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Description:
The Hymns of Luther are regarded by us with no common interest as emanations of a spirit that shone forth with peculiar strength and lustre in the days of the Protestant Reformation. Hitherto however, this portion of his writings has, it is believed, been known to British Christians, only in a fugitive and often in a dubious form; a fact which the author of the present version is anxious to countervail by her unpretending efforts at something like a complete collection.
In venturing thus to interpret the mind of Luther to the English ear, the translator would acknowledge her inability to convey the rich, deep and brilliant tone of the original, a task requiring a master-hand. She has meanwhile, made fidelity her aim; and with this view, her versification has been submitted to the criticism of a learned German Professor and the reader is referred to the works of Luther himself for the subjects of most of the following compositions: those given without any reference have been attributed to him, and one on “Christian Martyrdom” is, we understand, generally ascribed to Maria, Queen of Hungary, sister of the Emperor Charles the Fifth, or it was possibly written by Luther, and dedicated to her.
In this, their novel guise, the hymns of Luther are now presented to the lovers of sacred lore in our own land. May they still have power to waken the remembrance of Him who is their prevailing theme; and thus speaking to the hearts and minds of the people of God, quicken them afresh to the adoration and service of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls.
Bristol, 5th Month, 1845.
Martin Luther changed the course of Western civilization by initiating the Protestant Reformation. As a priest and theology professor, he confronted indulgence salesmen with his 95 Theses in 1517. Luther strongly disputed their claim that freedom from God's punishment of sin could be purchased with money. His refusal to retract all of his writings at the demand of Pope Leo X in 1520 and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms meeting in 1521 resulted in his excommunication by the pope and condemnation as an outlaw by the emperor.
Luther taught that salvation is a free gift of God and received only by grace through faith in Jesus as redeemer from sin, not from good works. His theology challenged the authority of the pope of the Roman Catholic Church by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood.
His translation of the Bible into the language of the people (instead of Latin) made it more accessible, causing a tremendous impact on the church and on German culture. It fostered the development of a standard version of the German language, added several principles to the art of translation, and influenced the translation into English of the King James Bible. His hymns inspired the development of singing in churches. His marriage to Katharina von Bora set a model for the practice of clerical marriage, allowing Protestant priests to marry.
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