They both continued through life to study the word of God, and to profess their improved views without the least hesitation.  So far was Melancthon himself from regarding any of his works perfect, that he continued deliberately to make improvements, even in this same Augsburg Confession, after the storms of papal persecution had subsided, till the end of his life.  And we might easily fill pages with the declarations of Luther, avowing his sense of the imperfections of his publications, and of the work of Reformation in his day.

“We believe,” says the Plea, “that they (Luther and Melancthon) are no more than guides to the fountain of truth, to the gospel; and whenever we find that they lead us off from the Word of God, we are bound not to hesitate in our decided deviation from their views.” p. 8.  This is precisely the noble, enlightened, and christian stand point of the American Lutheran Church.  In principle, the respected author of the Plea, does not differ from us.  It is only in its application to particular cases, that we may occasionally not coincide.

“The state of theology and religion of an age, does not at all depend upon the progress of general science and social life.” p. 10.  From this sentiment and the train of observation in reference to it on the same page, we do not dissent.  But no American Lutheran appeals to this spirit of the age, exhibited in the progress of the physical sciences, as proofs of any advance in theology.  The sciences to which we refer as media of increasing life, are those on which the proper interpretation of the sacred volume depends, philology, archaeology, hermeneutics, &e., and certainly our brother cannot dissent from this position, he will not maintain, that no progress has been made, in the knowledge of the original languages of Scripture by continued studies of scores of the ablest philologians the world has ever seen, especially during the last half century.  He will not deny, that the exploring labors of travellers [sic] to the lands of holy writ, the increased study of the manners and customs and institutions of the nations inhabiting them, have illustrated some portions of the sacred volume.  Nor will he affirm the utter fruitlessness of all the prayerful efforts of men of God, during the last three centuries, to understand the general principles of languge, [sic] the different significations of words, (the literal, the tropical, the typical, the allegorical, &c.,) and the proper rules for the interpretation of the Sacred Record.  He is too well acquainted with the literary fame of Germany and the writings of that galaxy of theological luminaries, that has reflected so much glory on the land of the Reformation, not to admit that many parts of the Sacred Record are better understood at present, than they were three centuries ago.  But the principal difficulty which prevented the full and clear appreciation of divine truth in the earlier Reformers, was the fact that they were educated till adult age, [Note 3] in all the superstitious rites and ceremonies of the Romish Church, and we all know that it is impossible entirely to emancipate ourselves from the prejudices of early education.  Under these circumstances the marvel is, not that they retained a few papal views and practices, but that they accomplished as much as they did, in unlearning the errors of their early education.