# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1848 12 12_S62
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

62

read, that he may gather for himself a treasure of divine truth, and thereby become fit to think divine thoughts and to perform divine works. If thou hast no desire for it, thou judgest thyself; but if thou sayest, as so many do, that thou hast no time, I ask thee: dost thou not daily feed and give drink to thy body? Dost thou not take time for it in the morning, at noon, in the afternoon, in the evening? Would not thy body become weak and sick, yea, would it not die, if thou wouldst not feed it and give it drink? But man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Hungerest thou not after it, and feedest thou not thy soul therewith, then thou showest just this, that thou art more body than soul.

2) Read with a single eye, with an eye that seeketh God and his eternal salvation. If such an eye is lacking to thee, pray for it. An evil eye in its blindness doth not see and find the one thing that is needful. It reads indeed in the Bible, but at most to learn from it, but not to live according to it. The Pharisees and scribes also were masters of the Scripture; but they lacked the repentance which John preached, and the faith which Christ demandeth. Simplicity and sincerity are, in general, the two strong wings of faith, which bear our soul safely upward. (1 Cor. 4, 12)

3) Read with a praying heart. Prayer gives to our mind not only the right stillness and composure to receive the divine instruction, it also opens to us the understanding of the Holy Scripture. It unlocks the heart and the Scripture. He who reads with devout prayer shall surely not remain unblessed. As Luther says: "I compare the Holy Scripture to a glorious orchard, into which no hungry soul goeth in vain; for wherever it knocketh at a tree or little shrub, it may be assured that a fruit or a little berry will fall down." — The trees and shrubs are the sections and sayings of the Holy Scripture; the knocking is childlike, humble prayer.

4) Read with constant application of what thou readest to thy heart and life. Do not rely upon Bible reading, as if the whole of Christianity consisted in that alone. No, always let there hover before thine eyes, in Bible reading, the word: "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." — Therefore also never read too much at once. It is no law that thou must always read a whole book or chapter in one stretch. Whenever thou openest the Bible, seek an answer to the most important of all questions: What must I do to be saved? If thou art still weak and inexperienced in the Word of God, then read first what is easiest and most understandable, the life of Jesus according to the four Gospels, thoroughly and repeatedly, then the Acts of the Apostles (that is indeed also the order of the Holy Scripture), and go on thus gradually to the Epistle to the Romans and to the Hebrews. If thou believest thou hast received sufficient light concerning these, only then read the Revelation of John, but never forget in doing so that it is a mysterious prophetic book sealed with seven seals, and that "to love Christ is better than all knowledge."

5) If I am to give one more counsel in conclusion, then do not speak too much about the Word of God when thou hast learned and understood something; heavily laden wagons are wont not to travel so fast, and the brooks that make the most noise and splash are wont to be the least deep. It is not hereby said that thou shouldst say nothing at all. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth may overflow. But everything in its time, and driven by the Holy Spirit; for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. — But if thou belongest, on the other hand, to those who, however gladly they hear and read the Word of God, yet, as it may seem to them, know too little to tell of it, while others can retain and speak so much of it, then let the story of the poor woman and her sieve be told thee in conclusion, whether perhaps a comfort for thee may be contained therein.

A pious preacher once walked a little way from his parish on the bank of a brook; there he noticed a poor woman who was washing wool. She had put the wool into a sieve, and dipped it repeatedly into the water, until the wool was quite clean and white. The preacher went up to her, and entered into a conversation with her. As he noticed, to his astonishment, that she met him with great reverence, yea, even gave expressions of gratitude, he asked her whether she knew him. "Yes, indeed, Mr. Pastor," answered the poor woman, "and I believe that I shall praise God for it through all eternity, that I have become acquainted with you. I heard you preach at B. some years ago, and I hope that your sermon was used by the LORD as a means to bestow on me the most blessed treasure of my life." — Now, replied the preacher, that rejoiceth me heartily; but tell me, dear woman, what then did I say in the sermon at that time? — "Ah, Mr. Pastor," said she, "I can no longer remember that; I have a very weak memory." — But how is it possible, asked the pastor, that ye owe so much to this sermon, if ye do not even remember the contents? — "Dear Mr. Pastor," answered the woman, "my poor heart is like this sieve, which also cannot retain the water in itself; but while the water runs through, it cleanseth the wool. So my memory also cannot retain the words; but thanks be to the LORD that the words of the Gospel have cleansed my heart, so that I no longer love sin; I desire from my heart to do the will of the LORD JESUS, and I pray Him every day, even at my work, that He would cleanse me from all iniquity and teach me to do according to His good pleasure."

This little story may perhaps do good service to one or another, and show him how to experience the power of the Word of God in his heart, and so to retain it in the right manner. One often hears the complaint that, on account of a weak memory, one cannot retain and repeat again the words heard or read. Dear reader, it is not important that the sounds of the words remain in thy memory, but that the power of the words, the blessed effect of the words, remain in thy heart, and that the Word of God make thy heart clean. If then the water also runs through the sieve again, that matters not, if only it carries the filth away with it and cleanseth the heart, that it may become white as wool. (Isaiah 1, 18.) If thou canst not edify others by retelling what thou hast heard or read — the gifts are diverse —, yet thou canst and shouldst by thy conduct become an edification to others, that they may see thy good works, and glorify their Father in heaven.

But this we all ought to do; otherwise all our talking availeth nothing, even though we spoke with the tongues of men and of angels. May God strengthen us thereto in our weakness!

Unity.

If all the little brooks would come together,
There well might be a river;
Because each taketh its own course,
One without the other must dry up.
(Sartorius' Lebensspiegel.)

Of the Threefold Manner in which Men Use the Divine Law.

"There are three kinds of scholars of the Law. The first, who hear the Law and despise it, lead a profligate life, without fear; to these the Law does not come; and they are signified by the calf-worshippers in the wilderness, for whose sake Moses cast the tables in two, and did not bring the Law to them, Exod. 32:6, 19.

The second, who undertake to fulfil it with their own strength, without grace, are signified by those who could not look upon Moses' countenance when he brought the tables the second time, Exod. 34:30. To these the Law comes; but they do not endure (bear) it; therefore they make a veil over it and lead a hypocritical life with outward works of the Law; which yet makes everything sin that the Law touches, when the veil is taken away. For the Law proveth that our ability is nothing without the grace of Christ.

The third are those who see Moses clearly without a veil. These are those who understand the meaning of the Law, how it demandeth an impossible thing. There sin goeth into power, 1 Cor. 15:56. There death is mighty, there Goliath's spear is like a weaver's beam and its head weighs 600 shekels of brass, so that all the children of Israel flee before him; save only David the one, Christ our LORD, redeemeth us from all this. For