Sechs Bücher vom wahren Christenthum. Paradies-Gärtlein

perfection in this life, derived justification not from grace but from works, and sought to cover themselves with offensive modes of speech. (*) All these accusations against the blessed Arndt are refuted in the Report on Arndt’s Life published in Nordhausen, 1698, page 11 and following. This envy drove them not only to warn their listeners in the Beicht-Stuhl confessional chair and on other occasions against Arndt’s teaching and "poison," but also to lash out against him from the pulpit. As he himself testifies with sensitive melancholy in his farewell letter to the Mayor of Braunschweig, he was publicly misrepresented before the entire congregation, all his deeds and sermons were scolded as "bungling," and they sought to make him suspicious regarding his

(**) Arndt himself, in letters written on August 3, 1607: original: "Editionem reliquorum meorum librorum collegae impediunt, censuram nimis mordacem usurpant et mea contemnunt. Et paulo post: Ab editione primi libelli persecutionem et calumnias plures passus sum." "My colleagues hinder the publication of the rest of my books; they employ a censorship that is far too biting and despise my work." And a little later: "Since the publication of the first booklet, I have suffered much persecution and many slanders."

doctrine. The hatred of some colleagues was stirred even more when he published the first book of True Christianity here, and it was received everywhere with many words of praise. They then sought to suppress it through a bitter, contemptuous censorship and to prevent the printing of the remaining books. (**) However, he also had many good patrons and friends there, including the Superintendent at that time, Mr. Johann Wagner, as well as the city magistrate and among the citizenry.

§ 9. But as God always led him wonderfully out of distress and allowed his persecutions to serve only the further expansion of the truth, He also called him out of Braunschweig at the right time. This was when a great internal unrest of war arose there. He followed this divine hint in 1608 and moved to Eisleben, where he faithfully served the congregation as pastor and assessor of the Consistorii church court or governing council for two and a half years.

(*) That the frequent moves of the blessed man are not to be attributed to a fickle mind, but to other important causes, can be sufficiently recognized from the fact that he turned down many vocationes official calls to service, such as those to Nordhausen in 1594, to the County of Schwarzburg as Superintendent in 1597, to Halberstadt in 1605, to Grüningen in 1608, to Weissenfels as Superintendent in 1609, to Magdeburg as Cathedral Preacher, and to other places.

§ 10. Yet even here was not yet the place of his rest; (*) rather, God wanted to place this burning and shining light on an even higher candlestick. In 1611, a call was offered through Duke George to Zelle for the General Superintendency over the two principalities of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, the Zelle and Grubenhagen parts, as well as the associated counties and lordships. He accepted this important office after mature consideration and administered it with magnificent blessing for eleven years. In particular, he kept a close watch on the subordinate preachers and, if he found any who performed the work of the Lord negligently, he exhorted and awakened them with gentleness and earnestness.

§ 11. In the last year of his life, he frequently complained of weariness and lack of sleep, though he still continued his official duties. On May 3, 1621, he delivered his last sermon on the remarkable words of Psalm 126:5-6:

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joy, etc.
In doing so, he deepened himself in meditations on death to such an extent that he seemed to be delivering his own funeral oration. When he came home, he said to his wife: "Now I have given a funeral sermon," and he had to take to his bed. Initially, it seemed a feverish congestion had fallen into his throat, making it difficult for him to speak and swallow; subsequently, however, a hot fever set in, which exhausted him greatly in a short time. Nothing was lacked in either prayer or the necessary medicines, but everything moved closer to the end, although he tried as much as possible to hide his weakness from his family. On May 9, he received the Holy Communion with great devotion from his confessor, Wilhelm Storch, in the presence of his colleagues. This was after he had testified, upon questioning with a several-times repeated "Yes," that he wished to persevere until his end in the pure Word of God and the truth recognized therein by the light of the Holy Spirit, which he had defended against all erroneous counter-doctrines. When he had fallen asleep on May 11 after the humble prayer: "Lord! enter not into judgment with your servant," and after comforting

encouragement from the Word of God, he woke up again and broke out into these words with lifted eyes:

We saw His glory, a glory as of the only begotten Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
When his wife then asked him when he had seen the glory, he answered: "I have seen it just now. Oh, what a glory that is! It is the glory that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has not entered into the heart of any man. This glory I have seen!" Thus, God let him taste the powers of the world to come even before his passage into eternity, to strengthen him for the final struggle. That same evening he asked for the time, and when he was told it was striking nine, he said: "Now I have overcome," which were his last words. After he lay quietly until half-past eleven, he fell asleep amidst the prayers of those standing around. The departed body was buried in Zelle under the escort of two Dukes of Braunschweig and Lüneburg, and the words of Paul:
I have fought a good fight, etc.
were explained by Wilhelm Storch as the funeral text. He had brought his praiseworthy life to sixty-six years. On his gravestone, where his image stands in life-size, he was honored with this beautiful inscription: (*)

original Latin: "Qui Jesum vidit, qui mundum et daemonia vicit, Arndius in scriptis vivit ovatque suis."

(*) Mr. Rethmeyer’s Church History of Braunschweig, Part 4, page 335.