13. Hauge's First Longer Journey

HAUGE’S FIRST LONGER JOURNEY

During January and February, 1797, Hauge continued his activity partly in Tune and partly in Fredrikstad.

Here he became acquainted with a couple of men who had Christian tendencies, and who joyfully took up Hauge in their circle. One of these was Nils Borsø, in whose home he held edification on February 17th with permission from the parish minister, Feierman, who at that time had nothing against Hauge’s holding edifications. The other man’s name was Nils Stillaugsen, who was in comfortable circumstances, and who liked Hauge so well that he asked him to marry his daughter, an offer which Hauge declined, however.

He now went to Moss, and from there to Christiania and Drammen. He traveled partly in order to spread the Word of God and partly to form acquaintances with Christian friends, of whom there were a few to be found here and there.

Pastor Thaulow in Moss was a rationalist, who preached “the moral law and the Creator’s elevated perfection.” He did not have any sense of the living Christianity, but once he heard Hauge speak. First, two persons in the audience sang a few verses, while the others listened, after which Hauge spoke on edification, and then the assembly was over. The pastor considered the whole thing some harmless nonsense, and said that as far as he was concerned, they could go on all they pleased, as long as they didn’t do anything worse than what he had seen and heard, and as long as the did not keep people from their work.

But when Hauge’s preaching caused people to wake up and repent, the minister became scared and angry and tried to harm Hauge by insults and slander.

From Moss Hauge walked to Christiania. The condition in the capital of Norway was sad. The bishop and the six ministers who worked in the city were with one exception rationalists. The one minister, Lumholtz, was fairly right in his preaching, but was dry and cold and considerably indiscreet in his conduct. However, he was friendly inclined towards Hauge.
The upper class people in the city were busy with their private theatres, processions, balls and other amusements; the lower classes imitated their superiors. People were to an appalling degree impious.

Hauge held gatherings both in and outside the city, and several of the working classes came to serious reflections. In Aker he found some who were affected by the United Brethren. They gathered around him and became the foundation for the Haugians there.

From Christiania he traveled through Asker and Lier to Drammen. In Lier he also found some religious people, and his testimony brought several to meditation and conversion. Among those must be mentioned the girl Larine Øxne. Her transition from darkness to light she describes thus:

I was the poor li'l sheep and lost,
Who had for many years most
Been dead in sin and oh, so bad.
The world was sweet to me, I said.

My soul’s dear need I didn’t know
Before I got so very low
That I could see my sins so plain,
My unclean heart where sin did reign.

Then through the walls my spirit went
And witness bore that I was gone.
So many worms had stung my soul,
So it was hard to find my goal.

I prayed then to Lord and God
That He would help me so I might
The serpent’s head for ever sod
And thus be able to win the fight.

I prayed to get my soul so clean,
And I could be from sin go free.
The path of truth has surely been
My one desire - oh, let it be.

My Jesus, purify my soul,
And let me follow Thee alway,
As well when I must drink the gall
As when I sing my joyful lay!

Take Thou my heart; whate’er betide,
Hold me with Love’s most tender cord,
That I may be Thine own pure bride,
My God, my Savior, and my Lord!”

Thus her spirit still was burning, a holy altar for the fire from heaven. Still living, she already had her foot on the threshold to the gateway of heaven. Her parents, who were well-to-do people, considered it in a common worldly way a disgrace that their daughter had become one of the “holy ones” and they refused her permission to attend the Christian meetings. It is remembered in tradition that once, when a gathering was to be held in the neighborhood, she wasn’t only forbidden to attend, but she was even locked in the cellar. As she was sitting there weeping in her loneliness, she felt so enraptured by the sense of the Communion of Saints, that she composed an “assembly song,” a song which is usually sung when true believers gather, unanimous in their desire to serve God. This song also will be given its place here, so it maybe seen how the fire from Hauge would flame up clean and pure, when it was rightly received.

Jesus, Savior, in Thy name
We are gathered now to hear Thee.
Let Th Holy Spirit’s flame
Sanctify us, bring us near Thee!
Let Thy love our guardian be,
Thou our Lord, Thy children we.

By Thy grace the heavenly bread,
E’er inviting, pleading ever,
On Thy table now is spread,
We Thy guests, and Thou the Giver.
May Thy peace in heart and mind
Us in sweet communion bind!

By Thy blood upon the cross
Thou from sin has purified us.
All besides we count but loss,
If Thou wilt but keep and guide us.
Jesus, for Thy sweat and pain,
Let Thy Word not sound in vain!

Thus she could rejoice and sing in the midst of her tribulations; she herself had experienced the truth of what she says another place:

For he who has felt the love
Which comes to him from above
The world doesn’t matter, because he rather
Will serve his Heavenly Father!

Her days were soon counted, for she passed away already in her 20th year. Eight days before her death she visited Eker’s Paper Mills. As she parted from the friends there, she said to them that it was possible they wouldn’t see each other more down here. Then she traveled to Drammen where she was bedridden in the home of merchant T. O. Bache. She bore her sickness with quiet patience; her strength ebbed out by and by, and the transition from life to death was just as imperceptible as the color-tinges in the sky on a beautiful summer evening. She went home to God the 16th of September, 1803. But the memory of her has been kept wonderfully green among Hauge’s friends to this day.

Hauge stayed in Drammen for some time and implanted the spiritual seed which bore so blessed fruit in that city.

It is assumed that he obtained passage on a ship going home from Drammen. He stayed home for a while now, partly working on his father’s farm, partly gathering people around the Word of God.

He even went outside his own circle. He was in Rakkestad several times. One of the hostile ministers talked about him in this way: “I heard him preach once to a large audience who listened to him with very much attention. I seem to recall that he explained the Lord’s Prayer at that time - that is to say in a rather pitiful way for an informed person. After the speech was given, he called upon every man to confute him if they were able to, but none of those present had the inclination nor courage to do so.

Thus talked the minister.

It is likely that Hauge closed his speeches with calling upon the audience to either disprove him or else, if he spoke the truth, receive the Word and change their course of living. Another day he came to Augustinus Sørby and stayed there for three days. He asked if he might call a meeting on this farm next Sunday, which he was granted, as the minister had agreed. About 400 people gathered. Hauge stood upon a tall fence and spoke. One of those present has repeated the contents of his speech thus: “He admonished his listeners to hold to the Catechism, which he called the small Bible.’

A minister who was present talked depreciatively about Hauge and exasperated the people against him, but Hauge, nevertheless, won the confidence of the people.

To be continued....