PERRINS LIBRARY 
 
 Duke University 
 
 Rare Book: 
 
 The Gift of _ W. ft. 
 
 G^- s,/9s/ 
 
 Date_ 
 
evangelical Hutljeran 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 By GEORGE LOCH MAN, A 
 
 PASTOR OF THE LUTHERAN CONGREGATE v 
 
 HARRISBURGH . 
 
 
 HARRIS B URGE : 
 
 PRINTED AND SOLD BY JOHN WYETH 
 
 18 18 . 
 
Dl'SfRICf OF rRNNSrLVAltlA, to IV It ■; 
 
 BE it remembered, That on the twenty- 
 third day of November, iiLthe forty-second 
 year of the independence of the United 
 States of America, A. D. 1817, George 
 
 Lochman, A.M. of the said district, hath deposited in 
 this office, the title of a book, the right whereof he 
 claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit : 
 “ The History, Doctrine and Discipline of the 
 Evangelical Lutheran Cfhrch, by George Loch mar, 
 A. J\L Pastor of the Lutheran Congregation at Har- 
 risburgh 
 
 In conformity to the act of the congress of the U- 
 nited States, intituled, “ An act for the encourage- 
 ment of learning by securing the copies of maps, 
 "'harts and books, to the authors and proprietors of 
 sijeh copies during the times therein mentioned.” 
 And also to the act entitled, “ An act supplementary 
 act, entitled, li An;} ^actfortlie encouragement 
 
R&R 
 , ? / * H 
 
 i 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 THE history, doctrines and discipline of 
 the Evangelical Lutheran Church, are very- 
 little known among the English portion of 
 the United States ; because the writers on 
 those subjects have generally written in Lat- 
 in or German, and because their doctrines 
 have hitherto been mostly taught and preach* 
 ed in the German language. It was this e 
 consideration, that induced the author 
 write these pages in the English langua^ c 
 He is no bigot-— no enemy to any christ- 
 denomination whatever ; believing that the lt 
 Lord hath his people among them a!], 
 that all true Christians, taken together from 
 the different branches or denominations of the 
 several churches, constitute “ the one holy 
 catholic Christian church.” But sincerely 
 believing the tenets held and taught by Lu- 
 ther and his followers to agree with the scrip, 
 tures, and knowing that those tenets have 
 been misrepresented by some, either igno- 
 rantly or intentionally— he humbly conceives^ 
 
IV 
 
 that a simple history of the church and an 
 exposition of its doctrines and discipline, will 
 be of great advantage. 
 
 The authors, from which he has taken his 
 information, are, Luther, Melanchton, Seck- 
 endorf, Robertson’s Charles V. Rees’s Cy- 
 clopedia, Villers on the spirit and influence 
 of the Reformation ; Mosheim, Priestly, Mil- 
 ner and Kunze’s church histories ; and 
 Michaelis, Hecker, Osterwald, Less and 
 
 ■T” M _ >r«) i ^ . e. _ 
 
 ^cnw a a neoivg^eiy, cie* 
 
 He has endeavored to be as plain and pop- 
 ular in his style as possible, believing that 
 his work would be the more useful to the 
 unlc.aTlsd- and adhering to Luther’s max- 
 im : “ Preach and write so that the common 
 and unlearned may understand you, and you 
 *re sure to be understood by the learned. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE Christian religion was founded by 
 Jesus Christ, the son of God and Saviour of 
 the world. Of him all the prophets of the 
 old dispensation had testified. Some of 
 them had even gone so far, as to determine the 
 time and place and circumstances of his 
 birth. When the fulness of the time was 
 come, he made his appearance in the world. 
 Of his earlier days, we know little more 
 than, that he was desirous of promoting the 
 glory of his heavenly father, and was obc 
 dient to his parents. But when he began 
 his ministry, and was baptized, we find that 
 his Almighty father proclaimed him his son 
 publicly, and in the presence of a great mul- 
 titude of people, in these words, “ This is 
 my beloved son, him shall you hear.” And 
 he himself proved the truth of his divine 
 mission by the numerous miracles, which he 
 performed — he healed the blind, the dumb, 
 'die lame, the dropsical, the leprous, the lu» 
 A. 2- 
 
6 
 
 natics, the paralytica], the deaf, yea, he even 
 raised up the dead to life, by his touch or 
 by a single word — he walked upon the wa- 
 ters, and empowered others to walk upon 
 them — the waves and the storms were made 
 quiet by his commands, 8tc. And these mi- 
 racles were performed, not in remote or pri- 
 vate places, but in the presence of multi- 
 tudes ; some of them were even officially 
 examined by the chief council of the nation.* 
 Even among his enemies, no attempt was 
 made to deny his miracles ; they confessed 
 he did these great things, but attributed them 
 io the power of the devil and to sorcery. He 
 also foretold remarkable future events, which 
 no human power could foresee. At his cru- 
 cifixion, all nature bore witness to his divin- 
 ity ; for the earth did quake, the rocks did 
 split, the vail of the temple was rent in twain, 
 and darkness covered the land for three 
 whole hours. On the third day after his 
 -crucifixion, he arose from the grave, and 
 forty days afterwards triumphantly ascended 
 fo heaven. 
 
 * J^hn chap, ix 
 
7 
 
 At the beginning of his ministry, he chose 
 twelve apostles, whom he instructed for three 
 years, and who were eye witnesses of all his 
 actions. On the day of Pentecost (ten days 
 after his ascension) he poured out his prom- 
 ised spirit upon them in a miraculous man- 
 ner, by which they obtained power not only 
 to perform miracles, but also to speak lan- 
 guages, which they had not learned. En- 
 dued with these gifts and clothed with these 
 testimonials, they went out in every direction 
 to preach the gospel and to establish church- 
 es. Wherever this was done, idolatry, su- 
 perstition and barbarism vanished, and the 
 knowledge and adoration of the true God # 
 Jehovah, prevailed. 
 
 To obtain a correct idea of the beneficial 
 effects of the Christian religion in the world, 
 it is necessary to know the religious state of 
 mankind in those days. It might truly be 
 said of that period, darkness covered the 
 earth and gross darkness the people.” The 
 Jews were entirely engaged with the tradi- 
 tions of men , they had forsaken the worship 
 m God in spirit and in truth, and had 
 
become a depraved and immoral people ; and 
 the heathens were sunk into idolatry and bar- 
 barism ; even Rome, Sparta and Athens, 
 where learning and philosophy had been 
 flourishing, were not excepted. They were 
 worshipping Jupiter, Juno, Mars, Apollo, 
 &c. supposed deities, who, according to their 
 own ideas, had themselves been living and 
 were yet living in heaven among each other 
 in the grossest vices. They had temples e- 
 rected to Bacchus, the God of wiril, and to 
 Venus the Goddess of debauchery, whither 
 they resorted to worship by feasting and 
 drinking, by fornication and adultery.* 
 Some few of the most learned and wise 
 men among them had indeed, by dil- 
 igent study, obtained clearer ideas of the 
 deity, and of religion in general ; but they 
 despaired of ever spreading their principles 
 among the people. “ You may resign” saith 
 S >c rates to Plato, “all hopes of reforming 
 the m.umersmf men, unless it please God to 
 
 * The apostle, in the 1st chapter of his epistle to the 
 Romans, has drawn a dark and melancholy picture 
 of the moral state of the heathen world, and he ap- 
 peals for its verification to their own observation and 
 experience. And Juvenal and Seneca have given. US 
 lire, same picture is colors hardly less dark.. 
 
9 
 
 send some person to instruct you and 
 Plato in his treatise concerning a republic 
 says, “ whatever is set right, in the present 
 bad state of the world, can be done only by 
 the interposition of God.” These maxims 
 of these great philosophers imply, that, tho* 
 the people may be capable of receiving the 
 wise and excellent principles of theology'or 
 of morals from authority, which is proved 
 to be divine ; yet if they were to be wrought 
 out by the efforts of their own understand’ 
 
 ;r.g, Of by the aid of human teachers merely, 
 the moral state of the world must be irre- 
 mediable . — See Smith’s Lectures. 
 
 Such then was the state of the world when 
 the apostles preached the gospel ; and as ; - 
 tonishing were the effects, which their la- 
 bors produced. In a short time, numbers 
 of Christian congregations were established 
 and true religion and morality flourished. 
 
 The great men among the Jews, as well as 
 among the heathens, were no quiet observ- 
 ers of this rapid extension of Christian prin- 
 ciples ; they soon began to persecute the / 
 
 v.V ; ■ ' / 
 
 ■ f. / 
 
 / 
 
 / 
 
 / ■ 
 
10 
 
 Christians, and enacted laws for their sup- 
 pression and extirpation. Thousands of 
 them, of every sex and age, were cruelly ex- 
 ecuted ; some of them stoned, burned, saw- 
 ed asunder, crucified, and others thrown t© 
 wild beasts to be devoured* But notwith- 
 standing all their opposition, and all their ex- 
 terminating laws and persecutions, the truth 
 of the gospel prevailed ; for in the year 324, 
 the emperor Constantine, the great, declared 
 Christianity to be the established Religion in 
 the Roman empire, and many heathen tem- 
 ples were, by his order, converted into chrism 
 tian churches. 
 
 In these first centuries the Christian doc- 
 trine remained pure and unadulterated ; but 
 by degrees innovations and false doctrines a- 
 rose. “ While men slept, the enemy came 
 and sowed tares among the wheat.” Some 
 ©f the ministers of the gospel, who had been 
 created inspectors or bishops of particular 
 districts, began to claim great powers, and to 
 introduce new ceremonies. This was par- 
 ticularly the case with the bishops of Rome, 
 ®f Constantinople^ of Alexandria, of Antio 
 
dfeia and of Jerusalem, who assumed to them- 
 selves the title of Patriarchs and began to 
 regulate the affairs of the churches under 
 their particular care. About the year 606, 
 the Roman patriarch, Boniface the 3d, ob- 
 tained the title of Papa, Pope, or head of the 
 whole Christian church, from the infamous 
 and impious Phocas, who had usurped the 
 empire of the east. This Phocas had been 
 a centurion in the army, and during a re- 
 volt, had ascended the imperial throne and 
 caused the lawful emperor Maurice, with his 
 wife, and sons, and daughters to be cruelly 
 put do death. The patriarch of Constanti- 
 nople, Cyriacus, enraged at Phocas’ conduct, 
 excommunicated him *, however Boniface 
 the 3d, being sent for, granted him absolu- 
 tion and crowned him emperor, and as a re- 
 compence for this favor, Phocas proclaimed 
 him head of the Christian church. 
 
 From this time protestant writers general- 
 ly date the beginning of popery. For from 
 that period, innovations, false doctrines and 
 abominations arose, which very much sup- 
 pressed the true religion of Christ, Among 
 
18 
 
 these we reckon image-worship, adoration 
 of saints, purgatory, indulgences, transub- 
 stantiation and the mass. Besides this, the 
 Latin language was introduced into divine 
 service ; the word of God as well as the cup 
 in the Lord’s supper was taken from the lai- 
 ty ; the priest forced into celibacy, and a 
 system of oppression and violence ensued, 
 which soon surpassed the horrors of all the for- 
 mer persecutions of the heathenish emperors. 
 
 Against these, and other ruinous errors 
 and abuses, the Lord, ' from time to time, 
 stirred up many witnesses. Such were the 
 Waldenses in France and Piedmont, in 1176 
 • — the Wickliflites in England, in 1378 — - 
 and the Hussites in Bohemia, in 1438. — 
 These men were indeed a light to the world ; 
 but their light did not dispel the gloom. 
 Though it shone far into the vale of night, it 
 reached not to the throne of darkness in 
 Rome. 
 
 Myeonius, a German author, who lived 
 at the beginning of the 16th century, gives 
 its the following account of the state of re - 
 
18 
 
 liglon of those times : “ The sufferings and 
 satisfaction of Christ were only considered 
 as an old history, much like the Odyssey of 
 Homer ; concerning faith, which embraces 
 the righteousness of a Saviour and life eter- 
 nal, nothing was said ; Christ was represent- 
 ed as an inflexible judge, who was prepared 
 to condemn all such as had not the interces- 
 sion of a saint and the favour of the pope to 
 show ; in the place of Christ were placed as 
 saviours and intercessors, the virgin Mary* 
 (like an heathen Diana) and other saints, 
 which the popes had introduced from time to 
 time. And even these intercessions could 
 not be expected, unless they were merited 
 by particular works — these works, however, 
 were not such as are prescribed by the ten 
 commandments, or other precepts of the 
 scriptures ; they consisted in saying the 
 Lord’s prayer, the ave raarias and their rosa- 
 ries, at certain times, during the day ; in giv- 
 ing alms and money to the convents ; in pil- 
 grimages ; in purchasing indulgences ; in 
 short, in the observance of a number of in- 
 significant ceremonies. They, who had 
 neglected these things during their lifetime, 
 
 B 
 
were delivered over to hell, or at least to pur- 
 gatory, until their relations should relieve 
 them by rendering satisfaction for them, 
 by masses or purchasing indulgences. The 
 preaching of the word of God was the 
 least of the performances of the clergy ; 
 continual processions and other jugglaries 
 were considered more necessary. The num- 
 ber of clericks was immense and their con- 
 duct Avas as scandalous as possible. The 
 bible Avasnotto be had, and even those srnali 
 portions of scripture, which were translated, 
 were forbidden to be read.”* 
 
 In England there was a krw enacted, du- 
 ring the reign of Henry V. and still in force 
 in the beginning of the 16 th century, that 
 Avhoever should read the scriptures in the 
 mother tongue, should forfeit land, cattle, life 
 and goods, and be condemned for heretics 
 to God, enemies to the crown and most arrant 
 traitors to the land. 
 
 * Milner’s Church history. 
 
15 
 
 From these testimonies We cannot help 
 observing that the darkness of those times 
 must have been great indeed, and that there 
 was but very little difference, except in name, 
 between Christians and heathens. 
 
 This, then, was the state of Christianity at 
 the beginning of the 16 th century, when 
 Martin Luther stepped forward to begin 
 great work of reformation 
 
Fart I 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHURCH. 
 
 I remember the days of old ; I meditate on all thy works.: 
 Imuseon the work of thy hands. David, Ps. 143, 5 . 
 

 • ■ - . . 
 
 
 ■ ■-'■■■ 
 
 '■ V £ 
 
HISTORY, &c. 
 
 Martin Luther was the son of John 
 Luther and Margaret Lindeman, his wife, 
 and was born atEisleben, atownin the county 
 of Mansfield, in the circle of upper Saxony*, 
 on the 10th day of November, A. D. 1483. 
 His father’s occupation was that of a miner, 
 although we afterwards find him elevated to 
 a very respectable situation, in the magistra- 
 cy of his native province. Martin discove- 
 red an early inclination for learning, and hav - 
 ing attained the rudiments of grammar at 
 home, he was sent to school at Magdeburg, 
 where he supported himself, like many other 
 poor german scholars, by begging his bread. * 
 
 From Magdeburg he went to Eisenach, 
 in Thuringia, and distinguished himself in a 
 school of high reputation by his diligence 
 and proficiency. 
 
 * Melchior Addams says, ‘ mendicato vivere pane 
 
In the year ISO), Luther was sent to the 
 university of Erfurt, where he attended the 
 regular courses of logic and philosophy then 
 in vogue, but being disgusted with the man 
 ner in which these sciences were taught, he 
 applied himself with the greatest ardor and 
 assiduity to the works of the ancient Latin 
 authors, such as Cicero, Virgil, Livy, Sal- 
 lust, &c. and such was the success, with 
 which he studied, that he became the object 
 of admiration to the whole university. At 
 the age of twenty, he took the degree of 
 Master of Arts, and soon after read lectures 
 on Aristotle’s physics, ethics and other 
 branches of philosophy. He began now to 
 consider the profession, which he should a- 
 dopt for his support in life, and by the per 
 suasion of his friends, he turned his attention 
 to jurisprudence, commonly called law ; 
 from this pursuit, however, he was diverted 
 by an accident, which no doubt- was wisely 
 ordered by divine Providence, in order to 
 render his great talents serviceable to man- 
 kind in a more extensive sphere. We learn 
 from Melchior Addams, Du Pin and others, 
 that Luther, walking out into the fields one 
 
day, with his friend Alexis, \\ as suddenly 
 struck with lightning, so as to fall to the 
 ground, while his companion was killed by 
 his side ; this circumstance affected him so 
 sensibly, that without communicating his 
 purpose to any of his friends, he withdrew 
 himself soon after from the world, and retired 
 into a convent of Augustine friars. Here he 
 soon acquired^ very high reputation, not on* 
 ly for his singular piety, but for his indefati- 
 gable application to the study of Augustine 
 and the ancient fathers. It was here that in 
 turning over the books of the library, he pro- 
 videntially found an old copy of the latin 
 bible, which lay neglected and which he had 
 never seen before ; this he read over with, 
 great avidity, and was astonished to find, 
 what a small portion of the scriptures was 
 read to the people and known by them. — 
 “When I was twenty years old,” he says 
 himself, “ I had not yet seen a bible. I 
 thought the whole bible consisted of the por- 
 tions of scripture, called Gospels and Epis- 
 tles, which are read on Sundays in the church- 
 es ; at last I found a bible in the library of 
 Erfurt, which 1 read with the greatest pleas- 
 ure and astonishment,” 
 
Having passed a year in the monastery 
 of Erfurt, he took the vow and was admit- 
 ted to priest’s orders. His great and pro- 
 found learning, the sanctity of his moral con- 
 duct, and his extensive knowledge of the 
 scriptures were generally known and ap- 
 plauded, and in the following year he was ap- 
 pointed by Frederick the Elector of Saxo- 
 ny, to the professorship of philosophy at the 
 university of Wittenberg. The duties 
 attached to this office he discharged with so 
 much ability, and in a manner so totally dif- 
 ferent from the usual mechanical and dull 
 forms of lecturing, that he was crowded with 
 students from all quarters, and was regarded 
 as the chief ornament of the university. 
 
 In the year 1510, he was sent to Rome 
 by the monks of his order. Seven of then- 
 convents had a controversy with their vicar- 
 general, and Luther was chosen to maintain 
 their cause, and have their dispute settled by 
 his holiness the pope, at Rome. While in 
 that city, he saw the pope and the court, and 
 had a very good opportunity of observing 
 ’he marmeijs of the clergy. The carelesnesn. 
 
with which they were accustomed to offer 
 up their prayers to Almighty God, he declares 
 excited in his breast, sentiments of aston- 
 ishment and horror. “ I performed mass 
 at Rome” says he, “ but was laughed at, be- 
 cause I wished to do it in a solemn manner 
 some even called to me to h niffy, and put 
 the holy virgin’s son into his closet. I also 
 saw divine service performed by others, but 
 in such a manner, that I can never think of 
 it without the utmost horror.” He himseif, 
 confessed that what he saw here, convinced 
 him of the great necessity of a reformation. 
 
 Having adjusted the disputes, and return- 
 ed to Wittenberg, he was created a Doctor 
 of divinity. He now applied himself with 
 all diligence to the duties of the theological 
 chair. He read lectures on the several 
 books of the scriptures ; he commented es- 
 pecially on the epistle to tire Romans and on 
 the book of Psalms, and his illustrations were 
 so striking, that he was regarded by many, 
 as the harbinger of a new day, ready to break 
 out after a long night of darkness and igno- 
 rance, and multitudes were led to think and 
 
S4 
 
 to reason on matters of high importance, who 
 had never before reflected or thought b'eyond 
 the concerns of the present world. He op- 
 posed, with a vehemence that could scarce- 
 ly be withstood, the errors, which had long 
 been existing in the church and schools, 
 showing that the scriptures were the only 
 test of sound doctrine and practical morality. 
 
 From a letter, which he wrote to a friend 
 about that time, we may learn the true sp'r- 
 itual state of his mind ; “ What is the state 
 of thy soul ? I would wish to know whether 
 you have become weary of your own right- 
 eousness. and learned to refresh yourself, and 
 ' . „ * cp 
 
 place your only trust in the righteousness of 
 
 Christ. For in our days there is in many a 
 vain conceit to become righteous through 
 their own works, and they know nothing of 
 the righteousness of Gcd, which is granted 
 unto us richly and freely in Christ Jesus. — 
 You were once of this opinion, and so was I, 
 however I am now striving against this er- 
 ror, although I have not as yet entirely con- 
 quered.” 
 
25 
 
 About this time the learned and worthy 
 'Staupitz appointed Luther his deputy, to vis- 
 it the forty convents, over which he had the 
 inspection. During this visitation he en- 
 deavored to communicate his new doctrines, 
 and wherever it could be done, he establish- 
 ed schools, which were very scarce before. 
 “ Without schools,” said he, “ men will be- 
 . come bears and wolves : things must not 
 continue in their present state ; we must ex- 
 ert ourselves, and regulate schools in such a 
 manner that religious principles be taught in 
 Ihem. Were I no preacher, I know of no 
 occupation, which I would rather choose ; 
 for I am persuaded it is an occupation high- 
 ly acceptable to God, and productive of great 
 good.” At the same time he exhorted the 
 monks to read the bible diligently, and to 
 lead a holy and virtuous life. And it was 
 by his persuasion, that the scriptures were 
 daily read at the public meetings of these 
 convents, instead of the works of Aristotle 
 and the fathers. 
 
 It was m the year of our Lord 1517. when 
 Luther openly undertook the arduous task of 
 
 c 
 
 tin 
 

 a reformer, but probably without thinking 
 himself of the wonderful extent, to which his 
 researches and exertions would afterwards 
 reach and be carried. To subvert a system 
 of religious faith, grounded on ancient and 
 deeply rooted prejudices, supported by eve- 
 ry contrivance of policy and every effort of 
 power ! to establish doctrines of an opposite 
 tendency in its stead ! to accomplish this ob- 
 ject without the aid of external violence ! 
 These things certainly never came into the 
 mind of Luther at that time ; he was im- 
 perceptibly drawn into them by his love of 
 truth and adherence to the word of God. 
 
 JohnTetzel, called by some Tecelius, a 
 Dominican friar, had come to Germany, by 
 order of pope Leo the Xth, to sell indulgen- 
 ces or pardons for sins. This pope found 
 the papal treasury exhausted by the vast pro- 
 jects of his predecessors, and his own love 
 of splendor involved him daily in new ex- 
 pences. The grand church of ; St Peters at 
 Rome was begun, but not finished, and in or- 
 der to get money, he bestowed indulgences 
 On all, who would contribute towards that 
 
building. The right of selling these indul- 
 gences in Germany, together with a share 
 in the profits arising from the sale, of them, 
 was granted to Albert, elector of Mentz, and 
 archbishop of Magdeburg, who employed 
 Tetzel as his chief agent, in retailing them 
 in Saxony. Tetzel executed his commis- 
 sion with great zeal and success, but with- 
 out regard to any principles of prudence or 
 decency, for he was a man of licentious mor* 
 als, and remarkable for his noisy popular el- 
 oquence. Ke went so far as to say, that his 
 commission from the pope was so extensive* 
 that though a man should have deflowered 
 the blessed virgin, yet for money he might 
 be pardoned; that he, Tetzel, had saved 
 more souls by his indulgences, than St. Paul 
 by all his preaching ; that as soon as the 
 sound of the money, that was paid for them, 
 was heard in the bason, into which it was 
 thrown, the souls for which it was given, 
 were released from purgatory,* and that 
 he was empowered to give indulgences not 
 
 * “ So bald das geld im kasten klingt— so bald die 
 seep iu himmel springt.” 
 
38 
 
 only for sins past, but also for sins to be com- 
 mitted afterwards, t 
 
 Perhaps some of my readers may be anxi- 
 ous to see a list of the prices,, according to 
 which Tetzel sold his indulgences. — Here 
 is an extract from it r 
 
 f When Tetzel was at Leipsigandhad received a 
 great sum of money, a nobleman came to him and 
 desired to know whether he could obtain indulgence 
 tor a sin, which he had a mind to commit, but which 
 was to be kept a secret. O yes, said Tetzel, provi- 
 ded that the price be paid immediately. The nobleman 
 paid the sum demanded and received a certificate or 
 letter of indulgence, regularly signed by Tetzel in 
 the name of the Pope. A snort time after Tetzel 
 leftLeipsic with his company of monks, and was trav- 
 elling on with a number of asses loaded with money. 
 The nobleman with a few companions attacked him, 
 beat his servants away, took his money and gave 
 him a severe beating. Tetzel cried out, O thou man 
 of the devil, knowest thou not that this is holy mon- 
 ey, and that I am an emissary of the holy father; 
 thou shalt surely suffer for this in hell ! “ As to 
 
 that” answered the nobleman, u I am safe enough— 
 I have a letter of indulgence. Look, here it is sign- 
 ed by yourself, in the name of the holy father ; this 
 was the sin, which I intended to commit, and for 
 which I came to you for indulgence.” 
 
 See Milnov cmljSsckendorf’s history. 
 
An indulgence tor polygamy, 
 for common murder, 
 for the murder of a fether, mother, 
 brother or sister, 
 for witchcraft and sorcery, 
 for perjury, 
 for church robbery, 
 for sodomy, 
 
 A ducat is about $2,07. 
 
 The form of the indulgence or absolution, 
 signed by Tetzel, concluded with these 
 words, “ I re-astablish you in the innocence, 
 which you received at your baptism, so that 
 if you die soon, the gate of punishment will 
 be shut, and the gate of happiness open to 
 you, and if you do not die soon, this grace 
 will be reserved and secured to you.” See 
 Luther's xuarks and Priestly's history vol. 5. 
 
 As soon as Luther heard of TetzePs pro- 
 ceedings, he wrote to Albert, remonstrating 
 against the false opinions as well as the wick- 
 ed lives of the distributors of indulgences, 
 and intreated him earnestly to exercise his 
 authority for correcting these abuses. But 
 B 2 
 
 6 ducats, 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 f 
 
30 
 
 finding’ that the archbishop, instead of cor- 
 recting them, gave more strict orders to the 
 commissioner to enforce and press, with all 
 possible diligence, the power and distribu- 
 tion of indulgences, he publicly, from the 
 pulpit began to preach against them, and 
 pointed out the danger of relying for salva- 
 tion upon any other means, than those ap- 
 pointed by God in his word. At the same 
 time he published a paper, containing ninety 
 five theses or propositions, chiefly upon the 
 subject of indulgences, which he fixed up at 
 the church door at W ittenberg, with a chal- 
 lenge to the learned to oppose them, on an 
 appointed day, either in person or by wri- 
 ting.* Among other things, which Luther 
 advanced in these propositions, were the fol- 
 lowing : “ That the life of a Christian ought 
 to be a perpetual penance ; that the pope can 
 only have the power of remitting canonical 
 penances ; that the canons of penance can- 
 not extend to the dead ; that the treasure, 
 which the church distributes, is not that of 
 
 * This was done on the 31st day of October, 1517. 
 This day is therefore considered as the day of Jubilee 
 of the protestanf churches. 
 
u 
 
 the tnerits of Christ or of the Saints ; that 
 the treasure of indulgences is the gospel ; 
 that the gospel was the net with which the a~ 
 postles caught men, but that indulgences are 
 the net wiih which priests fish for money.’'' 
 
 Luther' s works-- Priestly' s church history . 
 
 These theses spread with astonishing ra- 
 pidity throughout Germany, and all admired 
 the man, who had the boldness thus to step 
 forward in opposition to the pope.* 
 
 As soon as Tetzel observed the noise, 
 which Luther’s thesis had made, he wrote 
 and published a paper containing 106 propo- 
 sitions, directly opposite to Luther’s, and 
 burnt the theses of Luther publicly at Frank*- 
 ford, and threatening at the same time, to do 
 the same to Luther, and all who opposed in- 
 
 * When Luther was fixing up his theses, a foreign- 
 er, clapping his hand on Luther’s shoulders, said to 
 him in alow Dutch dialect, “ Min leeve broderMer- 
 tin, wenn du dat fegefiir und die pappenmarketender- 
 ey stiirmen und wegschludern kanst, hist du fur- 
 wahr ein groterherr.” i. e. 61 My dear brother Mar 
 tin, if you can storm and cast away that purgatosy 
 and toyshop, you are indeed a great lord,” 
 
32 
 
 diligences. At the conclusion of his address, 
 he says, “ that whoever should write against 
 indulgences, or the power of the pope, must 
 expect eternal damnation hereafter, and 
 the most rigorous punishment at present, ad- 
 ding from the books of Moses, “ every beast 
 that touches the mountain (holy church) 
 shall be stoned.” 
 
 It does not appear, that at this early period, 
 Luther had any intention of setting himself a- 
 gainst the power of the pope ; he even wrote 
 a letter to his holiness, in the most respect- 
 ful terms, shewing the uprightness of his in- 
 tentions, and the justice of the cause, of 
 which he was the advocate ; however the 
 pope, incited by the incessant representations 
 of Luther’s adversaries, issued an order for 
 his appearance within sixty days at Rome, to 
 justify himself. Against this, the elector of 
 Saxony remonstrated, urging that Luther be- 
 ing one of his subjects, had a right to be 
 heard in Germany, and the university of 
 Wittenberg interceding for him, the pope 
 consented that his cause should be referred to 
 his legate cardinal Cajetan, who was then at 
 
33 
 
 Augsburg When Luther left home to go 
 to Aug, i . ; :ed his sorrowing 
 
 friends, ai i ; rd . ' ana debtor to Jesus 
 Corist, who Iv.s -dso said to me — I will shew 
 him, how muc be must suffer for my name’s 
 sake ; my house is put in order ; honor and 
 character they are tearing away from me; 
 there is only remaining a weak body subject 
 to continual illness, if they take it, they vrill 
 only shorten my life a few hours ; my soul 
 they cannot take, they cannot injure ; Jesus 
 my master and my redeemer is sufficient for 
 me, and as long as I live I will sing hymns to 
 his praise. ” 
 
 W ith these thoughts he went and arrived 
 at Augsburg, in the month of October 1518. 
 Cajetan received him in a friendly manner, 
 but desired that he should recant his errors,, 
 and cease teaching his pernicious doctrines, 
 Luther begged to know what his errors were, 
 and promised that he would cheerfully re t ~ 
 tract any doctrine he had taught, provided it 
 could be proved from the scriptures, that it 
 was a false doctrine. “ I may have erred : ” 
 these were his wiord.s— no doubt I have of. 
 
34 
 
 ten erred, but my errors must be first proved 
 irom scripture, before I can recant.” Cajetan 
 however insisted on his recantation. After 
 several conferences, Luther presented a pa- 
 per to the legate, which, he said, contained 
 all he had to answer. The legate received 
 the paper, but commanded Luther not to ap- 
 pear again in his presence unless he brought 
 a recantation with him. 
 
 On the evening of the same day, Cajetan 
 sent for Staupitz and desired him to use ail Jus 
 influence, to persuade the young monk to 
 recant. Staupitz promised to do all he 
 could. You must answer and confute his 
 scripture arguments” saidCajetan. “That’s 
 more than I can do,” answered Staupitz, “ I 
 am far behind him, as well in abilities, as in 
 the knowledge of the holy scriptures.” 
 
 Luther finding he had much to apprehend 
 from the cardinal’s resentment and power, 
 withdrew from Augsburg. In Wittenberg he 
 continued to teach as usual. Not content 
 with this, he proceeded to challenge all the 
 inquisitors to come and dispute with him, of 
 
35 
 
 ferine; them a safe conduct from his prince, 
 and likewise assuring them of good enter- 
 tainment, during the time they should remain 
 at Wittenbrg. 
 
 The pope now endeavored to put an end 
 to these disputes by a decision of his own, 
 and for that purpose published a brief, on the 
 9th of November, directed to cardinal Ca- 
 jetan, in which he asserts, “ that the pope as 
 successor to St. Peter and vicar-general of 
 Jesus Christ upon earth, hath full power by 
 virtue of the keys, to absolve both from the 
 guilt and punishment of sin ; from the guilt, 
 by the sacrament of penance ; and from tem- 
 poral punishments due for actual sins, by 
 the merits of indulgences, a treasure of su- 
 pererogation wholly at the pope’s disposal ; 
 and that both the dead and the living, who 
 duly obtain these indulgences are immedi- 
 ately released from guilt and punishment,” 
 &c. This brief further ordained that all men, 
 should hold the doctrine contained in it, un- 
 der pain of excommunication, and enjoins 
 the cardinal to transmit it forthwith to the 
 different archbishops and bishops of Germa- 
 
36 
 
 ny, and cause it to be put in execution b) 
 them. Luther was now convinced that he 
 had nothing to expect from Rome but con- 
 demnation, and he therefore published a new 
 appeal from the pope to a general council, 
 in which he asserts, that a council of divines 
 had greater authority than the pope. 
 
 About this time the pope gave his cham 
 berlain, Charles Miltiz, a Saxon nobleman, 
 orders to try what he could do with the elec- 
 tor of Saxony and Luther, so as to settle all 
 disputes. He had a conference with Luther 
 at Altenburg, which lasted several days, but 
 produced no material change. 
 
 In the year 151 9, Luther went to Leip- 
 sig, on a challenge of Dr. Eck (Eckius) to* 
 a disputation. Eck had challenged Carl- 
 stadt to dispute v> ith him on free will, and at 
 the same time urged Luther to enter the lists 
 with him, on the subject of the pope’s au- 
 thority and supremacy. The challenge was 
 accepted, and oh the appointed day the three 
 champions appeared. The assembly which 
 met to witness the disputes, was numerous 
 
37 
 
 and splendid, and all the combatants con 
 ducted themselves with great skill and dex- 
 terity. In the course of the debate, Luther 
 no dcnbt was carried further than he wished 
 to go, being fed on from one argument to a- 
 nother ; he maintained that the church of 
 Rome, in the earlier ages, had never been 
 considered as superior to other churches, 
 and combated the pretensions cf that church 
 and its bishops, from the testimony of scrip- 
 ture, the authority of the fathers, and the 
 most approved ecclesiastical historians, 
 and even from the decrees of the council at 
 Nice ; while the best arguments of his ad- 
 versary were derived fr cm spurious decretals, 
 none of which could boast of an antiquity e- 
 qual to that of four centuries. Hoffman, the 
 President, refused to declare on which side 
 victory had fallen. Dr. Eck, however, 
 clearly saw that the hearers generally declared 
 in favor of Luther, and from thai moment, 
 he breathed fury and revenge against him. — - 
 He even repaiied to Rome, and induced the 
 pope to assemble the college of cardinals to 
 prepare a sentence of condemnation against 
 him. 
 
 D 
 
It was on the 15th of June 1520, when 
 Leo issued his famous bull against Luther 
 and his followers. In the beginning of it he 
 invokes the name and aid of Jesus Christ, erf 
 St. Peter, St. Paul and all the saints, in the 
 most solemn expressions, against the newly 
 introduced errors and heresies, and for the 
 'preservation of the faith, peace and unity of 
 the catholic church ; he then expresses his 
 great grief for the late propagation of these 
 errors in Germany, and after enumerating 41 
 propositions, collected from different parts of 
 Luther’s writings, he solemnly denounces 
 and condemns all and each of them as heret- 
 ical, and prohibits all Christians, under pain 
 of excommunication from holding, defend- 
 ing or preaching any of the said propositions, 
 and from hearing or suffering others to preach 
 ■them. As to Luther, the term of sixty days 
 should be granted him for consideration and 
 repentance ; but if in that time he should re- 
 main stubborn, and not burn his books, he 
 should be delivered unto Satan, for the de- 
 struction of the flesh, and immediately incur 
 all the pains and penalties due to convicted 
 heretics ; and all secular princes were re* 
 
quired, under pain of incurring the same cen- 
 sure, to seize his person, that he might be 
 punished. 
 
 Luther, however, was not to be intimidated 
 by such acts. He continued to write as 
 much as ever. He published a book against 
 the pope’s bull ; another, entitled the captiv- 
 ity of Babylon ; another, to expose the vices, 
 ambition and arrogance of the court of Rome ; 
 and another on the necessity of a reforma- 
 tion. He even went further, and on the 10th. 
 of December, 1520, having assembled all the 
 professors and students of the university, he 
 publicly burnt, in the presence of a multi- 
 tude of people of all ranks and orders, the 
 pope’s bull of excommunication, and the de- 
 cretals and canons relating to his supreme ju- 
 risdiction ; and this example was soon fol- 
 lowed in other cities of Germany. 
 
 Shortly after this, Charles Vth, Emperor' 
 of Germany, gave orders to assemble a diet 
 of the empire at Worms. This meeting was 
 fixed for the beginning of the year 1521.— 
 The express purpose of it was, as the empe- 
 
40 
 
 ror’s circular letter said, to concert measures 
 to check the progress of the ne w and danger- 
 ous opinions, which threatened to disturb the 
 peace of Germany, and to overthrow the reli- 
 gion of their ancestors. As soon as the diet 
 was assembled at Worms the papal legates 
 insisted that they were bound, without delib- 
 eration, to condemn a man, whom the pope 
 had already excommunicated as an obstinate 
 heretic. The elector of Saxony, however, 
 insisted that he ought to have his cause tried 
 by the canons of the Germanic church and 
 the laws of the empire. It was therefore re- 
 solved that Luther should be summoned be- 
 fore the diet, and be allowed a hearing, be- 
 fore any final sentence should be pronounced 
 against him. He was accordingly summon- 
 ed to appear. His friends earnestly dissua- 
 ded him from going thither, reminding him 
 of the fate of Huss, who was burnt ; but he 
 answered, “I am summoned, and I must 
 appear ; that God, who preserved the three 
 men in the burning furnace is yet reigning — 
 he can protect me ; but if he will not, all 
 that theycan do, is to take my life. I will go 
 in the name of the Most High, though there 
 
4?i 
 
 were ashnany devils in Worms as tiles on 
 the houses.” 
 
 On the 16th of April, Luther arrived at 
 Worms, where immense crowds had assem- 
 bled to see him. In the presence of the diet, 
 he behaved with becoming respect. Two 
 questions were proposed to him : 1st, wheth- 
 er he owned the books published under his 
 name, and2dly, whether he would recal them 
 or not ? Luther’s attorney desired that the 
 books should be named and produced : this 
 being done, Luther boldly owned them. As 
 to the 2d question, he desired time for con- 
 sideration — this was granted. The next day 
 he appeared again, and after a very able ad- 
 dress to the emperor and the members, com- 
 posing the diet, he declared, that his books 
 were of three kinds ; in some he had only 
 taught tenets of religion, these he could not 
 revoke, unless it was proved by holy writ, 
 that they were erroneous ; his conscience 
 and the fear of God would not permit him : 
 in others, he had attacked the false doctrines 
 of the Roman church, these also he was not 
 disposed to recal, for he had not written any 
 D 2 
 
'12 
 
 thing but what was true ; and in others he 
 had severely censured private persons ; with 
 respect to these, he confessed that he had 
 sometimes been carried away by the ardor of 
 his temper, and that his vehemence could not 
 always be justified. With this answer how- 
 ever, neither the emperor, nor the pope’s le- 
 gate was contented ; they insisted upon it, 
 that he should say yes or no, whether he 
 would recant his doctrines or not. To this 
 he answered, u unless I am convinced by 
 reason and texts of scripture, that I have 
 erred, I cannot, I will not repant. I never 
 will act contrary to the word of God, and to 
 die dictates of my conscience. Here I am 
 standing before God and you ; I cannot do 
 or say otherwise— so help me God, amen.” 
 All who were present were astonished at his 
 address and intrepidity. Some of them even 
 said aloud, they never heard a man speak so : 
 the hearts of all were warmed. 
 
 On the 26th day of April, Luther left 
 Worms ; but scarcely had he left the city, 
 when in the emperor’s name and by the au 
 fhority of the diet> he was pronounced an ob 
 
innate heretic, a member east off from the 
 church, deprived of the privileges he had en- 
 joyed as asubject of the empire, and the sever- 
 est punishments were denounced against 
 those who should receive, entertain or counte- 
 nance him, either by acts of hospitality, by 
 conversation or writing, and all were required 
 to assist in seizing his person, as soon as the 
 term of his safe conduct (which was twenty- 
 one days) expired. 
 
 The elector of Saxony, aware of his danger, 
 was however determined, if possible, to save 
 him. He induced several brave noblemen to 
 disguise themselves, and to take Luther into 
 their custody. Accordingly, when Luther 
 was travelling through the Thuringian woods 
 with his escort, these noblemen rushed for- 
 ward, drove away the escort, and carried him 
 off, with the utmost speed, to an old castle 
 called Wartenburg. Here he lived in secret 
 and without fear of being murdered by his 
 enemies ; for the most of them considered 
 him to be dead. They however burn his 
 effigy and his books in many catholic places* 
 When Luther was infornjed of this, he smi* 
 
M' 
 
 led and said, 44 let them not only bum my 
 books and my effigy, but even my body ; if 
 the people do but keep the bible ; that is suf- 
 ficient to open their eyes.” During the pe- 
 riod of his solitude, he translated a great part 
 of the new testament into the German lan- 
 guage, and wrote several tracts in defence of 
 his doctrines, and many letters to his friends. 
 
 To give hurt some exercise, several noble- 
 men occasionally came and took him out a 
 hunting, but he had no pleasure in such a- 
 musement. “ A few days ago” (says he in 
 a letter to a friend) “ I was out a hunting, and 
 saw the fatiguing and cruel pleasure of our 
 great lords; they caught several rabbits and 
 some birds ! indeed a mighty occupation for 
 idle people i with great trouble I had caught 
 a young rabbit, and carefully wrapped it in 
 my cloak, to save its life from the hunters and 
 the dogs ; but the dogs at length found it out 
 and killed it, in spite of all my endeavors to 
 save it. I will have no more to do with 
 hunting” 
 
 Luther hearing that Carlstadt had created 
 
disturbances in Wittenberg, and presuming 
 that his presence would be necessary, left the 
 castle, which he called his Patmos, and arriv- 
 ed at Wittenberg in the month of March, 
 1522. He soon settled the dispute and put 
 things in proper order. On the 21st of Sep- 
 tember he completed the translation of tne 
 new testament, which was immediately pub- 
 lished, and put into the hands of the people. 
 From this time the reformation spread rap- 
 idly, for the people were now enabled t© 
 judge for themselves. A number of princi- 
 paiities and cities sent to Luther and desir- 
 ed instruction and counsel, how to regulate 
 their church affairs. The elector of Bran- 
 denburg, the dukes of Brunswick and Lu- 
 nenburg, and the prince of Anhalt became a- 
 vowed patrons of his opinions, and counte- 
 nanced the preaching of them in their terri- 
 tories. 
 
 The king of Denmark, Christian 2d, desir- 
 ed teachers from Saxony, and Martin Ray- 
 nard was sent thither to introduce Luther's 
 principles, and such was the effect that, in a 
 short time the reformation was completed in 
 
46 
 
 liis kingdom. In Sweden, Olaus Petri, a dis 
 ciple of Luther, began to preach, the scrip, 
 tures were translated into the native language., 
 and the reformation was soon established. — 
 In England the writings of Luther were trans- 
 lated and made a great impression, so that 
 the principles of reformation were eagerly 
 embraced. In consequence of this, Henry 
 8th himself, the king of England, wrote a- 
 gainst Luther, for which he obtained the ti- 
 tle of Defender of the Faith from the pope. 
 In the Low Countries (Netherlands) the doc- 
 trine of Luther spread so rapidly that a pla- 
 card was published, by order of Charles Vth, 
 to stop its progress. In this placard it was 
 said, that Luther was not a human creature, 
 but a devil in the shape of a man, and the 
 habit of a monk, that he might the more easi- 
 ly occasion the destruction of mankind. And 
 Erasmus himself tells us, that in the year 
 1522, the doctrines of Luther spread so 
 much in Antwerp, that it was thought neces- 
 sary to burn several of his followers, so as to 
 deter others from embracing them, and that 
 most of the inhabitants of Holland, Zealand 
 and Flanders were inclined to the reforma- 
 
 f 
 
47 
 
 tion.* Even in France, the light of the pure 
 gospel began to shine ; for Francis I. invited 
 Melanchton to come to France, that he might 
 hear him on the subject of the matters in dis- 
 pute. In Scotland Luther’s principles were 
 introduced by several Scotch divines, who 
 had travelled through Germany, and become 
 acquainted with Luther and Melanchton at 
 Wittenberg, and who on their return preach- 
 ed his doctrine in their native country. A- 
 mong them was the learned Patrick Hamil- 
 ton, who, however, with several others, was 
 burned. Even in Hungary, Transylvania 
 and Poland, the work of the reformation was 
 .introduced. Some merchants had brought 
 several of Luther’s books from Leipsig, by 
 reading of which their eyes were opened. — 
 In consequence of this several young gentle- 
 men went from thence to Wittenberg to stu- 
 dy divinity, and after their return preached 
 the faith in Christ with the greatest success, 
 so that popery in many places was reduced to 
 the lowest ebb; 
 
 In such a surprising manner did the refor- 
 
 * Priestly’s Church History vol. v 
 
48 
 
 mation of Luther spread throughout Europe, 
 Many however were the naore violently op- 
 posed to it. Ferdinand, archduke of Aus- 
 tria, the em per or’s brother, promulgated a se- 
 vere edict against the translation of the scrip- 
 tures, and forbade ail the subjects of his im- 
 perial majesty to possess any copies of it, or 
 of Luther’s ether works ; however, the more 
 they were forbidden, the more they were read. 
 
 1 
 
 In the j'ear 1524, Erasmus the most learn- 
 ed man among the Roman catholics, instiga- 
 ted by the pope, began to write against Lu- 
 ther. Bis book w 7 as entitled, “Conference 
 concerning free will.” Luther answered 
 him rather harshly in a work entitled “ De 
 servo arbitrio.” It is from this work of Lu- 
 ther, that some have concluded, that Luther 
 believed an absolute predestination ; but, in 
 his later writings, he plainly shows that his 
 expressions were misconstrued, and that he 
 only believed a conditional decree, or in oth- 
 er words a predestination of characters and 
 not of persons. 
 
■ It was also in this year, that Caristadt and 
 Zwingle caused some disturbances with res- 
 pect to the doctrine of the Lord’s supper ; 
 thev contended that bread and wine were on • 
 ]y signs or tokens, to put us in mind of 
 Christ’s sufferings and death, and the bene- 
 fits arising from them ; and that nothing was 
 given or received in the Lord’s supper : but 
 Luther insisted, that agreeably to the nature 
 of a sacrament, something must really be of- 
 fered and received, and that there was really a 
 sacramental partaking of the body and blood 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ. This division con- 
 tributed much to retard the progress of the 
 reformation. 
 
 About this time, Luther threw off the mo- 
 nastic habit, and married Catharine de Bore, 
 who had been a nun. “ I took a wife,” said 
 he, “ because I believe marriage is expressly 
 commanded by God, and because I do not 
 wish to retain any thing of my former popish 
 life.” Luther found himself extremely happy 
 in this new state, especially after his wife,* 
 whom he fondly loved, and usually called iiis 
 rib Katy, had brought him a son, 
 
 E 
 
1 he elector of Saxony* Frederick the wise, 
 %vho had hitherto protected Luther, died on 
 the 3d of May, 1525. However, his loss was 
 not so much felt, because his brother John, 
 who succeeded him, was more zealous and 
 determined in the cause of the reformation. 
 Soon after his accession to the electorship, he 
 ordered a body of laws, relating to the form 
 of ecclesia tical government, the method of 
 public worship, the rank, offices and reve- 
 nues of the priesthood, Ike. to be drawn up 
 by Luther and Melanchton, which he after- 
 wards promulgated throughout his domin- 
 ions ; and this example was followed by all 
 the other princes and states of Germany, who 
 had renounced the papal supremacy arid ju- 
 risdiction. According to these new regula- 
 tions, all useless ceremonies were abolished ; 
 the bishops lost their great powers ; the 
 prayers and the scriptures were to be read 
 in the language of the country ; and the gos- 
 pel was to be preached 'in a plain and intelli- 
 gible manner. 
 
 In the year 1529, a diet was held at Spires, 
 the express purpose of taking into con- 
 
sideration the state of religion. In that diet, 
 the archduke Ferdinand presided, and had 
 the address to procure a majority, to approve a 
 decree, which declared it unlawful, to intro- 
 duce any change in the doctrine, discipline 
 or worship of the established religion, before 
 the determination of a general council was 
 known. This decree was very displeasing to 
 the elector of Saxony and other protestant 
 princes, as well as to the deputies of fourteen 
 imperial cities, who entered their solemn pro- 
 test against it, and appealed to the emperor, 
 and a future council. This was done on the 
 19th of April, and on this account they were 
 distinguished by the name of Protestants.— = 
 When the protest was laid before the empe- 
 ror, he was much displeased, and said he was 
 determined to end this religious dispute, and 
 would therefore call together a general diet 
 at Augsburg, At the same time he demand- 
 ed, that the protestants should prepare a writ- 
 ten explication of their religious system, and 
 an explicit avowal of the several points, in 
 which they differed from the church of Rome* 
 Luther drew up 17 articles, which he deliv- 
 ered to the elector at Torgau*. oa which ac«- 
 
5% 
 
 count they were called the articles of Torgau. 
 Some thought that they were not sufficiently 
 plain, and too pointed ; and Melanchton was 
 therefore desired to give an account of 
 the same, in terms as little offensive as possi- 
 ble to their opponents. It was however giv- 
 en to Luther for examination and correction, 
 and he approved of it. Such was the origin 
 of the creed, celebrated in history, as the con- 
 fession of Augsburg, and sometimes called 
 the Augustan confession.* 
 
 To unite the two protestant parties, it was 
 thought necessary, that Luther and Zwingle, 
 (by some called Zwingiius,) with some of 
 their followers, should have a conference, and 
 endeavor to settle their disputes, so that they 
 might act as one body, and not hurt the cause 
 of the reformation by a disunion. They ac- 
 cordingly met in the year 1529 at Marburg ; 
 he members present were, Luther, Melanch- 
 ton, Jonas, Osiander, Brentius and Agricola, 
 of the one side, and Zwingle, Oecolampad, 
 Bucer and Hedio, of the other. The confer- 
 
 * Augusta being the Latin name of the city of Augs 
 hurg. 
 
enCe lasted several days, and after delibera- 
 ting-, they drew up fourteen articles, in whijgja 
 they unanimously agreed, except "as to me^ 
 Lord’s supper, but even this article was so^K 
 worded, that both parties signed the paper. — • 
 Had they now remained united, and appeared 
 in one body' at the diet or congress of Augs- 
 burg, it certainly would have had great weight 
 with that body ; but Zwingle and his col- 
 leagues drew up a confession of their own, 
 ahd presented it to the diet. Although this 
 confession of theirs was not publicly read, 
 yet it was used as a powerful argument a- 
 gainst the cause of the reformation, and it 
 was believed by the Roman catholics, that 
 the protestants would easily be brought to 
 subjection, as they were divided among them- 
 selves. 
 
 It was on the 25th of June 1530 when the 
 confession of the Lutheran body was deliver- 
 ed to ; the diet of Augsburg. Luther himself 
 was not present. The elector had taken him. 
 as far as the city of Coburg, and left him there, 
 so as to be near at hand, in order to obtain 
 advice from him should it be necessary : but 
 li 2 
 
Melanchton accompanied him to Augsburg-; 
 Ske confession, which was presented to the?' 
 |cfet, was read by the Saxon chancellor, Chris - 
 via:) Bayer, both in the German and Latin lan- 
 guages, and was signed by five princes and 
 the councils of several imperial cities. It 
 contained twenty-eight articles ; twenty-one 
 of which, represent the opinions of the protes- 
 tants, and the other seven point out the er- 
 rors and abuses that occasioned their separa- 
 tion from the church of Rome, A refutation 
 of this confession was undertaken by Faber, 
 Eck and Cochloeus, which was publicly read 
 at the diet. The protestants requested a co- 
 py of this refutation, that they might have an 
 opportunity of showing its weakness ; but 
 this was refused. However a copy was re- 
 ceived some time after, and Melanchton drew 
 up that able composition, entitled u Apology 
 of the Augustan confession.” 
 
 At this diet a decree was made, that the 
 emperor should take vigorous measures for 
 asserting the authority and doctrines of the 
 established church, and enforce the submis- 
 sion of heretics — and that, if the princes and 
 
cities, who had separated themselves, should 
 not return within three months into the pak| 
 of the papish church, and discard their inno- 
 vations, they should be forced to do it by the 
 power of arms, and lose all their power and 
 even their lives. This decree was consider- 
 ed as a prelude to the most violent persecu- 
 tions, and convinced the protestants that the 
 emperor was resolved on their destruction; 
 and the dread of the calamities, which were 
 ready to fall on the protestant church, so op- 
 pressed the spirit of Melanchton, that he re- 
 signed himself to a settled melancholy. Lu- 
 ther however was not disheartened, but used 
 his utmost efforts to keep up the spirits of 
 those who were inclined to give way ; being 
 assured that their personal safety, as well as 
 success, depended wholly on union. In a let - 
 ter to Melanchton and other supporters of 
 the reformation, who were at Augsburg, he 
 says, “ I am heartily tired of your complaints, 
 and angry at your great cares and frettings. 
 Our own unbelief is the cause of all these un- 
 necessary cares. It is true our danger is 
 great, but it is also true, God is still greater, 
 and jnighty enough to defend us. If our 
 
cause be unjust, and contrary to God’s word* 
 &t us give it up at once— let us make a public 
 recantation ; but if it be just, why do we 
 make God a liar in his promises, in which he 
 desires us to be of good cheer? Just as if 
 you' could gain any thing by your useless 
 fretting cares. What can the devil do more 
 than kill us ! As to myself, I have very little 
 anxiety about our cause ; whether it pro- 
 ceeds from ignorance or from the spirit, the 
 Lord Jesus knows, i have a better and & 
 stronger hope than I expected to have.’* 
 
 In a letter to the elector he writes thus from 
 Coburg: “Be of good cheer, my friend; 
 don’t let your anxious cares get the upper 
 hand of you. Christ is with us, and he will 
 certainly confess you before the throne of his 
 Father, as you are confessing him before the 
 world. I know that our cause is just, and 
 that God will help us— what we have done 
 was our duty. I am continually praying for 
 you ; wouid to God I could do more.” 
 
 The protestant princes, however, now 
 thought it. necessary to form, an alliance and 
 
57 
 
 confederacy, so as to be able to defend them- 
 selves, should they be attacked. They me|^ 
 at Smalkalden, where they resolved to de- ^ 
 fend theix religion and liberties to the utmost 
 of their power, and invited the king of Den- 
 mark and others, to join in the confederacy, 
 and by their negoeiations, secured powerful 
 protection and assistance, in case of necessity. 
 This confederation of the Lutheran princes, 
 had at least this good effect, that the empe- 
 ror did not think it advisable to enforce the 
 decree of Augsburg ; and through the medi- 
 ation of the elector Palatine and the elector of 
 Mentz, a treaty was concluded at Nurem- 
 berg, by which the protestant princes enga- 
 ged to assist the emperor, with all their for- 
 ces, in resisting the invasion of the Turks ; 
 by which also, it was stipulated, that univer- 
 sal peace should be established in Germany, 
 until the meeting of a general council, and 
 that no person should be molested on account 
 of re ligio n. 
 
 Luther had now the satisfaction and happi 
 ness, of seeing one of the chief obstacles to the 
 undisguised profession of his opinions re* 
 
s& 
 
 moved, and the pure, evangelical doctrine 
 spreading in every direction ; but he had, ne- 
 vertheless, the misfortune to find, that some 
 persons, who had more zeal than knowledge, 
 began dangerous innovations. The anabap- 
 tists, who had already in 1525, created cruel 
 disturbances in Franconia and Swabia, under 
 the direction of Thomas Munzer and others, 
 but who had at that time been brought under 
 subjection, now again made their appearance, 
 and created disturbances in Thuringia, Mora- 
 via and in Switzerland, under the cloak of be- 
 ing reformers. This induced Luther to write 
 several tracts on the subject, not only to warn 
 these deluded persons, but also to show, that 
 his principles were not the cause of these 
 disturbances. However, he was much op- 
 posed to their being punished on account of 
 their religious tenets. “ It is not right,’ * 
 said he in a letter to a friend, “ to persecute, 
 to murder, to burn and destroy such poor 
 people, on account of their religious tenets— 
 we should let everyone believe what he thinks 
 right. If he believes wrong, and continues 
 willfully in his unbelieving state, he has pun- 
 ishment enough to expect in hell ; why wii- 
 
you also punish him in this world ? If 
 however, they should create disturbances in 
 the country, and resist government, then let 
 the government punish them for their disturb - 
 ances, but not on account of their faith. With 
 scripture and reason we should try to convince 
 them, but not with fire and sword.” 
 
 You ask me,” said he in a letter to the 
 council of Nuremberg, “ whether govern- 
 ment hath a right to execute false teachers on 
 account of their doctrine ? I answer, I am al- 
 ways opposed to the shedding of blood for the 
 sake of religion, and I shall never give my 
 vote to persecute those whcm we suppose to 
 be false teachers. It is sufficient to send them 
 out of the country, if they breed disturban- 
 ces ; but as long as they do not breed disturb- 
 ances, let us bear with them.” 
 
 In the year 1535, the pope proposed a coun- 
 cil to be held at Mantua. The German pro- 
 test" Tits strongly objected to this, and insist- 
 ed that die council should be held in Germa- 
 ny, according to the promise of the emperor. 
 At the same time, that they might not he 
 
,60 
 
 taken by surprise, they desired Luther, to 
 draw up a summary of their doctrine, in or- 
 der to present it to the assembled bishops, if 
 it should be required of them. This summa- 
 ry, which was distinguished by the name of 
 “ Articles of Smalkalden,’ from the place at 
 which they were assembled, is generally join- 
 ed with the confession of the Lutheran church. 
 This council, however, was not held. 
 
 It was in the year 1536, when Calvin, a na- 
 tive of France, came to Basle, and published 
 his institutions of the Christian religion. Short- 
 ly after he removed to Geneva, where he for- 
 med the project of making the republic of 
 Geneva, the mother and seminary of all the 
 reformed churches, as W ittenberg was of the 
 Lutheran. Instead of the system adopted by 
 Zwingle, with regard to the Lord’s supper, he 
 substituted another, which appeared more 
 conformable to the doctrine of the Lutheran 
 church, and which in reality differed very lit- 
 tle from it ; for Calvin acknowledged a real, 
 tho’ spiritual, presence of Christ in the sup- 
 per. However, he added a tenet, of a divine 
 absolute predestination to life and damnation, 
 
61 
 
 as it had been maintained by one Godshalk, in. 
 the year 847; as also a tenet of irresistable grace; 
 and another, of the impossibility of falling out 
 of a state of grace. These doctrines could not 
 but enlarge the breach between the proles- 
 tants ; for the Lutherans had declared in their 
 confession at Augsburg, that Christ had of, 
 fered up himself a sacrifice for all the sins of 
 mankind, and that therefore all might be sav- 
 ed : They had also rejected the doctrine of 
 others, who teach, that those who were once 
 justified, could never lose the Holy spirit and 
 be lost — and .in many of their writings, they 
 contended, that the spirit of God might be re- 
 sisted, and alas, was too often resisted. 
 
 Luther, however, was sensible of the learn- 
 ing and piety, and good intentions of Calvin, 
 and sent his salutation to him by Bucer, and 
 encouraged him to go on in the work of re- 
 formation. And Calvin, in his exposition of 
 Isaiah, calls Luther the prophet of Germany, 
 and the man of God ; and wrote to him, 1545, 
 in the following words : “ I would to God, I 
 could fly to you, and enjoy your conversation, 
 were it only for a few hours ; however, what 
 
 F 
 
is not given us in this life, I hope we shall 
 enjoy in the kingdom of God.” 
 
 In the year 1545, the council of Trent be- 
 gan. This council condemned all the doc- 
 trines of the protestants, and established all 
 the abuses of the church of Rome, and resolv- 
 ed to force the protestants to renounce their 
 .doctrines. This induced the Smalkalden 
 league to prepare for war, against the empe- 
 ror, in their own defence. Luther, however, 
 was so much opposed to bloodshed on ac- 
 count of religion, that he used all his endea- 
 vors to persuade the protestant princes from 
 it ; and as long as he lived, war was not de- 
 clared. 
 
 On the 18th of February, 1546, he died, in 
 the 63d year of his age.* Soon after, the war 
 
 '* The circumstances attending the death of so re- 
 markable a man, should not be forgotten : His last 
 public service was in the church, where he was seized 
 with a violent infiamation in the stomach.. His natu- 
 ral intrepidity did not forsake him, and his last con- 
 versation was about the happiness reserved fc • the 
 pious in a future life. He prayed fervently for him- 
 self and family, but especially for the propagation of 
 the gospel f apd admonished those standing around 
 
began. 'The emperor, drew together his for- 
 ces near Ingolstadt ; and the protestants, un- 
 der the command ci the elector of Saxony, 
 and the landgrave of Hesse, went to meet him 
 with 70,000 men. In the mean time, however, 
 Maurice, duke of Saxcny, fell into the terri- 
 tories of the elector, who was now under the 
 necessity of sending back some troops to op- 
 pose him, which weakened* his army and caus- 
 ed disturbances. The emperor now pursued 
 the protestant army, and in a battle fought at 
 Muhlberg, 1547, both the elector and the 
 landgrave were captured,, and the elector was 
 even sentenced to suffer death. This sentence 
 was not executed, but he was deprived of his 
 electorship, which Maurice now obtained,, 
 
 his bed, to pray continually for the cause of Christ ; 
 after commending his spirit into the hands of his Sa- 
 viour, he quietly departed. His body was put into a 
 leaden coffin, and carried with funeral pomp to the 
 church of Eisleben, where Dr. Jonas preached a ser- 
 mon on the occasion. The elector of Saxony, howe- 
 ver, insisted upon his body being brought to Wit- 
 tenberg, which was accordingly done, and he was 
 buried there with greater pomp than had been known 
 to have accompanied the funeral of any private man. 
 Princes, earls, nobles and students, without number, 
 attended the procession ; and Melanchton delivered a 
 funeral discourse. Melanchton’ s works <§* Cyclopedia* 
 
Some time after, however, Maurice, observ- 
 ing that the emperor was striving' to deprive 
 the Germans of all their liberties, suddenly- 
 brought together an army, and attacked the 
 emperor unexpectedly, and compelled him to 
 grant to the protestants the free exercise of 
 their religion. This agreement was called 
 the treaty of Passau, which was afterwards 
 confirmed by the general peace at Augsburg, 
 1555. 
 
 About this time, the reformation spread ra- 
 pidly in England. During the reign of Ed- 
 ward VI, several learned German divines, 
 were called over to England, to assist in re- 
 gulating church affairs ; among whom, were 
 Bucer and Phagius, who introduced the prim 
 ciples of Calvin. Mary, succeeding to the 
 throne, after the death of Edward, persecuted 
 the reformers, and re -established the Roman 
 catholic religion. After her death, which hap- 
 pened in 1558, Elizabeth became queen, and 
 the reformation was introduced with the great- 
 est success. But some of her subjects inclin- 
 ed to Lutheranism, and others more to Cal- 
 vinism.. 
 
’The United Netherlands had also embraced 
 Calvin’s principles ; but, in the year 1591, 
 Arminius, a learned and pious divine, began 
 to express his doubts concerning the doctrine 
 of Calvin ; and, upon further enquiry, adopt? 
 ed sentiments nearly resembling those of Lu= 
 ther for he maintained, that Jesus Christ 
 made an atonement for the sins of all man« 
 kind— that the grace of God, which is neces- 
 sary to salvation, is offered to all, but may be 
 resisted -and that the regenerate may lose 
 true justifying faith, and fall from the state of 
 grace, and die in their sins. These doctrines, 
 were certainly purely Lutheran. f However, 
 Arminius and his followers, were much per- 
 secuted for teaching them ; and he himself 
 died oppressed with grief in 1609. In the fol- 
 lowing year, his followers drew up an humble 
 petition, entitled their “ Remonstrance,” 
 which they addressed to the states of Holland , 
 On this account, they were called Remon- 
 strants. Afterthis. their tenets gained ground, 
 and were adopted by several persons of merit 
 and distinction. An appeal was now made 
 
 a See Cyclopedia, art. Arminiams&i & Araimu»?‘- 
 
 t Mosheim’s CJhurch history. 
 
 F a 
 
66 
 
 to a national synod. Accordingly the synod 
 of Dort was convened by order of the states* 
 general, in the year 1618, and was composed 
 of ecclesiastical deputies from the united pro- 
 vinces, and from the reformed churches of 
 England, Scotland, Hesse, Bremen, Switzer- 
 land and the Palatinate. At this council, the 
 
 7 « 
 
 poor Arminians were pronounced guilty of 
 pestilential errors, and condemned as corrup- 
 ters of the true religion. In consequence of 
 this decision, they were treated with great se- 
 verity : — they were deprived of all their posts 
 and employments — their ministers were si- 
 lenced and their congregations suppressed. 
 But after the year 1625, they were restored to 
 their former reputation and tranquillity ; and 
 since the time of archbishop Laud, they pre- 
 vailed much in England. 
 
 Dr. Jortin, in his Dissert. 2, page 3, says : 
 
 “ In England about the time of the synod of 
 Dort, we were much divided in our opinions 
 concerning the controverted articles ; but our 
 divines have taken the liberty of thinking for 
 themselves, and the civil government not in- 
 terfering, it has come to pass that almost all 
 

 persons here, of any note for learning and a- 
 bility, have bid adieu to Calvinism, and sided 
 with the Remonstrants.” 
 
 The protestants had generally enjoyed lib- 
 erty of conscience since the peace of Augs- 
 burg, in the year 1555. But the popish gov- 
 ernments were continually encroaching up- 
 on and curtailing their rights, until the year 
 1618, when a very bloody war began, which 
 lasted thirty years. Through the instrumen- 
 tality of the Swedes, the emperor was forc- 
 ed to make peace, and to grant to the protest- 
 ants perfect religious liberty, in the year 1648, 
 which liberty, thank God, they still possess. 
 
 Since the time of Luther, the church has 
 been blessed with several remarkable revi- 
 vals. John Arndt, who was born ten years 
 after the death of Luther, and who was a su~ 
 perintendant in the electorate of Hanover, was 
 instrumental in one of these revivals. His 
 works are filled with the spirit of primitive 
 Christianity. One of them entitled “ true 
 Christianity” has been translated into most 
 
languages, and has contributed greatly to ad- 
 vance the kingdom of the Redeemer ; for 
 there are very few Lutheran families without 
 it. A new epoch in favor of experimental 
 religion, also began under Philip Jacob Spe- 
 ner, in the 17 th century, when a new zeal and 
 life was infused into the different colleges and 
 songregations. The universities of Jena and 
 of Halle were particularly visited by the 
 mighty work of the spirit of grace, in the be- 
 ginning of the last century, so that the great- 
 er part of the students were enlightened and 
 truly converted. In the university of Halle-, 
 August Herman Franke was peculiarly noti- 
 ced for his piety and zeal in the cause of Christ. 
 He was the founder of the celebrated Orphaa- 
 house at Halle, which is supposed to be the 
 largest in the world, and which has sent out 
 many hundreds of pious, zealous and learn- 
 ed labourers into the vineyard of the Lord, 
 to different parts of the world. 
 
 It is also to be observed, that the Lutheran: 
 church has always been engaged in propaga- 
 ting the gospel among the heathens. Soon 
 after thejreformation, the attempt was made, 
 
but little could be done, because the protes- 
 tants generally were persecuted, and had e- 
 nough to do among themselves. \bout the 
 year 1600, however, we find that missiona- 
 ries were sent into Lapland, and, after many 
 difficulties, the scriptures were translated in- 
 to the native language. In 1640 they had es- 
 tablished thirteen Christian congregations, a- 
 mong the heathens of that country. Mission- 
 aries were also sent to Greenland to chris- 
 tianize the benighted inhabitants. Hans E * 
 gede nas the first, who undertook the ardu- 
 ous task, and was shortly after assisted by 
 Messrs Topp, Lange, Milzoug, Paul Egede 
 Ohnsorg, Bing, &c> Many heathens were 
 converted to Christianity, congregations form • 
 ed and several colonies established. But 
 their greatest mission was that to India, es- 
 tablished by the Royal College of Copenha- 
 gen, and theOrphan’s house of Halle. Ziegen- 
 balk andPluetshau, who had studied at Halle, 
 were the first, who offered themselves for this 
 laudable work, and arrived at Trankenbar in 
 the year 1706. A few years after Gruend- 
 ler, Boring and Jordan were sent to assist 
 them. The Bible was translated into several 
 
native languages, aftd many Christian congre- 
 gations were established by their exertions. 
 So great was the success of these missionaries, 
 that the English society for promoting Chris- 
 tian knowledge was induced to offer their as- 
 sistance and support. Upwards of fifty- 
 learned and zealous men, chiefly from the u- 
 niversity of Halle, have been laboring among 
 the Hindoo nations, during the last century, 
 among whom Jcenike, Shulze, Gericke, 
 Swartz, Kohlhoff and Pohle are particularly 
 to be noticed ; and hundreds of thousands of 
 heathens have been brought, by their labors, 
 to the knowledge of the truth, as it is in Je- 
 sus. The Rev. Dr. Buchanan, who visited 
 some of these congregations, in the beginning 
 of this century, has given us a very pleasing 
 account of the present state and progress od 
 Christianity in the different provinces of India, 
 in his work, entitled “ Christian researches 
 in Asia,” to which the author refers those 
 readers, who would wish to become more ac- 
 quainted with the subject. 
 
 The Lutheran chnrch is now the establish- 
 ed church in the kingdoms of - Denmark, 
 
Sweden, Prussia, Saxony, Wurtemberg and 
 Baden — in the electorates of Bradenburg, 
 Hanover, &c. — in many dukedoms and prin- 
 cipalities, as Brunswick, Wolfenbuettle, 
 Hessedarmstadt, &c. — in many imperial ci- 
 ties, as Frankfurt, Augsburg, Nurnberg, 
 &c. and there are many congregations of 
 this confession in Poland, Russia, Hungary, 
 England, Holland, East-Indies and Ameri- 
 ca. In the United States there are three sy- 
 nods or ministeriums : the synod of Pennsyl- 
 vania and the adjoining states ; the synod of 
 New- York and the Eastern states ; and the 
 synod of Carolina and the Southern states. 
 In the last twelve years, the number of con- 
 gregations has much increased. Missiona- 
 ries were yearly sent out to visit, and collect 
 the scattered and deserted members, and to 
 establish congregations ; and in the state of 
 Ohio alone, upwards ©f eighty congregations 
 have been formed. The whole number of 
 Lutheran congregations in the United States, 
 at present, is supposed to be about six hun- 
 dred and fifty. 
 
 It is finally considered a peculiar blessing 
 ef this church, that it has not been distracte4 
 
by non-conformity. Some authors have in- 
 deed said, that upwards of twenty sects have 
 arisen from it ; but this assertion is certainly 
 not founded in history, unless we count the 
 episcopalians, reformed, presbytsrians, bap- 
 tists, menonists, and all other protestant 
 churches among the number. Even the uni- 
 ted brethren (Moravians) cannot be conside- 
 red as arising from it ; for they are a branch 
 of the Hussitic Bohemian church, which 
 Count Zinzendorf revived in Germany, 1727, 
 when he established the first congregation at 
 Herrnhut, and invited the persecuted Bohe- 
 mians to come and settle in his domains. 
 Some Lutherans and Calvinists have indeed 
 increased their number, card the Lutherans 
 consider, esteem and love them, as their 
 brethren, because they agree with them in 
 point of doctrine. 
 
 • 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 I cannot conclude this history of the Lu- 
 theran church, without referring to the testi- 
 monies of the learned and wise, respecting 
 the character of Luther. 
 
Luther, says a writer in the Cyclopedia, 
 {art. Luther) introduced not only into Ger- 
 many, but into the world, a new and most 
 important era, and his name can never be for- 
 got en,. while any thing of principle remains * 
 that is deserving of remembrance ; for the 
 grand and leading doctrine of Lutheranism,, 
 is the right of private judgment in matters 
 of religion. To this he was always ready to 
 devote his talents and his life ; and, says the 
 biographer of Leo X, “the great and imper- 
 ishable merit of the reformer, consists in his 
 having demonstrated it, by such arguments, 
 as neither the efforts of his adversaries, nor 
 his own subsequent conduct, have been able 
 to confute or invalidate.” 
 
 Dr. Robertson, has the following observa- 
 tions, in his history of Charles V : “ Lu- 
 ther was raised up by Providence, to be the 
 author of one of the greatest and most inter- 
 esting revolutions in history. Zeal for what 
 he regarded as truth, undaunted intrepidity 
 to maintain his system, abilities both natu- 
 ral and acquiredto defend his principles, and 
 unwearied industry in propagating them, sr-3 
 Gr 
 
virtues which shine conspicuously in every 
 part of his behaviour. To these may be ad- 
 ded, such purity and even austerity of man- 
 ners, as became a reformer ; such sanctity of 
 life, as suited the doctrine which he deliver- 
 ed, and such perfect disinterestedness, as af- 
 fords no slight presumption of his sincerity. 
 Superior to all selfish considerations, a stran- 
 ger to all the elegancies of life, and despising its 
 pleasures, he left the honors and emoluments 
 of the church to his disciples, remaining sat- 
 isfied himself in his original state of profes- 
 sor of the university, and pastor of the town 
 of Wittenberg. His extraordinary qualities 
 were allayed with no inconsiderable mixture 
 of human passions. — However,, to rouse man- 
 kind, when sunk in ignorance and supersti- 
 tion, and to encounter the rage of bigotry, 
 armed with power, required the utmost vehe- 
 mence of zeal, as well as a temper daring to 
 excess. A gentle call would neither have 
 reached, nor have excited those, to whom it 
 must have been addressed. A spirit less 
 vigorous than Luther’s, would have shrunk 
 back from dangers, which he braved and sur= 
 mounted. 
 
" Martin Luther’s life,” says bishop After- 
 burv, “ was a continual warfare ; he was en- 
 gaged against die united forces of the papal 
 world, and he stood the shock of them brave- 
 ly, both with courage and success. He was 
 certainly a man of high endowments of mind 
 and great virtues ; he had a vast understanding, 
 which raised him to a pitch of learning un- 
 known to the age in which he lived ; his 
 .knowledge in scripture was admirable, his 
 ' elocution manly, and his way of reasoning 
 forcible ; and his conduct before the di- 
 et of Worms, was such as might have be- 
 come the days of the apostles.” Cyclopedia , 
 
 Gibbon, speaking of the effects produced 
 by the exertions of Luther and h ao C 0 1 C XX i Jj 0 j 
 raries, says : “ The philosopher must own 
 his obligations to these fearless enthusiasts ; 
 by their hands he lofty fabric of superstition, 
 from the abuse of indulgences to the inter- 
 cession of the Virgin, has been levelled with 
 the ground ; myriads of both sexes of the 
 monastic profession, were restored to liberty 
 and the labours of social life ; the chain of 
 authority was broken, which restrains the 
 
bigot from thinking as he pleases, and the 
 slave from speaking as he thinks. The 
 pope, fathers and councils were no longer 
 the supreme and infallible judges of the 
 world, and each Christian was taught to ac- 
 knowledge no law but the scriptures, no in • 
 terpreter but his own conscience.” Cyclo- 
 pedia. 
 
 Villers, a modern author, on the spirit and, 
 influence of the reformation, says, “ The zeal, 
 intrepidity and persevering exertions of that 
 illustrious, divine and able champion for 
 truth, Dr. Martin Luther, were the means, 
 under the miraculous superintendance of di- 
 vine providence, of emancipating one part of 
 Europe from the dominion of ignorance and 
 superstition, of mitigating the rigors of the 
 papal yoke in the other, and of producing 
 the greatest and most beneficial revolution in 
 the moral sentiments of mankind, that has 
 taken place since the promulgation of Chris- 
 tianity.” 
 
 Zwingle says of Luther “ As far as I can 
 judge, Luther is certainly a brave warrior of 
 Christ, who seeks with such diligence in 
 
scripture, which no one has shown these thou* 
 sand years past. I care not, whether the pa* 
 pists call me an heretic or not, as they call 
 Luther ; I say this, that since the beginning 
 of popery, no man has withstood the pope so 
 resolutely and inflexibly as Luther. His ex* 
 planations of the scriptures are so well found- 
 ed, that no one can refute them.” Milner'% 
 Church History . 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Buchanan, in a sermon, 
 preached before the university of Cambridge 
 July 1st 1810, gives the following testimony 
 of the ref ormation, and of Luther : “ The se- 
 cond era oflight is the reformation. In the 
 midst of spiritual darkness, while men were 
 sitting a second time'in the region and shadow 
 of death, the daysprirg from on high visited 
 them. This has been accounted by some air 
 epoch in the church, not less remarkable than, 
 that, of the first promulgation of the gospel. 
 And although it is now much out of view in 
 the minds of many ; although infidelity 
 wouid obscure its glory, and the withered 
 hand hath bf-mL Sifted up against him that 
 healed it ? the reformation will ever be consul* 
 G 2 
 
?8 
 
 ered as a great event in the divine dispensa- 
 tion, by all true members of the church of 
 Christ, to the end of time. 
 
 As in the first age, the preaching of the a= 
 postlc Paul was chiefly instrumental in the 
 conversion of men ; so, at this second era, 
 the ministry of Luther was principally hon- 
 ored of God, for that purpose. Luther was 
 ordained to be the great instrument of light ? 
 and he, like WicklifF, gave the holy scrip- 
 4ures to his nation in their own tongue,” 
 
Part II 
 
 THE DOCTRINE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Evangelical Lutheran Church „ 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 %tyz Augsburg Confel&ott 
 
 with m 
 
 EXPLANATORY NOTES & REMARKS. 
 
 .« Prove all things : hold fast that which is good.” 
 
 Paul — 1 Thess. v. 21 
 
The DOCTRINE, &c. 
 
 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 * • 
 
 1. THE Lutheran tenets must not be ta- 
 ken from the works of Luther, written be- 
 fore the year 1530; for before That time he 
 held several ehictrines, which he afterwards 
 rejected. He had been an Augustine monk, 
 and had imbibed principles laid down in the 
 works of Augustinus ; and as a violent pa- 
 pist, he was tenacious of many doctrines and 
 customs ' i hich he afterwards renounced. ‘‘ 1 
 entreat you, 5 ’ says he, “ in an address written 
 near the close of his life ; — “ I entreat you 
 to read* my writings with cool consideration, 
 and even with much pity. I wish you to 
 know, that when I began the affair of indul- 
 gences, 1 was a monk and a most mad papist* 
 
84 
 
 So intoxicated was I, and immersed in papal 
 dogmas, that I would have been ready to as- 
 sist in murdering any person, who should 
 have uttered a syllable against the pope ; and 
 I was always earnest in defending doctrines,, 
 which 1 professed. I went seriously to. work 
 as one who had a horrible dread of the day of 
 judgment, and who, from his inmost soul, 
 was anxious for salvation. You will find , 
 therefore, in my earlier writings , many things f 
 of which I do not now approve. This, may 
 be called inconsistency by my slanderers, but 
 you, my pious reader, will have’the kindness 
 to make some allowance on account of the 
 times and tny own inexperienc^ I stood ab« 
 solutely alone at first, and certainly was very- 
 unfit to undertake matters of such vast im- 
 portance. It was by accident, and not wil- 
 lingly, nor by design, that I fell into those vi- 
 olent disputes. God is my witness.’ 5 The 
 Lutheran doctrines must therefore be taken 
 only from the latter writings of Luther. — - 
 Their symbolical books are, “ The Augs- 
 burg Confession, the Apology of the confes- 
 sion, the short and larger Catechism, and the 
 Smalkalden articles. See Luther’s works 
 and Cyclopedia , art. Luther . 
 
2. Luther was very much opposed to his 
 followers being called Lutheran, and so were 
 the supporters of his cause. In an address 
 of the elector of Saxony and others, to the 
 emperor, we find the following words : “ The ' 
 
 doctrines of Luther w r e only receive as far as 
 they agree with the word of God. On this 
 word we ground ourselves, and not on the 
 person or doctrines of a man, let him be Lu- 
 ther or any other person ; because all men 
 may err. We will therefore be judged on- 
 ly by the word of God.” The name of Lur 
 theran was gi^en to them by their opponents ; 
 the name by which they desired to be denom- 
 inated is, “*fhe Evangelical Church . » 
 
 3. The great and leading principle of the 
 Lutheran church, says Mosheim (Eccl. hist, 
 vol. %) is, that the holy scriptures are the on- 
 ly source, from whence we are to draw our 
 religious sentiments, whether they relate to 
 faith or practice. There are, indeed, several 
 formularies adopted by the church, which 
 Contain the principal points of its doctrine ; 
 but the books, containing these formularies, 
 have no authority beyond what they derive 
 
8S 
 
 from the scriptures, whose sense and mean- 
 ing they are designed to coirvey ; nor are the 
 Lutheran doctors permitted to interpret or 
 explain these books, so as to draw from 
 thence any propositions, that are inconsistent 
 with the express declarations of God. 
 
 « 4. One of the fundamental maxims of 
 this church, says the same author, is, that 
 -Christians are accountable to God alone- for 
 their religious principles, and that no indi- 
 vidual could be justly punished by magis- 
 trates for his erroneous principles, as long as 
 he conducted himself like a virtuous and o- 
 bedient subject, and made no attempt to dis- 
 turb the peace and order of civil society. 
 
 5. The Augsburg confession contains 
 twenty-eight chapters or articles. Some of 
 them however only point out the errors and 
 abuses, that occasioned their separation from 
 the church of Rome. Presuming that such 
 articles would be of little use to Christians of 
 our days, we have contented ourselves with 
 translating and making remarks on such only 
 
84 
 
 as me esteemed essential and necessary to sal- 
 vation. And as there are some articles, not 
 at all mentioned in the confession, and only 
 to be found in the other symbolical books, it 
 was considered necessary also to lay them be 
 fore the reader. 
 
 6. Luther was sensible of the defects of 
 the reformation. “ Many things,' 5 said he, 
 “ are yet to be made better. We have only 
 made the beginning, and we have retained 
 some customs, for fear of giving offence to 
 weak minds. They that come after us, we 
 hope, will be enabled, by the spirit of God, 
 to do more. 55 We therefore find, that the Lu- 
 theran church, since that time, has given up 
 several customs and ceremonies, which were 
 -existing at the time of the reformation. 
 
85 
 
 ARTICLE I 
 
 OF GOD. 
 
 In the first place, we unanimously teach 
 and hold, agreeably to the decree of the coun- 
 cil of Nice, that there is one only Divine Be- 
 ing, who is called, and truly is God.; but 
 that there are three persons in this only Di- 
 vine Being — equally powerful, equally eter- 
 nal-— God the Father, God the Son and God 
 the Holy Ghost ; all three one Divine Being, 
 eternal, without parts, without end — of un- 
 measurable power, wisdom and goodness— 
 the Creator and Preserver of all things, visible 
 and invisible. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. In this article, Luther and Melanchton use the 
 words which are found in the Nicean decree. They 
 wished to deviate as little as possible from the old re- 
 ceived and established expressions. From the other 
 writings of the Lutheran divines, we find that they ex- 
 pressed themselves thus : “ There is but one God, 
 who is called Father, Son and Holy Ghost. 
 
 See Ordo Salutis in the Lutheran Catechism , 
 
 H 
 
86 
 
 2. That this article contains something above snu 
 comprehension, is granted ; but this does not prove 
 that it is contrary to reason. Even in temporal mat- 
 ters, there are many things above our comprehension, 
 which yet agree with reason and experience. Indeed, 
 we can fully comprehend but very little of the things 
 which we daily see. It is enough for us to know, that 
 God has revealed himself thus to mankind, and he 
 certainly knows best, how and what he is. and it i® 
 our duty to believe him. 
 
 ARTICLE II. 
 
 OF ORIGINAL, OR INHERITED SIN. 
 
 We teach, that after the fall of Adam, all 
 men, who are naturally born, are conceived 
 and born in sin ; that is, that they are all, from 
 their infancy, full of bad desires and disposi- 
 tions, and can have no true fear of God, nor 
 faith in God, by nature ; and that this innate 
 disease and inherited sin, is really to be ac- 
 counted sin, and condemneth all, who are not 
 born again of water and the Holy Ghost. 
 
87 
 
 The Lutheran catechism, gives the follow- 
 ing definition : — Original sin consists in a 
 propensity to things forbidden by the law of 
 God and an aversion to his 'will. 
 
 In the Apology of the Confession, we find 
 the following definition : — Original sin con- 
 sists in a want of the first holiness and righ- 
 teousness in paradise. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. The last clause in the above article, contained 
 f in the words, “ condemneth all,” &c. is explained 
 
 by some, thus : If we suffer our depraved nature to 
 have the rule over us, it will certainly lead us to ruin 
 and condemnation. 
 
 2. Dr. Michaelis, has the following in his Comp 
 Theol. Dogm. : Original sin, or the innate moral dis- 
 ease, which every person feels, and on account of which 
 he sighs, consists in a preponderance of sensuality 
 over reason. (Uebergewicht der Sinnlichkeit fiber 
 die vernunft) Sensual things weigh move with us 
 than the things of reason. Onr scale, if I may so 
 speak, ?s false, much like one which has., one arm too 
 long , and the other too short. Hence our propensity 
 tc evil is much stronger than to that which is good- 
 
The consequences of the fall of Adam were 
 1. the moral disease, which we call, in the language 
 of theology, original sin, or innate depravity of na- 
 ture ; and 2. the loss of immortality. Thus far is the 
 sin of Adam imputed to us. We have, in consequence 
 of it, an innate natural depravity, and we are all lia- 
 ble to death- — but further, the fall of Adam is not im- 
 puted to us. 
 
 3. Dr. Kunze, a learned modern divine of the Lu- 
 theran church, has the following observations in his 
 History of the Christian religion : — To derive original 
 sin from the first man’s being the federal head or re- 
 presentative of the human race, seems not satisfac- 
 tory to a mind, inclined to derive or expect only good 
 and perfect things, from the good and perfectCreator. 
 By one man’s disobedience, it is true, many were 
 made sinners, but not on account of an imputation of 
 this man’s sin, but because by him, sin entered into 
 the world.” 
 
 4. Original sin,” saith a pious author in his intro- 
 duction to the book entitled “ Whole duty of man,” 
 
 is the fault ond corruption of the nature of every 
 man, that is naturally engendered of the. offspring of 
 Adam, whereby man is far gone from original righte- 
 ousness, and is of his own nature inclined to evil ; so 
 that the flesh lusteth contrary to the spirit, and there- 
 fore, in every person born into this world, if deserveth 
 God’s wrath and damnation; and this infection ot na- 
 ture doth remain, even in them that are regenerated. 
 
89 
 
 And as man could not recover himself, nor raise 
 himself outcf his own ruin, and as no creature was 
 able to doit, the mercy of God, pitied our misery, 
 and his wisdom devised this expedient, to reconcile 
 his mercy and justice, viz. that no man should on ac- 
 count of original sin, be eternally, miserable, except 
 through his own fault ; and his goodness resolved, that 
 the Son of God should undertake this work, satisfy 
 the offended justice of the Almighty, and repair the 
 ruined nature of mankind. 
 
 5. This doctrine of the moral depravity of man- 
 kind, was even taught by the heathen philosophers : — - 
 Plato and Socrates often speak of a moral disease— 
 Aristotle calls it kakon suggenes, i. e. an innate 
 evil — and a Latin author says, Video meliora, 
 proboque sed deteriora sequor, i. e. I see the right 
 and approve of it, and yet I pursue the wrong. Even 
 in nature, children inherit the natures and diseases 
 of their parents 5 if parents have ruined and diseased 
 their, natures, by sinful practices, their offspring feel 
 the consequences. 
 
 6. ZwirrgJe’s opinion of original sin, may be taken 
 from the following, extracted from Milner’s church 
 history, vol. 5 Sin is the transgression of a law, 
 and where there is no law, there is no transgression. 
 Our original father sinned ; but who among us did eat 
 of the forbidden tree ? Original sin, as it is in us, who 
 are the offspring of Adam, cannot justly be called 
 
 H 2 
 
our sin. It is a disease* a depraved state. So a re?, 
 bel, who is taken a prisoner in battle, may be made a 
 slave, and if so, bis children may also be made slaves ; 
 but the fault was in the father. The children may be 
 blameless and yet have to suffer on account of the 
 sins of the father. If you wish to call their state sin, 
 because they were brought into it by sin and rebellion, 
 I have nothing to say against it. In this sense, we are 
 all children of wrath, by nature. 
 
 ARTICLE III. 
 
 OF THE SON OF GOD. 
 
 We also teach, that God the Son, became 
 man, born of the Virgin Mary ; and that the 
 two natures, divine and human, inseparably 
 united together in one person, are one Christ, 
 who is true God and man, who was 'truly 
 born, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead 
 and buried — that he was a sacrifice, not only 
 for original sin, but also for all other sins, and 
 reconciled the wrath of God. Also that the 
 same Christ descended into hell,* truly arose 
 from the dead on the third day, that he as- 
 
 * Hades, or the place of departed spirits. 
 
cendecl tato heaven, and sitteth at the right of 
 God ; that he eternally rules over all his crea- 
 tures and governs ; that he sanct lies, streng- 
 thens and comforts, through his Holy Spirit, 
 all, who believe in him, and gives unto them 
 life and various gifts and blessings — and that 
 he defends and protects them against the de- 
 vil and against sin. 
 
 Also, that the same Lord Christ, will pub 
 licly come to judge the living and the dead* 
 
 In the Lutheran catechism, we find the fol- 
 lowing words I believe, that Jesus Christ, 
 true God, begotten of the Father from eterni- 
 ty, and also true man, born of the Virgin 
 Mary, is my Lord ; who hath redeemed, pur- 
 chased and delivered me, a poor forlorn and 
 condemned person, from sin, from death, and 
 from the power of the dev l ; not with gold or 
 silver, but with his holy precious blood, and 
 with his innocent sufferings and death ; in 
 order that I might be his, live under him in 
 his kingdom, and serve him in everlasting 
 righteousness, innocence and happiness.— 
 £arl 2, of the Creed. 
 
NOTES. - 
 
 1. Christ offered up himself a sacrifice for all men* 
 and hath purchased for them God's grace, righteous- 
 ness, life, and salvation, and the holy Ghost. Frey- 
 linghausen’s Or do Salmis, in the Lutheran Catechism. 
 
 £. Our Saviour has made a full, perfect and suffi- 
 cient sacrifice, oblation and satisfaction, for the sins 
 of the whole world ; he has suffered a cruel and igno- 
 minious death upon the cross for our sakes, and by 
 his death and sufferings has purchased this grace for 
 us, that real repentance and sincere obedience shall 
 be accepted instead of innocence; but without this 
 repentance and renewed obedience we shall not be 
 accepted on any terms. The sacrifice which he of- 
 fered, although of infinite value, will be of no avail to 
 us, unless in conformity to his death and resurrection, 
 we die unto sin, and rise again unto newness of life. 
 Whole duty of man, page 18. 
 
 3; When by our sins we had justly incurred the 
 displeasure of Almighty God and were liable to eter- 
 nal miserv, our blessed Saviour discharged the obli- 
 gation, and by shedding his most precious blood as 
 the price of redemption, made satisfaction to God 
 for us ; he was contented to be offered a sacrifice for 
 us, to bear our sins in bis own body on the tree, and 
 to atone for the guilt of our offences, by the one ob- 
 lation of himself once offered for ns all. And he di- 
 ed not only for our benefit and advantage, but in our 
 
93 
 
 place and stead, so that, if he had not died, we had e* 
 teinally perished, without being able to escape the 
 justice of an angry God. Ibidem , page 9 T 
 
 4. In considering the propitiatory sacrifice af 
 Christ, (says Dr. Michaelis) we must not confine our 
 views to this our small world, which is comparatively 
 speaking, but a grain of sand to the whole universe $ 
 no, we must consider, that the bible represents Christ 
 as known to the whole creation, to all other worlds. 
 And thus the satisfaction of Christ becomes an exam- 
 ple of the justice and mercy of God to all his other 
 subjects. In punishing his only beloved son, who 
 had become our substitute, he proved his hatred to 
 sin more, than if he had punished us individually, and 
 punishment executed on so infinitely great and belov- 
 ed a being, must indeed be more deterring to all his 
 subjects, than if he had eternally punished the whole 
 fallen race of Adam. If God spared not his only be- 
 gotten son, how can they hope to be spared, if they 
 should transgress. Mich . Com. Theol. Dogm. — art. 
 Christ. 
 
 5. The nature and extent of the efficacy of the 
 great atouement made by Christ, (says Dr. Blair) we 
 are unable, as yet, fully to trace. Part we are capa- 
 ble of beholding ; and the wisdom of what we behold, 
 we have reason to adore. W e discern in this planet 
 redemption the evil of sin strongly exhibited 5 and 
 the justice of the divine government awfully exempli- 
 fied, in Christ suffering for sinners. But let us not 
 
94 
 
 imagine, that our present discoveries unfold the whole 
 influence of the death of Christ. It is connected 
 with causes into which we cannot penetrate. It pro- 
 duces consequences too extensive for us to explore. 
 God’s thoughts are not as our thoughts. In all things 
 we see only in part ; and here, if anywhere, we see 
 also, as through a glass, darkly. Biair’s Sermons , 
 vol. 1, page 74. 
 
 6. The infidel rejects the doctrine of an atone- 
 ment, because he cannot fully comprehend it. I 
 might ask, what can we short-sighted creatures fully 
 comprehend P very little indeed, even of those things 
 which we daily see. And shall we reject the plan of 
 salvation made by omnipotent wisdom, because we 
 caunot fully look into it ? Shall the man who is sink- 
 ing under a mortal disease, refuse the medicine, 
 which shall infallibly restore him, because he is igno- 
 rant of the ingredients of which it is composed ?-— 
 Shall the criminal, who is under the sentence of 
 death, reject the pardon, which is unexpectedly of- 
 fered to him, because he cannot conceive in what 
 manner, and by what means, it was obtained fol- 
 ium ? In short, shall we determine not to be saved, 
 because God chooses to do it, not in our way, but 
 in his own ? This would certainly be acting very 
 foolishly and dangerously. — Let us not, my breth- 
 y'^Wn, be among the number of such deluded persons. 
 Let us not make God a liar by disbelieving his 
 word. Let us on the contrary believe the report, 
 
95 
 
 that there is salvation in none other, and that, thiyo’ 
 Christs name, whosoever believeth in him, shall re- 
 ceive remission of sins . — Acts 10, 43. 
 
 ARTICLE IV. 
 
 OF JUSTIFICATION. 
 
 We teach, that we cannot obtain fonrive- 
 ness of sins and righteousness before God, 
 through our own merits, works or satisfac- 
 tion, but tliatjwe obtain forgiveness of sins, 
 and become righteous before God through 
 grace, for Christ’s sake, by faith, if we be- 
 lieve that Christ suffered for us, and that for 
 his sake sins are forgiven , and righteousness 
 and eternal life are granted to us. 
 
 We are accounted righteous before Goc%* 
 only for the merits of our Lord and Saviour 
 - Jesus Christ by faith, and not for our own 
 works or deservings. Art . Epis. Church. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 3 Saving faith must have a promise of Got? for 
 its object This promise is, that God will forgive us 
 our sins, and grant us eternal life for Christ’s sake, 
 under the condition that we penitently receive and 
 embrace him as our Saviour. Mich . comp, th.dog. art. 
 Faith. 
 
 He, who feels sorrow and grief on account of his 
 sins, and truly believes that he is deserviug of eter- 
 nal damnation, but yet, that God will pardon his sins 
 for Christ’s sake, will receive and embrace this pro- 
 mise of forgiveness and eternal life, with the greatest 
 desire and eagerness, and at the same time be willing 
 to perform those conditions, under which God offers 
 them, to the utmost of his ability ; so that he will en- 
 deavor, from that moment, to renounce the service of 
 sin, for which Christ bad to endure such dreadful pun- 
 ishments, and strive to love him with all his heart. 
 
 .. Ibidem . 
 
 2. The faith, by and through which we are justi- 
 fied, consists not in a bare knowledge and assent 
 to the truth of the gospel ; but it is a certain inward 
 persuasion, by which we sincerely, apd with our 
 ■whole heart, do embrace the doctrines contained in 
 the word of God as true, and especially Christ as our 
 Saviour, and this persuasion must penetrate the heart? 
 and be accompanied with a suitable practice. Os- 
 terwald’s Theology. 
 
9 ? 
 
 3. The distinguishing doctrine of the reformation 
 saith Dr. Buchanan, in his sermon, entitled “ Star 
 in the East,” was justification by faith. “This said 
 Luther, is the only solid rock. This rock continues 
 he, did Satan shake in paradise, when he persuaded 
 our first parents, that by their own w’isdom and power 
 they might become like unto God, and thereby indu- 
 ced them to renounce their faith in God, who had 
 given them life and a promise of its continuance. — . 
 The kingdom of Satan, added Luther, is to be resisted 
 by this heavenly and all-powerful doctrine. Whether 
 we be rude or eloquent — whether we be learned or 
 unlearned, this rock must be defended — this doctrine 
 must be published in animated strains. — It is « the 
 magna charta ecclesise stantis vel cadentis.” 
 
 Luther's preface to the Galatians. 
 
 ARTICLE V. 
 
 OF THE MINISTRY. 
 
 To obtain such a faith, God hath institu- 
 ted the ministry, and given us the gospel 
 and the sacraments, through which, as means, 
 he gives the Holy spirit, who works faith, 
 where and when he will, in those that alter - 
 I 
 
lively hear the gospel, which teaches that we 
 have a merciful God, through Christ’s merits, 
 and not through any merit of our own. 
 
 ARTICLE VI. 
 
 OF RENEWED OBEDIENCE. 
 
 We also teach, that such a faith brings 
 forth good fruit and good tvorks, and that we 
 must do such good works, as God hath com- 
 manded, yet not to trust in them, as if 
 we could thereby merit grace with God. — - 
 For we obtain forgiveness of sin and righ- 
 teousness, through faith in Christ, as Christ 
 himself saith, Luc 17 : When ye shall have 
 done all those things, which are commanded 
 you, ye shall say, we are unprofitable ser- 
 vants. Thus the Fathers also teach ; for 
 Ambrosius saith : It is so determined by God, 
 that he who believes in Christ shall be sav- 
 ed and obtain forgiveness of sins, not through 
 works, but only through faith, without any 
 merits of his own. 
 
ARTICLE VII. 
 
 OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 We teach, that there must always be a 
 holy Christian church, which is a congrega- 
 tion of the faithful, in which the gospel is 
 purely preached, and the holy sacraments ad- 
 ministered agreeably to Christ ordinance. 
 
 And this is sufficient to a true unity of the 
 ehristian churches, that the gospel be preached 
 and the sacraments administered agreeably to 
 the word of God. It is therefore not necessa- 
 ry to the unity of the Christian churches, that 
 ceremonies instituted by men, should be a- 
 like at all places, as Paul saith, Eph. iv. 4, 
 5. There is one body and one spirit, even as 
 you are called in one hope of your calling ; 
 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God 
 and Father of all, who is above all, and 
 through all, and in you alh 
 
10 ® 
 
 ARTICLE VIII. 
 
 the members , which compose the 
 Church, and of the unworthiness of 
 Ministers not hindering the effect of 
 the Sacraments. 
 
 Although the Christian church be a con- 
 gregation of the faithful and holy ; yet, where- 
 as there are many false Christians and hypo- 
 crites in the world, and there will always be 
 open sinners among the pious, nevertheless 
 the sacraments are effectual, although the 
 preachers, by whom they are administered, 
 be not pious, as our saviour himself saith, 
 Math, xxiii. 2 ; “ The scribes and Pharisees 
 sit in Moses’ seat ; whatsoever they bid you 
 observe, that observe and do.” 
 
 
104 
 
 ARTICLE IX. 
 
 OF BAPTISM. 
 
 We teach that baptism is necessary, and 
 that grace is thereby offered, and that child- 
 ren are to be baptised, who are by such bap- 
 tism dedicated to God and made pleasing' to 
 him. 
 
 We therefore cannot agree with those, who 
 reject infant baptism. 
 
 Baptism is not mere water, but it is that wat- 
 er, which the ordinance of God enjoins, and 
 which is connected with God’s word. Lu- 
 theran catechism . 
 
 Again, baptism is an holy sacrament and a 
 divine token, that God the Father, together 
 with the son and the Holy Ghost, certifies, 
 that he will be a merciful God to the bapti- 
 sed person, and pardon ail his sins out of 
 pure me cy, for Christ’s sake, and receive 
 him as his child, and an heir of heavenly hies- 
 Ibidem 
 
 * 1 2 
 
 sings. 
 
iQ2 
 
 Again, baptism assures us of God’s grace, 
 of forgiveness of sins, of adoption into the 
 family of God, and of the inheritance of eter- 
 nal life, under the condition, that we re- 
 nounce the devil and all his works, the pomps 
 and vanities of this wicked world, and all the 
 sinful lusts of the flesh, and strive to believe 
 and serve God as long as we live. Ibidem . 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. In baptism we enter into a covenant with God. 
 He promises to be our Father for Christ’s sake, and 
 to grant us his Holy Spirit, in order to guide us into 
 the ways of truth and holiness; and we promise to be- 
 come his dutiful children. As long as we fulfil our 
 part of the contract or covenant, we may be assured 
 that God’s promises will stand firm. 
 
 2 Baptism is considered by the Lutheran Church, 
 as the washing of regeneration ; thus Paul calls it, 
 Tit. 3, 5. We therefore find that in the primitive 
 church, baptism and regeneration were used as sy- 
 uonimous terms. The Jews, when they baptised, 
 heathens, who became proselytes to them, consider- 
 ed them, when baptised, as regenerated, that is, al- 
 though they were born of heathens, yet after baptism, 
 they were considered, as if they had been born of 
 Jewish parents ; this was the received opinion of the 
 'Word regeneration among the Jews. Thus in chris- 
 
108 
 
 tian baptism, although we are by nature born in sin 
 and of sinful parents, yet in baptism God conde- 
 scends in mercy, for Christ’s sake, to adopt us as hi3 
 children, and to take us under his particular care. — • 
 <Mich. comp, tlieol. 
 
 3 Original sin is forgiven in baptism, not as 
 though it were no more, but that it is not imputed 
 to us. Augustine and Luther — Apology of Confess 
 sion. 
 
 4. In the German Heildelberg catechism we find 
 the following words : Christ hath instituted baptism, 
 and hath thereby promised, that I am as surely wash- 
 ed with his blood and spirit from the impurity of my 
 soul, that is, from all my sins, as I am outwardly 
 washed with water, which usually takes away the im- 
 purity of my body. 
 
 5. It is not the want of baptism, but the despi- 
 sing of baptism, which condemns. 
 
 V 
 
 6. Concerning sponsors, commonly called god- 
 fathers s and godmothers, the church decrees nothing. 
 It is entirely at the option of the parents to stand for 
 their children themselves, or to have sponsors. 
 
 7. The Lutherans baptise by pouring or sprink- 
 ling of water, but yet do not reject immersion ; they 
 consider one way as good as the other. 
 
104 
 
 8. They hold infant baptism, because?, 
 
 a. Children were not excluded from the church of 
 Ood in the old testament. They were circumcised, 
 when they are eight days old. And can we imagine; 
 that the blessed Jesus came to straiten or contract the 
 privileges of the new testament, and put Christians in- 
 to a worse state, than the Jews were under the old ? 
 
 b. Christ hath declared, Math. x. 14, of such is 
 the kingdom of God, i. e. such shall be admitted into 
 my kingdom. 
 
 c. Because it is said, Acts ii. 38, .the promise is 
 Unto you and to your children. 
 
 d. When the Jews baptised their proselytes, they 
 at the same time baptised the children of such pros- 
 elytes ; this was a known and established custom.— 
 When therefore our Saviour commanded his apostles 
 to go into the world, and make all nations his disci- 
 ples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Sori 
 and Holy Ghost, the apostles could not under- 
 stand him other wise, hut that he wished them also to 
 baptise children, as that was a customary thing. In- 
 deed, had our Saviour wished to exclude the children 
 from baptism, it Mould have been necessary to give 
 the apostles an express prohibition, and to say unto 
 them, go ye and baptise, but not as is customary a- 
 mong the Jew's, who also baptise the children of their 
 proselytes, no, I will have none but adults accept- 
 ed into my church- 
 
e. Because the apostles baptised whole families* 
 Acts, xvi. 33. — and finally 
 
 f. Because parents have a right to make contracts 
 for their children, to their advantage, as long as such 
 
 children have not attained the proper use of their rea- 
 son. 
 
 ARTICLE X. 
 
 OF THE HOLY SUPPER. 
 
 Of the Supper of the Lord we teach that 
 the true body and blood of Jesus Christ is 
 verily present, under the external signs of 
 bread and wine, in the supper, and there com- 
 municated and received. 
 
 It is the true body and blood of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, under the external signs of 
 bread and wine, given unto Christians to eat 
 and drink, as it was instituted by Christ him- 
 self. Lutheran catechism. 
 
106 
 
 * 
 
 The supper of Christ is an holy sacrament 
 and divine token, wherein Christ truly offers 
 unto us, under bread and wine, his body and 
 blood, and assures us thereby, that we have 
 forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Ibidem. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. To understand the above expressions, it is ne- 
 cessary to consider, that Zwingle, the reformer in 
 Switzerland, ^who had agreed with Luther in every 
 essential point, but this,) taught that the Lord’s sup- 
 per was only a commemoration of the death of Christ, 
 and that nothing was either offered or received in the 
 sacrament : with this Luther would not agree. He 
 insisted that, agreeably to the nature of a sacrament, 
 something must be offered and received. Hence a- 
 xose that expression — true body. He wished to say 
 that there really was a partaking of the body and 
 blood of Christ in the supper. 
 
 £. The Lutherans therefore hold, that the bread 
 remains bread, and the wine remains wine ; but as- 
 sure as the penitent communicant receives the bread 
 and wine, so surely does he receive the body and 
 blood of the Lord Jesus— -or in other words, the ben- 
 efits of redemption ; that there is therefore an union 
 <or communion between the external signs, and the bo- 
 dy and blood of Christ. 1 Cor. 10. However they 
 do no.t attempt an explanation of the manner of this- 
 
i 07 
 
 ft 
 
 anion. Lei it be called, say they, a sacramental u» 
 nion, because there is nothing in the nature ofthings, 
 that can illustrate it, or that is like it. Dr . Kunze’s 
 history of the Lutheran church. 
 
 3. Calvin, saitb a writer in the Cyclopedia, (art. 
 Church) substituted, instead of the system adopted 
 fey Zudngle with regard to the eudhai-ist, another, 
 .which appeared more conformable to the doctrine of 
 ihe Lutheran church, and which, in reality, differed 
 very little from it ; for he acknowledged a real, tho" 
 spiritual presence of Christ in this Sacrament. — • 
 His words, taken from his institutes, are, “ I hold 
 myself without contradiction to the promise of Christ. 
 He commands me to take, to eat and to drink his bo- 
 dy and his blood, under the signs of bread and wine, 
 in the supper ; and I, for my part, doubt not, but 
 that he really gives that which he hath promised, and 
 that I receive it out of his hands.” 
 
 4. In the confession of the reformed church, m 
 the Spanish Netherlands, as also of the reformed 
 French church, we find the following words : we con- 
 fess that Jesus Christ nourishes us in the holy supper, 
 with his true body and blood, and that he reaUy and 
 verily communicates to us, what he therein repre- 
 sents. Risler’s extracts. 
 
 5. Sacrifices constituted a part of public worship $ 
 they prefigured Christ’s atoning death. The Chris- 
 tians ought not to be without this essential part of 
 
m 
 
 im 
 
 worship. But their sacrificing consists in partaking 
 •of the Lord’s body and blood, pursuant to the express 
 institution of Christ. The fathers of the first centu- 
 ries are unanimous in calling the Lord’s supper — the 
 Christian sacrifice. Neglecting this, is giving up our 
 interest in Christ’s atoning death. Kunze’s history. 
 
 6 In the celebration of the Lord’s supper, it is 
 left to the Congregation, whether to use bread or sa- 
 cramental cakes. 
 
 7. The sacraments are means of grace, and there- 
 fore to be administered, not only to the pious and con- 
 verted, but also to those who are desirous of their 
 salvation, and willing publicly to confess their Savi- 
 our. It was not instituted for angels or the saints in 
 heaven, but for the poor, tbe bungling and thirsting, 
 andTor those who desire the cure of their diseased 
 souls. To say 1 dare not go to the Lord’s supper, un- 
 til I am really converted, is the same as if a sick per- 
 son should say, I will take no medicine before I am 
 cured.* 
 
 The passage, 1 Cor. xi. 29, hath been often used 
 to det^f poor and contrite souls from the communion^ 
 where it is said : he thateateth and drinketh unwor- 
 thily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not 
 
 * Judas was certainly in an unconverted state, and yet the 
 Saviour suffered him to beat the table. He offered him his 
 grace, and had he made good use of it, .lie might yet have been 
 saved. 
 
discerning the Lord’s body. But it is to be observed, 
 that the word damnation, certainly means in this pas- 
 sage, judgment or temporal chastisement, asrihe con- 
 text plainly proves. And the word unworthily is not 
 the noun anaxios , but the adverb anaxiws , and does > 
 not refer to the state Or situation of the person who 
 receives the communion, but to the manner in which 
 he receives it. The apostle wishes to say, “ He who 
 eats and drinks in a disrespectful and unbecoming 
 manner, will certainly bring down upon himself the 
 chastisements of the Lord” — If the receiving of the 
 Lord’s supper will even not be an effectual means to 
 save him, God cannot save him, unless it is by and 
 
 through severe chastisements. JWch. Com. TheoL 
 
 Dognu 
 
 Before I conclude this article, I will take the liber- 
 ty of translating a few passages from a work lately 
 published in Germany, ( 1814 ,) entitled, “Practical 
 remarks concerning the conduct of evangelical mini- 
 sters. This work contains the opinions of a confer- 
 ence of preachers assembled at Kerrnhut, and com- 
 posed of embers of the different societies of United 
 brethren, e formed and Lutherans. Under the arti- 
 cle of the Lord’s supper, they say : 
 
 “ An evangelical preacher must often explain to 
 his hearers 1 1 e design and importance of the Holy 
 Supper, and tell them what belongs to a worthy re- 
 ception of the same ; but he has no right to reipct a 
 
 K 
 
'-person from receiving the communion, because he 
 supposes him to be yet in an unregeuerated state. 
 Such, however, as are openly living in sin, and 
 would dishonor the table of the Lord, he may keep 
 l>ack until they come to the knowledge of their sinful 
 
 state and promise to reform their lives. -It is his 
 
 great consolation, that he dare tender an universal 
 offer of grace, without hesitation, to all souls to whom 
 he gives the Sacrament, and we know not how often 
 the Saviour makes use of this occasion, to touch their 
 hearts, and lead them to true repentance. 
 
 *'• It is an erroneous opinion, that every unconvert* 
 •ed person receives the holy Sacrament to his damna- 
 tion. The passage recorded 1 Cor. xi. 29, certainly 
 does not warrant this assertion ; for Paul expressly 
 says in the 32d verse, ‘ when we are judged (punish- 
 ed, chastised or damned) we are chastened of the 
 Lord, that we should not be condemned with the 
 world. 5 We therefore, draw upon ourselves temporal 
 chastisements, if we do not receive this Sacrament 
 with becoming reverence and respect. It must also^ 
 be considered, that the apostle does not say, he who 
 eats as an unworthy person, but be who eats in an un- 
 worthy, unbecoming, disrespectful manner So, 
 
 that he is not speaking at all of the worthiness of the 
 communicant, but of the respect and reverence where- 
 with the Sacrament is to be celebrated. If therefore, 
 a person comes to the table of the Lord with true re- 
 v ;rrence and humility, we need not fear that he re- 
 
spires it umro-rtlnTy ; and experience teaches,, that 
 most persons are powerfully moved on that occasion., 
 and we have no doubt of its being the means, of bring- 
 ing many to repentance and to Christ ' 5 
 
 ARTICLE XL 
 
 OP CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION. 
 
 We teach, that private confession may be 
 retained in the church ; although it is not. 
 necessarv incur confession to mention all our 
 
 •f 
 
 sins and transgressions, because it is not pos- 
 sible, .Ps. xix. 12 • Who can understand his 
 errors ? 
 
 In the 25th article, we find the following 
 words : It is not necessary to force the peo- 
 ple to mention their particular sins. Thus- 
 did Chrisostom teach : I do not say, that you 
 shall publicly accuse yourself, but obeyjfhe 
 words of the prophet, who says, Reveal thy- 
 self and commit thy ways to the Lord. There- 
 fore* confess- to- &od y the true Judge, not a am- 
 
108 
 
 ing your sins with your tongue but in yotrr 
 conscience. Confession before or to a priest, 
 is not commanded in scripture— -it was only 
 ordained by the church* 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 It was a custom before the reformation, to make 
 confession of sins, in private, to a priest, and to ob- 
 tain absolution from him. Luther and his colleagues 
 contended, that this custom was not commanded in 
 holy scripture, and that it vras only an ordinance of 
 the church, which might be of use, when properly- 
 conducted. However, they did not believe, that the 
 absolution by the priest would be of any use, unless 
 the person confessing, was in a truly penitent state ; 
 and then, it could not be considered, that the priest 
 could absolve : all that he could do, was to declare 
 to the penitent, the promises of God, concerning the 
 forgiveness of sins, and to pronounce the threatnings 
 of the law of God, to the impenitent, as long as they 
 continued in sin. 
 
 At present, this custom is regulated thus, in the 
 Lutheran churches : A day or two before the holy 
 sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is to be administered 
 in a congregation, the persons desirous of becoming 
 communicants, go to the house of the minister, or to 
 any other appointed place, to give In their names, so 
 thtgt he may have an opportunity to speak to them> 
 
concerning their spirituat state ; and that they also 
 may have an opportunity to disclose their state to 
 him, and ask his advice. The day previous to the 
 administration of the Lord’s Supper, all, who wish to 
 become communicants, attend at the church for divine 
 worship. After singing an hymn and praying, a suit-’ 
 able discourse is delivered — the object of which, is to 
 assist the hearers, in an examination of themselves,, 
 in order to bring them to a sense of their sinfulness 
 and depravity, and to induce them to humble them- 
 selves before the throne of God, to seek forgiveness 
 cf sins in the blood of the Redeemer, and to make the 
 solemn resolution to amend their lives. After this 
 discourse, some questions are put to the audience* 
 which are answered in the affirmative. The congre- 
 gation then kneels — one of them repeats a confession 
 of sins with an audible voice — the minister adds a few 
 ejaculations; and, after all have stood up, he pro- 
 nounces pardon and absolution to all the truly peni- 
 tent ; but, at the same time, he says to the impeni- 
 tent, that they cannot hope for the pardon of their 
 sins, until they sincerely turn from their wicked 
 ways to the Lord, 
 
 This is all the Lutheran church holds concerning 
 confession and absolution, as may be more fully seen 
 in their liturgy. 
 
 The for mute of absolution in the Roman churcb ; 
 'says the Cyclopedia, art. Absolution) is absolute--* 
 
110 
 
 m the Greek church, it is deprecatory'— and in the 
 Protestant churches it is declarative. 
 
 ARTICLE XII. 
 
 OF REPENTANCE. 
 
 We teach, that those who have sinned after 
 baptism, may again obtain forgiveness of sin, 
 at any time, if they repent, and that absolution 
 shall not be denied them by the church. And 
 true repentance is to have real sorrow and ter- 
 ror on account of sin, and at the same tiine ; 
 a trust or faith in the gospel, that the sins be 
 forgiven and grace is obtained thro’ Christ, 
 which faith again comforts and quiets the 
 heart ; but afterwards true amendment of life 
 must follow, so that we forsake sin ; — for this 
 must be the fruit of repentance, as John saith, 
 Matt. iii. Bring forth fruits meet for repen- 
 tance. 
 
 Hence, we do not agree with those, who 
 teach, that they who were once pious, can- 
 not fall again. 
 
NOTES. 
 
 1. We say, that repentance hath two parts : con- 
 trition and faith. However, if any person is desirous 
 of adding a third part, viz. the fruits of repentance, 
 which are good works, we will not dispute with hint. 
 Spol. of Confes. 
 
 2. It is certainly a false repentance, if we do not 
 Strive to render satisfaction, to the utmost of our 
 power, to those whom we have wronged ; for, if he 
 who hath stolen or cheated, and hath other mens* 
 goods in his possession, doth not return them, his sor- 
 row and contrition, is certainly not of a proper na- 
 ture. He remains a thief or defrauder in the eyes of 
 God and man, as long as he is not willing to make sa- 
 tisfaction. Therefore, restitution is to be considered 
 a fruit of repentance. Jlpol. of Conf . 
 
 3. Repentance, saith Luther, consists in a know- 
 ledge of one’s errors and misery, and an amendment 
 of life. It may be defined “An entire and zealous 
 change of the mind and of the heart” — it teaches us 
 to know our sins, and to become new beings — it pu- 
 rifies and cleanses us daily from sins. And this re- 
 pentance continues until death. There are some in- 
 deed who say, (and T have discoursed with such) that 
 all those, who have once repented and obtained faith, 
 cannot fall. If they even sinned afterwards, yet they 
 wgald still remain in a state of grace ? and their sins’ 
 
US 
 
 would not injure them. Do what ynti please, say 
 tliey, if you believe, your sins are all done away— 
 faith destroys sin — once a saint, always a saint. — . 
 And, they add, if a person sir*, after having repented 
 and obtained faith and the spirit, it is a proof that he 
 never really repented, that he never had faith nor the 
 spirit. This is certainly a false and dangerous doc- 
 trine, a doctiine which the bible does not teach. 
 
 4. To be convinced of sin, is/to have sorrow and 
 contrition, and to tremble on account of God’s wrath 
 and judgment; after which true amendment of life 
 must follow, so that we forsake and give up every 
 sin, and strive to live agreeably to the will of God. 
 Luther. 
 
 5. We must also take care not to delay our re- 
 pentance or conversion, by thinking that we have 
 time enough, and that death is not so near. We hold 
 that a death-bed repentance is a very dangerous 
 thing. He, who wishes to repent, should strive to da 
 it immediately ; otherwise there is danger that all he 
 may do, will be vain and useless. See Tishler's ex* 1 
 trusts from Luther’s works. 
 
ARTICLE XIII. 
 
 OF THE USE OF THE SACRAMENT?. 
 
 The Sacraments were instituted, not only 
 as signs, whereby Christians may' outwardly 
 be known ; but also as signs and testimo- 
 nies of the divine will towards us, thereby to 
 awaken and to strengthen our faith ; there- 
 fore they require faith, and are only used 
 rightly, when they are received in faith, and 
 When our faith is strengthened thereby. 
 
 There are but two Sacraments, ordained 
 by Christ, viz. Baptism, and the Lord’s Sup- 
 per. Lutheran Catechism . 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 1. The Sacraments are to be considered as holy, 
 mysterious ceremonies, commanded by Christ, in 
 which God’s grace and blessings are offered, and com- 
 municated unto us. Michaelis Comp. Theol. 
 
 2. They are outward and visible signs of inward, 
 and spiritual grace given unto us, ordained by Chpkfc 
 
H4t 
 
 himself, as means, whereby we receive the same, ana 
 as pledges t“ assure us thereof. 
 
 3. The Sacraments are designed to preserve and 
 perpetuate the religion of Christ to all future genera- 
 tions, i and are necessary to salvation, for those that can 
 have them. 
 
 Not that aur blessed Lord will condemn all hea- 
 thens or others, who have never heard of his name, for 
 not partaking of the Sacraments, which never came 
 to their knowledge, or that he will condemn inno- 
 cent children, who die unbaptised ; but that all, to 
 whom the knowledge of these institutions is come, 
 jmd who have it in their power to partake of them, 
 are indispensably obliged to do so. 
 
 ARTICLE XIV, 
 
 OF CHURCH - GOVERNMENT 
 
 We hold, that no person should teach pub- 
 licly, or preach in the church, or administer 
 the sacraments, without a regular calL 
 
US 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 3. The government of the Lutheran church is va_ 
 rions : Where the rulers are of the same Christian 
 confession, the church follows their direction in ex- 
 ternal matters, and for the ordination of ministers, 
 these rulers establish councils, called Consistories/, 
 but where this is not the case, or where the govern- 
 ment is of a republican form, the ministers together 
 form a body for the purpose of governing the church, 
 'and examining and ordaining ministers — as in Ham- 
 burg, Frankfort and America. The ministers, howe- 
 ver, are every where under the inspection of an ec- 
 clesiastical overseer, called Bishop, in Denmark and 
 Sweden ; — Superintendants, Inspectors or Seniors, 
 in Germany — and Senior or Presidents, in Pennsyl- 
 vania, New-York and Carolina. Their authority, 
 however, does not extend further, than to admonish r 
 to examine applicants, and grant licences ad interim 
 to them, and make reports to the Consistories, Synods 
 ox Ministeriums. See Br.Kunze^s Hist, of the Church, 
 
 2. It may he asked, saith a learned divine, whether 
 the office of Bishops be different from the office of 
 Presbyters, so as to constitute two distinct orders ? 
 We answer, that there is no essential difference be- 
 tween them, and that they both belong to the same or- 
 der ; for the scriptures confound Bishops and Iv sby- 
 ters together, Acts xx, 17, compared with verse 28 — . 
 Tit. i. 5 ,, compared with verse 7, See. &c. Yet, it ca*- 
 
not be denied, that in th« primitive church, there was 
 always an Inspector, Overseer, President or Head of 
 lire ministry, who presided over others, that were, 
 however, in a state of equality with himself.* See ar- 
 ticles of Smalkalden and the 3d part of this work , 
 chap. 2. 
 
 '■* He is considered, primus in paribus 
 
 ARTICLE XV> 
 
 OF CHURCH ORDINANCES. 
 
 Of church ordinances and regulations, we 
 teach, that those may be attended to, which 
 may be observed without sinning, and which 
 may be conducive to peace and good order in 
 the church ; yet we give this instruction, that 
 the consciences of men should not be molest- 
 ed or burthened therewith, as though they 
 were necessary to salvation. And we believe, 
 that all statutes and traditions, made by men, 
 for the mere purpose of reconciling Goa, and 
 meriting grace, are contrary to the gospel, and 
 the doctrine of faith in Christ. Therefore we 
 
117 
 
 hold, that monastic vows and other traditions 
 of the difference of meats, of days, See. &c. 
 whereby some conceive to merit grace, and 
 render satisfaction for sin, are of no avail, and 
 contrary to the gospel. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 A leading principle of the Lutheran church, sav« 
 Mosheim in his Church history, is, “ That Christ has 
 left on record no express injunction with respect to 
 the external regulation and form, that is to be observ- 
 ed in the church ; and consequently, that every so- 
 ciety has a right to establish such a form, as seemeth 
 conducive to the interest, and adapted to the peculiar 
 state, circumstances and exigences of the community; 
 provided, that such regulation he in no respect preju- 
 dicial to truth, or favorable to the revival of supersti- 
 tion ; and further, that no political government hath 
 a right to compel any society or set of men, to be- 
 lieve or hold to any established tenets or forms of 
 discipline, because man is amenable only to God for 
 his religious principles.” 
 
 L 
 
ARTICLE XVI. 
 
 OF POLITICAL GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Of polity and wordly government, we teach, 
 that the higher powers in the world, and regu- 
 lations and laws conducive to good order, are 
 to be considered as created and instituted by 
 God. And that Christians may hold either legis- 
 lative, judicial or executive offices, without sin- 
 ning — that they may pronounce sentence ac- 
 cording to imperial or other rights — that they 
 may punish transgressors with the sword ; — - 
 they may also be engaged in just wars — they 
 may buy and sell — they may take oaths when 
 required to do so by magistrates — they may 
 hold property*— they may marry, &c. 
 
 We, therefore, do not agree with those who 
 teach that such things are contrary to Chris- 
 tianity ; neither do we agree with those, who 
 say, that it belongs to Christian perfection, to 
 forsake house and property, wife and children. 
 For, we conceive, that this is true perfection, 
 tf$ have a true fear of God, and a true faith i» 
 
God. The gospel doth not teach an outward 
 temporal, but' an inward eternal righteous- 
 ness of the heart, and does not abolish worth 
 ly governments, polity or matrimony ; but 
 desires that we should esteem them as true 
 and real ordinances, and that each should 
 show Christian charity and good works, in his 
 particular state of life. Christians are there- 
 fore bound to be subject to the higher pow- 
 ers, and to be obedient to their laws, in all 
 things, 'which can be done without sinning. 
 But if the laws of government cannot be 
 obeyed without sinning, then we mustheark- 
 an more to God than man. Acts iv. 19. 
 
 ARTICLE XVII. 
 
 OP CHRIST'S COMING TO JUDGMENT. 
 
 It is also taught among us, that our Lord 
 Jesus Christ will come to judge, at the latter 
 day — that he will raise up the dead, and give 
 to all the faithful and elect eternal life an 
 joy ; but that he will condemn wicked men 
 and devils to hell, and eternal punishments, 
 
NOTES, 
 
 1. The soui of man, aftar death, doth not sleep, 
 but continues to live, and enters either into paradise, 
 or into a place of pain and torments. On the day of 
 resurrection, our bodies will be reanimated, by the 
 power of Almighty God, and reunited to our souls.- 
 And then we shall have to appear before the judgment- 
 seat of Christ, to give an account of our steward- 
 ship, and be introduced either into eternal life, or e- 
 iernal misery. 
 
 2. There will be different degrees of rewards a- 
 mong the righteous, as well as different degrees of 
 punishments among the wicked ; for God will give to 
 every one according to his works. 
 
 3. We also believe that all men will be judged by 
 the law of God, and the measure of knowledge, which 
 they enjoyed. Such as had no other law but the 
 law of nature, shall be judged by the natural law ; 
 and they, to whom a divine revelation was given, shall 
 be judged according to the law of revelation. Bom . 
 ii, 9, 10, 14, 15. James ii, 12. 
 
 3. It cannot be asserted, saith Osterwald, that 
 souls after death, do immedistely enter into the full 
 enjoyment of perfect and absolute felicity in heaven ? 
 or that they immediately endure the same torments, 
 which Christ by his last sentence will inflict upon the 
 wicked ; for the scriptures assign both remuneration 
 
1 
 
 181 
 
 and punishment, to the last judgment of Christ. 
 Matth. xiii. 41, <§*c. — Matth. xxv. 46. 
 
 Besides, man cannot be perfect, as long as his body r - 
 whichis an essential part of him, is under the power 
 of death. Yet, we do assert, that the souls of the 
 godly are now in a state: of felicity, and that they are 
 in possession of tranquillity and joy, in the presence 
 of the Lord ; and on the other hand, that the wicked 
 are miserable immediately after death. 
 
 4. The rev. Schmucker, on the Revelation, page 56, 
 has the following observations : — The place into which, 
 the departed spirits come, immediately after death, is 
 called Hades. It is the Sheol of the Hebrews, the 
 place of shades, of dawning light, of longing and si- 
 lent solicitude, the place of the general congregation 
 of the dead, the court -yard of eternal justice, where 
 Christ appeared in the assembly of departed spirits. 
 In this Hades, is the Tartarus of the wicked, andth- 3 - 
 Elysium of the good. See Dr. Young’s works- 
 
 L 2' 
 
1S3 
 
 ARTICLE XVIII. 
 
 OF FREE WILL. 
 
 We teach, that man hath, in some respects 
 a free will, to live outwardly honest, and to 
 choose among those things, which reason 
 comprehends ; but without grace and the 
 help and operations of the Holy Spirit, he 
 hath not the power to become pleasing to 
 God, nor to fear God, nor to believe, nor to 
 put the inherited bad desires out of his heart ; 
 for this can only be done through the Holy 
 Ghost, who is given by means of God’s 
 word ; for Paul saith 1 Cor. ii. 14, The natu- 
 ral man receiveth not the things of the Spirit 
 of God, for they are foolishness unto him, See. 
 
 And that it may be known, that no new 
 doctrine is taught in this particular, we quote 
 the plain words of Augustine, concerning 
 free will : We confess and hold, saith he, 
 that there is in all men, a free will, for they 
 certainly all have natural inherited under- 
 standing and reason, not however, that they 
 
•are enabled to treat with God, or’truly to love 
 or fear him, but only in outward works of 
 this life, have they liberty and power to choose 
 good or bad. 
 
 In the Lutheran catechism, we find the fol- 
 lowing in the explanation of the third article 
 of the creed : — I believe, that I cannot, mere- 
 ly by my own reason or other natural powers* 
 believe or come to Jesus Christ my Lord ; 
 but that the Holy Spirit hath called me by 
 the gospel, enlightened me by his gifts, and 
 sanctified and preserved me in the true faith* 
 in like manner, as he calls, gathers, enligh- 
 tens and sanctifies, the whole Christian church 
 on earth, &c. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 From other writings of Luther and his follower^ 
 as well modern as ancient, we find the following to be 
 the accepted opinion. - 
 
 1. Man is a free moral agent ; he is not a mere 
 machine, else lie could not be accountable for his ac- 
 tions. 
 
1M 
 
 2. His understanding however is become darken- 
 ed, and his will depraved ; and, by his own powers, 
 he never would have been able even to find out tile 
 way to salvation, much less to save himself. 
 
 3. God however pitied him, and sent his Son into 
 the world to save him, to enlighten him by his gospel, 
 and to prescribe proper means for his salvation ; at 
 the same time, he offers to him the assistance of his 
 Holy Spirit, and this Spirit is continually striving 
 with him. 
 
 4 . Now man, as a moral agent can make use of these 
 means, if he pleases, or he may reject them — he may 
 attend to the operations of the Holy Spirit, or he may 
 resist them ; if he reject and resist them, he cannot 
 be saved, but it will be his own fault ; but if he makes 
 use of them to the best of his abilities, and attends to 
 the workings of the Holy Spirit on his heart, he will first 
 lie brought to the knowledge of his sinful and depra- 
 ved state — he will, secondly, be led to the Saviour-— 
 he will, thirdly, obtain new dispositions and strength 
 to walk the ways of God, with zeal, steadiness and 
 delight — and, fourthly, if he continues faithful to the 
 end, he will be saved. Whosoever hath, saith our 
 Saviour, Math, xiii, 12, to him shall be given, and he 
 shall have in abundance, &c. i. e. he that makes 
 good use of his powers and faculties, and of the means 
 ®f grace, which God hath given him, shall obtain more 
 grass ; but he, that doth no t make good use of them. 
 
cannot expect that God should do more for him ; for 
 if he be not faithful in smaller things, how can he ex- 
 pect that God will entrust him with greater bles- 
 sings. 
 
 The following sentiments of a devout and pious 
 divine, may throw some light on the subject : “ The 
 great plea, that men do generally make, for the wick- 
 edness or carelessness of their lives, is this : that it 
 really is not in their power to live up to such a state 
 of holiness and virtue, as the law of God obligeth 
 them to do. Conversion is the work of God, and 
 cannot be wrought by a man’s self, and therefore till 
 God shall please to come upon them with an irresis- 
 tible power of his holy Spirit, they must be content- 
 ed to live as they do, nay, they must unavoidably 
 live so.” Now, it is readily granted, that without 
 God’s grace, no man can do any thing, and we grant 
 likewise, that it is very probable their circumstan- 
 ces maybe such, that it is not morally possible, on a 
 sudden, to live as they ought to do ; for their bad 
 principles are really more powerful than their good 
 ones ; but yet, in the mean time we must tell thenij, 
 that they are not mere stocks and stones. How 
 much reason soever they have to complain of the in- 
 firmity and degeneracy of their natures, yet some 
 things they can do toward the bettering of them ; for 
 instance, though they cannot, on a sudden, conquer 
 the inward bent and inclination of their minds, so as 
 to hate all sin, and to delight in virtue ; yet they 
 
IS* 
 
 must confess, that they have a pewer over their out- 
 ward actions — they can as well dirertstheir feet to- 
 wards the church, as to the house of gaming, or drink- 
 ing* or lewdness — their eyes will serve them as well 
 to look upon a bible, or a serious discourse about re- 
 ligion, as to read a scurrilous and prophane book — it 
 is as much in their power to yield their ears to the 
 reasonable advice of their sober friends, as to the mad 
 harangues of the dissolute company they keep. — 
 These things they certainly can do if they will, and 
 they can do even more than this — they may give 
 themselves time to consider and think of what they 
 read, or what is said to them, or what their own ex- 
 perience or observation of things will suggest to their 
 minds — and they can further add to their considera- 
 tion, their prayers to Almighty God to direct them, 
 to assist them, and to strengthen them. And though 
 it is certain, that all this, without God’s special grace, 
 will not be effectual for their conversion, yet, if they 
 will but do as much as this comes to, we can assure 
 them, that in time they shall have this special grace, 
 •which they now wrnnt. In the same proportion, that 
 they use and employ those gifts and powers, which 
 they at present have, God will increase and enlarge 
 them; for to him that hath, to him shall be given. 5 , 
 l*,c . — Duty of Man , p. 20. 
 
ARTICLE XIX. 
 
 OF THE CAUSE OF SIN. 
 
 Of the cause of sin, we teach, that although 
 Almighty God hath create d and doth preserve 
 all nature, yet we believe, that the perverse 
 will, produces sin in all the wicked and des- 
 pisers of God ; it being also the devil’s will, 
 to turn them from God, to that which is bad, 
 as soon as God takes off his hands from them. 
 
 ARTICLE XX. 
 
 OF FAITH AND GOOD WORKS, 
 
 We have been falsely charged, with for- 
 bidding good works ; for our writings on the 
 ten commandments and our other books 
 prove, that we have given good and useful 
 instruction and exhortation, as to really good 
 works, which in former times, were seldom 
 
«ss 
 
 taught, as they were only preaching up child- 
 ish unnecessary works, as rosaries, worship 
 -of saints, pilgrimages, fastings, festivals, &x. 
 
 And whereas the doctrine of faith has not 
 for a long time been truly taught, but all were 
 preaching up the doctrine of works, we there- 
 fore give the following instruction: That 
 our works cannot reconcile us to God, and 
 obtain grace ; but this is obtained only thro’ 
 faith, if we believe that for Christ’s sake, our 
 sins are forgiven, who is the only Mediator to 
 reconcile the Father. He, therefore, who 
 thinks to do this through works, despises 
 Christ and seeketh his own way to God, con- 
 trary to the gospel. This doctrine of faith, is 
 clearly taught in the epistles of Paul, and par- 
 ticularly in the epistle to the Ephesians, 2d 
 chap, where we read, “ By grace ye are sav- 
 ed, through faith, and that not of yourselves, 
 it is the gift of God.” — — 
 
 And although this doctrine may be despis- 
 ed by inconsiderate men, yet it is certain, 
 that it is very consoling and salutary to the 
 humble and terrified conscience ; for consci- 
 
ence cannot come to rest and peace through 
 works, but only through faith, if we can as- 
 suredly conclude, that we have a merciful 
 God for Christ's sake, as Paul saith, Rom. v. 
 “ Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 
 
 We also give instruction, that we do not 
 speak of such a faith, as even the devils and 
 the ungodly have, who likewise believe the 
 history of Christ’s suffering and resurrection 
 from the dead ; but we speak of that faith, 
 which lays hold of the promises of God, and 
 works by love and good works. 
 
 We therefore teach, that good works shall 
 and must be done, not for the purpose of 
 trusting in them, or of meriting grace by 
 them, but for God’s sake and to the praise of 
 God. — And it is faith which enables the heart 
 to do works really good. - — — 
 
 Wherefore, the doctrine of faith is not to 
 be inveighed against, as if it forbid good 
 works ; it is much more to be esteemed, as it 
 teaches to do good works, and offers assist 
 M 
 
130 
 
 ance, so that we may be able to do good 
 works ; for without faith and vvithoufTbrist, 
 human nature and strength is much too weak 
 to perform them. John xv. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. With true faith, there is always connected obe- 
 dience to the will of God ; for faith, saith James ii. 
 17, if it hath not good works is dead, being alone. 
 And Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, v. 9, saith : 
 Christ being made perfect, became the author of eter- 
 nal salvation unto all them that obey him. Lutheran 
 Catechism. 
 
 2. Michaelis, in his Comp. Theol. has this obser- 
 vation : Good works are necessary to the obtaining 
 of eternal salvation, not so as to merit or purchase 
 
 it, but as a part of the order or way to salvation. 
 
 Eternal life was purchased by Christ’s active and 
 passive obedience ; but the degreeg of happiness, 
 which we are to enjoy, and the rewards which we are 
 to expect, depend much on our works. Mat. vi. 19, 
 20, Luke xix. 12 — 24. 
 
 3. We must not teach of faith alone, saith Luther, 
 or else carnally minded and ungodly men will think, 
 that works are not necessary. We must teach both 
 the doctrine of faith and of works j, for this is also 
 
true, that God judges according to our works, as St.- 
 Peter says : Just as you live, so will your state be, 
 
 and accordingly will God judge you. And we 
 
 may be assured, that there is no true faith, where 
 there are no good works, for the works are the fruit 
 of the tree, by which we may see, where faith or un- 
 belief is. God will not ask you in judgment, whether 
 you are called a Christian, and are baptized, but he- 
 will ask, are you a Christian ? then show me, where 
 are the fruits with which you can prove your faith.— 
 — — Therefore, it is necessary to have both faith 
 
 and obedience towards God. 'Fishier s Extracts 
 
 from the latter works of Luther. 
 
 4. Where there is no terror on account of the wrath, 
 of God, but pleasure in sinful practices, there can be 
 no faith ; for faith is to console and enliven the terri- 
 fied hearts. Ibidem. 
 
 5. Our Lord Jesus Christ, hath commanded us t© 
 teach repentance and forgiveness of sins in his name. 
 The preaching of repentance reproves and convinces 
 us of sin, and to him who is terrified on account of 
 his sins, the gospel preaches forgiveness for Christ’s 
 sake, through grace, without any merits of his owm 
 Such forgiveness is only obtained by faith, i. e. if we 
 believe the promise of God, which promise is, that 
 he will most assuredly be merciful to every penitent 
 sinner, for Christ's sake. Ibidem. 
 
ARTICLE XXL 
 
 OF THE ADORATION OF SAINTS. 
 
 Of the adoration of saints, we teach, that 
 we should remember them, so as to strength- 
 en our faith, by observing how God’s grace 
 was imparted to them, and how they were 
 saved by faith. Also, to take an example by 
 their good works, every one according to his 
 
 sailing. — — — But by scripture it cannot 
 
 be proved, that we should call on them, or 
 seek help front them ; for there is one only 
 Conciliator and Mediator, appointed between 
 God and man, Jesus Christ ; 1 Tim, ii. 5, 
 who is the only Saviour, the only High Priest, 
 the only Propitiation and Advocate before 
 God. Rom. viii. 3 and 25. And he alone 
 hath promised to hear our prayers. Heb. xi. 
 11. This is certainly the highest worship, 
 according to scripture, that we seek and call 
 on the same. Jesus Christ, in all our needs 
 and concerns. 1 John, ii. 1 : If any man sin. 
 we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus 
 Christ, the righteous. 
 
CONTAINING 
 
 I HE DOCTRINE OF TIIE OPERATIONS OF TH*> 
 
 HOLY GHOST, 
 
 AND OF 
 
 PREDESTINATION. 
 
 OF THE HOLY GHOST. 
 
 The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Fa- 
 ther and the Son, is of one substance, majes- 
 ty and glory with the Father and the Son. 
 
 He worketh on the hearts of men by the 
 means of grace and other providential events, 
 and calls, enlightens and sanctifies them that 
 do not resist. Lutheran Catechism . 
 
 M 2 
 
m< 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 The Holy Ghost may be resisted, and alas ! hie 
 operations are too often resisted. He was striving 
 
 in vain with man before the delude. -Our Saviour 
 
 complained of the people of Jerusalem, that they 
 would not. Math, xxiii. 37 . — Stephen said to the 
 Jews, Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and 
 ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost, as your fa- 
 thers did, so do ye. Acts vii. 51.— — And we are call- 
 ed upon not to harden our hearts— Heb. iii. and not 
 to grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Eph. iv. 30,, 
 
 OF PREDESTINATION. 
 
 In the Augsburg confession, we find noth- 
 ing of Predestination ; because at the time of 
 its composition, there was no dispute about 
 this doctrine. Godshalc, it is said, was the 
 first, who held and taught an absolute decree, 
 about the year of Christ 847 ; he maintained 
 that God, from all eternity, had pre-ordained 
 some to everlasting life, and others to ever- 
 lasting punishments : to such whom he pre- 
 ordained to life, hefigave his Holy Spirit and 
 
4 
 
 sanctified them ; but with such, whom he 
 had pre-ordained to misery, he would have 
 nothing to do, because he had determined 
 they should be vessels of wrath ; however, 
 this doctrine was condemned, by several ec- 
 clesiastical councils, held in the ninth cen- 
 tury. From that time until the time of refor- 
 mation, very little was said or written about 
 it; therefore Luther and his cotemporaries 
 made no mention of it in their confession of 
 faith. As soon as Calvin, however, revived 
 his doctrine of. an absolute predestination, 
 the Lutherans came forward to oppose it. — - 
 Calvin’s doc wine was, according to his own 
 words, (3d book, ch. xxiv.) C£ Sach as God lias 
 created to misery of life and perdition of death, 
 that they should be the organs of his wrath 
 «nd instances of severity, in order that the) 
 may come to their destination, he either de- 
 prives of the means to hear his word, or ren- 
 ders them, by the preaching of it, more stu- 
 pid and blind.” Some of his followers went 
 even so far as to say, that children were a- 
 mong the reprobated, and were suffering in 
 hell to promote the glory of God ! I With 
 this doctrine the Lutherans never could a- 
 
43 § 
 
 gree ; for they bad expressly declared, iij 
 their confession, delivered to the diet at 
 Augsburg, that Christ had offered up him- 
 self, as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole 
 world. 
 
 The Lutherans, however, do believe a con- 
 ditional predestination — a predestination of 
 characters, but not of persons ; they say • 
 That God, from eternity, determined to be - 
 stow salvation on those, of whom he foresaw, 
 that they would persevere in their faith in 
 Christ Jesus, unto the end ; and to inflict 
 punishments on those, who should continue 
 in their unbelief and disobedience, and resist 
 his divine operations unto the end. So that 
 election was conditional, and reprobation in 
 like manner, the result of foreseen infidelity 
 and persevering wickedness, and therefore, 
 had no influence whatever, on the salvation 
 or damnation of sinners, and was not to be at- 
 tributed to any pre-ordination or decree of 
 God. — —-Some, however, do not even go so 
 far ; they say, that these doctrines only per- 
 plex the minds of the unlearned — that it is 
 enough for us to know, that every person can 
 
iS7 
 
 be saved, if he makes good use of the means 
 ©f grace, attends to the operations of the Ho- 
 ly Spirit, and lays hold of the merits of Christ 
 by faith.* 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. The passages of scripture quoted in favor of an 
 absolute decree, recorded in the epistle of Paul to the 
 Romans and Ephesians, are considered by the Luthe- 
 rans as only relating to temporal and spiritual bles- 
 sings, to external privileges and advantages in the 
 Church of God, in this world. Thus, were the Jews 
 called a chosen people, because .God made choice of 
 them to be more immediately attached to his worship 
 -and service — He delivered them from the state of 
 bondage and idolatry in Egypt ; and therefore, they 
 are said to be delivered, saved, bought, purchased 
 and redeemed — He invited them to partake of the 
 honor and happiness of his people, and therefore they 
 are called his chosen ; but all these privileges and 
 honors, do not import an absolute final state of happi- 
 ness. Although the Jews were considered the chosen, 
 the elect of God, they were not all saved — thousands 
 of them were cut off in their unbelief and disobedt- 
 
 * The question of dispute between the Lutherans and Cal- 
 vinists is: “An electio facta sit ex absoluto decreto, sine 
 ullo respectu ad ordinem salutis — vel an electio facta sit ex 
 conditional! decreto cum respectu ad ordinem salutis ” — The 
 Calvinists maintain the former, the Lutherans the lattsV 
 opinion; 
 
©nee — their election, therefore, had no particular ab- 
 solute reference to their eternal salvation. 
 
 Thus it is with the. Christians. They have obtain- 
 ed many great outward privileges and benefits, of 
 which the heathen world is yet deprived, and there- 
 fore they are called the chosen, the elect of God ; but 
 this is not an election by an absolute decree, and pur- 
 pose of God to eternal life : for thousands of those, 
 who enjoy these privileges, ruin themselves by unbe- 
 lief and disobedience. 
 
 2. The Rev. W. Paley has the following observa- 
 tions on this subject, in a sermon, preached on ii. Pe- 
 ter, iii. 15,10: “ In opposition to the Jews, who 
 were so much offended by the preaching of the gospel 
 to the Gentiles, St. Paul maintains with great indus- 
 try that it w'as God Almighty’s intention, from the 
 first, to substitute, at a fit season, into the place of 
 the rejected Israelites, a society of men taken indiffe- 
 rently out of all nations under heaven, and admit- 
 ted to be the people of God, upon easier and more 
 comprehensive terms — this is expressed in the epistle 
 to the Ephesians, chap, i, 9, 10, as follows : ‘having 
 made known to us the mystery of his will, according 
 to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed in him- 
 self, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times, 
 he might gather together in one all things in Christ.’ 
 The scheme of collecting such a society, was, wliat- 
 God foreknew before the foundation of the world— 
 
439 
 
 wlial lie did predestinate — was the eternal purpose 
 which he purposed in Christ Jesus ; and by conse- 
 quence, this society in their collective capacity, were the 
 objects of this foreknowledge, predestination and pur- 
 pose ; that is, in the language of the apostles, they were 
 they whom he did foreknow ; * they whom he did pre- 
 destinate — they were chosen in Christ before the 
 foundation of the world ; f they were elect accor- 
 ding to the foreknowledge of God the Father, j This 
 doctrine hath nothing in it harsh or obscure — but 
 what have we made of it ? — The rejection of the 
 Jews, and the adopting of another community into 
 their place, composed an object of great magnitude 
 in the attention of the inspired writers, who under- 
 stood and observed it. This event, which engaged 
 so much the thoughts of the apostle is now only read 
 of, and hardly that — the reality and the importance 
 of it are little known or attended to — losing sight 
 therefore, of the proper occasion of these expressions, 
 yet willing after our fashion, to adapt them to our- 
 selves, and finding nothing else in our circumstances 
 that suited with them, we have learnt at length to 
 apply them to the final destiny of individuals, at the 
 day of judgment ; and upon this foundation, has been 
 erected a doctrine which lays the ax at once to the 
 root of all religion, that of an absolute appointment 
 to salvation or perdition, independent of ourselves, 
 or any thing we can do : and, what is extraordinary, 
 
 * Rom. viii. 29. 
 
 Eph. i. 4." 
 
 4 1 Peter, i. 2 
 
340 
 
 those very arguments and expressions, which the a« 
 postle employed to vindicate the impartial mercies 
 of God, against the narrow and excluding claims of 
 Jewish prejudice, have been interpreted, to establish 
 a dispensation, the most arbitrary and partial, that 
 *ould be devised.” 
 

 Part III. 
 
 THE DISCIPLINE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 C fl u R C H. 
 
 Let all things be done decently and in order. 
 
 Paul. 1 Cor. xiv. 40. 
 
 N 
 
THE DISCIPLINE, &c. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 OF THE DIRECTION OF THE CHURCH, 
 
 The general direction of the Church ini 
 Pennsylvania and the adjoining states, is left 
 to a Syn r 1 and Ministerium, which bodies 
 meet once every year. The Synod is com- 
 posed of ministers, and an equal number of 
 laymen, chosen as deputies, by the vestries 
 of their respective congregations ; this body 
 directs the external affairs of the church. — - 
 The Ministerium is composed of ministers 
 only, and regulates the internal or spiritual 
 affairs, such as judging in controversies re- 
 specting doctrine, and examining, licensing 
 and ordaining ministers, &e. Its session be-. 
 
< 
 
 gins immediately after the adjournment of 
 the Synod. Both these bodies are, in some 
 degree, under the inspection of a Senior and. 
 President., The Senior is considered as a Fa- 
 ther, from whom advice and exhortation is 
 willingly received, but has no particular 
 powers. The President presides at the Sy- 
 nod and Ministerium, appoints committees, 
 performs the ordinations, with the assistance 
 of two or more Pastors, signs the licences 
 and ordinations, examines and licences appli- 
 cants ad interim, and in weighty matters, 
 calls together special meetings. He is elect- 
 ed every year, as soon as the Synod is orga- 
 nized, and can only be re-elected for three 
 successive years. 
 
 The Synod is also divided into particular 
 districts, which are authorised to hold dis- 
 trict meetings, called special conferences ; 
 but it is not considered essentially necessary 
 for them to meet, unless they have business 
 in their district, to decide upon. 
 
 In every congregation, the vestry, compo- 
 sed of the minister (trustees) elders and war- 
 
de'ns, has the power of regulating their own 
 affairs and settling their own disputes, andther 
 parties considering themselves aggrieved, 
 may appeal either to a special conference, or* 
 to the general annual Synod, 
 
 From the foregoing statement, we find,, 
 that there are three judicatories -1. The 
 vestry of the congregation— 2. The district 
 or special conference — and 3. The general 
 synod. From the decision of this last body, _ 
 there is no appeal. 
 
 CHAP, II. 
 
 OF THE MINISTRY. 
 
 The Lutherans make no distinction be- 
 tween Pastors and Bishops. They believe, 
 that every Pastor is to be considered an in- 
 spector or bishop of his particular congrega- 
 tion, He is called Pastor, because he feeds-, 
 N 2 
 
146 
 
 the flock with spiritual food. He is called 
 Minister, because he serves Christ in the 
 Church. He is called a Presbyter or Elder, 
 because it is his duty to be grave and prudent, 
 and to govern well in the house or family of 
 Christ. He is called an Ambassador, be- 
 cause he is set to declare the will of God to 
 sinners. And he is also called a Steward, be- 
 cause he dispenses the manifold graces of 
 God, and the ordinances instituted by Christ. 
 
 “ It was the opinion of St. Jerome, that E- 
 piscopi and Presbyteri (Bishops and Elders) 
 are not to be considered different persons or 
 offices, but that all ordained Presbyters are 
 /also Bishops and Priests ; and he quotes the 
 passage of Paul to Titus, i. 5, where it is 
 written, I left you in Crete, that thou should- 
 est ordain elders in every city ; and in the 
 yth verse, he calls these elders, Bishops. 
 Even Peter and John call themselves Pres- 
 byters or Priests. 
 
 But one is chosen (continues Jerome) as 
 Inspector or Superintendant, to avoid dissen- 
 iions, that preachers might not go about to 
 
447 
 
 Breed disturbances, by endeavoring to draw 
 churches to themselves. At Alexandria, 
 says he, from the time of Mark the evange- 
 list, to the time of Esdras and Dionisius, the 
 Presbyters always chose one of their number 
 as their head, whom they called Episcopus, 
 just as an army chooses one of their number 
 for their chieftain. In the same manner did 
 the Deacons choose one from among them- 
 selves, as a superintendant, wham they call-, 
 ed Archdeacon.” 
 
 It appears, then, that the distinction made 
 between Bishops and Presbyters, is nothing 
 but a human ordinance. Art. of Smalfcaldeit, 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 1. When a young man offers himself for the minis-' 
 try, and comes well recommended, he is examined 
 by a committee of Pastors $ if he be found to have 6 
 sufficient education and theological knowledge, he 
 ontains the licence of a Candidate, and is intrusted 
 with the charge of such congregations, as may be in- 
 clined to call him. If he be found deficient as to ed- 
 ucation, but yet truly pious, and capable of giving 
 teligious instruction, and produces a call from a cob- 
 
gregation, which is desirous of Having him for their 
 clergyman, he obtains a licence as Catechet, and is 
 placed in that congregation to instruct the youth, and 
 to preach the Gospel, under the inspection of a neigh- 
 boring Pastor, whose duty it is to confirm and admin- 
 ister the Sacrament of the Lord’s supper for him, as 
 also to give him every necessary theological instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 These licentiates or probationers have yearly to 
 write two sermons, and keep a journal of their offici- 
 al duties, which are to be delivered to the Ministeri- 
 um for inspection. In the course of one or two 
 years, if no complaint as to doctrine or conduct, be^ 
 lodged against them, they are again examined and 
 may be promoted. The Catechet may become a candi- 
 date— -and the candidate may be ordained. 
 
 2 A few years ago, the Lutheran ministerium of 
 Pennsylvania, introduced a new order of the minis- 
 try, called Deacons. Observing that the number of 
 congregations increased to such a degree, that they 
 could not be supplied with regularly educated clergy- 
 men, — and that some congregations were willing and 
 desirous of having certain pious and worthy men, 
 who had occasionally exhorted them in their destitute 
 state, established as their clergymen but fearing, 
 lest by ordaining such men Pastors, they might les- 
 sen the encouragement to a proper study of theology 
 and the languages, they thought it expedient to in- 
 
1 
 
 14 $ 
 
 trodiice the order of Deacons. They humbly con- 
 ceive, that this order was found among the primitive 
 Christians $ for Paul, in his epistles, speaks of Bishops 
 and Deacons, who were to be ordained by laying oa 
 of hands. 1 Tim. iii. and Phil.i. 1. 
 
 These deacons are empowGxed to preach and to 
 perforin all ministerial acts, in the congregations 
 committed to their charge ; but cannot vote in mat- 
 ters of controversy, respecting doctrine : neither can 
 they be elected to any office cf the Synod or Minis- 
 terium. 
 
 These regulations have been made for the purpose 
 of opening the door for pious and worthy men, who 
 had no opportunity to obtain a liberal education and 
 may nevertheless, be very useful in the church ; and 
 at the same time, to give encouragement to a proper 
 study of theology and the languages, for such only 
 can become Pastors, who have had a regular and suf- 
 £cieat education. 
 
 • - ar ^ g . <© 
 
CHAP. Ill 
 
 <DF THE FORMS OF PUBLIC WORSHIP*- 
 LITURGY, 
 
 Liturgy, denotes all the ceremonies in 
 general, belonging to divine service. The 
 word comes from the Greek, Leitourgia , and 
 means service or public ministry. 
 
 Ail who have written on Liturgies agree,, 
 that m the primitive days, divine service was 
 extremely simple, and consisted of a small 
 number of ceremonies and prayers ; but by 
 degrees the ceremonies increased, and new 
 prayers were added, so as to make the service 
 more solemn and venerable to the people. 
 At length, things were carried to such a 
 pitch, that regulation became necessary, and 
 it was found proper, to put the service and. 
 the manner of performing it, into writing, 
 and this was called Liturgy. See Cyclopedia;. 
 
 The Lutherans believe, that every synod 
 or general assembly of divines., has a right tr*. 
 
151 
 
 make regulations as to their religious ser- 
 vice, provided they be not contrary to the 
 gospel. They hold, however, that the service 
 should be as simple as possible— that the 
 prayers should be but few, and worded in 
 such a manner, that the lowest capacities may 
 be able to understand them — that suitable 
 portions of scripture should be read, at least 
 once a day, during public worship— and that 
 Christian hymns of thanksgiving, confession, 
 petition, &c. should be sung as well as 
 psalms. 
 
 Public worship is at present regulated and. 
 conducted in the following order 
 
 The beginning is made by a few passages 
 of scripture, or by a short ejaculation, and by 
 singing a hymn,— 
 
 Prayers are then read, consisting of con- 
 fession of sins— praise and thanksgiving- 
 petition — and intercession ; or the' minister 
 may pray extempore, — 
 
152 
 
 A portion of scripture is read, which may 
 be either the gospel and the epistle of the day, 
 or any other portion suited to the occasion,, 
 and relating to the subject, on which •' . ser- 
 mon is to be preached. — Another hymn is 
 sung. — - 
 
 Then the sermon is preached, which 
 should not take up more than three quarters 
 of an hour. Before sermon a short prayer 
 ■may be offered up, but after sermon it is con- 
 sidered necessary to pray. — Another hymn is 
 sung, during which, or before which, the alms 
 are collected. The congregation is dismis- 
 sed with the benediction. In some congre- 
 gations a doxology is sung after the benedic- 
 tion. 
 
 NOTE. 
 
 The particular prayers prescribed for public wor- 
 ship, the form for baptism, the administration of the 
 Lord’s supper, marriage &c. may be found in the Lit- 
 Urgy annexed to the Lutheran Hymn-book. 
 
108 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 OF CATECHISING AND INSRUCTION OF 
 YOUTH. 
 
 The Lutheran Church considers it of great 
 ^se, that there should be a school in each 
 congregation under the inspection of the ves- 
 try, in which not only reading and writing 
 and other necessary sciences, but also the 
 fundamental articles of religion be taught. 
 
 It is also considered necessary to catechise 
 the children and young people publicly in the 
 congregation on Sunday, as often as it can be 
 done ; and it is believed that the seeds of re- 
 ligion, thus sown into the heart, will always 
 bring forth more or less good fruit. 
 
 It is also the duty of the clergyman, every 
 year or two, to invite the young people of the 
 congregation to attend a course of lectures, 
 on the doctrines of faith and morality— this 
 generally takes up about seven weeks.— 
 Those that have obtained a competent know- 
 ledge of religion, and seem to be seriousk' 
 O 
 
engaged about their soul's salvation, ate then 
 desired to step forward, and make a public 
 confession of their faith, and to confirm their 
 baptismal vows. Such as accept of the in- 
 vitation are then publicly examined and con- 
 firmed, and as soon as the Lord’s Supper is 
 administered, they become communicants. 
 
 CHAP. y. 
 
 OF CONFIRMATION. 
 
 By confirmation we mean a solemn renew- 
 al and ratification of our baptismal vow, ac- 
 companied by prayer, and the laying on of 
 the hands of the pastor of the congregation. 
 
 That it is necessary, in some way or other, 
 to renew and ratify our baptismal vow, and 
 to dedicate ourselves to God, must be evi- 
 dent to every reflecting mind. When we 
 were baptised, our parents or sponsors dedi- 
 cated us to God — they did it in our names. 
 
and as. soon as we come to the years of sense 
 and discretion, we ought to do it ourselves, 
 if we wish to be considered Christians ; for if 
 we do not renew and ratify this vow and de- 
 dication, we snow by our conduct, that we 
 are not agreed, and do not consent to the 
 vows and promises, which they made for us 
 —that we will not be bound by that covenant 
 with God— that we do not wish to be follow- 
 ers of Jesus, nor members of the Christian 
 church. He therefore, who wishes, that his 
 baptismal vow should stand, should, in our 
 humble opinion, voluntarily and publicly- 
 come forward and renew, ratify and confirm 
 the same, either before the congregation at 
 large, or before the proper officers of the 
 church. 
 
 The promises made by your parents and 
 sponsors, (saith Dr. Abercrombie in bis lec- 
 tures on the episcopal catechism) that you 
 should embrace and perform your part of 
 this covenant, are to be assumed by you in 
 this holy ordinance of confirmation, when 
 you arrive at an age capable of understanding 
 its-nature. 
 
156 
 
 The holy rite of confirmation, it is believ- 
 ed, is derived from the practice of the^apos- 
 iles, and was customary in the primitive 
 church. The following passages show that 
 it was practised by the apostles : Acts viii. 
 14, — Acts xix. 6-^-Heb. vi. 2. In this last 
 passage, Paul considers confirmation, or the 
 laying on of hands, as one of the fundamental 
 rites of the church. 
 
 The authorities of the Fathers of the church 
 are the following : 
 
 Tertullian, who lived about eighty years 
 after St. John, tells us, that after baptism suc- 
 ceeds the laying on of hands, and by prayer 
 calling for the Holy Ghost. De Bapt. ch. &. 
 St. Cyprian, who lived about sixty years af- 
 ter Tertullian, when speaking of the Samari- 
 tan converts and of confirmation, adds : The 
 same thing is practised among us, that they 
 who are baptised, are presented to the gover- 
 nors of the church, that by their prayers and 
 imposition of hands, they may obtain the Ho- 
 ly Ghost, and be perfected with the seal of 
 Christ. Ep. 73. 
 
457 
 
 & 
 
 St. Jerome, speaking of confirmation, says, 
 * * If you ask where it is written, we answer, 
 it is written in the acts of the apostles ; but if 
 there were no scripture authority for it, yet 
 the consent of all the world in this particular 
 is instead of a command.” Dial advers . Lu« 
 cif. 
 
 The Jews had a ceremony similar to our 
 rite of confirmation ; for they brought their 
 children before the congregation, when they 
 were thirteen years old — -they were then ex- 
 amined as to the general principles of their 
 religion, solemnly took upon themselves the 
 observation of the law, and were declared sons 
 of the precept. Buxtorf Syria g, Jud. ch. 7, 
 
 Even among the heathens, the dictates of 
 reason or the light of nature, prescribed a si- 
 milar institution. Among the Persians and 
 the Athenians, See. the youth at a certain age, 
 were required to take a solemn oath, to des- 
 pise all filthy lucre, bodily pleasure and vain 
 glory, and to be emulous of virtue, to honor 
 their parents, to speak the truth, to do good,, 
 and to defend and reverence the religion in 
 which they were born. 
 
 O 2 
 
158 
 
 From these authorities, our church hath 
 been induced to retain this rite of confirma- 
 tion. However, we do not consider it a sa- 
 crament, because it was not ordained by 
 Christ himself , but we do consider it an 
 useful and edifying custom, from which ma- 
 ny can date the beginning of their real con- 
 version to God. 
 
 In this, the following named churches 
 agree with us : The Church of the United 
 Brethren — the Episcopal Church — the Ger- 
 man and Holland Reformed Churches — and 
 the Reformed Church of Swisserland. 
 
 CHAP VL 
 
 OF ADMISSION OF MEMBERS TO THE COM- 
 MUNION. 
 
 Such only should be admitted to the com- 
 munion, who have attended a course of lec- 
 tures on the catechism, and who have been 
 confirmed ; however, as some adults have 
 
15S 
 
 net the time to attend these lectures, the ves- 
 try may nevertheless admit them, if, upon 
 examination, they are found to have a com- 
 petent knowledge of the essential doctrines 
 of religion, and appear to be sober, steady 
 and anxious to dedicate themselves to the 
 service of the Lord. 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 OF FESTIVAL DAYS. 
 
 There is no day under tne Gospel CGijb, 
 manded to be kept holy, except the Lord’s 
 day, which is the Christian sabbath. Never- 
 theless, the Lutheran church considers it use- 
 ful to celebrate such days, as were signalised 
 by the glorious and important events, that 
 proclaim the celestial mission of the Saviour., 
 and the divine authority of his holy religion, 
 Mosheim vol. 4* 
 
i60. 
 
 The following days are therefore kept a? 
 festivals : 
 
 1 . Christmas, in commemoration of the 
 
 birth of Christ, j ■ ' , , , , 
 
 2. Good Friday, in commemoration of his 
 
 qrucifixion and death, i- >4,: •/,, 
 
 3. Easter, in commemoration of his re= 
 surrectioh. 
 
 4. Ascension day, commonly called Holy 
 Thursday, in commemoration of his ascend- 
 ing into Heaven. 
 
 5. Whitsuntide or Pentecost, in commem- 
 oration of the pouring out of the spirit on the 
 apostles. 
 
 To which some add New-year’s day, as al- 
 so days of humiliation and thanksgiving, ap- 
 pointed by the synod, or the civil authority; 
 
£6i 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Having given a concise, but correct state- 
 ment of the history, doctrine, and discipline 
 of the Lutheran Church, I now submit the 
 whole to the judgment of candid and unbias- 
 sed readers. My intention was not to make 
 proselytes ; for I am persuaded that the Lord 
 hath his people among all the different de- 
 nominations of Christians, and I seriously be- 
 lieve that all penitent believing souls, to 
 whatever religious society they may belong, 
 constitute the “one holy catholic Christian 
 church.” All that I had in view was, to 
 make the citizens of the United States- ac- 
 quainted with the principles of that church, 
 which took the lead in the glorious reforma- 
 tion, and which may be considered the moth- 
 er church of all protestants. But in conclu- 
 ding, I cannot help expressing my pleasure, 
 in observing that the different denominations 
 are drawing nearer to each other, and that 
 bigotry is rapidly declining. In some parts 
 
ef Germany and in Prussia, the distinction 
 of Lutheran and Reformed is already done 
 away, and both churches consider them- 
 selves as one body. And God grant S that 
 this spirit of union and brotherly love may 
 continue to spread ! God grant ! that all 
 who profess and call themselves Christians, 
 may be led into the way of truth, and hold 
 the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of 
 peace, and in righteousness of life !> 
 
 FINIS 
 

 INDEX, 
 
 
 -tm 
 
 INTRODUCTION, 
 
 The sUte of religion before Christ, The estab- 
 lishment of the Christian religion ; its divinity and 
 ■benefits to the world. Introduction of errors. Beginning 
 -of popery. The necessity of a reformation. Waldenses — 
 'Wickliffites — Hussites. Myconms’ account of the state of 
 religion immediately before the reformation Page £ 
 
 -Pakt I. THE HISTORY OP THE EVANGELICAL 
 LUTHERAN CHURCH, 
 
 The life of Martin Luther 19 
 
 His remarkable conversion 21 
 
 Opposition to the sale of indulgences 27 
 
 List of prices, at which Tetzel sold his indulgences 29 
 
 Luther publishes his ninety-five 'theses 30 
 
 summoned to appear at Augsburg — conference 
 
 with cardinal Cajetan. 33 
 
 Pope's bull against Luther and his followers 38 
 
 Luther’s appearance and conduct at the diet of Worms 39 
 
 — solitude and employment in Wartenburg castje 43 
 
 The diet of Spires 56 
 
 Protestants — why so called 51 
 
 Conference between Luther and Zwingle, &c. 52 
 
 The Augsburg confession delivered to the diet of Augs- 
 burg “ S3 
 
 Calvin begins the reformation in Basel 60 
 
 His doctrines — opinion of Luther 61 
 
 Death of Luther and circumstances attending jt 62 
 
 The Arminians and their doctrines 65 
 
 Synod of Dort * 66 
 
 The revivals in the Church 67 
 
 Propagation of the gospel among the heathens 69 
 
 Testimonies of learned and wise menrespecting the cha- 
 racter of Luther 73 
 
 -80 
 
 85 
 
 86 
 
 Paet II. THE DOCTRINE OP THE CHURCH. 
 Preliminary observations 
 Art. 1 of God 
 
 2 — - original sin 
 
164 
 
 Art. 3 of the Son of Cod "50 
 
 4 — justification 9$ 
 
 5 — the ministry 97 
 
 6 — renewed obedience 98 
 
 7 — the Church 99 
 
 8 — the members composing the church ; and of 
 
 the umvorthiness of ministers not hindering 
 ther-fi' c of the sacraments 100 
 
 9 — Bapt m 101 
 
 10 — the Lord’s Supper 105 
 
 11 — confession and absolution 107 
 
 12 — repentance 110 
 
 13 — use of the Sacraments 113 
 
 14 — Church government 114 
 
 15 — Church ordinances 516 
 
 16 — political government 118 
 
 17 — Christ’s corning to judgment 119 
 
 18 — free will 322' 
 
 19 — the cause of sin 127 
 
 20 — faith and good works 127 
 
 21 — the adoration of Saints 332 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 Fhe uoc, trine of the Holy Ghost 133 
 
 predestination 134 
 
 Part ID. THE DISCIPLINE. 
 
 >i hap. 1 The direction of the church 143 
 
 2 the ministry 145 
 
 3 the liturgy 150 
 
 4 catechising and instruction of youth 153 
 
 5 confirmation 154 
 
 S admission of members to the communion 158 
 
 7 festival day* 139 
 
284.1 L812 ' 16 OF 59 
 
 University Librae/