# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1855 02 13_S98
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

98

may be imagined — : "the third part of the sea became blood." Many who had hitherto lived in the sea, that is, in the knowledge of God, which since the apostles' days had covered the earth like the waves of the sea, and had not despised it, were by the splendid fireworks with which the devil lured perhaps the third part of Christendom out of the ships and from the islands into the deep dyed blood-red likewise made the prey of the murderer — : "the third part of the living creatures in the sea died." Yea, whole ships rowed toward the grand ignis fatuus and were burnt up, that is, many a Christian congregation with its leaders was driven into the net of such heresies — : "the third part of the ships were destroyed."

3. Origen — : the fallen star. The mixing of philosophy with the Gospel makes wormwood of what was sweet. He who had formerly been a star in heaven, that is, an excellent teacher in the church, now burned like a torch: for since he gave ear to worldly wisdom and brewed reason into the faith, he fell into darkness; yet he was a torch in the darkness, had more light than any other philosopher, because he drew the Gospel with him into the webs of human thoughts. That one fell upon the rivers and fountains of waters. The teachers of Christendom, who should have led the waters of life into the fields and brought them to light out of the depths of the Word of God, were enticed by the seductive example of the fallen star to couple human wisdom with heavenly revelation.

4. Novatus, etc. — Sun, moon and stars are smitten, day and night are robbed of light. When here sun, moon and stars are distinguished as lights of the day and of the night, that is a hint to take these images in such contrast, and in the interpretation of the parable to disregard the figurative sense to which sun, moon and stars might otherwise lead. According to this it would be natural to think of the sun, as the light which rules the day, as the eternal powers by which the church is borne, but to refer moon and stars to civil life and especially to the magistracy. "It was smitten," etc., then indicates the insubordination against church and civil order which was to be the fundamental trait of the new heresy. The consequence had to be, indeed, that "the third part of them was darkened," the beneficent influence of both powers, of heaven and of earth, suffered a stoppage, since at least so many as severed themselves from them were robbed of their saving power, but to poor gain for those who had accomplished such a thing: this was namely, that precisely for them "the day shone not, and the night likewise." All this applies now to the Donatists and Novatians. They altered no article of faith, but rose up against the ruling ecclesiastical authority, wanted to drive duly called bishops out of office under frivolous pretexts, and when the magistracy did not stand by them, they reviled it and made robber hordes (the Circumcellions) their bodyguard. Thereby they only deprived themselves of the blessing of fellowship, so that "day and night shone not" for them, that is, neither the grace of Jesus Christ, the light of the church, nor civil peace refreshed them.

If one will not regard the contrast of day and night, one may also conceive under the sun Christ alone, under the moon his bride, the church, and under the stars especially the pastors and teachers of Christendom. The sense is then this: such heretics once deny the Lord who has bought them, because under the hypocritical pretence of a stricter discipline than is compatible with the Spirit of Christ they in fact paint the Saviour before men's eyes not as the merciful Samaritan but as a hangman and jailer, so that his countenance shines no more, if anyone trusts the mask which they hold before him; thereby they also forsake the church, which now remains no friendly mother who weeps over her erring sons, no faithful housewife who lights a candle to seek the lost piece of silver, but harshly and contemptuously thrusts from her everything stained that draws near her penitently with the shibboleth of the Cathari: noli me tangere, quia purus sum (Touch me not: for I am holy); but especially they let themselves be set by the devil upon faithful teachers, as Novatus sought to make himself a knight against Cyprian, Novatian against Cornelius, and the Donatists in their hatred against Caecilian went so far as to deny the validity of all his official acts, because he had been consecrated by a bishop who was charged with having delivered up the Holy Scripture in the Diocletian persecution: the star was by no means to shine, yea the whole church which held with this Caecilian was for his sake to have lost the right of the children of God and the gifts of the Holy Ghost, and all churches which stood in connection with her were to be so stained and defiled that one must — "avoid" them. But in whatever one denies recognition to the church of God, that one loses himself.

V. 13 indicates that there is a notable difference between the preceding four and the following three plagues. "And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven" — : the "saw and heard" is meant to point to this, that what is yet to come will fall more upon the senses and be more palpable; the "through the midst of heaven" refers to the greater universality of the impending dangers:

Who could but grasp it? — the whole heaven echoes with a "Woe!" so often as the church militant is threatened. Must not then from all the sighs of tempted souls melodious harmonies arise, when in heaven their echo is, when even the most yearning plaintive tones of a string trembling in the tumult of the holy battle for eternal truth find there their resonance? But it is, as we here see, the reverse of what it seems to us. Not on earth is there first sighing, but in heaven they anticipate us.

(Contributed by Pastor Hoyer.)

Of Political Liberty.

Leave politics out of the Lutheraner, will you not say so, my dear readers? — And certainly, if we in a church paper were to engage in political questions of the day, elections of state officials, differences in the principles, say, of Whigs and Democrats, and like political affairs, you would rightly call out to me: what is not your office, of that leave your meddling. But be not afraid, I will not speak to you of such matters; God willing, you shall not call my discourse on political liberty meddling.

"Is that liberty too, is that a free country?!" cried Michael German in vexation, having just arrived on American soil in Thomas Street in Baltimore and just then also held fast by the arms and legs by two policemen, that he might not exercise the householder's right, or also the right of the boot, upon a German brother. Michael thought that was liberty, that everyone could do according to his pleasure; he did not think that then his German brother, whose back he was just pleased to work upon, certainly was not free in the land of liberty, and that if he himself should once come under the pleasure of a stronger, his own condition also would not be precisely distinguished by liberty. To act according to one's own pleasure is caprice, but not liberty. The French in 1793 once tried to arrange the constitution of the country so that every citizen in France might act according to his own will; entirely without law that could not go either, this they well perceived, but only the law of nature, which dwells in each one and the following of which they called virtue, should hold. The consequence was that the stronger in the land ruled according to their pleasure over the weaker, those who would not submit to this they murdered and thereupon fought and destroyed one another, until at last the strongest among them all, Napoleon Bonaparte, rose to the supreme power, stopped the mouth of all who resisted with grapeshot, and ruled according to his pleasure, that is, more despotically than the Emperor of Russia. So it went there, where one would not even let mere caprice rule, but rather sought liberty in the keeping of a law, of the so-called law of nature.

"Yes, it is true, we dwell in a free country," so cries Paul Achiever, in the overwhelming consciousness of his sovereignty, having just cast his ballot for the first time at the polls. He thinks with many that liberty consists in this, that the citizens of a country choose their own magistracy and through their own delegates impose upon themselves the necessary laws, also the necessary levies or taxes. But Paul has, say, with 100 others chosen those who are to be his magistracy or representatives; 102 others on the contrary as the majority bring it about that men come to the helm whom Paul does not want, whose