Luther Before the Diet
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service for his countrymen by translating the New Testament into the
German tongue. From his rocky Patmos he continued for nearly a
whole year to proclaim the gospel and rebuke the sins and errors of
the times.
But it was not merely to preserve Luther from the wrath of his
enemies, nor even to afford him a season of quiet for these important
labors, that God had withdrawn His servant from the stage of public
life. There were results more precious than these to be secured. In the
solitude and obscurity of his mountain retreat, Luther was removed
from earthly supports and shut out from human praise. He was thus
saved from the pride and self-confidence that are so often caused
by success. By suffering and humiliation he was prepared again to
walk safely upon the dizzy heights to which he had been so suddenly
exalted.
As men rejoice in the freedom which the truth brings them, they
are inclined to extol those whom God has employed to break the chains
of error and superstition. Satan seeks to divert men’s thoughts and
affections from God, and to fix them upon human agencies; he leads
them to honor the mere instrument and to ignore the Hand that directs
all the events of providence. Too often religious leaders who are thus
praised and reverenced lose sight of their dependence upon God and
are led to trust in themselves. As a result they seek to control the minds
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and consciences of the people, who are disposed to look to them for
guidance instead of looking to the word of God. The work of reform is
often retarded because of this spirit indulged by its supporters. From
this danger, God would guard the cause of the Reformation. He desired
that work to receive, not the impress of man, but that of God. The eyes
of men had been turned to Luther as the expounder of the truth; he was
removed that all eyes might be directed to the eternal Author of truth.
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