The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-11-12

To me, n poor, unworthy, miserable sinner,
God the Father of Mercy, has intrusted the Cos
pei of his dear son, aud has made me therein
true and faithful Through my means many in
this world have received the gospel, and hold
me as a true teacher, in spite of popes, emper-
Ors, kings, princes, priests, and all the devils
wrath. Let them believe me also in the small
matter of my last will and testimony, this being
written in my own hand. Let it be understood
that here is the earnest, deliberate meaning of
Martin Luther, Gods notary and witness in his
gospel, confirmed by his own hand aud seal,
Jan. 6, 1912"
Four years afterward he awoke in the night
and sad sit is death. am going. Father,
into thy hand 1 commend my spirit"
Less than one hundred years before America
was discovered and great continent was being
made ready for the great thoughts OF the dead
mana new land where these great thoughts
could play freely. Here they have opportunity,
unObstructed by priests and by kings, and here
they move and work and have free cause and
are glorted.
Permit to the matter up. I called
attention, this morning, TO the public work OF
I.utner-the courage and strength that was in
him. That needs to be made emphatic, for now
and again meet man who thinks the religion
of Jesus Christ weak and pulseless thing-a
thlng as he says, "for women ana chlluren;"
religion that consists in the passive virtues,
meekness. long suffering, bearing things-now
and then find Christian who thinks so, too;
convention borne out by the pictures, happi-
ly falling from sight, OF emaoiated saints
ana and. martyrs, Assemble me me now the
of them the equal of Luther in
me strength of manliness, in power to do and
i fad no instance of Luther's apolOgizing and
begging pardon for being in the way OF popes
and emperors. He came on earth 10 be in their
way; 30 that end he was born" He was
not afraid of the face of man.
S l am happy to set Martin Luther as against VOL
taire or Rousseau or Hume or Thomas Paine, to
say nothing of men now on the earth who spend
the bulk of their time in defending
demned by their country, and the rest of their
time at 5000 hight in preaching the consola-
tory doctrine that human life ends, like enough,
in a bone-yard. As far as liberty for man, woman
and child is concerned, Luther, in the strength
OF his convictions, with his affirmative has done
more than all the deniers that ever said ''nO."
| nave called attention Tonight TO ms social
side-that needs emphasis, too Here was man
strong enough to follow his Master beyond the
porch where st. Peter hesitated; strong enough,
If need had been, to have gone with mis- Master
where st. Peter finally went-to the cross OF
death. Bnt that was not all of him. He could
follow Jesus to the wedding at Cana of Galliee,
too. He would not have sat there an ogre at the
feast. There was no skull on his dinner table.
III! HIS religion was not like that OF a
Melanchthon by the every morning
and go ont into the back of the garden and dig
Luther's gospel is like his Masters, good
news" nota bondage of rules that starve and
pinch, and distort humanity until it looks like
picture OF st. Anthony done by an old master.
Luthers religion was not less life, but life, and
that more abundantly.
He was a great servant of God, ms busy n man
in great affairs as ever lived, but he loved and
had sympathy with little child
had a religion that included MIN.
games and music and pictures. aud all that is
good IN the life that now is He did not wait
Till he died to be pleased or to please others. He
began right here and now TO take in the good of
life. The great God has made the face of the
earth. 1t must please him to see a mortal make
faithful copy OF 1t. To worship God Will him
der no artist in any art II ever n man could
have excused himself from social duty and
pleasure, Luther could. He had business, and
"kngs business, and 1t required haste"
But he absented himself from no human felicity.
He was good father and friend and neighbor.
fnA hun nTtif nT all 70 and
tiOns He "adorned the gospel" There are
men of affairs who have not time 10 see a
friend, play with child, or tell story.
The best book OF Luthef's is his Table Talk"
He did not bolt his dinner like an American
Protestant. He mixed it with stories, GOOD
ones. suppose there Christians in Chicago
who have not seen their children on n week day
by daylight for a year, except il may he in the
long days in June. They can not keep SUN
long enough TO have "a photograph taken.
They will have to be taken by the instantaneous
dry-plate process, and be remembered by their
children as running to catch something. These
affairs OF our people that consume the mind and
wither the heart, and write their pitiful stories
on the face, are not great affairs they are not
affairs that must bless the world. PORK, if it is
good, is GOOD thing, and may well interest
man eight or ten hours day; but the interest
in pork ought not to take a mans mind twenty
four hours in day. Home and children, aud
friends and neighbors, and the best thoughts of
the best men as they are found in books, call
for some attention. There is. l understand,
phosphOrescent pork, that is what [ thOught-a
blue SHINY "will of the wisp" that leads men
into slOughs of despond and the mud sucks them
down. All grain is phosphorescent also.
Matthew Arnold says that the modern reli gOus
Philistine goes from his business to Il bethel.
Perhaps if he went home and made it
pleasant, his children would not need
a bethel jail SO much. Moth
ing accounts for the perinAnence of the
German race their home-life, ana it is a very
poor house, indeed, that lacks music and flowers
and pictures,
have seen somewhere n sketch of a lionPss
in battle. claws and touch visible enough; but
the child of the liOness never sees these things;
1t only knows the touch of velvet. IL is not
necessary to mountain TO be barren and saw
age, and that it cut the sky with ragged
edge. mountain is possible that
has grass it's slopes and eYergreens
and whistling birds, and edelweiss the very
summit. The Arizona mountains threaten: the
mountains of Switzerland bless aud bring peace
to the valleys,
80 Douglass, Douglass! tender and true" 1t
is possible to get that combination. "Whatso-
ever things are JUST we TOLD to think on
these things We are also told to think
on whatsoever things lovely"
We strive for a religion that shall stand like its
founder. You Jesus dong the will of AL
mighty God, but little children are close about
His feet. 1t is the divine and human both in
one person, that, being lifted up, draw all men.
And 1t is this mingling of strength and sympa-
thy in Martin Luther that has to-day. four CEN
turtles since his birth, made his name to be hon
Ored in every civilized street on the face of the