The Wittenberg Nightingale

-
A month or so ago Paul and I borrowed a DVD of the opera Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, by Wagner. In it there was a wonderful character, a cobbler named Hans Sachs. He was the baritone hero who got the singers guild to lighten up a bit and give some new blood with a different style a chance to join their number. Well, little did I know, Hans Sachs is a real historical figure! Imagine my surprise when I found him mentioned in Bainton's biography of Luther as "the shoemaker poet of Nurnberg". It would seem Luther, and the Gospel he brought to the common folk of Germany, meant the world to Hans Sachs. He dubbed Luther, "The Wittenberg Nightingale".
The Wittenberg Nightingale

Luther teaches that we all
Are involved in Adam's fall.
If man beholds himself within,
He feels the bite and curse of sin.
When dread, despair, and terror seize,
Contrite he falls upon his knees.
Then breaks for him the light of day
Then the gospel may have sway.
Then sees he Christ of God the Son,
Who for us all things has done.
The law fulfilled, the debt is paid,
Death overcome, the curse allayed,
Hell destroyed, the devil bound,
Grace for us with God has found.
Christ, the Lamb, removes all sin,
By faith alone in Christ we win.
What a beautiful message! What a clear understanding of it Luther brought to the common people!

Comments

WhiteStone said…
Thanks, Laurie, that was an interesting read! Thanks for sharing Sachs' poem! I might never have read it otherwise.
June 5, 2009 at 4:16 PM
Anonymous said…
Knowing your appreciation for Martin Luther, I thought you might enjoy this cute little post over at JollyBlogger.

Everything you need to know about Martin Luther
June 9, 2009 at 2:16 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

in which I discuss the unthinkable

-
Paul and I have just returned home from the funeral of a most precious little girl.  Lydia's smile could have lit a room. Now it reflects the glory of God the Savior for all eternity. Perhaps you've noticed the sparsity of my entries here these last two weeks. We've been struggling and praying for appropriate ways to handle what we're dealing with, and when and whether to speak about it. Up until now, for reasons which will become obvious, I've only shared this with a very few trusted friends. Paul made reference to it on his blog several days ago, but with no specifics.  I think it may be time for me to fill in the gaps. What we're dealing with is horrible and ugly - about as ugly as it gets. This all happens on the heels of my mother's death, and has now somehow managed to even overshadow that.  Mother's death, as difficult as it was...well...it made sense. She was 87 years old, and hadn't been well in many years. This, on the other hand, is a m...
Continue reading...

I forgave you a long time ago...

-
"I forgave you a long time ago..." I pray that I never forget those words as long as I live. They were a gift spoken by a friend I had hurt unintentionally many months before. It had taken me some time to recognize the offense I had caused, some more time to accept that she had a right to feel offended, even though, in my opinion I had done nothing wrong. It took more time still before love won out and I worked up the courage to face her. I dreaded her rejection. I feared this treasured relationship would be lost forever. But instead of the rejection I feared, she gave me this gift. She not only forgave me, she loved me, and continued on as though the whole episode was barely worth mention, nothing but a little bump on the road to the continued sweet fellowship and mutual encouragement we had always shared. There are many things I may before have considered to be marks of true godliness, but I none can hold a candle to this: "I forgave you a long time ago......
Continue reading...

"It is finished!" ...and I am free...

-
Image
What can I say? I've been set free. It's as simple as that. It's been a long time coming, but the simplest of truths has finally filled my thick skull with peace. For nearly as long as I've been a Christian I've grappled with the subject of legalism and the Old Covenant Law. I've read so much and heard so many sermons on the subject and all the while the waters have only grown murkier and my confusion greater. I've heard there are those who disregard the Old Testament entirely, seeing it as useless, something we ought not even bother ourselves with. But, to be honest, in all my years in various church settings (from Pentecostal to Reformed Baptist) I've never, ever met anyone who believes that way. No, what I've encountered are a variety of Christians from a variety of traditions all claiming to be "Bible-believing" struggling, generally with all sincerity, to figure out what to do with the Old Testament in light of t...
Continue reading...