Page 12 - 07 Luther's Separation from Rome

mind. After many a struggle with long-

cherished errors, he was enabled to grasp the

truth, and peace came to his troubled soul.

Luther was ordained a priest and was called

from the cloister to a professorship in the

University of Wittenberg. Here he applied

himself to the study of the Scriptures in the

original tongues. He began to lecture upon

the Bible; and the book of Psalms, the

Gospels, and the Epistles were opened to the

understanding of crowds of delighted

listeners. Staupitz, his friend and superior,

urged him to ascend the pulpit and preach

the word of God. Luther hesitated, feeling

himself unworthy to speak to the people in

Christ's stead. It was only after a long

struggle that he yielded to the solicitations of

his friends. Already he was mighty in the

Scriptures, and the grace of God rested upon