Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-19
MARTIN LUTHER.
JUBILEE SERVICES IN THE ENG
LISH LUTHERAN CHURCH.
Sermon by the Rev. G. II. Trabert. Pastor
of the Congregation, From the Text,
Numbers, 23d Chap. 23d Verse, "What
Hath God Wrought?"


Yesterday in the English Lutheran
church, on Sixth street, between Franklin
and Exchange streets, a sermon was
preached by the Rev. G. H. Trabert, pas
tor of the congregation, on ''What we in
this day owe, under God, directly to Mar
tin Luther" The Rev. gentleman chose
as his text the 23d verse of the 23d chapter
of Numbers, viz: According to this time
it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel,
What hath God wrought"
No event in the nineteenth century has
attracted such universal attention. It is
not the birthday of king belonging to a
particular nation; nor of great philan-
thropist who has by his acts of beneicence
alleviated the sufferings of many of his
countrymen. It is not the birthday of
greas statesman who has conferred lasting
blessings upon land, because of the be-
nign laws which through his influence were
enacted; nor of great poet or sculptor,
who has given Invaluable treasurers of lit
erature or works Of art to the world for
which he is held in high esteem; nor yet of
a religious leader, who established a
new system of religion, received
as their creed by q body
which has grown to vast proportions, as in
the case of Mohamed. II is the birthday
of one who was born in the lowly walks of
life, bat who was raised up by Almighty
God to be more than the ruler of a ma
ton. One whose work has not only sub
dued nations, but whose influence is to-day
felt in every nation on the globe, from in
hospiteble Greenland to the barren re-
gions of Patagonia, including all the isles
of the sea. 1t is the birthday of philan-
thropist whose work is at the foundation
of all true benefcence in modern times.
Of statesman whose intrepid boldness
in behalf of the welfare of men every
where, over against tyranny which held
men bound in the most abjeot slavery, has
modified the laws of nations and secured
the highest liberty and the greatest bless
ings to men everywhere. 1t is the birth
day of poet, whose songs are to-day ex-
| ultingly sung by millions, and whose une-
qualed battle hymn has been the song Of
triumph by which armies have been led to
victory, and which to-day resounds in every
land and almost in every tongue. He has
given to the world literature which to-
day, taken IN its several parts, stands with
out parallel in the history of the Chris
tian church. It is the birthday of relig.
| ious leader who, however, did not devise a
new religious system as a Confucius or 6
Mohamed; nor yet one who sought to es
tablish sect on his own ideas as to some
Of the doctrines Of Gods word, as many
since his day has done, but of one who pu-
rided the church, and who rescued the
truth from complete destruction, who
again restored the old and true apostolic
church, bringing it back to its primitive
purity and simplicity. Such was Martin
Luther, whose four hundredth birthday We
here to-day celebrate!
The night, the ignorance and the super
stition under which the nation groaned
was dark and long, and everywhere there
was a signing for relief. Not even were
the rulers their own masters, but were the
oppressed subjects of a demagogue who
claimed 80 be Gods representative on
earth, whose power extenGed to the tempo.
raj affairs of men. Although the work OF
Luther was meant only TO reform the
church, it, of necessity, extended much far
thsr, for freedom from religious tyranny
will operate upon society, SO that, being
possessed of the truth, it can also solve the
problem of self government, because it is
able to discover what pertains to the besf
interests of mans temporal welfare. He
took the liberty to think and act for him
self, bowling alone before the supreme au-
thority of the holy scriptures. He per.
mitted no pope to put restrictions upor
| his conscience, and no emperor to deprive
him OF the liberty OF believing and teach
| ing what God, the ruler of nations,had Civ
en- in his word. The church had called
hun TO be doctor of theology, when he
swore this solemn oath at Gods altar
! That he would make the holy
| scri pture5 his constant study while he
lived, that he would preach IT, and with i
defend the Christian faith in disputatione
and with writing against al heresy, Goo
| helping him, and when now the churci
demanded of him TO deny that word which
he had sworn to preach and defend, ant
instead uphold the fctions which were
| generally to be found in the churches, he
appealed TO his oath and to the supreme
authority of the scriptures. By the STATE
| he had been called as q teacher in the AMI
versity and be endeavcred to lead the stu
dents to understand the highest ideal o
citizenship, to understand and precbic,
Gods law and the importance of ever,
one first of all governing himself by Chris
tien self-control. He led them out of tn
old ruts of Aristotelian philosophy, which
| heather author had for years been re
garded the highest authority of faith ant
of reasoning in the church, and he LEI
them to fresh fountains of knowledge
flowing out of the book of books, showing
them not only the right but the import
ance of private judgment, yet to at 81
times submit that Judgment to the wore
of God which alone is of supreme gu
thority.
| Connected with this freedom of though
is freedom of worship, and of this Luthe
was the great champion. When, after TIA
work of the reformation had made grea
headway and spread over large part of Eu
rope, so that in all lands there were earnes
inquirers after the old apostolic faith, tn
violence OF the Romanists increased and
fire and sword we're used to crush out tn
Lutherians, Luther and his edherent:
stood unmoved, trusting in God alone t.
bring his work to a successful and glori
Gus issue. When he was asked whether i
was lawful to put false prophets, ths
teachers of error and tbs promuIgatorl
of heresy to death, he replied: II am slov
whenever life is concerned, even if tn
offender is exceedingly guilty. 1 can b.
no means admit that the false teacher
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