The Great Controversy The Great Controversy | Page 158

only in the strength of this world that I must put my trust, all is over....
My last hour is come, my condemnation has been pronounced.... O God,
do Thou help me against all the wisdom of the world. Do this, ... Thou
alone; ... for this is not my work, but Thine. I have nothing to do here,
nothing to contend for with these great ones of the world.... But the
cause is Thine, ... and it is a righteous and eternal cause. O Lord, help
me! Faithful and unchangeable God, in no man do I place my trust....
All that is of man is uncertain; all that cometh of man fails.... Thou
hast chosen me for this work.... Stand at my side, for the sake of Thy
well-beloved Jesus Christ, who is my defense, my shield, and my strong
tower.”—Ibid., b. 7, ch. 8.
An all-wise Providence had permitted Luther to realize his peril, that
he might not trust to his own strength and rush presumptuously into
danger. Yet it was not the fear of personal suffering, a dread of torture
or death, which seemed immediately impending, that overwhelmed him
with its terror. He had come to the crisis, and he felt his insufficiency
to meet it. Through his weakness the cause of truth might suffer loss.
Not for his own safety, but for the triumph of the gospel did he wrestle
with God. Like Israel’s, in that night struggle beside the lonely stream,
was the anguish and conflict of his soul. Like Israel, he prevailed with
God. In his utter helplessness his faith fastened upon Christ, the mighty
Deliverer. He was strengthened with the assurance that he would not
appear alone before the council. Peace returned to his soul, and he
rejoiced that he was permitted to uplift the word of God before the rulers
of the nations.
With his mind stayed upon God, Luther prepared for the struggle
before him. He thought upon the plan of his answer, examined passages
in his own writings, and drew from the Holy Scriptures suitable proofs
to sustain his positions. Then, laying his left hand on the Sacred Volume,
which was open before him, he lifted his right hand to heaven and vowed
“to remain faithful to the gospel, and

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