It is an old maxim that history repeats itself. It is true of great historical events; it is true also of great historical characters, and personalities. John the Baptist came and fulfilled his great mission in the spirit and power of Elijah. He was the second Elijah which was to come. The great prophecy of Moses concerning the Saviour was: The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken. Deut. 18: 15. The above maxim may find its illustration also in Samuel the prophet and Luther the reformer. The resemblance

is so great that Samuel has been called the Luther of the period of the Judges, and Luther the Samuel of the Protestant Reformation. In many respects these two religious epochs in the history of the church of God resembled each other. Both epochs were preceeded by dark ages of ignorance, of moral and spiritual degradation, and of religious formalism. Both reformers like each other, by emphasizing and teaching great religious truths, were the means of awakening the people, and of forming new and brighter eras in the history of the church of God. They resemble each other also in their personal traits

of character. Both were men entirely consecrated to the service of God. Both were distinguished by a deep sense of conviction and conscientiousness to truth and duty. And in both also a new apprehension and experience of great religious truths, previously obscured, formed a power and influence for great good in their lives.

In view of this great resemblance between the two reformers and their times, there seems to be something providential in one event in Luther's life. Although he had attended the common schools in his youth and had enjoyed the privileges of classical education in the Universities, yet he was 22 years of age before he saw a complete copy of the Bible. His knowledge of the word of God was limited to those parts contained in the prayer book in use in Catholic churches. One day, however, being in the Library of the University at Erfurt, he happened to find a copy of the Bible in Latin. With joy and eagerness he commened to read it. And the first thing that attracted his attention was the story of Samuel and his mother. This was so new and interesting to him that he read the whole history through with the greatest delight. That the story of Samuel should be so intensely interesting to one so like him is only natural. Nor is it improbable that this, in part, at least, awakened the soul and spirit of Luther for the great work of his life,

The study of past ages, distinguished by great events and personalities, should be full of interest and instruction and inspiration for generations that follow them. We thus see truths, not as speculative theories of pure reason, nor as parts of a lifeless and artificial system, but in their operation and in their effects. We see them in their practical issues and

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results in human life. Thus we can frequently find in the events of the past practical guidance for the future. And so by placing Samuel and Luther side by side, and looking at the life of each in the light of the other, we may learn many valuable lessons for ourselves.

Samuel and Luther achieved great things in their respective ages. Both did great service to the church and the world by imparting a new impulse to religious and national life. Their lives left a deep impression on their own times and formed an abiding influence for good on following ages. In the time of Samuel we find a religious reformation working its way among the people, gradually enlightening and elevating them intellectually, morally and spiritually. There was also a national awakening extending itself among all the tribes. Union and co-operation began to prevail instead of chaos and disorder. Tribal jealousies were disappearing. The people infused with the national idea were preparing to organize themselves into one powerful kingdom. Schools for the prophets were established in various places, and means of education arranged for the people. And the nation was prepared to enter on a career of conquest and prosperity which reached its climax in the wealth, the greatness and splendor of the reign of Solomon.

In the same manner we may trace to the age of Luther those forces and influences which have been in later times so fruitful in religious revivals, in enlarging our knowledge of the word of God and of the order of nature, and also in the advancement of nations in political power and wealth and civilization.

In view of the great work and fruitful lives of these two great men, let us inquire briefly what enabled them to accomplish so much, and to exert

so great an influence on their fellow

men.

In the first place, we would emphasize their entire consecration to God. According to his mother's promise, Samuel was devoted from his birth to the service of God by godly parents and especially by a mother noted for her intelligence and godliness. And while he was yet only a boy he was brought to Shiloh to serve God in his sanctuary. His intellect began to expand and his character to be formed under the shelter of the tabernacle, as the object of the loving attention and care of Eli, the High Priest, as well as of his mother on her annual visits. As a Nazarite, fearing God and forsaking evil, he refused to indulge in unhallowed luxuries and pleasures. While in the solitude of the sanctuary he had leisure to read and study the law of God, to observe the moral and religious condition of the people, and to hold spiritual communion with God.

The same characteristic is seen in Luther. He was blessed with godly parents. Born at Eisleben, Saxony, Nov. 10, 1483, his father took him next day to be babtized and consecrated to God in the village church, and happening to be St. Martin's day the child was called by the saint's name, Martin Luther. His parents removing to Mansfeld, the little boy was sent to the village school, where he received a good elementary education, so that he could read Latin before leaving home. At the age of 14 he went to Magdeburg to school, and thence in a year to the college at Eisenach, and at the age of 18 he left for the University of Erfurt, where he distinguished himself for learning and received several degrees. Becoming deeply impressed with religious thoughts, and desiring to consecrate himself more fully to God, he resolved July 16, 1505, to enter the

Augustinian Monastery at Erfurt. He was then 22 years of age. After two years he was ordained a priest, and in the following year he was appointed professor in the University of Wittenburg, where he made his home the remainder of his life. During this period of his life the chief feature of his character was his entire consecration to the service of God. And while admiring his great mental faculties and his bold heroic spirit, let us not forget the great work of God's grace in his heart.

This entire consecration to the Lord together with the gracious work of God's Spirit in their hearts, was, no doubt, the chief qualification in Samuel and Luther for the great work of their lives. And so it is in every age. The men who have achieved great things in the church of God have been men filled with the Holy Spirit, and entirely consecrated to the service of God. It was so with Moses and Elijah and John the Babtist and Paul. The same is true of our forefathers in Wales. Is this not the great crying need of our Welsh American churches and pulpits in the present day. To advance the spiritual interests of our fellowmen and to experience a religious revival—a season of refreshing from on high, we need as churches and ministers greater and fuller consecration to the Lord.

Another feature prominent in the character of Samuel and Luther was their conscientiousness to the truth and a strong sense of duty. It was conscientiousness to the truth that led Samuel against his personal feelings to denounce the sins of the sons of Eli, and to proclaim the judgment of God on his family. It was a strong sense of duty that led him to yield to the expressed call of the nation for a king to take his place. It was an enlightened conscience that led him to

oppose the king, and to remonstrate with him for his evil doings. It may be said that a conscientious sense of duty and truth was the ruling passion of the prophet. The same principle ruled the life of Luther. It was a conscience burning with zeal for the truth that led him to nail on the church door at Wittenburg his famous ninety-five theses or statements against the authority of the Pope and the church to sell indulgences to the people. This was the secret of his heroic stand for the truth before Cardinal Cajetan at Augsburg by appealing from the Pope to the authority of the Word of God, and afterward by burning before the gates of the monastery the Papal bull of excommunication. And so at Worms in 1521, where Charles V. held his imperial council, and where Luther made his memorable reply in the presense of the emperor, princes, archbishops and magnates of the realm. "Since your imperial majesty have desired a direct answer, I shall give such an one as shall have neither horns nor teeth, viz. except I be convinced with clear and undoubted evidence of Holy Scripture-for I believe neither in the Pope, nor in councils alone, since it is evident they have often erred and contradicted themselves. And as my conscience is bound by God's word, I cannot and will not recant, because it is neither safe nor advisable to act contrary to conscience. Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise; God help me! Amen." This is a bold, clear and decided answer. But it was obedience to the dictates of conscience that gave Luther such moral strength. Such have been the best and greatest men of history. Such are the men needed in this shallow and policy-serving generation-men with profound convictions of truth and a keen sense of duty and honor.

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Also from these two periods in the history of the church, may we not learn something of the methods by which God usually revives and advances his work in the church and the world? In both the great reformations represented by Samuel and Luther, as well as in many others, we may say that they were brought about through a new and larger apprehension of great religious truths a new spiritual insight.

In the time of Samuel the tribes of Israel were sadly deficient in knowledge of religious truth. The great moral principles and grand truths of the law of Moses had become obscured in their minds. They were received only as traditions of former ages.

The ten commandments, to a great extent, were dead letters. Ignorance and immorality prevailed as in the dark ages of Europe. The people trusted in divination and in the formal offering of sacrifice. "And the word of the Lord, it is said, was precious in those days; there was no open or frequent vision." But at the close of this night of darkness, before the appearance of the dawn, Samuel heard the voice of God calling upon him. "For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord." There in the recesses of the tabernacle, in communion with God and in deep meditation on his law, Samuel obtained a profounder view of its meaning. He gained a new spiritual apprehension of its requirements. He came to perceive, to realize and to preach. "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." This truth and others had been lost out of sight. And it was his great mission to lay the axe at the roots of old errors, and to bring religious truths more clearly into view. Thus it was the power of the truth and the knowledge of the word of God acquired in

the schools of the prophets that effected under the blessing of God, the religious reformation of Israel in the time of Samuel.

It

So it was in the age of Luther. was a new insight into the truth of the gospel that led to the Reformation. It was the circulation of the Scriptures among the people, and a new apprehension of God's way to justify the ungodly that dispelled the darkness of the middle ages, that broke the bonds which held the human mind in slavery, and infused new life and activity into the Christian church and among the nations.

So it has been in the case of every great religious movement, such as in the time of Moses and on the day of Pentecost, as well as many others. May we not here learn the great need of our age and of our people, and also the direction in which we should

seek the remedy. We need a new apprehension of the teaching of God's word, more clear, more profound and more spiritual. We do not need new truths, nor a new revelation from heaven, nor a new gospel. What we need is a deeper insight and a fuller realizaation of the truths and teachings of the old gospel. We need to experience again, like our forefathers, the power of the truth as it is in Jesus, not by accepting their dogmas nor by imitation of their style or hwyl, but by a new, earnest and spiritual grasp of the great religious truths of God's word. It is in this way, we believe, we may experience a religious revival and a season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.

Want of space forbids us enlarging on the lessons which may be drawn from the lives of these two great men.

In the year 1562, being the fifth of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, an act was passed ordaining that the whole Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, together with the book of Common Prayer, should be translated into the Welsh or British tongue. The preamble of this Act is interesting as confirming what has already been advanced with respect to the intellectual state of the country at the time. It states that "the most and greatest part of her Majesty's most loving and obedient subjects inhabiting within Her Highness's dominion and country of Wales, are utterly destitute of God's Holy Word, and do remain in like or ra*From "The Sunday Schools of Wales."

ther more darkness and ignorance than they were in the time of Papistry." It therefore enacted with the view of accomplishing the design that the work of translation "should be superintended, used and acknowledged, by the Bishops of St. Asaph, Bangor, St. David's, Llandaff, and Hereford, and adopted in the churches by the first day of March, 1566, under a penalty of forty pounds each, if not completed. That one printed copy at least of this translation was to be provided for, and, to be in each church in Wales, read by the priests at the time of Divine worship, and on other occasions, for the benefit and practice of all who wished to go to church for that purpose. Until this trans