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THE KING’S BUSINESS
Wittenberg—where also he was court preacher from the year 1509 to 1512—he departed from the ordinary methods of teaching and preaching. Not only were the learned men—the sharpest and best minds of the time devoting themselves to subtle sterile analysis, hair splitting definitions, etc., but the professors of theology, over looking St. Paul’s warnings to Timothy, fol-' lowed much on the same lines, and at best only taught doctrines held to be right be cause laid down by authority, considering that study of the Bible was rather the work for beginners. But Luther, as court preacher, founded his preaching upon the Bible, and especially ort the Epistles of St. Paul. His college lectures during the years 1513-1515 were upon the Psalms, in 1515 and 1516 upon the Epistle to the Romans, and in 1516 he was again occupied upon the Psalms and spoke of the insight into their meaning gained from the preparation of his lectures on the Romans; Paul, he said, was the best interpreter of David. He studied both Hebrew and Greek so that he might get as close as possible to the exact mean ing of the Scriptures, and when Erasmus’ Greek Testament appeared in 1516, he at once made it the basis of his comments in | the class room. PRACTICAL TEACHING But Luther, as a peasant, had always been used to familiar, homely language, and in stead of cpnfining himself, as the professors usually did, to the use of Latin, he con stantly translated what he was teaching into current every day language. His hard strug gles with poverty in his ybuth had sharp ened his search for the practical and useful; in his lectures he always preferred the vital and practical to the philosophical and specu lative, and. he continually referred to the events of the day .in the light of the. particu lar writer he was interpreting. Thus his work took on a reality and an interest else where quite unknown, Young men from all parts flocked'to the university to receive his teaching, for they felt that here was a man bound by no narrow conventions and tradi
tional sophistries, but one who insisted on going to the heart of things—even grave burghers says Lilly, matriculated as stu dents, and Luther became the most popular teacher in the University. His practical aims directed his attention to the conditions of university life, and particularly to the relations between the students and the young women of the town. The citizens felt themselves helpless before the demoral ization that had arisen from the presence of hundreds of young and often unruly fel lows : Luther spoke out, and though en countering the enmity of many, succeeded in bringing about a great improvement, thus winning the lasting gratitude and confidence of. the better citizens and before long he be came the most powerful influence in the town and University, and continued to be so to the end of his life. : HIS CHIEF REFUGE ' How the power of the Scriptures perco lated through his own experience into his teaching is well seen in the use he.made of the Psalms, his lectures on which his learned friend, Melancthon, said “radiated a new light on Christian doctrine.” In every great crisis of his life the Psalms were Lu ther’s favorite study, and in- preparing his lectures upon them hg often found refuge from the strife of tongues. Prothero, in his “Psalms in Human Life,” refers to Lu: ther’s use of Psalm XLVI as exemplifying his magnificent courage, and the source from which that courage sprang. “There were,” says Prothero, “moments when even he felt something akin to despair, and asked with- the Psalmist,- ‘Why art thou cast down O- my soul?’ In such hours he would say to Melancthon, ‘Gome, Philip, let us sing the XLVIth Psalm,’ and the two friends sang it in Luther’s version—The Battle Song of the Reformation.” The following two verses of this appear in Spurgeon’s “Treasury of David :” “A sure stronghold our God is He, , A timely shield and weapon; Our help He’ll be,, and set us free - From, every ill can happen.
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