her two master-spirits had prepared for Protestant Germany. Those who are honoured to lead great public movements in the kingdom of God have need, especially in the early stages of them, of more than ordinary grace to save them from mistakes, or where these through inevitable imperfection have been committed, to repair them in time to prevent them becoming chronic disorders and ineradicable maladies in the system which comes out of their hands. About fourteen years before this, Melancthon's tone had begun to soften towards the Swiss on the subject of the Sacrament. With Bucer's moderate views he was increasingly pleased, and the frequent letters which passed between them tended not only to do away with the shameful prejudice against that body of Reformers which had existed among all Luther's intimate friends, but to draw them closer upon other important points.* By degrees this change appeared in the successive editions of his Loci Communes, and in his other writings; and the weight of the Protestant cause in Germany now lying on his shoulders, he did his best to bring the whole doctrine of the Church into a moderate and consistent form, approximating to that of the Reformed divines, though short of what was soon afterwards termed systematic Calvinism. But this only plunged "a sword into his own bowels," and filled the Church with the bitterest rancour. The pacification of Passau (1552), and the subsequent peace of Augsburg (1555), which ratified the independence of German Protestantism and became the charter of its liberties, embraced only the adherents of the Augsburg Confession, to the exclusion, according to the approved policy, of the Reformed, who for a century thereafter were unrecognised by the empire. The natural consequence was, that every approach to the views of the latter body of Protestants was hotly resented by the partizans of the former, as a blow inflicted not more upon the orthodoxy than upon the liberties and political security of the Church. By his way of treating the Interim, Melancthon raised the ugly question about things indifferent-known as the Adiaphoristic controversy. By endeavouring to soften down some of Luther's statements about the bearing of good works on salvation, he brought a * The virulence of this prejudice cannot be better illustrated than in the following brief description of Bucer, immediately after the Marburg Conference, by Justus Jonas, in a letter to a friend. "In Bucero calliditas vulpina perverse imitata prudentiam et acumen."."-(Bretschneider, No. 634). To much the same effect writes Brentius, during the sitting of the Diet, 1530: Hominis (Buceri) dolos et fraudes agnoscit (Lutherus) qui vobiscum simulat, sese a sententia nostra non abesse, absens sparsit, nos in suam sententiam concedere." The next sentence is in the same inex. cusable strain.-(Ib., No. 893). But let any one compare Melancthon's German letter to the Landgrave, in February 1535 (Ib., No. 1248)-observing how he longs for the healing of this sad breach, and expresses his eagerness to do any thing in his power to promote it-with the one we referred to in the note to page 4, and he will at once see how Melancthon's feelings had changed during the few intervening years. host of Luther-worshippers about his ears, which issued in the Majorist controversy. His somewhat crude statements about the co-operation of the human will with the grace of God in conversion, meeting with equally rash statements on the other side, produced the Synergistic controversy. And finally, to say nothing of the Osiandrist, Stancarist, and other sad controversies in which he had to take a part, the newly-founded University of Jena-erected by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, the chief protector of the Protestant faith after the desertion of Maurice of Saxony, for the express purpose of upholding the strictest Lutheranism-was filled at once with a batch of able but fierce pipariyss, intense Anti-Philippists, as the enemies of Melancthon were styled, men Luthero lutheraniores, who made it their first business to re-edit the works of Luther, and set themselves to hold up every thing which he had put forth, no matter what marks of haste and looseness it might bear on its face, as what all Lutherans were to be stringently and perpetually bound by, but which Melancthon and his Wittemberg doctors were now treacherously undermining.* Thus were the latter days of Melancthon embittered by every species of abuse. But his noble spirit at length took flight from the region of controversy. His favourite litany-" From contentious divines, good Lord deliver us "-now received a gracious answer in his own case. What he was wont, in his calm musings, to anticipate as one prime ingredient of the heavenly felicity-" Thou shalt be freed from the rage (rabie) of controversialists,"—was now realised. In 1560 he "entered into peace." But when they could no longer reach himself, his enemies fell with fury upon his writings and his followers; and so widely did the flame soon spread, and so fiercely did it rage, that all Protestant Germany became involved in it. The unpublished manuscripts of Melancthon were scandalously seized, some of A very different estimate was formed of his works by the great Reformer himself. In the preface to the first volume of them, dated the year before his death, he says he had been dragged into the publication of his collected works by the pertinacity of those who, if he refused, would issue them after his death, in ignorance of the causes and circumstances of them; that he had much rather they had been buried in perpetual oblivion; that they were a rude and undigested chaos, and that he never could think of burying the labours of antiquity under his novelties, and hindering the study of the former by the obtrusion of the latter, especially as methodical works, and particularly Philip's Common Places, which were abundant for all theological purposes, had given the Reformed doctrine systematic shape. After his death, Melancthon carried the publication through to its close. And yet Flacius, who personally owed every thing to Melancthon during his early studies, not only issued from Jena an edition of his own, but in the face of Luther's dying testimony, in the preface aforesaid, to his unabated confidence in Melancthon, made use of the writings of the former to blacken and blast the reputation of the latter. It is affecting to read his replies to the "Illyrian viper"-for such even the gentle Melancthon scrupled not to call this Ishmaelite -and to observe how, while hurling back upon himself his calumnious untruths, he could in the same breath acknowledge mistakes, and ask pardon of them from God. That Flacius, in his furious Lutheran zeal, went himself off the perpendicular at last upon original sin, for which he got himself condemned as a semi-Manichæan, is very well known. them almost ready for publication, and every means taken to withdraw his works from public view and brand his memory with infamy!* * Not content with hunting down every decided Philippist or Crypto-Calvinist, as they were now termed, and watching the movements of all whose leanings even were suspected to lie in that direction, the civil arm was brought down upon them. Strigel was cast into prison, where he lay for three years. Hardenberg, one of Melancthon's most excellent and enlightened friends, was deposed and banished. from Bremen for his attachment to the Reformed views, which nevertheless he had so successfully inculcated, that ere that century closed, the republic itself embraced the Genevese platform. Peucer-Melancthon's son-in-law, and head of the University of Wittemberg, who, though a physician, a professor of natural philosophy, and author of several professional works, took a warm interest in the theological questions of his day, edited his illustrious relative's works, publicly maintained his views, and wrote against "The Ubiquity of Christ's Human Nature," which the Lutherans found it necessary to hold in defence of their figment on the sacrament-this superior man was imprisoned for ten years with every aggravating circumstance of rigour. But as it was found neither easy nor pleasant to extirpate by physical force these Crypto-Calvinists, and others who were not quite up to the mark of high Lutheranism, the Elector of Saxony got drawn up that famous Form of Concord or rather, as it turned out, of Discord—(Formula Concordia) in 1576, which, by fixing precisely the approved orthodoxy, and condemning specifically whatever was opposed "Ex quibus "says Pezel, Melancthon's successor at Wittemberg, in his preface to a third volume of his Letters which he issued in 1590-" tanta aliquorum Beis fuit, tantaque odii acerbitas, ut ad nomen Philippi æterna oblivione obruendum, cum reliqua ejus scripta jam ante in lucem edita, ex manibus discentium eripere satagerent, adeoque ne typis quidem imprimi amplius vellent: Tum, quæ manuscripta, necdum edita, inter chartas eruditorum restabant, supprimere ac delere in universum, haud obscure conati fuerint. Cujus rei vel unum hoc exemplum commemorabo. Intellexerant aliqui ex zazov istorum numero, in vasis in quibus supellex libraria M. Wolfgang Crellii+ erat, mediocrem acervum latere, cum Epistolarum Melancthonis, tum judiciorum Ejus de variis controversiis. Quæsito ergo vanissimo prætextu, non quieverunt prius, quam vasis jam Witeberga avehendis reclusis atque apertis, pleraque prope parata ad editionem, pro libitu suo eximerent, sibique reservarent." (Bretschneider, ut supra, vol. i., p. 1., li.). A curious and instructive fact in regard to the trial of Hardenberg is mentioned by Dr Pusey, in a work published five years before he came out as a Puseyite, on his return from Germany full of zeal against those Church-views for which he has since become so conspicuous. We allude to his "Historical Enquiry into the Probable Causes of the Rationalist Character lately predominant in the Theology of Germany" (1828). "In the trial of Hardenberg," he says, "an edict of 1534 was brought up against him, which directed the immediate expulsion from Bremen of Anabaptists and Sacramentarians.”—(P. 16, note 2). Little did Melancthon think, when in the early stages of the sacramental controversy he allowed the advocates of the Swiss views to be classed with the turbulent Anabaptists, that after his death his own followers would be made to suffer the bitter consequences of such injustice. But righteous art thou, O Lord! Chancellor of Christian I. of Saxony, who suffered a ten years' imprisonment on a political pretence, but in reality for his attachment to Melancthon's views. to it, was henceforth to put an end to all controversy. This, however, proved only confusion worse confounded. It was forcibly imposed by the Elector on his own clergy and subjects, and by degrees accepted, reluctantly in many cases, by other Lutheran Churches. All moderate Lutherans were exasperated by the imposition of this rigid and narrow-minded document; the Reformed vented their chagrin at the termination, in this miserable way, of all hopes of a union between the two great sections of the Protestant Church; German Protestantism lay bleeding under these cruelest of all wounds-wounds inflicted in the house of her friends; all extension of its borders was now out of the question; some even fell off to the enemy-names, too, of no inconsiderable weight-disgusted at the spectacle which the Reformation now presented; and the ultra-Lutherans got it all their own way, the more moderate either melting away or passing over to the Reformed. But this was a victory which to the Lutheran Church proved worse, perhaps, than defeat. That Church became in consequence the driest, starchest, most narrow-minded thing in Protestant Christendom. As they had now every thing of Luther's to defend, and in addition to this all that had been approved of and sanctioned in the Form of Concord as orthodox developments of his views, they by and by felt their need of the dialectic subtleties of the schools in their university-teaching; and in place of Scripture proofs of the doctrines advanced, it was now enough to refer to the catechisms and other formularies of the Church. "Hutter's Compendium of the Form of Concord" became the text-book of theological instruction in the universities—a man whose fanaticism against every thing Calvinistic was perfectly frightful.* What wretched preachers would be thus manufactured, may be easily imagined. The following specimen of them is from Dr Pusey: "The Sermons of James Andrea, consist of four divisions: 1. Of the division between Lutherans and Papists; 2. Of the Church of Christ, and the Zwinglians; 3. Against the Schwenkfeldians; 4. Against the Anabaptists. The following commencement of the Sermons of Artomedes of Königsberg on the Lord's Supper (1590), may suffice to show the spirit of * That our readers may have some idea of this "Lutherus redivivus"—for such, says Hagenbach, he was surnamed (Hist. of Doctr., vol. ii., p. 166, Clark)-we translate the following extract from Semler, who says it forms the conclusion of a narrative of the Philippist controversy which Hutter published, and which received the approbation of all the authorities before it was issued: "It is long since the name of Calvinist has become more hateful than that of Jew. If in our day you should speak of a Calvinist, it would be to speak of all wickedness (flagitium). It is richly bestowed upon these Calvinists. The retribution they merit I wish they may suffer to the world's end, if not softened by true repentance. But to thee, O King of glory, Jesus Christ, for whose honour chiefly we abominate this heresy, be glory everlasting!"-(Apparatus ad Libros Symbolicos Ecclesiæ Lutheranæ, 1775, Præfatio). + See note, p. 8. Who drew up the Form of Concord, assisted by five divines. these polemics: Against the holy communion war two raging armies of the incarnate devil: on the one side the ungodly Papists, on the other the over-curious and conceited Calvinists. The wretched heathen Ovid is a better theologian than our Calvinists.' There follow yet stronger and more offensive expressions. The style was equally repulsive." And these were Luther's successors and representatives! But there were those who sighed and who cried over this deplorable state of things. And this brings us to a second element in the Lutheran Church, which Bengel found working when he came upon the stage-its Pietism, as it was afterwards called. So early as 1555, was born JOHN ARNDT, who first sounded any clear note of retreat out of the sandy desert of dead orthodoxy, and pioneered the way to spiritual revival. He had made some progress in his studies for the medical profession, when, the Lord having visited his soul under a dangerous disease, he devoted himself to the ministry. Scarcely had his mouth been opened in 1583, when opposition was raised to his unusual strain. But he rose above it, till, after many years' ministrations in different places, being called to St Martin's, Brunswick, the uncommon power of his preaching attracted such universal interest, that the dead orthodox could not endure it. Detected and condemned by the contrast between his ministrations and theirs, nothing would satisfy them but to hunt him down; and in such a precious preserve of faultless orthodoxy as the Lutheran Church then was, the readiest way of compassing such an end was to raise against him the hue and cry of heresy. Nor did they want materials. In 1605 he had published his famous work, entitled "True Christianity," which has been translated into almost every European language, and of which we shall speak presently. It was just the substance of his discourses, and presented a faithful picture of his ministrations. Seizing upon this work, therefore, as their casus belli, they publicly and privately warned the people against the poison which this ignorant fanatic was disseminating; and as the hold which the selfsufficient clergy and their mechanical orthodoxy had over the public mind was of too long standing to be speedily or easily shaken, he was forced to give way. In 1608 he retired to Eisleben, but in three years was called by the Duke of Lüneburg to take the pastoral charge of Zell, and to be superin * Pusey, pp. 44, 45. In a sermon on the words "He was little of stature," the division was:-1. The word "He" teaches us personæ qualitatem; 2. "Was"-vita fragilitatem; " Little"-staturæ parvitatem. The practical application was-" 1. In Zaccheus we have a specimen of the variety of God's works; 2. Consolation for the little; 3. Encouragement to eke out our defects by virtue." |