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By Rev. SAMUEL T. SPEAR, Pastor of the South Presb. Ch. Brooklyn, N. Y.

III. EXPOSITION of 1 Peter, 3: 18-20,

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THE

BIBLICAL REPOSITORY

AND

CLASSICAL REVIEW.

THIRD SERIES, NO. II.—WHOLE NUMBER LVIII.

APRIL,

1845.

ARTICLE I.

THE LAST DAYS AND DEATH OF LUTHER.

By C. E. STOWE, D. D., Professor of Biblical Literature, Lane Seminary, Cincinnati.

LUTHER died on the 18th of February, 1546, at the age of sixty-two. The immense labor he had undergone for thirty years was too much even for his iron constitution; and for more than a year previous to his death, he suffered much from pains in the head, inflammation of one eye and loss of its sight, swelling of the limbs, the agonizing disease of the stone, together with extreme nervous irritability and depression of spirits. His enemies hoped every day he would die, and in the beginning of 1545, a pamphlet was published at Naples to inform the world that Luther was dead, and it professed to give the particulars of his departure. In this veritable publication it was stated that Luther spent his time in gluttony and drunkenness, and blaspheming the Pope; that, perceiving his end to be near, he commanded his attendants to place him upon an altar and worship him as a god; that he received the sacrament and immediately died; but the consecrated wafer leaped out of his stomach and remained suspended in the air, to the astonishment of all beholders; that when he was buried THIRD SERIES, VOL. I. NO. II. 13

there was such a frightful storm, with thunder and lightning, that people thought the day of judgment had actually come; that in the night the storm returned with still greater violence, and the next morning the tomb was found empty, but such an intolerable smell, and such an odor of burning brimstone came from it, that it made every body sick who ventured near it; whereupon many repented and joined the Catholic church,

etc., etc.

The Landgrave of Hesse sent a copy of this pamphlet to Luther, who made himself very merry over it, and published a large edition in Italian and German, adding nothing but the following very characteristic note at the close: "Now I, Martin Luther, Dr., acknowledge and testify by this present writing, that I received the foregoing angry tale respecting my death, on the 21st of March, and that I have read it with great mirth and jollity, except the blasphemy that such lies should be attributed to the high, divine Majesty. For the rest, it tickles me to my right knee-pan and my left heel, that the devil and his crew, the Pope and the papists, hate me so heartily. May God convert them from the devil. But if it be decreed that my prayer for a sin which is unto death, be not heard-very well-then God grant that they may speedily fill up the measure of their iniquity, and do nothing else for their own comfort and joy than write such books as these."

Several circumstances tended to embitter the last days of Luther. The sacramentine controversy, which had nearly produced a breach between him and Melanchthon; the neglect of some congregations to provide suitable support for their ministers; the low state of discipline in some of the churches; the consciousness that he had sometimes been too obstinate and violent in his discussions with his brother reformers; all these things tended to disturb and trouble him. "I was born (said he) to fight with devils and factions; and hence it is that my writings are so boisterous and stormy. It is my business to remove obstructions, to cut down thorn trees, to fill up quagmires, to open and make straight paths; and if

I must have some failing, it is that I speak the truth with too great severity." To his friend Dr. Probst, of Bremen, he writes, under date of January 19, 1546: "I, a worn out, feeble, wearied, spiritless, and now one-eyed old man, write to you, and desire, what seems to me to be very reasonable, that I, now half dead, may have a little rest and quiet, which I long for; and yet I am still overburdened with writing, and preaching, and talking, and working, just as much as if I had never written, or preached, or talked, or worked. I am weary of the world, and the world is weary of me. The parting will be very like that of the guest leaving the inn. I pray only that God may be gracious to me in my last hour, and I shall quit the world without reluctance."

Certain disorders in Wittenberg, which he found himself unable to control, harassed and vexed his soul. Secret promises of marriage between young people, without the consent of parents and guardians, which the Romish church view to be valid, and which the magistrates of Wittenberg refused to declare null, he held to be exceedingly injurious to the parties concerned, and of mischievous tendency in society. He declared that things had come to such a pass, that a father could scarcely send his boy to a neighbor's house of an errand without the risk of having him return a married man. He exhorted, he prayed, he preached, he appealed to the magistrates and to the elector; but such was the power of old prejudice that his labors were all in vain. The familiarity which began to exist between the young ladies of the city and the students of the university, grieved and offended tim. He affirmed that some of the young ladies went so far as to visit the students at their rooms, which he considered decidedly improper. Moreover, a fashion was introduced among the ladies of dressing scandalously low in the neck; and he affirmed vehemently that ladies who went to church with such long necks, ought to be subject to church discipline. But Luther found, as many others had found before, and have found since, that it is easier to carry a point against any other earthly power, than against the power of a lady's fashion, especially

if it be an unreasonable and indefensible fashion. He who had resisted and defeated, single-handed, the most tremendous power which ever existed on earth, was utterly unable to persuade or compel the ladies of his own church to cover their bosoms, while it was the fashion to leave them open. He considered the reputation and usefulness of the university and theological seminary to be in imminent danger from these and the like causes; and, finally, seeing that all his remonstrances were disregarded, he left the city in disgust, with the determination never to return to it. From Leipsic he wrote to his wife to sell what little property they had in Wittenberg, and take her family to the little village of Zulsdorf, where he had a cottage and garden, a gift from the elector of Saxony. This exceedingly characteristic letter may be read in Lomler's Luther, Vol. III. p. 340-42.

As soon as this determination of Luther was known, the whole city was in commotion; the citizens said it would ruin their town for ever; the magistrates begged; the students petitioned; Melanchthon and his colleagues entreated; the ladies cried and promised better fashions; and the elector of Saxony implored and even commanded him to return. Luther at length yielded, and resumed his labors in the university and the city church. He felt, however, that he had not long to live, and he had sometime before written his will, which, like every thing else that came from his pen, is full of character. It is given by Lomler, Vol. III., p. 151–155, in the original Germa, and I have here attempted to translate it into English.

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'I, Marth. Luther, Doctor, acknowledge by this my own handwriting, that I have given to my dear and faithful housewife Catharine, for her own, (or whatever the legal phrase may be,) during her life, that she may use it for her own welfare and pleasure; and by the authority of this present writing, this day, I grant unto her what followeth, namely, first, the little property at Zulsdorf, as I have fitted it up and owned it hitherto; secondly, the house by the well, for her residence, which I purchased in the name of my servant Wolf; thirdly,

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