Held at Merseburg 1545.*)
Hebr. 13, 4.
Marriage shall be kept honest among all, and the marriage bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
This is a sermon on the state of holy matrimony, which is of great need, especially among Christians, so that all people may know what the state of holy matrimony is and where it comes from, so that we do not live roughly in day, like the pagans and unreasonable animals, who neither ask nor think about it, but live without distinction of all mixing and blending. No, it should not be like this among Christians, but as Paul says, 1 Thess. 4, 4. 5.: "This is the will of God, your sanctification, that you avoid fornication, and that each one of you knows how to keep his vessel in sanctification and honor, not in lust, like the Gentiles, who know nothing of God." So the Christians are to live in sanctification, not according to lewd and cattle-like ways, not according to pagan ways, which neither respect nor honor rank.
(2) Of this holy estate and divine order of marriage there is much to preach. For it is the most ancient state among all in the whole world; indeed, all others come from the
in which Adam and Eve, our first parents, were created and ordained by God, in which they and all their God-fearing children and descendants lived. For thus it is written in the first book of Moses, Cap. 1, 27: "God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him, and He created them male and female" etc. There it is; these are not my words, nor any man's, but God's words, He created and ordained it so; let him who does not want to believe it, leave it.
The daily birth and arrival of all people also proves that God wants His creature and order, the holy matrimony, to be kept in such a way that males and females are born and young every day. So we must all say and confess that we did not make ourselves, nor did we create ourselves, nor can we; neither could our parents. Who then? The almighty eternal God, creator of all things, who first created and ordained male and female for marriage, he also created us in this way. For then I must freely confess and say: I was created by God a male, another a female; I must confess that I am not a stone or a block, but a
*The preface to this is in the fifth part above the eighth Psalm, about the kingdom of Christ.
Man, woman or man, is born and made; no man can say otherwise in all the world, from the first to the last.
(4) People, especially the papists, still rage and rage against this glorious creation of God, as if it should not be so. And if it were in the hand and power of the pope to create human beings, it would not have to be so. For he would neither create nor let be a female image in the whole world. What would become of it then? So the people would have to perish. For it is certain that no one is born without a mother, but what is born comes from the mother. And just as Adam did not make himself, but was created by God, so all people must also be created by God in the womb, preserved and then born into the world with God's help.
(5) Wherefore also all men ought to be free, and to let themselves be free. And because we are so corrupted by the fall of our first parents that we are not all fit to be married, yet let those who are unfit for the married state live in such a way that they walk demurely and honorably, offending no one. Although it was not like this at the beginning, but all of them were able to become married. But now it happens that some, although they are skilled and able to marry, still do not want to marry; but some, who would like to marry, are unable to do so. These I also do not condemn or reject. But the third, who desire and want to be married, are also skilled and able to do so; these, if they enter into marriage against the prohibition of men, they do right, and no one should be offended at them. For the married state is not to be forbidden to anyone who is capable of it, but is to be free and open to everyone; and such a state, as the pope does together with his own, is not to be condemned and rejected as a stinking and impure one. For to become married is an order and foundation of God. For since God created man and woman, He Himself placed them in such a state, in which they could and should live godly and honorably, pure and chaste, having children.
and increase the world, even the kingdom of God. Who then will be so bold as to tear down the glorious, holy order of God or speak against it? Who then is so bold as to condemn this order and despise it as useless, unholy and unnecessary?
The pope with his cardinals, monks, nuns and priests have wanted to do better and arrange a holy state, in which they want to live holy and chaste. But how holy, pure and chaste both, pope, cardinals, bishops, monks, priests and nuns have lived, is by day; so that sun, moon and stars have lamented over it. Stables are unclean and impure, but against monasteries they are to be reckoned beautiful and pure. For in the monasteries they have led such a chaste and pure life that it is not good to speak of it. Why did this happen? Because they tore apart and despised the holy order of God, the marriage state, they were not worthy to be married. Here, then, those who have entered into holy matrimony according to God's order should hold dear the saying of St. Paul, where he says:
Marriage shall be kept honest among all, and the marriage bed undefiled etc.
(7) Let them also boast and take comfort in the fact that they are legitimate. For here a man can say: I thank God that I am created by God in the image of a man; item a woman: I thank God that I am created in the image of a woman; that we are also placed by God in holy matrimony, to beget children according to His blessing and will. This is a great glory that those who are married have. For this reason, no one should condemn or condemn the status and order of God, as the pope does with his appendages, but should exalt it, hold it dear and value it. But let the pope, cardinals, monks, nuns and priests be looked upon sourly here; what do we ask of them? if they will not look upon us with kind and pure eyes, let them look upon the whorehouse and the unclean, foul and abominable monasteries. It is enough for us to know that God looks at us together with His only Son,
Our Lord Jesus Christ, who sits at the right hand of God and reigns over all things, as the one who ordained the marriage state, placed us in it, and keeps us in it until the last day. Because I know this and believe it with certainty, I am joyful and confident and live in the holy order of the marriage state with a clear conscience and a joyful spirit. For God says to the man: You are my husband; to the woman: You are my wife. And because I know that God speaks to me in this way, I also know that all the angels say this, love me and look at me; I also know that the sun, the moon and all the stars look at me and serve me with their light and effect, even if it greatly annoys the devil with his scales, the pope, the cardinals and monks, who are also of the devil. I will beat them with a stick (snip); and if there are a thousand of them at one time, I will not ask; if they do not want to see or hear me, then they will look in the devil's name into the mirror of Marcolfo. Here it is written:
But the fornicators and the adulterers God will judge.
8 And do not say that God will judge and condemn the married, but the fornicators and adulterers. For if God would judge and condemn the married, He would have to condemn Himself. God does not do this, but is pleased with married couples as those who live and walk in His order and creation. Since God does not judge me, why should I ask that the pope judge and condemn me, when he himself was born of a woman and sucked the breasts of a woman, his mother?
9 Here they bring a saying from the prophet Isaiah, who in the 52nd Cap. V. 11: "Come out of her, purify yourselves, you who wear the Lord's garments. With this saying they want to defend their celibacy, that priests should not be married, and condemn the married state as impure. It is a beautiful, excellent saying, but it does not rhyme well here. For in the Old Testament the priests had to have wives and be legitimate; to those the prophet says, "Purify yourselves," who were legitimate. Was
Why then does the pope, the devil of Rome, pronounce this sentence against those who are married? since it was pronounced by God for those who are married, but the pope pronounces it against those who are married. Thus our adversaries, the wicked papists, interpret that "to be pure" means to be illegitimate and without a wife; thus they want their priests to be pure, that is, to have no wives; yet God wants the priests to be legitimate and thus to live purely in wedlock. Therefore, those who are in the married state should be of good cheer and confidence and thank God that they are in such a state, which is ordained and blessed by God, with certain hope and confidence that God will keep His order and blessing, regardless of the fact that it annoys the devil, the Pope of Rome, and therefore condemns the state.
010 But here they say, Yea, we have vowed and sworn unto God that we will be chaste, and live without wives; I am bound to keep that vow, and therefore I must not marry. To this I answer: Right, do that which you have vowed, be chaste and pure; why then do you not keep it? Who prevents you from being chaste and pure? Yes, I cannot keep it, you say. That is a real Hans Wurst; why do you vow what you neither know nor are able to keep? I have one thing to vow that I can keep, namely, that I will not bite off my own nose. Who has made you vow and swear to something that is against God and his order? namely, that you swear that you are not a man, nor a woman, when it is certain that you are either a man or a woman created by God. Why then do you swear that you are not a man or a woman?
(11) If you can keep chastity and be pure by your own ability, why do you vow to be chaste? Keep it, you can. But it is vain for thee to magnify thy vows and vows, and to pretend that they shall deceive thee. Do you want to know to whom you have vowed to keep chastity? I tell you, the wretched devil in hell and his mother.
(12) I say all this for the comfort of those who are married, that they may be the more courageous and hearty. Are they not all equally rich who are in wedlock, as they are in marriage?
not all can be rich; yet be content with this and let it be a firm comfort to you that you have become married out of divine order, and be sure that God will keep His order and blessing over the same; do not want to keep or force anyone here either: here is a certain and firm comfort saying:
Marriage shall be kept honest among all, and the marriage bed undefiled etc.
(13) All who are married should adhere to him. St. Augustine writes in one place of married couples that even if one is a little infirm, etc. he should not be afraid of the sudden and unforeseen day of the Lord; even if the day of the Lord should come at the very hour when husband and wife are sleeping together in wedlock, they should not be afraid or frightened. Why is that? Therefore, if the Lord comes at that hour, he will find them in the order and state in which God has placed and ordained them. Because of this, no emperor's, pope's or bishop's mandate shall stand in my way or hinder me, and let it suffice me that I have a gracious God to whom this order is pleasing, who also looks after me and blesses and protects me. Who has made them so bold as to tear apart such a glorious order of God?
(14) Therefore it is of no account that thou shouldest protect thyself with thy vow, or vow to keep chastity, which thou art not able to keep. If you have vowed it, you have vowed it to the devil, and you are not obliged to keep it, because it is against God. In addition, the vow has not been old or long. In the times of St. Augustine and St. Ambrose, vows and pledges were not known at all; rather, each one was free to remain single or free as long as he wished. The binding and vowing to keep chastity and to remain illegitimate, however, was newly invented and conceived by the devil and the wretched monks, the violators of God's order and of holy matrimony.
15. the marriage state is God's order, and we abide by it; whether they are therefore hostile to us
and persecute us, not wanting to see us or hear us, we inquire little; we have God, who looks upon us with all the angels and heavenly host; who also protects us against all the arrows of the devil and the adversaries.
(16) Now if our dear God and Father in heaven gives you children, wait for them and take care of them, bring them up in discipline and fear and admonition to the Lord; then you will do right and better and nobler good works than all monks and nuns; for you live in God's calling and order, and they against God's calling and order. Because I am certain that I have a gracious God who looks after me, feeds me and protects me, I do not pay attention, even if the louse in Rome, the pope, with his lice, cardinals and bishops, monks and nuns, do not see me or pay attention to me; I do not ask anything, it is enough for me that God, my dear father, sees me and pays attention to me.
(17) Therefore, the bride and bridegroom are called to the church to publicly confess that they enter into holy matrimony according to God's order, that they do not want to lead a whore marriage; they are also blessed and do not doubt that they are blessed by God. But if they take care to remain blessed, they will remain blessed, and they will lead their marriages in a God-fearing, pure and undefiled manner, as married couples are supposed to do.
(18) Now it is known what the marriage state is, namely God's creation and order, and what belongs to it, namely a male and a female; therefore it should also be kept pure among all people. And if the pope were a Christian, then the marriage state would also be kept holy and pure with him. But because he is not a Christian, but the Antichrist and the devil himself, the holy marriage state is despised and kept unclean by him. But God, who has ordained, instituted and blessed the marriage state, also honors the marriage state; therefore we also, who are Christians and children of God through faith in Christ, should also honor the marriage state, hold it high, dear and valuable, and it should also be kept pure among all of you, so that no fornicator, no adulterer is to be found among you, but that you should keep it pure.
for every man shall have his own wife. Thus God also gave the fourth commandment for the sake of the state and made it the next one after the first tablet, testifying that he wants the marriage state to be held high and honored, since he says: "Honor father and mother" etc. Why then should I honor father and mother, since they lead a carnal life? No, it is an honorable and godly life that father and mother lead. As it would be dishonor to you if you were born in wedlock of a harlot, so it would be dishonor if parents lived with each other out of wedlock. Therefore, to be married is honorable and pleasing to God. If, however, you have lived out of wedlock for a while and have led a life of whoredom, repent and enter into matrimony and live a married and godly life again, and you will do right and Christianly. Those who beget children with each other outside of marriage are also parents, but there is no honor in it. Therefore it is said, "The marriage bed shall be pure," that is, it shall not be a whore's bed or an adulterous bed.
019 But here again thou hast an objection: how can the marriage bed be clean, seeing there is also much uncleanness in marriage? True, there is not much that is pure; but if you want to look at impurity, look at virgins and journeymen, for they are not all pure either. For because they eat and drink, they cannot be pure; they have to clean, snot and snuff, and whatever else is unclean. Since you also find it in the virgin and journeyman state and do not let such impurity err there, why do you only look at the impurity that also occurs in the marriage state? Yes, if one wants to speak of such purity and chastity as the angels have, you will find it nowhere, neither in the state of marriage, nor apart from marriage in the state of virginity; it is over with the same purity. Even the children are not pure; there is snot, filth and filthiness and other impurities. But St. Paul does not speak of purity here, for all men are stained and unclean. But he speaks of such purity, which should be in marriage, that husbands and wives should not be fornicators nor adulterers and adulteresses. What else is done in the marriage state, that
God covers the heavens; but that it be done so, that it serve and be done for the discipline of children, God says yes; for it is His order etc. This uncleanness, says God, I will not see. Here parents, father and mother or husband and wife are excused, God does not want to count it as uncleanness for the sake of inherent sin, nor does He want to count it as sin; but God wants to make a kingdom of heaven over the work and cover everything that is unclean for the sake of His order and creation etc. This is what St. Paul calls purity here, since he says:
The marriage bed should be pure among all people.
(20) He does not speak of purity, of eating and drinking, but of marital fidelity and duty, where one proves faith to the other, abstains from all other persons, and is content with his conjugal spouse; this is what he calls purity. We should now give thanks and praise to God, and should also boast, contrary to the wicked devil and the pope, that we were born of a pure and undefiled marriage bed. For the marriage bed is pure in the sight of God, and even if it displeases the devil, who would like to have it unclean and make it unclean, this does not burden us; the comfort and the glory is given to us by the saying: The marriage bed shall be pure among all people. But it follows:
But the fornicators and the adulterers God will judge.
21 Here the verdict is given that no fornicator nor adulterer will escape God's judgment. Our adversaries, the enemies of marriage, must also take their stand, and it does not help that they boast and insist on their vows. For they are real, true adulterers who deny marriage and forbid to become married. But God will not judge the married when our Lord Jesus Christ comes on the last day to judge the living and the dead, for they are in His order. O how unspeakable comfort is this to all married couples in their state! How confidently they can wait for the glorious future of our Lord Jesus Christ! For an apple tree, or any other tree that bears after its kind, shall not therefore die at the latter day.
No one is judged on the day that he bears apples or is unclean from caterpillars and worms; no, because he was created by God to bring forth apples and fruit. So also husbands and wives, that they beget children and live purely and conjugally, are not judged for this reason either etc.
22. But the fornicators and adulterers, who live outside the state in defilement and impurity, as the pope and cardinals, bishops, canons, monks, nuns, etc., who forbid marriage and cause much abominable lust and mischief with it and so miserably abuse the holy matrimony, God will judge in that day; there the judging will be found and done rightly. Yes, God does not save it all until that glorious day of Christ, but also punishes here in this life. For I am not very old, yet I have lived out or survived almost a pen or four, known to me, even close to three times, since both bishop, canons and vicars have died away, and as St. Peter, 2 Ep. 2, 1, says: "They will bring upon themselves a swift condemnation, and their condemnation does not sleep." Our dear Lord God and Father in heaven does not give them a long life, or even rarely, and old people are seldom found in foundations, only because they rage and rage against God's holy order, tearing it apart with violence and so horribly abusing it.
(23) Thou shalt give thanks unto almighty and eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that thou mayest boast of the ordinance of God, and of holy matrimony; keep it, and bring up thy children in the name of God, not caring that thou art condemned of God for it: neither will he judge thee for the work, that I verily know. Yes, the fact that you are married will bring you great glory and honor at the last day, because you are a Christian, and now, as long as you live, you will be comforted every hour that you live in such a state, which is appointed by God and pleasing to God. Therefore, let the pope and the bishops, who are contrary to the state, always be angry and murmur against it; and the more they boast of their vows and condemn the married state, the more we are burdened with pride for the sake of the order of God in which we are, which God, together with His only Son, our Lord JESUS CHRIST, and the Holy Spirit, is and will remain an eternal God, since the pope with his scales will wither like the grass of the field or quickly pass away like a water bubble.
(24) It is also necessary for every Christian to remain in his position and profession, in which he has been placed by God, and to be faithful to his descendants, so that God will give him happiness and blessings. May God help us, praised forever, amen.