# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 02 20_S103
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

103

Marc. 13, 17.

Once the holy Augustine asked his friend Possidius whether he had noticed how he had broken off in the middle of the sermon and strayed to another subject. The latter confessed that he had. Then he thought that God might have allowed this forgetfulness and wandering to arise, in order perhaps, by what he had said out of connection, to convert some hearer from his error. One or two days afterward a merchant came to Augustine, dissolving in tears, throwing himself down before him on his knees. He had been, he said, a Manichaean for many years, and had been grievously deceived by the so-called Elect; one of Augustine's last sermons had disillusioned him. Inquiry was made which one, and it was precisely the digression into which Augustine had strayed. The ideal of spiritual eloquence which floated before his mind he himself described in a special treatise. He wished so to preach that all might live with him and he with all in Christ. "This is my passion, my honor, my glory, my joy, my riches."

(From Böhringer's Kirche Christi.)

(Sent in by Pastor Fick.)

The Roses.

Once at Brussels two boys,
John and Henry, were burned.
What then is the guilt which they have?
Only because they confessed the truth
And remain in Luther's doctrine,
The Pope and his host condemn them.

High leap the crackling flames,
Round about flickers the burning glow;
Within the martyrs praise together
The Lord with joyful courage,
They smile into the fire:
"These seem to me to be roses."

How they bloom fiery, the roses! —
Their heart walks upon roses.
The angels come and caress
And fan away their pain,
Then the pair soar to heaven,
Many lovely roses in their hair.

They go into the heavenly meadows
And rest on the Savior's breast,
Whose holy countenance they behold
Now eternally full of blessed joy.
Now the Lord Christ has
Wreathed their heads with crowns of roses.

I too will now patiently bear
The cross which my Savior gives me.
Now I too will no more complain so:
I know indeed that Jesus loves me.
Come tribulation, persecution, and pain:
They seem to me to be roses.

Note. They are the two Antwerp Augustinian monks Henry Voes and John Eschen, "two young boys," as Dr. Luther calls them in his beautiful hymn "of the two martyrs of Christ, at Brussels, burned by the sophists of Louvain." One of them said, looking at the fire surrounding him: "Dit schynen my als Roosen te zyn." Brandt, Hist. der Reformation. 1, 79.

(Sent in.)

Recantation.

From a little pamphlet recently published, entitled: "Der Hirtenbrief des Herrn Pastor Grabau ꝛc. nebst den zwischen ihm und mehreren lutherischen Predigern gewechselten Schriften," I see that my name also has been published with it, as that of a then congregational elder who acknowledged the principles set forth in that pastoral letter as his own. I feel constrained to declare that I did indeed at that time, out of ignorance, give unconditional approval to that pastoral letter, but, instructed in a better way by the exceptions taken by the preachers in Missouri, have already for five years changed my judgment concerning it. Moreover I heartily beg forgiveness of those to whom I have helped to expound the erroneous principles of the pastoral letter.

New York, 5 February, 1849.

Ernst Kriege.

Quick Presence of Mind.

The North American preacher Helmuth was once on a visit to a country preacher stationed on the Indian frontier, where some decades ago, whenever divine service was to be held, a part of the members of the congregation had to keep watch round about the church standing on a hill, in order to prevent disturbances of the service by the warlike Indians. Helmuth preached in this church, and in his usual loving manner spoke so movingly to the hearts that the whole assembly was carried away by it; at last he reminded them of the former time and wished to make a further application of it, beginning: "Now present yourselves, ye old fathers of this congregation!" — These words were by a misunderstanding so taken as if he demanded that the fathers of the congregation should present themselves bodily; they therefore rose from their seats, stepped forward, and placed themselves around the altar. Helmuth saw through the misunderstanding in a moment, but was quick to decide what he would do; he turned his discourse at once so that a special address to these old men came of it, in which he put before them how they, as experienced heads of households, should conduct themselves toward their dependents. Then he bade them return again to their seats; but because he observed that the congregation had received his address with the deepest emotion, he would not neglect the good opportunity to link yet more to it, and had also the mothers, then the young men, and finally the maidens come forward, and said to each division what was fitting. And since it had all come about so wholly unsought, the impression remained indelible with many. (Chr. Bote.)

Nature, Sin, and Grace.

Nature and grace one should distinguish well. But to distinguish well nature, and sin, and grace, is still much more necessary. There are timid souls who let their erring hearts make what is nature, without distinction, into sin, and therefore regard all joy in the creatures, eating and drinking, sleeping and waking, and other natural functions, with a certain unrest and tremulousness, which often only afterward becomes an occasion of sin and transgressions: whereas otherwise, in simplicity of heart, with thanksgiving to the good Creator, who with good pleasure grants us our necessities, one might quite well have enjoyed them without offense of the creatures. Again, there are honest, earnest souls who expect of grace that it should not only remedy sin, but also change nature: that it should, for example, make out of a man of weak natural understanding a refined, clever man: that it should strengthen a short memory, so that one could retain everything readily and easily: that it should bring one who by nature has no gift of speech to the point that he also, like others, can offer a fluent prayer in the presence of others, and discourse with ready tongue on the work of grace, etc. And if grace does not bring such things to pass in them, they become confused about their very state of grace, and think that, because grace does not also raise nature in them to the same degree that it has in others, it is not the right grace. But there are also light-minded or frivolous people who know how to represent not only nature, but also, under specious names, even sin so fair and innocent, as if one had no need of grace at all, or as if grace must stand under the dominion of nature or of sin. All this misunderstanding is prevented by the scriptural, pure distinction between nature and sin and grace, and the right form of a child of man endowed with grace is represented, neither too high nor too low, according to the tolerableness of this life, in which we still bear the image of the earthly, and according to the unimpaired distinction which the Creator himself has laid in the various capacity of human minds, and which grace itself also imitates in its kingdom. The hymn: "Es glänzet der Christen inwendiges Leben" etc. and another: "So führst du doch recht selig, HErr, die Deinen" etc. may here give good matter for reflection and consideration. And whoever is versed in the symbolical books of our church will perceive that in them the distinction between nature and sin is carefully observed: which latter is properly the main point and the real matter in the well-known Flacian controversy about original sin.*) For example, one may consult the Apology, Art. II, and the Book of Concord, Declaration, Art. I. (Ph. D. Burk's Pastoralsammlungen.)

Church News.

On the first Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany, the 7th of January of this year, Mr. Candidate F. Bernreuther from Bavaria, after he had received a regular call from Lutherans in and around Mishawaka, St. Joseph's Co., Indiana, and had passed the examination prescribed before the professors of the Fort Wayne Seminary, was ordained before his congregation by Pastor Schuster, by commission of the Vice-President of the Synod of Missouri etc. Trained in the Lutheran mission seminary at Dresden, he had immigrated here about half a year ago with the intention of serving the Lutheran church of this country. May the Lord of the harvest give grace to the newly entered laborer to gather many a full sheaf into the barn of his church.

News of World Affairs.

Since the events last reported no essential changes have occurred in the political condition of Europe. The monarchical

*) Flacius asserted, namely, that the nature of man itself had become sin and was not merely corrupted by sin and sin only attached to it, hence not accidentally but essentially, not an accident but the substance itself. D. R.