VIOLENCE OF THE SPANIARDS.
Luther, perhaps, was the only tranquil person in Worms. A few moments after his return from the Diet, he wrote to the imperial counsellor Cuspianus. "I write you from the midst of tumult, (meaning, probably, the noise of the crowd outside his hotel;) I have, within this hour, appeared before the emperor and his brother.[516] I have acknowledged the authorship, and declared that to-morrow I will give my answer concerning retractation. By the help of Jesus Christ, not one iota of all my works will I retract."[517]
The excitement of the people and of the foreign troops increased every hour. While parties were proceeding calmly to the business of the Diet, others were coming to blows in the streets. The Spanish soldiers, proud and merciless, gave offence by their insolence to the burghers of the town. One of these satellites of Charles, finding in a bookseller's shop the papal bull, with a commentary on it by Hütten, took and tore it to pieces, and then trampled the fragments under his feet. Others, having discovered several copies of Luther's 'Captivity of Babylon,' carried them off and tore them. The people, indignant, rushed upon the soldiers, and obliged them to take flight. On another occasion, a Spanish horseman, with drawn sword, was seen in one of the principal streets of Worms in pursuit of a German who was fleeing before him, while the people durst not interfere.[518]
Some politicians thought they had discovered a method of saving Luther. "Recant your errors in doctrine," said they to him; "but persist in all you have said against the pope and his court, and you are safe." Aleander shuddered at this advice. But Luther, immovable in his purpose, declared that he set little value on a political reform, if not founded on faith.
The 18th of April having arrived, Glapio, the Chancellor Eck, and Aleander, met at an early hour, by order of Charles V, to fix the course of procedure in regard to Luther.
LUTHER'S WRESTLING AND PRAYER.
Luther had been for a moment overawed on the evening before when he had to appear before so august an assembly. His heart had been agitated at the sight of so many princes before whom great kingdoms humbly bent the knee. The thought that he was going to refuse obedience to men whom God had invested with sovereign power gave him deep concern; and he felt the necessity of seeking strength from a higher source. "He who, attacked by the enemy, holds the shield of faith," said he one day, "is like Perseus holding the head of the Gorgon, on which whoever looked, that moment died. So ought we to hold up the Son of God against the snares of the devil."[519] On this morning of the 18th April, he had moments of trouble, when the face of God was hid from him. His faith becomes faint; his enemies seem to multiply before him; his imagination is overpowered.... His soul is like a ship tossed by a violent tempest, now plunged to the depths of the sea, and again mounting up towards heaven. At this hour of bitter sorrow, when he drinks the cup of Christ, and feels as it were in a garden of Gethsemane, he turns his face to the ground, and sends forth broken cries, cries which we cannot comprehend, unless we figure to ourselves the depth of the agony from which they ascended up to God.[520] "God Almighty! God Eternal! how terrible is the world! how it opens its mouth to swallow me up! and how defective my confidence in thee! How weak the flesh, how powerful Satan! If I must put my hope in that which the world calls powerful, I am undone!... The knell is struck,[521] and judgment is pronounced!... O God! O God! O thou, my God! assist me against all the wisdom of the world! Do it: Thou must do it.... Thou alone ... for it is not my work, but Thine. I have nothing to do here; I have nothing to do contending thus with the mighty of the world! I, too, would like to spend tranquil and happy days. But the cause is Thine: and it is just and everlasting! O Lord! be my help! Faithful God, immutable God! I trust not in any man. That were vain. All that is of man vacillates! All that comes of man gives way. O God, O God, dost thou not hear?... My God! art thou dead?... No, thou canst not die! Thou only hidest Thyself. Thou hast chosen me for this work. I know it! Act, then, O God!... Stand by my side, for the sake of thy well beloved Son Jesus Christ, who is my defence, my buckler, and my fortress."
After a moment of silence and wrestling, he continues thus: "Lord, where standest thou?... O, my God, where art thou?... Come! come! I am ready!... I am ready to give up my life for thy truth ... patient as a lamb. For the cause is just, and it is thine!... I will not break off from thee either now or through eternity!... And though the world should be filled with devils, though my body, which however is the work of thy hands, should bite the dust, be racked on the wheel, cut in pieces ... ground to powder ... my soul is thine.[522] Yes, thy Word is my pledge. My soul belongs to thee, and will be eternally near thee.... Amen.... O God, help me.... Amen."
RETURN TO THE DIET.
This prayer explains Luther and the Reformation. History here lifts the veil of the sanctuary, and shows us the secret place whence strength and courage were imparted to this humble man, who was the instrument of God in emancipating the soul and the thoughts of men, and beginning a new era. Luther and the Reformation are here seen in actual operation. We perceive their most secret springs. We discover where their power lay. This meditation by one who is sacrificing himself to the cause of truth, is found among the collection of pieces relating to Luther's appearance at Worms, under number XVI, among safe-conducts, and other documents of a similar description. Some of his friends doubtless extended it, and so have preserved it to us. In my opinion, it is one of the finest documents on record.