miliation, believing that it was
necessary because of his sins.

Every moment that could be spared from his daily duties he employed in
study, robbing himself of sleep, and grudging even the time spent at his
scanty meals. Above everything else he delighted in the study of God's
word. He had found a Bible chained to the convent wall, and to this he
often repaired. As his convictions of sin deepened, he sought by his own
works to obtain pardon and peace. He led a most rigorous life, endeavoring
by fasting, vigils, and scourgings to subdue the evils of his nature, from
which the monastic life had brought no release. He shrank from no
sacrifice by which he might attain to that purity of heart which would
enable him to stand approved before God. "I was indeed a pious monk," he
afterward said, "and followed the rules of my order more strictly than I
can express. If ever monk could obtain heaven by his monkish works, I
should certainly have been entitled to it.... If it had continued much
longer, I should have carried my mortifications even to death."(161) As
the result of this painful discipline, he lost strength, and suffered from
fainting spasms, from the effects of which he never fully recovered. But
with all his efforts, his burdened soul found no relief. He was at last
driven to the verge of despair.

When it appeared to Luther that all was lost, God raised up a friend and
helper for him. The pious Staupitz opened the word of God to Luther's
mind, and bade him look away from himself, cease the contemplation of
infinite punishment for the violation of God's law, and look to Jesus, his
sin-pardoning Saviour. "Instead of torturing yourself on account of your
sins, throw yourself into the Redeemer's arms. Trust in Him, in the
righteousness of His life, in the atonement of His death.... Listen to the
Son of God. He became man to give you the assurance of divine favor,"
"Love Him who first loved you."(162) Thus spoke this messenger of mercy.
His words made a deep impression upon Luther's 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 understandi