To Barbara Lischner at Freiberg. April 30, 1531.
1. grace and peace in Christ. Virtuous, dear wife! Your dear brother, Jerome Weller, has told me how you are greatly distressed by the challenge of eternal misfortune; I am truly sorry for this. May Christ, our Lord, deliver you from this, amen.
2 For I know the disease well and have lived in the hospital until eternal death.
situated. Now I would like to advise and comfort you about my prayer; writing in such matters is a weak thing, but as much as I can, I should not let it go, if God would give grace to it. And I will tell you how God has helped me from this and with what art I still resist it daily.
First of all, you must firmly take it into your heart that such thoughts are certainly of the essence.
are the devil's blowing and fiery darts. This is what the Scripture says, as Proverbs 25:27 says: "He who searches the height of the Majesty will be oppressed. Now such thoughts are vain researches of the divine majesty and want to search his high understanding, and Jesus Sirach 3, 22., says: Altiora tu ne quaesieris etc. "Thou shalt not search what is too high for thee; but what God has commanded thee, accept it." For it is not good for thee to seek after that which is not commanded thee. And David also complains, Ps. 131:2, that he was ill at ease when he wanted to investigate high things.
4 Therefore it is certain that it does not come from God, but from the devil, who afflicts a heart with it, so that man should become hostile to God and despair; which God has harshly forbidden in the first commandment, and wants one to trust in Him, love Him and praise Him, by which we live.
(5) Secondly, when such thoughts occur to you, learn to ask yourselves, "In what commandment is it written that I should remember or do this? If then no commandment is found, learn to speak: Lift yourself up, you wretched devil! You want to drive me to take care of myself, when God speaks everywhere that I should let him take care of me, and says: "I am your God," that is: I care for you, keep me for it, and wait what I am called, and let me care; as St. Peter teaches, 1 Ep. 5, 7. "Cast all your care upon him, for he cares for you." And David, Ps. 55:23: "Cast thy care upon the Lord, and he shall give thee."
(6) Thirdly, although the thoughts do not soon cease, for the devil does not like to cease, you must not cease either and always turn away your heart and say: Do you not hear, devil, that I do not want to have such thoughts? And God has forbidden them, lift yourself up; I must now think of his commandments and meanwhile let him take care of me himself. If you are so wise in such matters, then go to heaven and dispute with God himself, he can answer you enough. And so you should always reject him from you and turn your heart to God's commandments.
7. fourthly, among all the commandments of God, the highest is that we give His dear Son,
Let our Lord Jesus Christ be set before us, that he may be the daily and chief mirror of our hearts, wherein we may see how dear God is to us, and how highly he has cared for us, as a pious God, that he also gave his dear Son for us.
8 Here, I say, is where you learn the right art of provision, and nowhere else; there it will be found that you believe in Christ. If you believe, you are called; if you are called, you are assured. Do not let this mirror and throne of grace be torn from the eyes of your heart, but when such thoughts come and bite like fiery serpents, do not look at the memories or the serpents, but always turn away your eyes and look at the serpent of brass, that is, Christ given for us, and it will be better, if God wills.
(9) But, as I have said, it must be argued, and always let the thoughts go. If they fall in, let them fall out again, just as one quickly spouts out when muck is poured into his mouth. So God helped me, for it is God's earnest commandment that we should imagine the Son to be our God, that He might abundantly show Himself to be our God, as the first commandment teaches, who helps us and cares for us. Therefore he does not want us to suffer that we help ourselves or care for ourselves. For that is to deny God and the first commandment and Christ.
(10) The wicked devil, who is an enemy of God and Christ, wants to turn us against the first commandment of Christ and God with such thoughts, to ourselves and to our care, so that we should refrain from God's office, which is to care for us and to be our God, just as he wanted to make Adam God in paradise, so that Adam should be God himself and care for himself and rob God of such care and divine work, for which Adam also fell so horribly.
This much I have advised you this time, and I have indicated to Hieronymus Weller, your brother, that he should warn and admonish you with diligence that you should learn to refrain from such thoughts and send them home to the devil, so that he may cause them; he knows well how he has fared in this matter, namely that.
he fell from heaven into the abyss of hell. Summa, what is not commanded to us, that shall not err nor grieve us, it is the devil's doing and not God's. Our dear Lord Jesus Christ show you his feet.
and hands and greet you kindly in your heart, so that you alone may look at him and hear him until you become joyful in him, Amen. Ultima Aprilis (last of April), Anno 1531.