dared, that "the Pope, the successor of St. Peter, and vicar of Jesus Christ upon earth, hath power to pardon, by virtue of the keys, the guilt and punishment of sin; the guilt by the sa- crament of penance, and the temporal punishments due for ac- tual sins by indulgences. That these indulgences are taken from the overplus of the merits of Jesus Christ and his saints, a trea- sure at the pope's own disposal, as well by way of absolution as suffrage ; and that the dead and the living, who properly and truly obtain these indulgences, are immediately freed from the punishment due to their actual sins, according to the diving justice, which allows these indulgences to be granted and ob- tained." This brief ordains, ^' that all the world shall hold and preach this doctrine, under the pain of excommunication re- served to the Pope ; and enjoins cardinal Cajetan to send it, to all the archbishops and bishops of Germany, and cause it to be put in execution by them." Luther knew very well, that after his judgment of the Pope, he could not possibly escape being proceeded against, and condemned at Rome; and, therefore, upon the twenty-eighth of the same month, published a new appeal from the Pope to a general council, in which he asserts the super ioi* authority of the latter over the former. The Pope, foreseeing that he should not' easily manage Luther, so long, as the elector of Saxony continued to support and protect him, sent the elector a golden rose, such a one as he used to bless every year, and send to several princes, as marks of his pai'ti- cular favour to them. Miltitius, his chamberlain, whom we have before observed to have been a German, was intrusted with this commission ; by whom the Pope sent also letters, dated the beginning of January, 1519, to the elector's coun- sellor and secretary, in which he prayed those minister^ to use all possible interest with their master, that he would stop the progress of Luther's errors, and imitate therein the piety and religion of his ancestors. It appears by Seckendorf's account of Miltitius's negotiation, that Frederic had long solicited for this bauble from the Pope ; and that three or four years before, when his electoral highness was a bigot to the court of Rome, it had probably been a most welcome present. But, post est oc- casio caka, it was now too late : Luther's contests with the see of Rome had opened the elector's eyes, and enlarged his LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHEH. XXIX mind ; and therefore, when Miltitius delivered Lis letters, and discharged his commission, he was received hut coldly by the elector, who valued not the consecrated rose, nor would receive it publicly and in form, but only privately, and by his proctor. As to Luther, Miltitius had orders to require the elector to oblige him to retract, or to deny him his protection: but things were not now to be carried with so high a hand, Luther's cre- dit being too firmly established. Besides, the emperor Maxi- milian departed this life upon the twelfth of this month, whose death greatly altered the face of affairs, and made the elector more able to determine Luther's fate. Miltitius thought it best, therefore, to try what could be done by fair and gentle means, and to that end came to a conference with Luther. He poured forth many commendations upon him, and earnestly entreated him, that he would himself appease that tempest, which could not but be destructive to the church. He blamed, at the same time, the behaviour and conduct of Tetzelius, and reproved him with so much sharpness, that he died of melancholy a short time after. Luther, amazed at all this civil treatment, which he had never experienced before, commended Miltitius highly, and owned, that if they had behaved to him so at first, all the trou- bles occasioned by these disputes had been avoided; and did not forget to cast the blame upon Albert, archbishop of Mentz, who had increased these troubles by his severity. Miltitius also made some concessions ; as, that the people had been seduced by false opinions about indulgences ; that Tetzelius had given the occasion ; that the archbishop had set on Tetzelius to get money ; that Tetzehus had exceeded the bounds of his com- mission, &c.' This mildness and seeming candour, on the part of Miltitius, gained so wonderfully upon Luther, that he wrote a most submissive letter to the Pope, dated the thirteenth of March, in 1519. Miltitius, however, taking for granted that they would not be contented at Rome with this letter of Lu- ther's, written, as it was, in general terms only, proposed to refer the matter to some other judgment ; and it was agreed between them, that the elector of Triers should be the judge, and Coblentz the place of conference. But this came to nothing; for Luther afterwards gave some reasons for not going to Cob- lentz, and the Pope would not refer the matter to the elector of Triers. During all these treaties, the doctrine of Luther spread, and prevailed greatly; and he himself received great encouragement at home and abroad. The Bohemians about this time sent him a book of the celebrated John Huss, who had fallen a martyr in the work of reformation; and also letters, in which they ex- horted him to constancy and perseverance, owning, that the divinity which he taught was the pur Cj the sound, and orthodox divinity. Many great and learned men had joined themselves to him; among the rest, Philip Melancthon, whom Frederic had XXX LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. invited to the university of Wittenberg, in August 1518, and Andrew Carolostadius, archdeacon of that town, v/ho was a great linguist. They desired, if possible, to draw over Erasmus to their party; and to that end we find Melanethon thus ex- pressing himself in a letter to that great man, dated Leipsic, January the fifth, in 1519: "Martin Luther, who has a very great esteem for you,, wishes of all things that you would thoroughly approve of him." Luther also himself wrote to Erasmus, in very respectful, and even flattering terms: "Itaque, mi Srasme, vir amaMlis, si ita tibi visum, fuerit, agrmsce et hunc fraterculum in Christo ; tui certe stvdiosissimum et amanMssimurOo caterumpro inscitid sud nihil meritum, qudm ut in angulo sepultus essfit." The elector of Saxony was desirous also to know Eras- mus's opinion of Luther, and might probably think, that as Eras- mus had most of the monks for his enemies, and some of those who were warmest against Luther, he might easily be prevailed on to come over to their party. And indeed they would ha,ve done something, if they could have gained this point ; for the reputation of Erasmus was so great, that if he had once declared for Luther, almost all Germany would have declared along with him. i But .Erasmus, whatever he might think of Luther's opinions, had neither his impetuosity, nor his courage. He contented himself therefore with acting and speaking in his usual strain of moderation, and wrote a letter to the elector Frederic, in which he declared " His dislike of the arts which were eniployed to make Luther odious; that he did not know Luther, and so could neither approve nor condemn his writings, because indeed he had not read them : that, however, he condemned the railing at him with so much violence, because he had submitted himself to the judgment of those whose ofiice it was to determine, and no man haH endeavoured to convince him of his error; that his an- tagonists seemed rather to seek his death, than his salvation; that they mistook the matter in supposing that all error is heresy; that there are errors in all the writings of both ancients and moderns; that divines are of different opinions; that it is more prudent to use moderate, tlian violent means ; that the elector owht to protect innocency, and that this was the intent of LeoX." Erasmus wrote also a friendly letter in answer to Luther's, and tells him, that " His books had raised such an upj-oar at Lou vain, as it was not possible for him to describe; that he could not have believed divines could have been such madmen, if he had not been present, and seen them with his eyes; that by de- fending him, he had rendered himself suspected; that many abused him as the leader of this faction, so they call it; that there were many in England, and some atLoiuvain, no inconsiderable persons, who highly approved his opinions ; that, for his own part, he endeavoured to carry himself as evenly as he could with LirK OF MARTIN LUTHER. XXXI all parties, that he might more effectually serve the interests of learning and religion; that, however, he thought more might be done by civil and modest means, than by intemperate heat and passion; that it would be better to inveigh gainst those who abuse the Pope's authority, than against the Popes them- selves ; that new opinions should rather be promoted in the way of proposing doubts and difficulties, than by affirming and de- ciding peremptorily; that nothing should be delivered with fac- tion and arrogance, but );hat the mind, in these cases, should be kept entirely free from anger, hatred, and rain-glory. I say not this," says Erasmus, with that great address of .which he was master, " as if you wanted any admonitions of this kind, but only that you may not want them hereafter, any more than you do at present. Hcec mm adrmmeo vt facias, sed ut quodfacis perpetvo facias." When this letter was written, Erasmus and Luther had never seen each other: it is dated Louvain, May the thirtieth, in 1519, and it is hardly possible to read it, without suspecting that Erasmus was entirely of Luther's sentiments, if he had had but the courage to have declared it. Only observe how he con- cludes it: "I have dipped into your Commentaries upon the Psalms: they please me prodigiously, and I hope will be read with great advantage. There is a prior of the monastery of An- twerp, who says he was your pupil, and loves you most affec- tionately. He is a truly Christian man, and almost the only one of his society who preaches Christ; the rest being atten- tive either to the fabidous traditions of men, or to their own profit. I have written to Melancthon. The Lord Jesus pour upon you his spirit, that you may abound more and more, every day, to his glory and the service of the church. Farewell." Frederic, elector of Saxony, was the patron and protector ' of' Luther; but George, a prince of the same house, opposed Luther to the utmost of his power. The former desired Eras- mus to give him his opinion concemirig Luther; and Erasmus gave it jocosely: but gravely told the archbishop of Mentz that the monks condemned many things in the books of Luther as heretical, which were esteemed as orthodox in Bernard and Austin. Erasmus wrote also to cardinal Wolsey, that the life and conversation of Luther were universally commended; and it was no small prejudice in his favour, that his morals were unblameable, and that no reproach could be fastened upon him by calumny itself. " If I had really been at leisure," says Erasmus, "to peruse his writings, I am not so conceited of my own abilities, as to pass a judgment upon the performance of so considerable a divine: though even children, in this knowing age, will boldly pronounce that this is erroneous, and that is heretical." Claude has spoken judiciously of Luther, when he wishes he had been more temperate in his way of writing; and that with his great and invincible courage, with his ardent zeal for the .XXXll LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHEB. truth, with that unshaken constancy he eyer manifested} be could have shewed a greater reserve and moderation. Bujtt^e divine Providence had a great work to effect by Lumber, in which strength and even roughness of spirit were requisite, to encounter every kind of difficulty, and to bear up against the rage, in a manner, of the wholft world. When men wo^d fell a wood, they employ a heavy rough axe, and not a smooth and polished razor. Melancthon said very justly of him, upon seeing his picture, in this iextempore line: — " Fubnina ertmt lingtim singula verba tua." "Thy single words were piei'cing thunderbolls." The monks took upon them to rail most violently, and, even seditiously, in their sermons against the reformers, " Whence," says Erasmus, "came this new race of deities? They call every one a heretic whom they dislike, and stir heaven an4. eapth when they are called calupaniators." He owns that Lutber b^d given them good advice on many points; and that it would be an impiety to leave him undefended, where he bad the truth on his side; for then who would ever dare to, stand up for ibe truth ? Hitherto, adds Erasmus, Luther, has , certamly been useful to the world: he hath set men upon studying the fathers, some to satisfy their own minds, and others to plague him by hunting out arguments, and objections against him, If Erasmus had not tbe same impetuous acrimony in his style, which predominated in the writings, pfLutbe,r,, yet, the monks were equally offended at bim; because the abuses wbiph he attacked were tbe source of their best revenues. Erasmus, in 1519, wrote to Melancthon, that, all the world agreed in commending tbe moral character of Luther, and wished that God might grant him success equal to the liberty ^hicbhe had taken. Melancthon was always mild and mode- rate, and had a sincere affection for Lutber; but sometimes could npt refrain from complaining of his bold and impetuous temper. However, Erasmus entertained hopes that the at- tempts of Luther, and the great notice which had been, take^^pf Ihem, might be serviceable to true Christianity. , In this he was not mistaken, as tbe event proved; for, from this period, Luther's writings and the cause Of Reformation spread all oyer the Christian world, and brought into full blaze tbe glimmer- ing light, which bad been introduced by Wickliffe, Huss, and otber learned and good men. ' Frederic of Saxony, one of the most, virtuous and illustrious princes of that century, was a friend both to Luther and to the Reformation; and the protestants have great reason to reve- rence, and bless his memory. When he might have been chosen emperor, he declined jt, aiid, gave the crown to Charles V. Erasmus wrote a letter'te hiin, which was very favourable to Luther. Andrew Bodestine, from ;his native place, called Ca- LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. STXXut rolostadlus, defended the writings of Luther. Bucor was pre- sent when Luther maintained his doctrine before the Augus- tine friars at Heidelberg, and told Rhenanus " that his sweet- ness in answering was admirable, and his patience in hearing incomparablte: that the acuteness of St. Paul, in resolving doubts, might have been seen in Luther; so that he brought them all into admiration of him, by his concise and nervous answers, taken out of the storehouse of the holy scriptures." Luther was honourably entertained at Heidelberg, by Wolf- gang, the count palatine ; and Erich, duke of Calemberg, es- poused his cause. Erich shared in the danger and glory of all the undertakings of the emperor Maximilian, and was a great ornament to the house of Brunswick Lunenberg. He saved the life of that emperor in 1504, who perpetuated the memory of his valour, by adding a bright star to his coat of arms, on the very iield of battle, with this explanation : " that as the morning star exceeds all the others in lustre, so duke Erich was as much superior to all other princes of his time." This star has ever since continued in the coat of arms of the house of Brunswick, and is placed upon the helmet in the middle of the peacock's train. Ernest, duke of Linienberg, was educated under the inspection of his uncle Frederic, surnamed the wise, elector of Saxony, who sent him early to the university of Wittenberg, where he made a great progress in learning, and had an oppor- tunity to converse with Luther, when he begtm to discover his sentiments about the hierarchy, and the doctrines of the see of Rome. Ernest boldly embraced the doctrine of Luther ; and his example was followed by his brothers Otho and Francis ; as also by Philip, of the line of Grubenhagen. These princ esmade the necessary preparations to introduce the Reformation into the circle of Lower Saxony, as the elector their uncle was doing in that of the Upper Saxony. Ernest was determined to pursue the glorious scheme he had fonned, gradually to abolish the errors and abuses that had crept into the church. His concern was so great for extending the knowledge of the pure faith, that he generously sent learned men to the county of Hoya, East Friesland, and other parts of Germany, to preach the gospel in its native simplicity. Such was his zeal in the cause of the reformation, so r>iany were the difficulties and oppositions he met with on that account, that he justly merited the surname which was given him of Confessor. It should be observed, that the emperor Otho IV., one of the most illus- trious ancestors of the house of Brunswick, so early as in the beginning of the thirteenth century, notwithstanding the igno- rance and bigotry of those times, endeavoured with uncommon resolution to lay open the abuses of the see of Rome, even in defiance of its excommunicatiohs. His endeavours were not attended with the success they deserved; yet they have ren- dered his name sacred to posterity, as he was the first prince .c XXXIV LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. who ventured to oppose the encroachments of the papacy» whereby others were afterwards incited thoroughly to examine the title, which the popes pretended they had, to impose arbi* trary laws on Christendom. £okius had wrote some notes upon the first thesis of Lu- ther, which were answered by Carolostadius; and a conference was agreed on at Leipsic, hy the consent of prince George of Saxony, uncle to the elector Frederic. Eckius appeared, and was met by Luther, who was accompanied by Melancthon and Carolostadius. Both parties were well received by the prince, the senate, and imiversity, who appointed a great hall in the castle for the place of the conference, which was solemnly opened on the twenty-seventh of June, 1519. The first dispu- tation was concerning free-will, which Ediius undertook to prove by a passage in Ecclesiasticus; and was opposed by Ca- rolostadius, who denied that free-will liad a distinct operation from grace. This dispute continued a whole week;' in which time Luther preached a sermon* in the chapel of the castle, upon the feast of St. Peter and St, Paid, wherein he declaimed against the authority of the Pope. The dispute was then car- ried on between Luther and Eckius, upon thirteen propositions, extracted by the lattep out of the writings of the former,; flie last and principal of which, was against the supremacy of the Pope. Luther alleged c^ainst it, the canon of the council of Afi"ic, which ordained that the bishop of the first see should not be called the prince of bishops, or supreme bishop; and he maintained that WicklifFe and Huss ought not to have been condemned, as many of their articles were orthodox; and that he could oppose the tradition and usage of the Greek church for 1400 years, to the condemnation of the Bohemians, Eckius attempted to prove the doctrine of indulgences, by the author- rityiofthe general councils of Vienna, Latei'an, and Constance: he said that St. Gregory had published them, 900 years before; that they were approved by the consent of thewiiversal ehuirch,j and that all the Christian world had acknowledged them by receiving the jubilees. Luther replied, that he preferred works of charity before indulgences, and supported his opinion by the authority of St. Pam and St. Augustine, who say, "we can do no good without charity and grace." Eckius seemed to make this question a matter of nothing: but Luther had the advantage of the argument. He knew " that the Christian princes had been tired of makii;^, expeditions to the Holy Land, which were only specious pretencesj invented by the Popes, to drain them of their blood and treasure; and that another scheme was then set on foot to, allure them and their subjects to part with their money; that frequent jubilees were kept at Home, though, according to thek first institution, they were to take place but once in a century ; that the Popes perceived the advantages which arose from bringing people together to UFK OF MARTIN LUTHER. XXXV their market, from all parts of the Christian world, and shortened the time, by ordering a jubilee to be kept every lifty years, and afterwards appointed one to be celebrated every thirty years ; that immense sums were brought into the Pope's coffers by these jubilees at Rome, where all that resorted re- ceived absolution for their sins, for a particular sum ; and that indulgences being found so beneficial, they were sold all over Europe, and no more confined to certain times and jubilees." The conference at Leipsic continued fourteen days ; and the dispute was left to the decision of the universities of Paris and Erturt : but Luther opened the whole to the world, by publish- ing a tract, entitled, " Resolutions of the propositions disputed at Leipsic," and addressed to Spalatinus ; in which he said that Eckius had no cause to boast of the dispute, and had acknow- ledged that no trust ought to be put in indulgences. Melanc- thon wrote with great moderation upon these conferences: and Eckius told Hogostratus, that the Lutherans had great advan- tages over him,T)ecause they were many against a single man. Jerome Emser owned, that the dispute at Leipsic was rather sharp than edifying : but the two universities never gave their jufenents about the contests in these conferences. Zuinglius began, about this time, to write against pardons and indulgences. Luther wrote a book "Of Christian liberty;" which he dedicated to the Pope. He also addressed another book to the nobility of Germany, wherein he shook the three principal bulwarks of popery, by opposing the doctrine, " That temporal magistrates were subject to the spirituality; that the Pope is the only judge of the scripture ; and that he can only call a council." Luther shewed what things should be handled in councils ; and asserted, that the Pope yearly drained Ger- many of three millions of florins. He pointed o)it the necessity of reforming schools and universities; declared that heretics should be convinced by scripture, and not awed by fire-; im- puted the misfortunes of the emperor Sigismund to his breach of faith with Huss and Jerome ; and exposed the inconveniences resulting from the council of Constance. What the divines of Paris and Erfurt neglected, those of Louvain and Cologne attempted. The former consulted with the Cardinal de Tortosa, afterwards Pope Adrian VI. and con- demned twenty-two propositions extracted from Luther as he-, retical, or approaching to heresy, and declared that his writings ought to be burnt. Those of Cologne concurred ; and agreed that Luther ought to be obliged to make a public recantation. Luther declared, he disregarded the censures of these two uni- versities; and that Occam, Stapulensis, Huss, and other eminent men, were unjustly condemned after the same manner. He accused the universities of rashness, of want of charity, and con- tempt of justice'; after which, he sharply conftited their cen-' sures, without any respect to their persons. Xxivi LltE OF MARTIN LUTHER. The emperor Maximilian was so far from suffering himself to be persuaded to proceed ap^ainst Luther, that he iised to say, " If the cliBrgy would lead pious lives, Lftther would have no room for a reformation." But his successor was of a different disposition, and gave occasion to the violent measures that were taken to nip the Reformation in its very bud. Luther wrote a letter to the new emperor, on tjie fifteenth of January', . 1520, before his arrival in Germany, to vindicate his conduct, and entreat his protection from the power of his numerous ad- versaries, who had persecuted him for three years, and were resolved that he should perish with the gospel. He told thfe emperor, he would not desire his protection, if he was con- victed of impiety or heresy; bilt desired he wOuld not let him be condemned without hearing ; and declaired, he would either be silent, or refer himself to the judgment of any impartial universities, before which he was ready to appear. . It was a great mistake in Leo X. to decide in favour of thfe indjjlgence-merchants, by his bull in 1518, feirice thereby dl Hopes of an accommodation were cut off; for it would have been much more. politic in him to have enjoirted silence to bpth parties, ai^d-,'f6 have contrived some way to satisfy Luther, Wjh.Q offered pajetan to drop the controversy, if his adversaries would do Che same ; but they would be satisfied with nothing les^.than a recantation. The elector of Saxony was again soli- cited to give up Luther, who was compelled to fall upon the Epp^, .t(\ .Indicate himself, by appealing to a general council ; the calling whereof was delayed upon various pretences, whereby thp cause of Rome became more and more suspected. About the same time, the Pope's quarrel with Henry VIII. made way for the introduction of the Reformation into England; and the house of Navarre, in revenge for the Pope's siding witb Ferdinand the catholic, encouraged the protestant religion to the utmost of their power in France. Besides all this, many sensible honest men, even among the Roman catholics, were quite unconcerned at the rough treatment which Luther shewed the papal see, because they knew it deserved his resentment. Luther also wrote to the elector pf Mentz, who answered -jbim, and commended his disposition ; but desired him to treat of religious matters with moderation and respect, for he ob- served with grief, that the professors disputed upon frivolous opinions, and questions of little consequence, with intolerable pride. "W^iile Luther was vindicating himself to thp emperor, and the bishops of Germany, judgipeiit was passed upon his writ- ings at Rome, where Eckius and Ubricus w'ent on purpose to solicit his condemnation, >vhich was resolved upon, notwith- iStanding he had obedientlyjreverenced the person of the Pope. Luther, at the reqwest pf,lhe Aligustines, wrote a long epistle to his holiness, full of submission and respect, wherein he told LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XXXVIl hlro, " That tlie cqurt of Rome was visibly moye corrupt than either Babylon or Sodom ; but that his holiness was a lamb in the midst of wolves, a Damet among lions, apd an EzekieJ ainong scorpions: l^at there were not above three or four car- ^nals who, pad any learning or piety; and that it was against these disorders of the court of Rome, that he was obliged to appear." The writings of Luther were examined in a congregation of cardinals, who distinguished his doctrine, writings, and person. They condemned forty-one propositions t9,ken out of his wprksj ordered him to appear in persons and agreed that his writings should be burnt. In consequence of this resolution, the bull was drawn up by the cardinal of Ancona, and published by the Pope, who invoked the aid of Jes§us Christ, the apostles, and all :tihe saints, against the' new errors and heresies ; and to pre- serve the faith, peace, and nniiyof the church. This bull' was dated the, fifteenth of June, 1,320, and condemned the forty- one articles, extracted from jthe virritings of Luther, as heretical, false, and scandaious. Indulgences, the papal supremacy, free-will, purgatory, and the begging friars, were the principal thing's vindicated in ihis bull ; and all Christians were forbid, under the pain of excommunication, to defend any of the propositions that were thus condemned; Luther was admonished tq revoke his errors by some pubHc act, and cause his books to be burnt within sixty days; otherwise he, and his adherents, should inisUr the punishments due to heretics. L]ither, now perceiving that all hopes of an accommodation were at an end, threw off all reserve, and answered this bi^ll, which he called " The execrable buU of antichrist," by puB- hshing a book called " The captivity of Babylon;" in which he absolutely rejected indulgences ; and asserted, that tb^ pa- pacy was the kingdom of Babylon, He denied there wiei'e seven sacraments; and said, there was properly only one, in three sacramental signs, the Lord's Supper, baptism, and pe- nance. He affirmed, that the sacrament of the altar is the 'tes- tament of Jesus Christ, which he left when he died, to be given to all those who should believe in him; that this testament is k promise of forgiveness of our sins, confirmed by the death of the Son of God ; that it is only faith in this promise which jtts- Sfies, and the mass is entirely useless without that faith. ; fife declared that the effect of baptism depended alone upon faith in the promise of Jestis Christ, of which the outw'ai-d'^bajjjisin is pnly a sign, supplied in infants by the faith pf the, chtirch. He maintained, that the remission of sins, which is the effect pf penance, depends upon faith in the promise of JesUs Christ; and allowed no effect to the other parts of penance. He wondered that confii:mation, and ordination, should be sacraments, when "they are no more ihan ecclesiastical ceremonies; neither would ■he allow marriage id be a sacra,ment, because there is jio pro- XiSvlU lAtt OF MARtrN LUTHEK. niise ahnexed to it, and the marriag'e of infidels is as binding as that of Christians ; and he rejected the usage of the extreme uHction, built upon the authority of the epistle of St* James* beicause he thought there was not any promise of grace annexed to that unction. Luther was fully persuaded of the necessity of "justification by faith alone;" which he looked upon as the basis of the whole Christian religion. When he first preached against indul- gences, he intended no separation from the church of Rome ; but the violence of his opponents, and the heat of the contro- versy, drew him so far into the dispute, that he carried it on 'W'ith unparalleled spirit, and came at last to fix upon that scheme, tvhifeh has been since adhered to by the Lutheran churches, with little variation. As the Pope had condemned Luther at Rome, Luther der gfaded the Pope in Germany. He compiled a history of the wars raised by the Popes against the emperors; and maintained that the German princes had the same power over the clergy as over the la;ity. He advised the Germans to shake off the yoke of popery ; and proposed a reformation, that should sub- ject the Pope and bishops to the power of the, emperor, and take away from the Pope the authority of interpreting scrip- tiure, or calling a general council. He declaimed agamst the manners and. practice of the court of Rome, the pride of the Pope, and the avarice of the cardinals ; he asserted, that an- nates and papal months should be abolished, and that the canon law ought to be entirely destroyed. He even assembled the students of Wittenberg tpgether, and flung the Pope's bull and decretals into a tire prepkred for that purpose, saying, " Be- cause thou hast troubled the Holy One of God, let eternal fire trouble thee." This ceremony was performed by Luther, upon the tenth of December, 1520. The next day he expounded the Psalms, and earnestly charged his auditors, " that, as they loved the salvation of their souls, they should take heed of the Pope's decrees." He also defended what he had done in writing ; and iiublished among other errors in the papal doctrine, the fol- owing thirty : — " I. Tlie Pope and his clergy are not bound to obey the commandnieats of God. " II. It is not aprecepti but a counsel of St. Peter, when he teaches ' That all men are to be subject to kings.' " III. That in a state, the sun signified the papal power, the moon meant the imperial or secular. '''' iV. That the Pope and his chai*- are not to be held subject to the councils aiid decrees. " V. That the Pope has, in the secret of his own breast, all laws, and plenary power over all laws. "VI. Whence it follows, that the Pope hath power to disannul, change, and dstet-mine all councils, and all constitutions and ordinances, as he daily practises. LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XXXIX V VII' 1'l>ot the Pope hath a right to demand an oath of all bishops, and an obligation upon them for their palls, " VJII. That if the Pope be so negligent of his own and his brethren's sal- vation, and so unprofitable and careless in his function, as to carry with him (like the chief factor for hell) innumerable people to their everlasting damna- tion, no man ought to reprove him, or blame his faults, . " IX. That the salvation of all the faithful, next to God, depends upon the Pope. " X. That no man upon earth Can jud^e the Pope, or censure his determi- nation; but the Pope is judge of all men, " XI. That the Roman see giveth to all laws andrights their due force ; but is itself subject to none of them. " XII. That the see of Rome is a rock, on which Christ built his church, ac- cording to Matt, xvi, — Distinc. 19. " XIII, That the keys were given to St. Peter only. " XIV. That the priesthood of Christ was translated from Him to St. Peter. J)e constit. c. translato, " XV. That the Pope hath power to make laws and ordinances for the catholic church. " XVI. That this sentence ; « Whatsoever thou bindest on earth, shall also be bound in heaven,' establishes this point. That the Pope hath power to im- pose even his unadvised laws upon the whole catholic church. " X-VII. That his injunction to abstain from flesh, butter, &c. on particular days, is not to l}e disobeyed without sin, or danger of excommunication. " XVIII. Thai no priest can marry, because he hath forbidden it, " XIX, That Pope Nicholas the 3d or 4th, hath well decreed that Christ, by giving the keys, gave him power both over the heavenly and earthly kingdom. " XX. That Constantine the Great gave to Popes the power over all the provinces and kingdoms of this lower world. " XXI. That the Pope is the rightful heir of the holy Roman empire. " XXII, That it is lawful for a Christian to avenge himself. " XXIII. That subjects may rebel against their princes ; and that the Pope may depose kings. " XXIV. That the Pope can overturn and dissolve all oaths, covenants, and obligations. " XXV. That the Pope hath power to dissolve and compound fbr all vows made to God. ',' XXVI. That he that doth not pay his vow to God, is not guilty of break- ing it. " XXVII. That no married man or woman can truly serve God. " XXVIII. That the Pope's injunctions are of equal force and weight with the scriptures. " XXIX. That the Pope hath power to explain the scripture, at his own will and pleasure ; and that no man dare to explain it in a contrary sense. " XXX. That the Pope doth not receive his authority from the scripture, but the scripture from the Pope, " In short, the sum of the whole canon law is this : The Pope is God on earth, supreme in all heavenly, earthly, spiritual, and secular matters. All thingi are the Pope's; and there is none aho can say unto him. What dosH thou?" Melch. Adam, in vit. Luth. This publication gave (as it may be supposed) the hiffhest of- fence to the Romanists ; and the Pope resolved to crush Wm at once by his bulls, which commanded all secular princes to de- stroy him. Eckius carried the bull against Luther into Germany, and was entrusted by the Pope to carry it into execution ; which Xl . LIFJE OF MARTIN LUTHIUlf was a smart tlow given him by lu* mor,tal, enemy, who was his adversary, accuser, and executioner. , ,, .,, -j .! iQh^les y. was crowned emperor, at Aiy-la-jChagellej the tiyimlij^-first of October, 1520, afi.ii. appointed a diet ta be heW atuWorms, on the ; sixth of January, 1521. The nuncios, Martinu? Caracciolus and- Jerome Alexander, presented the elector of Saxony the brief which the Pope had sent him, to inform l^im of the decree i^hich he had made against Luther, who was then more than ever protected by the elector, and the university of Wittenberg. Luther renewed his appeal to a fixture council, and called the Pope a tyrant, and heretic. Erasmus, and several other" divines, foresaw that the, fire, which was to burn the books of Luther, wpuld put all Oer- many into a flame, and were for referring the whole to a gener ral council; but the nuncios prevailed, and Luther's books were burnt at Mentz and Cologne. Ulricus Hultenus, a sa- tirical poet, ridiculed the papal bull, which Lutiber called the execrable bult of aptiphrist, a^d caused it (as we have just obr, served) to be burnt at, Wittenberg. ^Qatharinus wrote five boolss in defence of the papal supremacy, which Luther refiited; ■__ and Alexander obtained a new bull from Rpme, 'vvherein Lu- ther was declared cpiiijimacious, and to haye„ incurreid the penalty denounced by the! Pope. The _ diet of Worms assembled ou the day appointed, when Alexand,er exerted all his interest and eloquence, to persuade the i^mp'erbV and the priupes of the empire, to put the bull. agiairi§t, J^jjther into execution, withoiit suffering lum to appear, or hear his vindicatioUi The diet resolved that Luther should be summoned, and have a safe-conduct, which was granted by. the emperor, who sent with it a private letter, directed " To the honourable, beloved, devout, doctor Martin Luther,, , of the order of St. Augustine." This letter was dated the .sij£t$,^^ of March, and Luther was thei-eby ordered to appear , at_ W^orms within twenty-one days. The tragical end that Johp.-i Huss had met with at Constance, in 1415, was remembered, by the friends of Luther on this occasion; but he answered thpsf'., who dissuaded him from appearing, that " he would go., thpugli .' there should be as many devils at Worms, as there were tiles ! up.qn ihe houses." He was accompanied from Wittenberg by " some divinep, and one hundred horses; but he took only'eighji,,, horsemen uitp Worms, where he arrived on the sixteenth pf Apjil; and, when he stepped out of the coach, he said, " God sb^il be on my side," in the presence of a great multitude of people, whpm curiosity had .brought together to see the man whp .had made such a noise in the world. Liither had his apartments in the house belonging to the knights of the Teutonic order, near those of the elector of Saxony.. He was visited -by .many princes, noblemen, and di- vines, and ^f he next day appeared before the diet. Eckius LI^ bF BIARTIN r.UTHER. xU acted as prolocutor, and told Luther that the emperor had sent for him,. " to know whether he owned those books that tore hi^name; and if he intended to retract, ormaintam what was con- tained in them?" Luther is said to have had as much courage as Alexander and Julius Caesar put together. He answered, he owned the books, but desired time to consider the Other question, " So that he might make a satisfectory answer, without prejudice of the word of God, and prejudice of his own soul." The emperor granted him a day to consider the matter, and some of his principal friends encouraged him with this sentence; " When thou art before kings, think not what thou shalt spe^k, for it shall be given to thee in that hour." Luther appeared s^in before the diet the following day, when Eckius repeatea the same question, to which Luther re- plied with modesty and constancy. He protested that all he had wrote was for the glory of God, and the instruction of the iaithful; but deared the assembly to observe, that his books were of three kinds: "that in some he treated only of piety and morality, in such a plain and evangelical manner, that his adversaries acknowledged they were innocent, profitable, and worthy to be read by all Christians: that in otjiers, he had wrote against popery: and in a third sort, against those private persori who opposed the truths which he taught," He asserted, that the bull itself had condemned nothing in particular, which was taken out of those books, though all his books in general were condemned; and declared, "that, as a man, he might err; and if any one could conviiice him, by. holy scripture, of any error, he was ready to revoke it, and burn his writings." Eckius passionately said, he had not answered the question; therefore, he insisted that Luther would give a plain and direct anstver, " whether he would retract or not?" Luther replied, that he was not obliged to " believe the Pope, or his councils, because they erred in many things, and contradicted themselves; that bis belief was so far settled by the texts of scripture, and his conscience engaged by the word of God, that he neither could nor would retract any thing, because it was neither .safe nor innocent for a man to act against his conscience." Eckius tlien said, that Luther had revived the errors condemned in the council of Constance; and the emperor declared he A^ould proceed against him as a heretic; which was prejudging the cause, and contrary to the established rules of the diet. As Luther undauntedly refused to recant at Worms, as he had done three years before at Augsburg, the clergy insinuated to the emperor, " that feith was not to be kept with heretics." They wanted him to revoke the safe-conduct he had granted to Liitner; but Charles made this generous answer: "That if no faith was to be fotmd in the;^ rest of the world, it ought at least to be seen in a Roman emjj^ror." The elector-palatine also opposed the violation of the safe-coiiduct, as had been done at the xlii LIFE OF MAKTIN LUTHER. council of Constance. The electors of Brandenburg and Triers, with JEqkius, Cochlaeus, and others, had a private conference with Luther, to persuade him to desist from his enterprise; but he declared, he was resolved to diei rather than recede from the word of God. The elector of Triers desired Luther to propose some means of ending this matter himself; to w^hich Luther answered, he had no other way than the counsel of Gamaliel, " If this work be of men, it will come to nought,, and fall of itself; but, if it be of God, ye cannot hinder the execution of it." The emperor, on the twentyrsixth of April, ordered' Luther to depart unmediately from Worms, under a safe^condnct for twenty-one days; and the elector of Saxony imagined, that Charles would issue a severe edict against Luther; but the elector was resolved to protect him from the prosecution of the emperor and the Pope. Luther was purposely s^i?ed on the road by a troop of masked horsemen, and carried, as if by violence, to the castle of Wartburg, near Eisenach, where the elector concealed, him ten months. Luther called this retreat liis Patmos, and wrote several, useful treatises there; while his, enemies employed reputed wizard^ to find out the place of his concealment. Here he held a, constant correspondence with his friends at Wittenberg, and employed himself in coiilposing several of his works. He frequently made excursions into the neighbom'hood* though always in disguise. Weary, however, of this confinement, he appeared at the end of ten months at Wittenberg, on the sixth of March. The emperor published an edict against Luther, on the twenty-sixth of May, when the electors of Saxony and Pala- tine were absent from the diet. He declared, "it was his duty, to extinguish heresies ; that Luther was a scliismatic and he- retic ; that the sentence of the Pope should be put in execution against him; and that no person should receive, defend, main- tain, or protect him, under the penalty of high treason, and being .put to the ban of the empire." This edict was drawn up with all possible rancour and malice by Alcander. Hpw-- ever, whilst Luther attended at Worms, and pleaded Ms, cause, he was treated with much affability and civility by that illus- trious assembly. He shewed a sufiicient presence of mind, and a noble intrepidity, in the opinion of every one but himseF; for he afterwards lamented that he had not been stiU bolder in the cause of Gpd. • Some are of opinion that the emperpr connived at tbe spread-" ing of .Luther's doctrine in Germany, that he might make him- self absolute there by such divisions : else, say they, he might, easily have suppressed it, by putting Luther to death, when he had him in his power, at Worms. However, it is fax from being clear, that if he had been murdered, contrary to the sanc- tion of the safe-conduct, his opinions would have died wi^ LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. xHli Yam ; and it would ha^e been very impradent In Charles to have thereby disobliged the elector of Saxony, who had placed him on the impcfrial throne, and whose authority in Germany was ^reat, while he had a war upon his hands against Turkey and France. The tenets of Luther became now to be received, not only in Upper and Lower Saxony, but also in other parts of Ger- many, and in the North. Etasmus, and the learned Agrippa of Cologne, looked upon this reformer as a hero, who wotrld put a stop to the tyranny which the mendicant friars, and the rest of the clergy, exercised over the minds and consciences of men. Being ignorant and voluptuous, they encouraged a thou- sand paltry superstitions, and would neither emerge from their barbarity, nor suffer others to do it : insomuch, that to be witty and polite, was sufficient to expose a man to their hate and in- dignation. Agrippa, Erasmus, and some other great geniuses, were pleased that Luthet had broken the ice. They expected the critical hour for the deliverance of honest men from op- pression; but when they saw that things did not take the turn they expected, they were the first to cast a stone at Luther. Afi^rippa wrote to Melancthon in these words : " Pay no com- ?Iunents to the invincible heretic, Martin Luther, who, as St. ?kul Says in the Acts, worships God after the way which they call heresy." But the divines of Louvain censured Agrippa for writing " The Vanity of Sciences ;" though that book con- vinced Erasmus, its author was of a fiery genius, extensive reading, and great memory. But Jovius and Thevet ridicu- lously charged Agrippa with being a ittagician ; though this did not hinder the famous John Colet from lodging Agnppa in his house at London, nor the emperor Maximihan from employing him in Italy. Jerome Savonarolst, a Dominican, at Florence, had distin- guished himself by the austerity of his life, and by the fervent eloquence with which he preached against immorality, without sparing the disorders of the clergy, nor even the court of Rome. Philip de Comines, the celebrated historian of France, saw Savonarola at Florence, and says, " that no preacher ever had a greater influence over a city." Some authors maintain that his conduct was the eflPect of a great zeal for truth, and for the reformation of the church ; others pretend that he was an im- postor and a hypocrite. It is certain that this divine had ac- quired such a great power over the Florentines, by his singular sanctity, and the reputation of his virtue, that, in the opinion of all, he deserved to be canonized alive ; but he lost his credit, was excommunicated, degraded from his ecclesiastical order, hanged and burnt in the year 1498. Friar Jerome had been considered as a prophet sent by God for the reformation of manners; and he had preached that the state of the church should be reformed by the swoi-d. He foretold many things •Xliv liFE OF J«AH?PISavofi!Srola had earnestlyjwished to be the instruiment of caUiisg a general council, in which the corrupt manners of the^le^y uaiffhf be reformed; and the state of the church of God^ whi'eh -had dciriatfed so far, niifht be reduced to as freat'a fekkmUmep as possible of those days that were nearest to the times of the apostles. The general of the Dominicans and the bishop i^f Romolino were appointed commissaries by the Pope to pijiiish Savonarola, whom they put to the torture, and delivered hiki over to the secular arm, to be hanged and burnt. His trial wm falsified in the most unjust and scandalous manner ; but he sv£- fered death courageously, and many persons considered him as a martyr. His ashes were thrown into the Arno, that his ad^ herents might ilQt have any relic left of him ;• but boote were written for his justification, and the Protestants havfe revered his memory. ' ^ ^ ' Beza, Vigner, Cappel, Du Plessis Mornayj and the other re- formers, considered Jerome Savonarola as a martyr, like Jeirome of Praffiie: th«!y looked npon him as the forerunner of thie evangelical refo'rmafcio&i and called him the Luther of Italy. The popish Tw^itefs also defended liis character,- particularly the learned prince of Mirandula ; but Pope Clement YHLfeBbadie the sermons of Savonarola to be read till they had undergone a purgation. " . I'-Ojiftep^utftfed Savonarola, and prefixed a preface to his me- ditations, because he considered him as an author that is vWy orthodox upon the subject of justification, and the inerit of good Works. The tools of Home were for "putting Luther to death, as ■ well as Savonarola ; but Erasmus was greatly'dissatisfi'ed when Luther was proscribed, and said, "that they who con- demned him, deserved to be condemned themstelvesj &afe:the Pope's unfnereiful bull was disapproved by all' honest men;' and lliat Luther, being a man void of ambition, was thcctessfto'le suspected bf heresy." One of the ecclesiastical eleetorsqsald, '* Would to God that Luther had written in Latin, and noluiii German." Mention being made of Luther at the emperWs tabl^, Ravenstein said, "here -isone Christian at'lseri >' andong us ;at'Msit," after four hundred years, and the- Pope Wants to kaihim." :.. ^ The emperor had performed the conditions of the safe-cott- duct to Luther, and the Pope had tried him before a conmil.; *' but the Lutherans would have been fools and mad, to have trtisted themselves and their cause to such a pontiffj and to sudh ■an- entperor;"' notwithsttfndhigfi Erasmus said, "we have a Pope, who in his temper is mu(4 disposed to clemency, and an emperor who is also Mid and placable." Erasmus judged very wfOng of biffth thfese personsi L^ was a vain, voluptuous. LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. , Xlv and debaucbedi man, who had no religion, and no compassion tor those who could not submit entirely to his pleasure ; as he shewed by the haughty manner in which he treated I in which were the following < among other anecdotes. rThe count «f Nassau, governor of Flanders, Brabant, and Hol- land, said to the divines at the Hague, " Go, and preach the fo^el in sincerity and truth, like Luther." The academies of iouvain compMned to Margaret the emperor's sister, gover- ness of the Netherlands, that Luther was subverting Chris- tianity, by his writings. "Who," said she, "is this Luther?" iThey replied, he was an illiterate monk. " Is he , so ?" said the princess. " Then you, who are very learned and nume- rous, write against this illiterate monk ; and surely the world •will jpay more regard to many scholars than to one blockhead." .'As the Pope and eipperor had published such a furious bull and violent edict against Luther, Erasmus began to be in pain for the reformer, though the elector of Saxony had taken him under his protection. " I fear," says he, "for the unfortunate , , Luther : so violent is the conspiracy, and so strongly h«vj?,the Pope and the prince been instigated against him. Would to , ..God he had followed my counsel, and had abstained ffromvio- tdmt, and seditious proceedings! He would then have dpne jmore good, and have incurred less hatred'" , ^ ^But if Luther.had folWed the advice of Erasmus, and con- ducted the aflFairwith all Snodearation and reserve, he would xlvi UFE OF MARTIN LUTHEK. stip, have had less success; because Ms system passed^ in the opinion ,qf tlie divines, for a most .pestilent heresy, tendiag to overset the authority of the Pope and the monks, and to destroy the credit of certain opinions and doctrines, from which they drew an immense profit. If Luther had recanted after he had been condemned, all the bemefit that his doctrine was capable of producing, would have been lost; and if he resisted, asepa*- ration from those who excommunicated him must ensue. Erasmus declined the task of refuting LiUher, " because it was a work above his abilities; and lie Avould not deprive the universities which had luidertaken to confute him, of their ho- nour and glory." He wished that Luther had been solidly confuted before his books were burnt ;. because it is the duty of divines to persuade, and the practice of tyrants to compel. But this was not the language of the inquisition and of the monks, who breathed nothing besides revenge and the de- struction of heretics. To please them, he ought toi have cried out that " Luther deserved to be hanged for what he bad done, whether he submitted or not :", he ought to liave insulted and abused him upon all occasions, if he hoped for any favour from men, who accounted moderation and equity to be capital crimes, when they extended to a man accounted by them the leader of ithe heretical armies. Luther was sometimes censured by Ei^asmus for writing with. such spirit; but in this, Luther acted more like an apostle, or primitive Christian, than Erasmus. Luther also iqiade a translation of the New Testament into the German language, and wrote several books during his re- tirement, which he called his hermitage. He was immediately, accused of corrupting the gospel in several. places; ib»t none of his adversaries ventured to condemn ih^ tramh^ion of the New Testament into the wdgar tongue ; on the contrary, Jerome Emser criticised upon this version, and made a.nother. The king of England wrote to the princes of Germany upon that subject, and said it was useful to have tlie. scripture in sexi^al languages, that corrupt versions might be prevented However, it is acknowledged that Luther, in translating th^ Bible, was assisted by the disciples of Reuchliu, and hath Mt, off many places very happily ; that he was mastef of the GeEr. man language; and that there is much to be learned, from this work. But the Sieur de St. Aldegonde, in J594, wrote to Johu Prusius, who was employed by the States-general to make a new translation of the Bible into the Dutch tongue, that "among all the versions hehadniet with, he had seen none thai^, , differett so widely from the true Hebrew, as that of Luther." Luther wrote against private confession,, private masses, and* monastic vows ; in consequence of which, Carolostadius, and the Augustine friars at Wittenberg, abolished the use of the , mass, vows of celibacy very little promoted continence. The LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. XlVU inonkB left their cloisters at Wittenberg, and the priests mar- ried, after Carolostadiiis and Justus Jonas had set them the example, which was afterwards followed by Luther. The adversaries of Luther affirmed, " that he nttered a thou- sand blasphemies, particulai'ly against Moses.' They went so far as to maintain, that he got Amadis de Gaul translated into French, to put people out of conceit with the scripture, and all books of devotion. They observed so little measures in the calummes they published against him, as to accuse him of hav- ing said, "that he believed nothing of what he preached." Most of these calumnies were grounded upon some words in a book published by Luther's friends ; to which his enemies gave a very malicious interpretation, and very remote from this mi- nister's thoughts. He was even accused of atheism ; but this, as well as what was said of Amadis, was an egregious falsehood, and proved so by Bayle, from the Journal of Leipsic, 1684, where it is said, that " this ridiculous calumny cannot excite indignation, but laughter ; for the honest catholics themselves must be ashamed, of it : they cannot be ignorant that, by the indetatigable pains of Luther, the sacred wiitings were once more put not only into the hands of the clergy, but into those of the middle rank, nay, even of the meanest sort ; he having, for that purpose, with incredible study and toil, translated the Tioly bible into the vulgar tongue, and not Amadis." What is not a man ca- pable o5 in point of gross calumnies, so diametrically opposite to all probability, when there are those who dare affirm, that Luther desired to bring the scriptures into discredit ? Luther had no greater reproach to bear, with all the reformers, from the popish clergy, than that of too much recommending to lay- men the reading of the bible in the vulgar tongue. The doctrine of Luther was not prevented by the edict of the' emperor, which was contemned by the princes and magistrates. Henry VIIL king of England, stopped the new doctrine from spreading in his dominions: he did something more, for he caused to be made, in his own name, a treatise about the seven sacraments, against Luther's book of " The captivity of Baby- lon." Some have thought that Edward Lee, afterwards arch- bishop of York, was the author of that work : but the king pre- sented it to the Pope, who received it very favourably, and was so well pleased with Henry, that he rewarded him with the glorious title of " Defender of the Faith." Henry was the slave of Rome for the first eighteen years of his reign. Delighted with the flatteries of the Pope and the clergy, he drew his pen in their defence. The papal compliments induced Henry to order all Luther's books to be called in; and forty-two articles, taken from his doctrine, were condemned. Luther had made very free with Aquinas, the favourite author of king Henry VIH. who had a great opinion of his learning and talents for dispu-* Xlviii LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. tation». and «teppe(i forth as the champion of the church, tf» defend her &f ainst the danger shfe was in frofti the spreading of Lutheir's heresy. But Luther was not to be silenced -by the power of his adversary : and, conceiving himself to be used too con- temptuously by, the king, he replied with more acrimony than was thought decent towards the person of a sovereign prince. He answered Henry with sharpness, and without any respect to his royal dignity; for Luther spared no man in the cause of God. Many divines tho%ht it an honour to defend the king of England, by confuting the book which Luther wrote against him. in Germany, it was answered in Latin by EckiUs, and in High Dutch by Muncer. In England, John Fisher, bishop of Rochester, wrote a book to maintain the doctrine which the king had vindicated; and Sir Thomas More wrote another, under the name of William Rossj in which he gave a character of Luther. But Luther's magnanimous spirit was not to be de- pressed by the words of a king, whose treatment of Lambert, the martyr, discovered a heart fiiU of rancour against the truth, because he condemned it without investigation, and a mind fiill of meanness, because he insulted and threatened an hiHnble sub- ject and inferior. Luther defended his sharp style in answering the king, after this manner: " If my aisperity towards the king has ciffended any body, let them take this answer. In that book I had to do with unfeeling monsters, who have despised my best and gentlest writings, who ha,ve trampled upon my most humble submissions, and who only seem the more insolent, in proporti©n to my (ialmness and temperance. Let it be remembered, too, that I entirely omitted all threats of virulence and falsehoods, with which the king has filled his book against me from begin- ning to end. Nor ought it to be considered as a great affair, if I affront and treat sharply an earthly prince, who lias dared to blaspheme the King of Heaven in his writiiigs, and to insult his holy name with the bitterest lies. — But GOD will judge the people in his equity." Luther had indeed written a very humble letter to Henry VIII., by the persuasion of Christiern, the ba- nished king of Denmark ; to which the king returned a very harsh and unbecoming answer in his book, which probably in- duced Luther to treat this haughty prince with the more tart- ness. His submissive letters to cardinal Cajetan, George duke of Saxony, and others, were all served in the same contemptuous strain, which determined Luther to take up a different condl^ft with his adversaries, in which his bravery of soul was equal to all their insolence. - _, If we would know what was the ground of this wonder&l man's tnagnanimity, it cannot he better expressed than it is by himself in a letter to Spalatinu^ during the business of Augsburg:' ^' That kings, princes, and people, (says he) rage against du-kt^ the Lord's anointed, I esteem a good sign, and a much better one than if they flattered. For i5t follows upon this, that he who tIFE OP MARTIN IJUttlER. illX d(iIFS OF MARTIK I/UTHEtU Iv Ltftter and the Thomists of the church of Rome, it was this, that Laljier spake more simply, sincerelyj aild o^nly than they; me: for there is no person, now living In the wofjd, win) is a more aVowed enemy to the doctrines of men than myself. But, if you believe the doctrines in debate between us, to be (as indeed they are) the doctrines of God ; yon must have bid adieu to all sense of shame and decency, thnS to oppose them. I will jnatask, whither is the miodesty of Erasmus fled ? but, which is much more im- portant, where, alas ! are your fear and reverence ot the Deity, when you roundly declare that this branch of truth, which he has revealed fi'om heiiven, is, at best, taeless, and nntiecessary to be known ? What ! Shall the glorious Orteator be taught, by you, his creature. What is fit to be preached, and what to be sup- pressed? Is (he adorable God so very defective in wisdom and prudence, as not to know, till you instruct him, what would be useful, and what pernicious } Q^ could not he, whose Understanding is infinite, foresee, previous to his revelation lyf this doctrine, what would be the consequences of his revealing it, till those consequences were pointed out by ^u? You cannot, you dare not say this. If, then, it was the divine pleasure to make known these things in his word, and to ^id his messengers publish theia .abroad, and leave the cotisequences of their so doing to the wisdom. and providence of him, in whose name they speak, and whose message they declare ; who art thou, O Erasmus, that thou shouldst reply against God, and say to the Almighty, What doest thou i St. Paul, discours- ing, of God^says peremptiorily, ' Whom he will he hardOneth.' And again, ' God willing to shew his wrath,' &c. And the apostle did not write this to h^jve it stifleid among a few persons, and buried in a comer ; but wrote it to the Christians at Rome : which was, in effect, bringing this doctrine upon the stage of the whole world ; stamping an untversni imprimature upon it, and publishing it to believers at large, throughout the earthi What can sound harsher, in the udcircumcised ears of carnal men, than those words of Christ, 'Many are called, but few are chosen ;' and elsewhere, 'I, know whq^ I have chosen ?' Now, these and similar assertions of Christ and his apostles, are the very positions which you, O Erasmus, brand as useless and hurtful. You object r ' If these things are so, who will erideavour tb airfeitd Mss life?'' I answer : Without the Holy Ghost no man can amend< hisjliferto- purpose. Reformatioo is but varnished hypocrisy, unless it proceed from grace. The; eject |uid truly pious are amended by the Spirit of God ; and; those of man- kind, who are not amended by him, will perish. You ask, moreover, "^ Who will dare to believe himself a favourite Of heaven ?" I answer, It is not in man's own power to believe himself such, uponjust grounds, till he;i» enabled from above. But the elect shall be so enabled; they shall believe' thsmi^ ,Bei,yeS|to be what indeed they are. As fbr the rest, wKo are notendped with f^ith, they shall perish ; raging and blaspheming, as you do now. But, say' you, « These doctrines open a door to ungodliness.' I answer. Whatever door they may open to the impious and profane, yet they opin a doOr'of- righteousness to the elect and holy^ and shew them the way to heavenyand! the path of access unto God. Yet you would have us ' abstain from the n^entioB of these grand doctrines,' and leave our people in the dark as to their election of. God;, tl)e^,f;«n5equence of wliich would be, that every man would rbplster Jijii^sejf up.jv^th a delusive hope of a sl^are in that salvation, which is 5Uppos,ed io\f^,ofeff to, ^11 ; and thus, geniiine htimility,^i^d the practical fear of Gtod, would.be Jkicked out of doors, This ws^ild be a pretty .way, ^d^eA,e;f 'slop- ping ilp.thq gap,' Erasmus complains pf,! Instead of closing up the door of licentiousness, as it js, falsely pretended, it would be,, in fsict, opening a gulph into^tjie nethermost helj. Still you urge, 'Where i^ either^ the necessity o.r ntifily of preaching predesjti^^tion ?' God hiinserf teaches it, apd, fommaiiidB us to teach it; and that is answ^f enough. We are not to arraign the Deity, and bring the motives of his will .to the test of human scrutiny, but simply to ' revere both hitfi and it. He.who.ftlflnp >5 all-wise and 'all-just, can, in reality, , (however things appear jo us,) do wrong to. flo, man; neither can ha iq any Ivi LIFE OF MAEIIN I47THER. for hg,al(soIjitely denied, ,th,ere was, any ,8^};^ thji^ as |reG-T^iJJt; whilst |h(|y^nii|tedlt^^ T;^!^, pe^^P^ 4gcel^e4 'E-xa.f- musj Vfio ite'aginea 'he Was only disputing against Xiutlier, whilst % ^^^"^^.^Hy Ai*P^.%^! a^f mucl) against t)fpn?^g A^uipas and H& MW6&; as against theVefprmei-s. To 4ta,ek Luther upon tl|e'sftt'|le,lK)int of liberty and necessity, was, in an oblicfue and iiidffecfway, to allow hiin superior to his adversaries in Qther respects^^ Erasm^S very .|^e.xter(|usly and firtfully qho?fi,.this pdmt ofdisputa^tio^'tliatj&e'maglit ap^ to the Romauist§„to. write agaiVist Luther,^nd ye|i ihat. $e might avoid censuring his other doctrines opposite |q the Roman church. , ,- Erasmus insisted, that tlie, human will co-operates with th^ grace and assistance of God, an^ that a. man j^iiould, use ,^ll his endeavours to attain to perfection. He shews that man was created a free agent : but took a ndiddle way between tlaose thing unwisely or rashly. And ttiis consideralion will suffice to silence all the objections of truly religioias> persops. However, let us, for arguUient'S sake, go a step further. , I «;ill venture to assign, oyer and above,,<«o very impor- tant reasons why these doctrines should be publicly taught : 1. ffor,,the fiiuni- lity of our pride, and'lhe manifestation of divine 'grace. God hath assuredly promised his' favour to the truly humble. By truly'huinMeVI meiiti tijo's'e'whd are endued with repentancAj and despiair of saving theiHselves; for a inaiixan never be said to be fpaljy 'penitent and humble, till he is jnMe to knoi!^ tbiat hijs salvation is.not su^ended, in apj measure ,yvhatever, on his own strength, ma«!hina(Jons, endeavour^, free-wiSl, or woffcs, but entirely depends on the fre'^ pleasure, purpo^ej detefmination, and efficiency of another, eveta of God alone. Whilst a liian is persuaded that he has it in his power io (Jotitribnie any thing, J»e; it .ever so little, tohrisown salvation, he remains in carnal confi- dence, j h^ is pot a self^despairer, and therefore he is not duly bumbled before God; sp.faj from it, that he hopes some favourable juncture or ppportunityj will offer, vi'faen he may be able to lend a helping band to the biisii^ess of his salvation.'Oii-tiife contrary, whoever is truly Convinced that the whole work de^ieirds singly and absolutely on 'the' will of God, who' alone is the'autkoi' a^d' finisher pf salvation ; sucb a person despairs of alii setf-assistance ; he renouncest' his own ^ill and his own strength; he waits and prays for. the oper4tion,pf . God; nor waitit and prays in vain. For the efoct's sake, therefore, thesjedqc^, ti'ines are to be preaciied ; that the chosen of God, being liumbledliy tlie knowledge of his truths; self-emptied, and sunk, as it were, info iiolliiii^'in his-pfespiiSe J tnaybe saved in Christ, with eternaKglory; This, then', id bnej indjucj^inent to the publication of thisdocirine ; that the penitent may be mai'di^? acguainltd wiih the premise of grace, pfead it in prayer to God, and receive it; as their own. 2. Tlid nature of the Christian faith leqmres it. Faith has to do wifh things not seen ; and this is one bf the highest degiees of faith, sfeadfesily to;b.eliev6ithat-God is infinitely merciful, thougli he'saveS (comparatively) TiW' few,.?iiid,con4emn6sp many ; and thM he is strictly just, though, "of bis Pwn will, he i^a^,ep such, numbers pf mankind necessarily liable to damn^tioAv, No*i 'these, are some of the unseen things, jiyhereo/ faith is tlie evidence. Wlifere'a%, Wasit in my •power to (io\mprehend tliem, oi- clfearly to make out How Godiis both inviolably jttst and infinitely merciful, notwithstanding the display of W)®4h and seeniing' inequality in his disjiensa'tio^s respecting the reprobate,' /ai'C^.Wfluld !ha,ve l^tt,le pr nothing lo do. , But now, since these matters cannot be adequwely {Comprehended b,y us, in, the present state of imperfection, there is rooiji for th*i exercise of faith.The truths, therefore, respecting predestination in all its branches, should be taiig'bt and published t lhey,no less than theot^er mysteries of .Christian doctrine','%eingiproper objects of faith,' on the faith of Gofi's peflplef.'' See Tojilady's ZfliiohiuBi,'p.. 91; &c. i IJFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. Ivii who destroy free-will entii-ely, and those who attribute too much to it : he would have something ascribed to it, but more to grace. Erasmus sent his treatise against Luther to the king of England, to Wolsey, Warham, and many more. Luther an- swered Erasmus in his book, " De servo drUtrio ;" to which Ei-asmus replied in two b(^oks, entitled " HyperaspisttB." Luther had wrote a letter to Erasmus, fall of life, fire, and spirit, which vexed him not a little. He begins in the aposto- lieai manner, " Grace and peace to you from the Lord Jesus." After modestly reproving him, for keeping, fair with the Pa- pists, he says, " We saw that the Lord had not conferred upon you the discernment, corn-age, and resolution to join with us, and frefely and openly to oppose those monsters : and therefore we dare not to exact from you, that which greatly surpasseth your i strength and your capacity. We have even borne with your weakness, and honoured that portion of the gift of God which is in you." Then having bestowed upon him his due praises, as he had been the reviver of good literature, by means of which the holy scriptures had been read and examined in the originals, he tells ^Erasmus, that- he had withheld some per- sons from attacking him ; and that he had restrained himself, though provoked. " What," says he, " can I do now ? Things are exasperated on both sides; and I could wish, if , it were possible, to act the part of a mediator between you, that they might cease to attack you with such animosity, and suffer your old age to rest in peace in the Lord. They would shew theiir moderation towards you so much the more, since our affairs are advanced to such a point, that our cause is in no peril, although even Erasmus should attack it with all his might." - He desires of Erasmus, if he cannot or will not defend their sentiments, to let them alone, and concludes with a high compUment on his authority and reputation. Erasmus answered this letter, and speaks ambiguously of the Lutheran docti'ine. Luther wrote another against the Hyper* aspistse,' wherein he accuses Erasmus of Ariariism. The Miiio-' rite brethren had said, that " Erasmus had laid the egg, and Luther hatched it:" but, says Erasmus, " I laid a hen^egg, and Luther hath hatched a very different bird." It is to he lamented that these two eminent men had any misunderstanding; as they had both translated the holy scriptures, and were both inclined for a reformation in the church. Erasmus after'^vards wrote somQ other treatises against the reformers; yet he honestly dis- suaded the German princes from hanging and burning the poor Lutherans; and declared himself against the cruel and sangui- nary methods of defending the cause of Rome. The Italians thought him a Lutheran, and the Germans called him a Ro- manist; but every man passed for a heretic at Rome, who did not join in every article with the Pope against Luther. About Iviii 3LIFE OI' MA&Tfm LUTHfeB. this times the nolent and unhappy controreriSiy cdhiieirftltag' the euoharist was excited among the Protestants. As taany books were written upon the subject as would load several w^gOrts, and were of no small harm to ike Reformation; tvhi%h> like the growth of the Roman conlfflotonWiBalth, flourished in ikfei inidst of violent and continual ditisidns. Luther was this year occupied in translating the book of Job, which he was inclined to think was wrote by Soloriion. He complained of the diflScuIty of the task; and observed, sotae- what jocosely, that Job chose to sit on his dunghill, and to admit of no interpreters. Luther's memorable protestation upon the article of justifi- cation, must not be omitted. " I, Martin Luther, an unworthy preacher of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, thus pi^ofess and thus believe ; that this He eays, f If the com- mon story be true, that antichrist vho was oWigedi to submijt , to some hard conditions be- fore he was set at liberty. Hf E OF MARTIN LUTHER. 1x1 A motion was made in the consistory at Rome to' tempt Lu- ther with a gre^at sum of money, and buy him ofFfrom opposing popery; hut one of the cardinals cried out, " Hem ! Germana ilia bestia non curat, aurum, sed auram." ' The disputes between the Lutherans and Zuing-lians, about the sacrament, continued till the emperor assembled' another diet at Spires, in March, 1529, when long and warm debates were held about religion. The Romanists again insisted; that the ban should he executed upon Lutherans; which was op- posed by the electors of Saxony and Brandenburgh, the dukes of Lunenberg, the landgrave of Hesse, and the prince of An- halt, who declai'ed again for a council, either general or na- tional. But the Romanists prevailed, and confirmed the de- cree of the former diet of Spires ; against which the Lutheran princes, and fourteen cities, joined in a formal protest, whereby they appealed from all that should be done, to the emperor, a future council, or to unsuspected judges; and accordingly they sent deputies to the emperor, with a petition that this decree might be revoked. This was the remarkable protestation, which gave the name of Protestants to the Lutherans in Germany. The protesters acted with so much steadiness and' resolution, that the emperor was much startled at it, and deter- mined to use moderation for the present. The same year, the landgrave of Hesse brought Luther and Zuinglius to a conference at Marpurg; when the Lutherans produced such articles as they objected against in the doctrine of the Zuinglians. After some debates, artides were drawn up, in which they agreed about the Trinity, or^nal sin, justi- fication by faith, the efficacy of baptism, and the authority of the magistrates; but they disagreed about the sacramenVin the sense and meaning of the words, though' they assented that the communion should be administered in'both kinds; and they denied transubstantiation, as also the sacrifice of the mass. At this time, Solyman the magnificent invaded Germany, and besieged V'ienna; but soon retired with great loss. The em- Seror Charles returned to Germany, and appointed another iet to be held at Augsburg, which was opened on the twen- tieth of June, 1530. It was given out that the emperor would tread the gospellers under his feet, which made the Protestant princes inclined to meet him in arms, but Luther prevailed on them to meet in peace. The princes appointed Luther, Me- lancthon, Justus, Jonas, and Pomeran, to draw up their form of doctrine, to lay before the diet, where Luther was too ob- noxious to appear, and was left in the castle of Goburg, near at hand, that he might be consulted on occasion. Erasmus ex- cused himself from appearing at this diet, because he knew upon whose judgment the emperor reUed; upon divines, in whose opinion, whosoever should dare to open his mouth in favour of piety, was a Lutheran, and worse than a Lutheran. Wi UFE OF MARTIU LUTHER. The imperial «haneeUcir opened the dlefc, by declaa-inif that the> emperor had summoned this assembly, that every one might consult upon such propositions as should be made, and offer in writing what he thought convenient, concerning religion. The protestant princes petitioned the emperor to permit their con- fession of faith to be i-ead in a full diet, which he refused; but granted them leave to read it in his presence, before a special assembly of princes, and other members of the empire. This confession of faith, which was afterwards ealied, " The Augs- burg Confession," was delivered to his imperial majesty, both in Latin and German, with the authority whereon each article was founded. It was signed by the elector <»f Saxony; George, margrave of Brandenburgh; Ernest and Francis, dukes of Brimswick and Lunenberg; Philip, landgrave of Hesse, and the princes of Anhalt; as also by the deputies of Nuremberg and Kuthlingen. The emperor shed tears when this confession was read ; whidh were, doubtless, owing to the truth, of the doctrines contained in it, and the moderation that Melancthon had shewn in revising- the whole. It was divided into two parts: The one contained twenty-one articles upon the principal points of religion; and the other was concerning the ceremonies of the church. The emperor dismissed the assembly, when they had heard the con- fession; and the Romanists agreed to draw up a confuitation of it, which was undertook by Faber, Eekius, Coehlseusj Conradus de Wimpina, Conradus CoUinus, and other popish divines, who examined the Protestants' oonfes^n of faith step by step, and answered all the articles; some of which were approved, and others condemned ; but some were partly received, aiud partly rejected, as will be seen in the life of Melancthon. Luther, in his retirement, was not a little afraid to what lengths the pacific spirit of Melancthon might induce him to yield to the Papists, and therefore wrote to> him to be careful of what concessions he should make them; '*far (says he) they will take in the large, the larger, and largest sense,, but 'hold their own in the strict, stricter, and strictest. In short, I have but a small opinion of this projected concord in doctrine: I be- lieve it truly impossible, unless the Pope will renounce 'his popedom." With regard to the Romish confutation of the Protestant articles, he said, " I thank God, who suffered our adversaries to compose so wretched a confutation. Christ willo reign for ever. Let the devUs, if they will» tuipn monks and' nuns ; for truly no shape would better become them thaa thaty in which they have so long held forth themselves, for the ador ration of the world." This confutation, however, was read before the diet, and the j Romanists said they hoped the Protestants would return to the communion of the church, as they agreed iji several points which had been formerly contested;^ The electcH* of Sa^^ony aoswered* I-IFK OF MARTIN LUTHER. Ixiu that the Protestants were always ready to come to a union in religion, in any thing which was not prejudicial to their con- sciences. In consequence of this, the Romanists appointed seventeen persons to treat about rel^ion with the Protestants ; and this conference was held at Augsburg on the seventh of August. The popish deputies said, that Luther would not submit to the judgment of a council : hut the Protestants de- clared they would refer themselves to the determination of a council, to which they appealed; and also presented to th& em- peror an apology for their confession, which put an end to the diet at Augsburg, and the protestant princes returned home in October, without an accommodation with the Romanists. The Sacramentarians also presented their confession of faith to the emperor at this diet; which was drawn up by Bucer and Capito. But this confession was more unacceptable than that of the Lutherans, and was answered by Faber and Eckius; in consequence of which, the emperor commanded the Zuinglians to renounce their errors, and threatened to compel them by his au&ority, if they, refused. A symbolical representation was exhibited before the emperor and his brother Ferdinand at Augsburg^ when the Lutherans presented their confession of faith to that assembly. As the princes were at table, a company of persons oSered to act a small comedy for the entertainment of the company. They were ordered to begin ; and first entered a man in the dress of a doctor, who brought a large quantity of small wood, of straight and crooked billets, and laid it on the middle of the hearth and retired : on his back was written the name of Reuchlin. When this actor went off, another entered, apparelled also like a doctor, who attempted to make faggots of the wood, and to fit the crooked to the straight; but having laboured long to no pur- pose, he went away out of humour, and shaking his head: on his back appeared the name of Erasmus. A third, dressed like an Augustinian monk, came in with a chafing-dish fuU-of fire, fathered up the crooked wood, clapped it upon the fire, and lew till he made it burn, and went away, having upon his frock the name of Luther. A fourth entered, dressed like an emperor, who seeing the crooked wood all on fire, seemed much con- cerned, and, to put it out, drew his sword and pokered the fire •mth it, which only made it burn the brisker: on his back was written Charles V. Lastly, a fifth entered, in the pontifical habit and triple-crown, who seemed extremely surprised to see the crooked billets all on fire, and by his countenance and atti- tude betrayed excessive grief: th^n, looking about on every side, to see if he could find any water to extinguish the flame, he cast his eyes on two bottles in a corner of the room, one of which was full of oil, and the other water ; and, in his hurry, lie unfortunately seized' on the oil, and poured it upon the fire, which made it blaze so violently, that he was forced to W^dk kiv LIFE OF MARTIN LUTttEU. off: on his back was written Leo X. This farce wanted ild commentary. Luther wrote some bttoks against popery, during the sitting of the diet j' particularly a treatise upon the sedond Psalm, te which he applied to -the princes met at Angsbtirg', -what was said in that Psalni comtierning the assembly and c'ouspiracy of the princes of the world against Jesus Christ; The emperor procured a d-ecree in the diet, Tvhich allowed the protestant princes till' the fifteentli of April following^ to consult about their submission to it; and his imperial majesty promised to issue out his summons for a council to begin the next year. The protestant princes remained ' firm to their confession of faith, and the empearor' published the decree of the diet on the six- teenth of November, which ordered, that no alterations or in- novations should be made in the faith or religious worship of the church ; and that none should be admitted to the impierial chamber who disobeyed this decree. The elector of Saxony was summoned' by the emperor to be presented at Cologne, on the twenty-ninth of December, at "the election of Ferdiriand^ to be king of the 'Romans; but the elector appointed the other protestant princes tO' meet him at Smalkald, on the twenty-seCohd of the same month, where they entered into a 'confederacy to ' defend themselves against the emperor and the Romamsts, who were determined to put the decree, made at the diet of Augsburg, 'rigorously into execution. The court of Rome was greatly'disturbed at what had been transacted at the diet at Augsburg; and the Pope employed his nuncios to dissuade the emperor from holding' a council : but the emperor Urgted ' the necessity of it ; and the Pope, on the first day of December, 1530, wrote a circular to all the Christian princes, informing them that a council should be held, and desiiung them to countenance so holy a cause by their per- sonal attendance. The protestant princes also wrote eireulap letters tOtthe Europeto sovereigns, and particularly to the kings of England and France, requesting their interest and protection in obtaining a reformation, which had been attempted by John Colet in England, by John Garson and Nicolas Gle^ maiB^'iS'in France, and by Luther in Germany. The kings 6f Ex^kndtand France; declared for a general council, peace, and setfarmaition ;.. which encouraged the confederate princes to meet again imj, Smalkald, on the twenty-ninth of March, 1531^ whfinj they, renewed their league ; and Luther composed a trieatise-waiiist the diet of Augsburgj, to prove that it was law- ful to resist ithe magistrates, if they commanded any personto assault Uiose who iwould not submit to the decree. The protestant princes held another assembly at Francfort,, on the fourth of July; and tiie emperor, on the thirteenth of July, 1532, by the treaty of Nuremberg, agreed that all the disputes concerning religion should cease, until a general coun- LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. ]xr ipjj was held, yrlm)}! was to be within a year. The Proitestants insisted that no innovation in doctrine should be iaa,(ie, fvoJffi their. copfessioHj nor any peremonies introduced contrary thefeto; which was granted by the emperor, and the protestant princes agreesd to assist him in the war against the Turks.,,,. ., , The elector of Saxony died in August, and was suciGejaded by his son, John Frederic, in his 4piTiinions and zeal for the protestan,t cause. The Pope sent .his nuncio, in January, 154,1, 1^ ,tlie new elector, to settle with him, the conditions of holding a, council; and the protestant princes met , upon this occasion at Smalkg.ld, on the twenty-fourth of, June, when they desired t^hat the; council might be free, ^nd be h^lA in Germany, where these differences in religion first began ; but the Pope refused tp. comply with their request. , Iiuth^r dissuaded the elector of Saxony from making an al- liance with, the Switzers, and persisted to unite more zealously than ever against the Saeramentarians ; but Bucer undertook to reconcile the Lutherans and Zuinglians. Luther met Bucer and Capito at Wittenberg, on the twenty-second of May, 1536, when they entered into a long debate^ upon their faith and doc- trine concerning the sacrament ; ^and, they delivered to Luther the confession of faith, of ; the. churches of , Switzerland ; but they could jiot agree in their articles of the fQrm,pf union about the sacrament. Luther explained himself concerning theiLord's Supper, by saying, he had never taught that Jesus Christ came down from heaven to the earth, either visible or invisible ; iand that he left it to the almighty power of God to effect, how the body and blood, of Christ are offered in the Lord's Supper, keeping himself entirely close to the words of the scripture : *f This is my body, this is my blood." He observed, that as they could not understand each other, it was convenient they should be friends, and entertain a good opinion, reciprocally of themselves, till the spirit of contention should cease among them ; and so he committed to the care of Bucer and Capita to finish what they had begun. About the beginning of the year 1527, Luther was attacked by a very severe illness, which brought him near to his grave. He apphed himself to prayer, made a confession of his faith, and lamented grievously his unworthiness of martyrdom, which he had so often and so ardently desired. In this situatbn ho made a will, for he had a son, and his wife was again with child, in which he recommended his family to the care of hea- ven. *' Lord God,"' says he, f^I thank thee, that thou would est have me poor on earth, and ai beggar. Lhare neither house, nor land, nor possessions, nor money, to leave. Thou hast given me a wife and children : itake- them, I beseech thee, under thy care, and preserve, them, as thou hast preserved me." He bequeathed his detestation of popery to his friends and brethren; agreeably to what he often, used to say, " Pestis e iXn LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. eram vivm, moriens ero mors tua papa :" i. e. " Living, I wai the plag|jUithei', when : He vanquieh'd both wiih nplhing; but a pen! 00, fabling G-reece, and bid A Icides know, His club, as Luther's pen, gav^ no sucli blow. Our serious readers will, perhaps, be pleased with the inser- tion of some remarkable; sayings and observations of this great man, which we will extract from that able and faithfiil biogra- pher, Melchior Adam. Erasmus confessed, <'that there was more solid divinity contained in one leaf of Luther's commen- taries, than could be found in many prolix treatises of school men, and such kind of authors." Speaking of the Pope's using the mass for de|iaifted souls, Luther observed, that "he with his mass was not satisfied to thrust himself into all corners of the earth, but he must needs go tumbling down into the very bosom of hell," He used to call the indulgence-merchants, purse-threshers. There were many plots laid against his life, which the bloody Papists sought-after by all means. Poison, daggers, pistols, were intended, when fire and feggots could not be used, through the elector's protection. A Polish Jew was hired for two thousand crowns to poison him. The plot (says Luther) was discovered to me by the letters of my friends. He is a doctor of physic, and dares to attempt any thing; he would go about this business with incredible craft and ag'Uity. He is just now apprehended." — However, God preserved him from the malice of his enemies. It shews, however, what Papists* can attempt (says Melchior Adam); and if we wanted further proof of it, the words of Aloander, the Pope's legate, are quite sufficient. "Though you Germans (said he), who pay the least of all people to the Roman see, have shaken off the Pope's yoke; yet we will take care, that ye shall be devoured with civil wars, and perish in your own blood." — A pious resolution, indeed! When Luther's bold manner of expressing himselfwas cen- siu:ed, he replied: "Almost all men condemn my tartness of expression; but I am of your opinion, (says he to his friendj) that God will have the deceits' of men thus powerfully exposed^: For I plainly perceive, that those things which are softly dealt witli in our corrupt age, give people but light concern, and axe, presently forgotten. If I have exceeded the bounds of mode^ ration, the monstrous turpitude of tlie times has transported me. Nor do I transcend the example of Christ, who, having to do with men of like manners, called them sharply by their own proper names, such as, "an adulterous and perverse genera^ tion, a brood of vipers, hypocrites, children of the devil, who UFK OF MARTIN LUTHER. IxXlU could not escape the damnation of helJ." EriasmUs, \jrith all his refinement, could own, " that God had sent in Luther a sharp physician, in. consideration of the immensity of ^the diseases which had infected this'last age of the world." Luther caused the Psalms, used in worship, to be translated into German. " We intend (says he to Spalatinus), after the example of the prophets and primitive fathers of the church, to turn the Psalms, for spiritual singing, into the vulgar tongue for the common people, so that the word of God may remain among the people, even in their singing. . Upon this account we seek for some poets, and as you possess the copiousness and elegance of the German, which you have greatly cultivated, I would request your assistance in this busmess, in translating some of the Psalms into German verse, according to the in- closed example. My wish is, to avoid all difficult and courtly termsi and* to use the simplest and most common phrases, so that they are fit and proper for the edification of the lowest among the people. Let the sense be clear, and as close. as pos- sible to the original. To preserve the sense, when you cannot render, word for word, it may be right to use such a phrase as will most perfectly convey the idea. I confess I am not suffi- ciently qualified myself, and therefore would requeist, you to-try how near you can approach to Heman, Asaph, and Jeduthun." He used to say ot himself and the other ministers, "We are only planters .and waterers, in administering the word and sar- craments ; but the increase is not in our power." , Concerning our righteousness, he observed, "Thou, Lord Jesus, art my righteousness ; but I am altogether sin t thou haat taken what was mine, and hast given me what was\thine; thou hast taken what thou wast not, and hast given me what I was not before." . Respecting ceremonies, he said, " I condemn no ceremonies, but such as oppose or obscure the gospel." With regard to human learning, he thus expressed himself: " I am persuaded that true divitdty could not well be supported without the knowledge of letters : of this we have sad proof, for while learning was decayed and in ruins, theology fell too, and lay most wretchedly obscm-ed. I am sure that the reve- lation and manifestation of the word of God would never have been so extensive and glorious as it is, if preparatorily, like so many John Baptists smoothing the way, the knowledge of lan- guages and good learning had not risen up among us. — They are most exceedingly mistaken who imagine that the knowledge of nature and true philosophy is of no use to a divine." - ! He advised, in the case of temptations, in this manner: "I would comfort those that are tried in their faith and hope to- wards God in this way: first, let them avoid solitariness, keep always in good company, sing the Psalms, and converse upon the holy scriptures. Secondly, though it be the most difficult Ixxiv LIFE OF MAIiTIN LITTHER. point to work Upon the mind, yet it is the ittdst present remedy, if they can thifough grace persuade themselves that these grievous thoughts are not their own, but Satan's; and that, therefore, they should earnestly endeavour to turn the heart to other olijects, and quit these evil suggestions: for to dwell upon them, or fight with them, or to aim to overcome them, or to wait for an end of them, is only to irritate and strengthen them over to perdition, without relief." It is weU known that Luther earnestly defended Chrisfis corporeal presence in the sacrament; but it is said that he was of a contrary sentiment a little before his death, and owned it. For as he was preparing to make his last journey to Isleben, he confessed to Melancthon, on the twenty-third of January, 1546, " that he had gone too far in the sacramentarian contro- versy." Melancthon persuaded him to explain himself by some public writing; but to this he objected, " that by so doing he should make all his doctrine doubtful; but that he (Melancthon) might do as he thought fit, after his decease." This speech was made before several witnesses.' Luther frequently said, " That a preacher should take care not to bring three little sly dogs into his profession, viz. pride, covETOusNESs, and envy." To which he added, to preachers, " When you observe the people hear most attentively, be as- sured they wiU return the more readily. Three things make a divine: meditation, prayer, and temptatioh. And three things are to be remembered by a minister; turn over and over the Bible, pray devoutly, and be never above learning. They are the best preachers for the common people, who speak in the meanest, lowest, humblest, and most simple style." In private life, Luther was an example of the strictest virtue. At dinner or supper, he would often mctate matter of preach- ing to others, or correct the press; and sometimes amuse him- self T^th music, in which he took great delight. Though a large man, he was a very moderate eater and drinker, and not at all delicate in his appetite, for he usually fed upon the sim- plest diet. He much delighted in his garden, and was very fond of cultivating it with all kinds of plants. In short, he was never idle. / Though he had not much himself, he very freely bestowed of what he had upon others. A poor student, asking money of him, he desired his wife to give some, who excusing herself on account of their poverty, he took up a silver cup and gave it to the scholar, bidding him sell it to the goldsmith, and keep the money for his occasions. When a friend sent him two hun- dred pieces of gold, he bestowed them all on poor scholars. Audi' when the elector gave him a new' gown, he wrote, in answer, "That too much was done? for if we receive all in this life, we sha;ll have nothing to hope for in the next." He took nothing of printers for his works, to his own use, saying. LIFE OF MARTIN t.UTHEH. IxXV "'Tis true, I have no money, but am indeed poor; yet I deal in this moderate manner with printers, and take nothing from them for my variety of labours, except sometimes a copy or two. This, I believe, may be due to me, when other authors, even translators, for every sheet have their stipulated price." When he had some money sent him, he wrote thus to a friend: " I have received by Taubenheim a hundred pieces of gpld; and at the same time Schart has sent me fifty; so that I begin to fear, lest God should give me my portion here. But I so- lemnly prptest, that I would uot be so satisfied from Him. I wiU either presently return, or get rid of them. For what is so much money to me? I have given half of it to Prior, and made him very happy." He had great tenderness for his family. When he saw Mag- dalen, his eldest daughter, at the point of death, he read to her this passage from the 26th of Isaiah, " Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise: Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself, as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. My daughter, do thou enter (says he) into thy chamber with peace: 1 shall soon be with thee; for God will' not permit me to see the judgments that hang over Germany." And upon this he poured forth a flood of tears. Yet, after- wards, when he attended the funeral, he contained himself, so as not to appear to weep. What he said of the covetousness of the Germans, and of the prevailing scarcity in his time, may be applied to some other professing people besides them. " We are in dread of famine; and famine we shall feel without remedy. And as we, without necessity, and like impious and faithless heathens, have been distracted with carefulness, solicitous lest we should be de- stroyed by famine, and utterly neglecting the word and work of God: so he will permit the evil day shortly to come, which will bring with it a most heavy load of sorrows, beyond our power either to sustain or remove." Being once asked, " Whether we should know each other in heaven?" He answered, " How was it with Adam ? He had never seen Eve; for when God formed her, he was in a deep sleep: yet when he awaked and saw her, he did not ask who she was, or from whence she came; but immediately said, that she was flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone. How, then, did he know this ? Being tilled with the Holy Spirit, and endued with the true knowledge of God, he was able to determine upon the nature of things. In like manner, we shall be per- fectly renewed hereafter, through Christ; and shall know, with far greater perfection than can be conceived of here, our dearest Ixxvi LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER. relations, and indeed whatever exists; and in a mode, too, much superior to that of Adam in paradise." He was of a proper stature and of a robust body, with such a piercing vivacity in his eyes, that but few could look upon him directly, when he attentively looked upon them. He had but a soft voice, and that not very cle^; so that when mention was made one day at table of Paul's voice, that it was rather weak, he observed of his own, thf t it qoujld not deliver his words but with a low pronunciation: " Yfes, (said Melancthon,) but that feeble voice of thine is powerfully received, both far and near." Sturmius says, that he saw a letter written by Luther to Wolfgang Capito, in which he affirmed, that scarce any of his writings pleased himself, except his Catechism, and his book De servo arUtrio, or " Free-will a Slave." Of this last work, the late Mr. Toplady had begun a translation, and had carried it on a considerable way; but being prevented from finishing it by his death, (it having been long delayed, through other avo- cations), we are deprived of this valuable companion to Zan- chius in an English dress. We wiU conclude this account of Luther, with the high, en- comium paid to his memory by Wolfgang Severus, preceptor to the emperor Ferdinand. ' " Japeti de gente prior mdjorque Luthero Nemojvit; sed ncc trtdofuluriu ertC." TO HLh AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES, Which groan for Salvation, and wrestle under the Cross for the Kingdom of Christ ; Grace, Peace, and Victory in the Lord Jesus our Saviour. 1 N few words to declare what is to be said for the commenda- tion of this work, although in few words aU cannot be ex- pressed that may be said, yet briefly to signify that may suffice, this much we thought good to certify thee, godly reader, that amongst many other godly English books, in these our days printed and translated, thou shalt find but few, wherein either thy time shall seem better bestowed, or thy labour better re- compensed to the profit of thy soul, or wherein thou mayest see the spirit and yein c^f St. Paul more lively represented to thee, than in the diligent reading of this present Commentary upon the Epistle of St. Paul to the Galatians. In which, as in a mirror or glass, or rather as St. Stephen in the heavens being opened, thou mayest see and behold the admirable glory of the Lord, and all the riches of heaven; thy salvation freely and oidy by faith in Christ; his love and grace toward thee so opened, thy victory and conquest In him so proved, the wrath of God so pacified, his law satisfied, the full kingdom of life set open; death, hell, and hell-gates, be they never so strong, with all the power of sin, flesh, and the world, vanquished; thy conscience discharged, all fears and terrors removed, thy spiri- tual man so refreshed and set at liberty, that either thy heart must be heavier than lead, or the reading hereof will lift thee up above thyself, and give thee to know that of Christ Jesu, that thyself shalt say thou never knewest before, though before thou knewest him right well. Such spiritual comfort, such heavenly doctrine, such expe- rience and practice of conscience herein is contained, such triumphing over Satan and all his power infernal, such con- tempt of the law compared with the gospel, such a holy pride and exaltation of the believing man, (whom here he maketh a person divine, the Son of God, the heir of the whole earth, conqueror of the world, of sin, of death, and the d&vil,) with such phrases and speeches of high contemplation, of Christ, of Ixxviii AlJDRESS TO AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. graces of Justification, and of faith, (whiehi faith, saith he, trans- figureth aihan into Christ, and coupleth him more near unto Christ than the husband is coupled to his wife, and maketh a man more than a man,) with such other voices, full of spiritual glory and majesty, as the like hath not been used lightly of any writer since the apostle's time; neither durst he ever have used the same himself, had not great experience and exercise of con- science, by inward conflicts and profound agonies, framed him thereunto, and ministered to him both this knowledge of spirit and boldness of speech. And this commonly is the working and proceeding of God'a vocation, ever to work things by the contrary: of infidelity, to make faith; of poverty, to make riches; in misery, to shew mercy; to turn sorrow to solace, mourning to mirth; from afflictions, to advance to glory ; fi-om heU, to bring to heaven; from death, to life; from darkness, to light; from thraldom, to liberty; in wilderness, to give waters; the barren, to make fi-uitfiil; of things that be not, to make things to be; briefly, to make all things of nought. Thus began God first to worl^ thus he proceeded, thus he continueth, and so will, unto the world's end. The first seed of promise, next to Eve, was given to Sarah: yet in what case was Eve, before she had the promise? And in what barrenness and despair was Sarah, be- fore she enjoyed her well-bdoved Isaac? The like is to be said of the two mothers of t^V^o most excellent children, Samuel and John Baptist; and yet what griefs and sorrows passed over their hearts, being both past all hope in nature, before the goodness of God did work? How long did Jacob the patriarch serve in miserable thraldom for his Rachael? In what excel- lent glory was Joseph exalted? Yet what suffered he before of his brethren, and how long imprisonment? In what and how long servitude were the sons of Israel, before Moses was sent unto them? and, afterwards, in what distress were they compassed on every sidej when the sea was forced to give them place? after that, ^ain, what an excellent land was promised and given unto them, flowing with milk and honey? but how were they scourged before m the desart, and yet had not they the land, but their children? To overpass many things here by the way, what an excellent work was it of God to set up David in his kingdom? also what excellent promises were given to his throne? yet how hardly escaped he with life? how did the Lord mortify and frame him to his hand, before he placed him in quiet? Infinite it were to recite all. Briefly, in all the works of God, this is usual to be seen : that he worketh evermore most excellent things by instruments most humble, and which seem farthest off. Which of all the apostles did ever think, when Christ was so humbled and crucified upon the tree, that they should ever see him again, dthough he fore- ADDRESS TO AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. IxXlX told them of his rising before; insomuch that Thomas did scarcely beHeve when he with his eyes saw him? What man would ever have thought that Paul, in the raging heat of his persecuting 8|ririt, wOuld have turned from a persecutor, to such a professor; from such infidelity, to such a faith; insomueh that Ananias would scarcely believe the Lord when he told him? Such is the omnipotency of the Lord our God, ever working lightly by the contrary, espetaally when he hath any excellent thing to work to his own glory. After like sort may we esteem also of Martin Luther, who being first a friar, in what blindness, superstition and darkness, in what dreams and dregs of monkish idolatry was he drowned, his history declareth, witness recordeth, and this book also partly doth specify; whose religion was all in Popish ceremonies, his zeal without knowledge, understanding no other justification but in works of the law and merits of his own making, only beiievii^ the history (as many do) of Christ's death and resur- recftion, but not knowing the power and strength thereof. After he had thus continued a long space, more pharisaical and zealous in these monkish ways than the common sort of that order, at length it so pleased Almighty God to begin with this man: firs^ to touch his conscience with some remorse and feeling of sin, his mind with fears and misdoubts, whereby he was driven to seek further: so that by searching, seeking, conferring, and by reading of St. Paul, some sparkles of better knowledge be- gan by little and little to appear, which after in time grew up to greater increase. But here it happened to him, as com- monly it doth to all good Christians: the more that the true knowledge of Christ in him increased, the more Satan the enemy stirred with his fiery darts, with doubts and objections, with false terrors and subtle assaults, seeking, by all means possible, how to oppress the inward soul, which would fain take his rest in Christ. In these spiritual conflicts and inward wrestlings, how grievously he was encumbered, fighting against incredulity, error, and desperation, marvellous it is to consider; insomuch that three days and three nights together he lay upon his bed without meat, drink, or any sleep, like a dead man, (as some of him do write,) labouring in soul and spirit upon a cer- tain place of St. Paul, in the tMrd chapter to the Romans, which was " to shew his justice :" thinking Christ to be sent to no other end but to shew forth God's justice as an executor of the law; till at length, being answered and touched by the Lord concerning the right meaning of these words, signifying the justice of God to be executed upon his Son, to save us from the stroke thereof, he immediately upon the same started up from his bed, so confirmed in faith, as nothing afterward could discoiu-age him. Beside other manifold and grievous temp- tations (which I speak not of) of all sorts and kinds, except IXXX ADDRESS TO AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. only of avarice: with the which vice only he never was tempted nor touched, as of him is written by them that were conversant with l^tti, ia this meanwhile, during these conflicts and exercises of M. Luther, which notwithstanding did him no hpr,t, but rather turned to, his more furtherance in spiritual knowledge, Pop6 Leo X. sent a jubilee %vith his pardon abroad through al^ Christian realms and dominions, whereby he gathered together innumerable riches and treasure: the. , collectors whereof pros- mised to every one that would put ten shillings in the bpx^ licence to eat white meat ^nd flesh in lent, and power to deliver what soul he would out sof purgatory; and, moreover, full par- don from all his sins, were they never so heinous. But if it were onejot less than ten shillings, they preadbed it ■wpuld profit him nothing. The abomination whereof was so horrible, that when no other man dprst speak, yet Luther could not of conscience hold, his peace; but, drawing out certain articles, desired gently to dispute the matter, writing withal a most humble admonition to the Pope, submitting himself in. a most humble manner tqi.his censure and judgment. But the Pfpe, thj.nking great scorn to be controljegi of such a friar, took the matter so hot, that ne, with all his cardinals, with all the rabble of monks and friars, bishops and archbishops, colleges and uni- versities, kings and princes, with the emperor also himself^ were all upon him. If the omnipotent providence of the Lord, from alcove had not sustained him, what was it for one poor friar to have endured ; all these sharp assaults of Satan, all the violence of the whole woi-ld, having no less than the sun, the- moon, and all the seven stars (as they say) against him; being bated of men, impugned of devils, rejected of nations, by solemn authority condemned, distressed with infirmities, apd with all manner of temptations tried and proved. And yet, for all these temptations, such was his life, that (as Erasmus, writing to oardinal Wolsey, affirmeth) none of his enemies could ever charge him with any note of just reprehension. Again, such were his, allegations out of the scripture, that Roffiensis, writing to Erasmusj confesseth himself to be astonished at them. And thus much by the way of preface, touching the conflicts and exereises of this man, which we thought fit to insinuate to the Christian reader, for sundry purposes. First, to note the merciful clemency of Christ our Saviour, in calling so super- stitious and idolatrous a friar so graciously to such a light of his gospel, his grace in jiustifying him, his might in preserving him, his help in comforting him, his glory in prospering him, one against so many; and so prospermg him, that the whole kingdom of the Pope Had no power either to withstand him, or to maintabi itself. Secondly, for this respect also and pur- pose: that the reader, considering the marvellous working of ADDRESS TO AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. Ixxxi the Lord in this man, may the better credit the doctrine that he teacheth. And though his doctrine, as tonching a httle circumstance of the sacrament, cannot be thoroughly defended, yet neither is that any great marvel in him, who, being occu- pied in weightier points of religion, had no leisure to travel in the searching out of this matter; neither ought it to be aiiy IffejudicB to all the rest, which he taught so soundly, of the weightier principles and grounds of Christ's gospel, and our justification only by faith in Christ. And yet, in the same matter of the sacrament, noti*ithstanding that he altereth some- what from Zuin^ius, sticking too near the letter; yet he joineth not so with the Papist, that he Jeaveth there any transubstan- tiation or idolatry. Wherefore, the matter being no greater than so, nor directly against any article of our creed, let us not be so nice, for one little wart, to cast away the whole body. It were doubtless to be wished, that in gOOd teachers and Ereachers of Chri^ there were no defect or imperfection. But e that can abide nothing with his blemish, let him, if he can, name any doctor or writer, (the scripture only except,) Greek or Latin, old or new, either beyond the Alps, or on this side the Alps, or himself, whatsoever he be, which hath not erred in some sentence or in some exposition of holy scripture. But if he Cannot so do, then let him learn by himself to bear with other ; to take the best and leave the worst, (although there is no such matter in this book to be feared ; forasmuch as we, having a respect to the simple, have purposely sponged out and omitted such stumbling-places, being but few, which might offend) and to give God thanks for any thing that is good; and, namely, for this which he hath given us by Lu- tiiOT, in opening to us his grace, mercy, and good-will in his Son, so excellently, through the jpreaching of this man ; who, if he had not taught the difference between the law and the giospel, and set out to us onr justification, victory, and liberty, by fkith only in Christ so plainly, so plentifully, and so as- suredly as he hath done, who ever durst have been so bold to opeti his mouth in such words, or so confidently to stand in this doctrine of faith and grace ? For if there have been, since the time of Luther, and be yet, some which Openly de- fend " that works be necessary to salivation," where he before SO mightily had taught the contrary ; what then W^ould these have done, if Luther had not been ? who also did forewarn us of the same, prophesying that, after his time, this doctrine of justification would be almost extinguished in the church, as, in certain places, experience beginneth partly to prove. Wherefore, so much as the Lord shall give us grace, let us hold constantly the coihfofrtable doctrine of faith and justifica- tioH, and not lose that the Loir'd so freely hath given, calling upon the Lord with all obecfience and diligence, to give us Ixxxii ADDKE8S TO AFFLICTED CONSCIENCES. grace with St. Paul, not to refiise the gtace which he bestoweth uJ>on lis,' tier to be ofFended with this joyful doctrine, as many he." And, therefore, as our duty was lor our part to set it abrdadj so our counsel is no less to every stiidious reader thereof, to pray for grace rightly to understand that he readeth. For el'siBj uliless'the special grace of Christ do help, hard it is to flesh and blood to comprehend this mystical doctrine of faith only. So strange it is to carnal reason, so dark to the world, so many enemies it hath, that except the Spirit of God from above do reveal it, learning cannot reach it, wisdom is offended, nature is astonished, devils do not know it, men do persecute it. Briefly, as there is no way of life so easy, so there is none so hard : easy to whom it is given from above ; hard to carnal sense not yet inspired. The ignorance whereof is the root of all errors, sects, and divisions, not only in all Christendomjbut also in the world. The Jew thinketh to be saved by his Moses' law, the Turk by his Alcoran, the philosopher by his moral virtues. Besides these, cometh another sort of people, not so ill as the Jews, nor so heathen as the philosopher, but having Some part of both; "which reftise not utterly the name of Christ; but with Christ do join, partly the law of Moses, partly the moral and natural discipline of philosophy, and partly their own ceremonies 'and>tFadimbnsii to