Of the frightening blindness and ingratitude of the wicked world, which does not recognize God's gracious visitation, but in its sins willfully wants to die and perish with its eternal harm.)
Luc. 19:41-48.
And when he was come nigh, he looked upon the city, and wept over it, and said, If thou knewest, thou wouldest consider in this thy time what is for thy peace. But now it is hid from thine eyes. For the time shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall make a siege against thee, and against thy children with thee, and shall besiege thee, and shall afflict thee in every place, and shall drag thee, and shall not leave one stone upon another, because thou hast not known the time wherein thou art afflicted. And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought therein, and said unto them: It is written: My house is a house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. And he worshipped daily in the temple. But the chief priests, and the scribes, and the chief of the people, sought after him, that they might destroy him, and found not how to do it unto him: for all the people clave unto him, and heard him.
Dear friends, we heard in last Sunday's Gospel how Christ, before entering Jerusalem, wept over the city and proclaimed its final destruction. And this because she did not recognize the time of her visitation. Item, how afterward he went into the temple, and there cast out the buyers and sellers, saying, "My house shall be called a house of prayer, but ye have made it a pit of furniture."
(2) These are both excellent words, and very hard sayings, especially that the dear Lord says that the holy city Jerusalem and the glorious temple shall be destroyed to the uttermost, because they have not known the time wherein they are visited. And this is a word that everyone should accept and keep with fear and trembling, for it is spoken in great earnestness and (as we have heard) with heartfelt tears: You did not want to recognize the time of your visitation. For "visitation" in Hebrew means, when God comes to us and knocks, bringing with Him all His divine goods. Just as Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, also says in his hymn Luc. 1, 68: "Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited his people and made a great salvation." So it says here: God has visited or visited us, that he comes to us, not that he receives or takes something from us, but that he brings and gives to us. That it actually means to visit a poor beggar and miserable lost person, whom the devil has imprisoned in the deepest, heaviest dungeon of sin, death and hell. To such the dear Son of God descends into our misery, wretchedness, death and grave, and offers us a good morning and blessed greeting; says we should be glad, he wants to deliver us from all misery and give us everything good; this is his visitation.
(3) But what shall they do who are afflicted? Now here is the lament, he says, and indeed a very miserable lament, that one should not be glad nor accept with gratitude such unspeakable good as he brings; but also help to persecute and chase away, even to murder, such great ingratitude.
Both the dear guest and Lord, who visits us, together with his visitation. This is a horrible word to hear and a horrible, horrible color to paint the world, so that it is called the blind, ungrateful world, which does not want to know its Lord and his gracious visitation.
(4) There is not a man whom one might consider witty and wise, if he were in the greatest anguish and suffering, in pestilence or other plague, who would not want to suffer a pious, faithful physician, if he came to him and could and would help him; and if there were such a one, everyone would have to say that he would also be mad, insane and possessed over his physical illness, and would have to be bound with chains, as if he were completely deprived of his senses. How much more must those be mad and foolish, furious and possessed, who lie in such cruel sickness and distress, under sin and death, that they must be eternally lost, and so to them comes this physician, the right and only Savior and shepherd of their souls, and says: I will save thee, and deliver thee from sins, and from the plague of death, and from the devil, and from all unhappiness, and will set thee in the kingdom of heaven, where thou shalt be an heir with me unto everlasting life: so blind and wicked shall they be, that they shall not only ungratefully despise such a dear man, but shall drive him out of the city, and crucify him upon the cross: as his own people did at Jerusalem, and as we see now before our eyes.
For behold, whatever we ourselves, who are called Christians, do, the great kings and lords, and especially bishops, cardinals, etc., and whatever wants to be wise and holy, and the best on earth; behold, whether they are not mad and foolish. They go about in great honors and splendor, in golden chains, velvet and silk, are called great and wise men, wise princes and rulers of the world, who are able to rule well out of measure, and it also befits them, have all kinds of good skill in themselves, so that what they say and do is especially respected, and are considered to be those who are especially chosen by God and are dearest to him, given to the world for comfort and salvation. But look out, when it begins this divine visitation
or visitation, as they stand in relation to it. Here no one is more furious or angry, neither these, the very wisest and wisest, popes, cardinals, bishops, princes, great lords of the nobility and others. Yes, when it comes to this article, when they are told of this gracious and joyful visitation, one sees such great ingratitude and contempt that a pious Christian's heart would break, yes, that even the Lord himself cannot refrain, he must weep over it when he looks at the city, and make such a miserable lament.
6. For is it not a pitiful lamentation that the chief priests, the most eminent and distinguished men, Annas and Caiphas, and the whole family of priests and Levites, and the two and seventy princes of the council at Jerusalem, who rule so wisely and have such a beautiful service, under whom the people walked in beautiful government, discipline and obedience, and were only to be regarded as the very highest, that we now see no such government, nor is it seen among the Gentiles, as among the Jews under Moses: But behold, what do they do? That it must be said that they are blind, mad and foolish; they hang their dear Savior on the cross, who wants to help them out of all their troubles. This is how it has gone, and still goes everywhere in the world, if you want to open your eyes. There are many wise, prudent and sensible people (we must confess this), also learned, honorable and pious; but when they hear the word or preaching of the gospel of Christ, which proclaims to them salvation from death and eternal life: only away, they cry, and quickly all are struck dead, dead, who preach such things.
(7) But is not this a miserable thing? If the gospel came as a terrible tyrant or Turk, and only frightened and tormented the people, taking away their goods and beating them to death, it would not be surprising if people became hostile to him. Now no one can blame him for this, no one does any harm, leaves you and everyone what he has, wife, husband, child, house, farm, goods, land, people, seeks neither imperial nor royal crown, regiment, power (as the pope did; but speaks to all people: Keep what you have, I will and I will not.
desire none; but only this, believe in the Son of God, so that you may be eternally blessed when this life ends. For thou shalt not wear this royal crown for ever, nor sit in this honor, power, and goods for ever; but thou must go there, when thy crown, honor, power, money, and goods shall be nothing. What will help you then? Nothing; for I will help you; only accept me with gratitude; I desire nothing more than that you only believe and recognize this visitation.
008 Now, behold, what shall he do more than offer to all the world? He lets their temporal goods remain, and lets them keep what they have, and in addition brings the eternal ones and carries them home; and for this he is not to gain so much from them that they would nevertheless accept it; but with it he earns so much that they become no more hostile to any thing on the face of the earth than to him who proclaims such things. This is not human nor natural; otherwise it would have to be as nature teaches all men: "He who does me good and brings me good, I thank and love him. Now he who will not accept nor be grateful to him who has given temporal good and this life, and who also gives eternal life, must not be a natural or human thing (for it is contrary to reason and the senses of all men), but the wretched devil from hell, who has possessed both men body and soul.
(9) But who shall be so bold as to say to the pope, cardinals, bishops, kings, princes, rich noblemen, and others, Ye are full of devils; whether it be the bitter truth? But whoever wants to tell them, let him also wait to hold his head, and let it be said of him that he is rebellious, and speaks to the best, wisest, holiest people of their honor; as they now say when their public vices are punished. But how can we do otherwise? Your own reason must say (if it will say it) that you must be possessed by the devil if you knowingly persecute the gospel. The reason is this: because God brings and carries to you vain temporal and eternal good, and cannot raise so much in you that you accept it with thanksgiving, but pursues it to that end, and is vain poison to you.
(10) Yea, sayest thou, that we might suffer him to give us temporal good enough, and eternal good too; but the gospel nevertheless punisheth and forbideth us our worship, masses, monasticism etc. Answer: Yes, are you torn there? I understand that you do not have to complain that something is taken from you in body or soul, or that nothing good is given to you, but that your will is not done. This is not the fault of God, nor of the gospel, but of your own evil will, and nothing more (for you could well have and keep what you have without this); and yet you yourself know that you have unreasonable, and lead a sinful, damned life. That is the matter, your will shall go away, but God's will shall go behind you; and that you deceive and corrupt yourself and others with you, God shall let that be good for you, and shall say nothing. Hast thou not enough that he will give thee temporal and eternal life; but wilt thou have that also, that he may let thee and other people abide in thy sinful nature? He should not and cannot permit this, for it is contrary to the visitation; for this very reason he visits you, because the devil and his apostles have led you from truth to lies, and have taught you to trust in your deception and idolatry: so he wants to help you to get rid of the lie, to be adorned with vain truth, and thus to be freed from the power of the devil and hell. Then you cry out again: No, no; I do not want that, it is not my place to suffer that my thing should be called lies and injustice; but everyone should take it for divine Christian truth or, as they now say and praise, for the praiseworthy, traditional Christian religion.
011 And do you not hear that this text and history says otherwise, that Jesus goes into the temple of God, and there overturns and throws out? Neither did the chief priests understand that it was called visited, or graciously visited; but thought it was their great dishonor and shame, and of their praiseworthy religion, and of the holy temple of God. Nay, saith he, this also pertaineth to visitation: will ye have the truth.
then I must punish the lie, and turn you away from it, so that you do not set your religion or worship on the hawking that you do in this etc. Here they might also have said, as now the pope and his: Yes, this is our old traditional religion and Christian faith; therefore we do not want to leave it nor suffer that one speaks against it etc. But Christ says to this: For this very reason I have come to teach you what is right, old or new faith or worship, because you have shamefully perverted these things.
For this is not the old Christian belief (speaking of our time), that a priest stands over the altar and makes a mass, which he wants to offer for the dead and the living. For where is this written, but in the pope's smoke hole and the monks' Marcolfo, a new little book, devised by themselves? Therefore it is not to be called nor considered the old faith, but that which we received from Christ through the apostles, when he gave his body and blood to his disciples over tables in the Lord's Supper, not to sacrifice, but to eat and drink, to strengthen the faith of the forgiveness of sins, as his words read. This is the first ancient order of Christ, so it is cheaply called the Christian, ancestral faith. But our papists lead the beautiful good words "Christian", "time-honored" etc. to their lie, so they introduced into the church long after.
(13) So did they also, the priests of the Jews: their ancient Christian faith they called buying and selling before the temple, where they had flocks and stalls for sheep, and calves, and for fowls, and for doves (2c). All these things were ordained for the service of God, that the people which came from every part of the country to Jerusalem might buy their sacrifice there, that they might offer unto the right god. For at that time there was no idol in the temple, but was pure from all idolatry, and nothing was sought with the sacrifice, but the right true God, who created heaven and earth, and redeemed this people. Therefore they also defied it and said: Whoever would hinder this, sets himself against our old faith and worship etc. What could the common man say against this? After all, it was the truth that everything happened for the sake of God.
The people were to sacrifice to him as he himself had ordained among this people. They all had to let this be right, as the right service, which the high priests should handle. And this Jesus of Nazareth comes, because he wants to visit the temple, and pushes everything over a pile. Should not such a heretic be killed and condemned, who so shamefully practices the right worship? beats and throws out among them, as among mad dogs, to the temple.
14 Summa, it is said to have acted angrily and badly enough, that one should attack the orderly service of God in this way. If he had thrown something else out of the temple that did not belong to God's service, they could have suffered that; but that which is specially ordered for sacrifice, for which everyone should gladly give and help, to destroy all this and to call it a pit of murder, that is too blasphemous and not to be suffered at all. For it is just as blasphemous as if I now said: The pabst's, cardinals', bishops', priests' and monks' churches, monasteries, convents with their services are vain murder pits, just as they are most holy. This is what happened in the ears of the high priests, Annas and Caiaphas, and of the others, so that they thought it right and just to answer him: "This is what the wicked devil means, that you can destroy such a long-established and well-established service, and prevent the people from serving or sacrificing to God in his house. As they have then blown it big time.
15 But he does not allow himself to be mistaken or challenged in this way. Dear sirs," he says, "the visitation will not suffer otherwise: I have come to be your visitator, to visit you and to bring you all good things, to leave you the physical and to give you the spiritual. But I cannot come to that, I must rumble and sweep out the dung (which is the cause of God's wrath against you and your ruin). As I have said, these people are not concerned with temporal good, but with preserving their evil, false will, so that they will not let what is unjust be done, and yet have not done unjustly, nor have they heard that their nature is deceit, their masses
They have put on their heads, they do not want to suffer, and they run against this Lord with their horns, just as the others do.
16 Now he could well suffer them to slay and sacrifice as much as they would, for it was so ordained for them by Moses: but it was this that corrupted it, that they sought nothing therewith but their own enjoyment, and led the people to think that by such work they would merit God's grace and eternal life. This is contrary to this divine visitation. For the prophets had clearly said before that their Savior would come, who would redeem them from sins, death and all evil; that they should hope and wait, and place their salvation solely in him. In the meantime they were to sacrifice in this temple and keep the outward service of God, so that they might remain in the discipline and manner of the hope of Christ. But now they go and wipe out such faith and hope purely, and this house, which was supposed to be a house of prayer (as Christ says from Isaiah Cap. 56, 7.), they make a shameful house of sale, yes, a murderer's pit of souls.
17 For this temple was not built primarily for the purpose of sacrifice and slaughter, as is clearly written in 1 Kings 8:37 ff. For King Solomon himself, having built it, kneeling and praying, consecrates and ordains it for prayer, saying there, "If there come upon thy people the devil, or pestilence, or any other evil, and they come hither, or else stretch forth their hands, and pray unto this house, and call upon thy name, etc. thou wilt hear their prayer and supplication in heaven." Not, saith he, wouldst thou look upon their works and sacrifices, that they should bring many calves and sheep, or incense into this temple; but, their prayers and supplications wouldst thou hear. So he himself founded the temple primarily for prayer, especially in times of need, when they would be punished for their sins, as he says throughout this chapter; that it could not be called the merit of their good works or sacrifices. Therefore it is right and true, that the prophet Isaiah and
Christ also says here: "My house shall be called a house of prayer" etc. This shall be its name, for which Solomon also built it (even if he sacrificed in it), and his own words are only about praying and God's gracious listening, that this should be his final custom and order, and be called a house of prayer from his first foundation.
(18) But now they leave such a custom, and do not teach the people how to pray, but only make it an incense house and a slaughterhouse. Even though God could have suffered this if they had prayed for it or instructed the people to pray. But they were only interested in sacrifice, without teaching and calling. The house became nothing but a pit of murder. For by this they corrupted the poor souls, that they did not teach to pray and to call, as they should have done, and said, as the dear prophets, item, David and Solomon themselves: Let sacrifice be sacrifice, God is not concerned with sacrifice; as Ps. 50:9, 13: I will not dispute with thee for thy sacrifice's sake; but for this cause ye shall come hither, that ye may hear God's word, and learn rightly to believe, and to pray, and to call etc. This they did not do, and yet they insisted hostilely on their temple and sacrifices etc.; they taught the people, without faith and calling on God, to rely on them, so that they only made them for their benefit and enjoyment.
019 Therefore Christ cometh, and will clear out and sweep away this litter out of the temple. This house," he says, "was not built to be your cattle shed or your dovecote; but it was ordained and accepted by God to be a house of prayer, to be called upon, and to be present and heard. Therefore also at that time the Jewish people everywhere, where they were in all the world, when they wanted to pray, had to turn their face toward the temple in Jerusalem, even when they were caught in misery and the temple was destroyed, and therefore always put their prayer to the place, for the sake of the divine order, which they also had accepted, that they should pray there and he would hear them. But now they have forgotten this foundation and order, and have perverted the same, for
He must come with his visitation and cleanse the temple again from such murderous thievery, so that the poor souls will be helped and they will be brought from lies and seduction to the knowledge of the truth and right worship. That it may be called a gracious and wholesome visitation of souls, whether he be angry with the deceivers and punish them, that they should cease from their merchandising.
(20) Such visitation, praise be to God, is now going on among us, for by the grace of God it is preached purely and loudly of the right knowledge of God and worship of God, how we are to become Christians and have our Savior, Christ, in our hearts through faith, and then, out of such heartfelt trust, call upon God in all our concerns and needs. And even though we do not have an outward place or temple where He has bound Himself (for His temple or dwelling place is as far as the world reaches), the custom still remains that one also has places or houses where Christians come together to act on God's word and to pray together with one another etc.
Our papal clergy and monks do not do this, but both pervert and destroy doctrine and prayer, and also make their churches and monasteries into murder pits. Yes, no monk or priest can do otherwise, I know that and have experienced it myself. For I have also been a monk for fifteen years, and have read mass daily and prayed the Psalter, so that I knew it by heart; and yet in all this I have never prayed in such a way that I could have said my prayer with such a heart or thought: Dear God, I know that my prayer is pleasing to you and that it is certainly heard. But my thoughts were like this: I have kept my obedience to the Order and the Church, said my Mass, performed my seventh day; I did not know how I was doing with God, whether such my work would be pleasing to Him. Now I have been one of the best, who did such things with earnestness and devotion, and yet I have never been able to do a prayer right, and with my masses daily
blasphemed God that I wanted to sacrifice His Son to God and earn His grace through such my work etc. But our papists make it much worse, because they also sell their masses and fill all the churches with such hucksterism, and say that such work is pleasing to God and deserving of him who does it (although he is without all devotion and good intention, even in mortal sin), and other living and dead for whom it is done or meant; yet he himself does not believe such, nor the others.
22. But now also comes their visitation, when Christ attacks such abominations and begins to cleanse his temple, saying: That is not rightly taught, nor sacrificed, nor mass said, that thou goest thither, not knowing what thou doest, and yet wilt, as thou sayest, offer to God his Son for the living and the dead, and for this purpose sellest such things; for this is not according to the institution and order of the Sacrament; yea, it is an abominable blasphemy to want to offer Christ's body and blood, which he gives us to eat and drink, to strengthen the faith, that through his blood and death, without our work or merit, we have forgiveness of sins. Here, like them, they play their old violin: "Yes, it is our traditional faith, and the church has long held it thus.
23 Do not strike happiness there. Do you not know that Christ says thus in Marc. 14, 22. 23. 24. (as you yourself read in the mass, and put your mass on these words): "The Lord Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread, gave thanks, and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, Take, eat; this is my body, which is given for you. In like manner he took the cup, and gave it unto them, saying, Drink ye all of it: this is the cup of the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you. "etc. There stands the right old faith: there you hear nothing of your sacrifice; but Christ calls you to eat and drink, and to take these words with faith, and to thank God for them, so that you can say the Lord's Prayer right on it, and say: I have prayed, and know that you hear me etc. Surely no pope, cardinal, bishop, priest, or his clergy, who boast so highly, can do this.
and scrape from the old faith or religion, and yet do not know what religio, faith or worship is, and with their public deeds testify that they are nothing but murderers of souls (because they teach nothing rightly how to believe and pray), and feed their belly with praises and interest, therefore they sell their masses and monasticism. There is no faith, prayer, nor any thought of right Christian worship.
(24) Behold, this is the visitation of the Lord Christ, who, when he cometh, and bringeth all good things, he cannot suffer the unkindness (which the devil hath cast into the church), he must purge out the lies which cause the murder of souls; for they cannot both stand together, that I should remain a monk, and yet preach Christ (as now); one must give way to the other. "The bed is too narrow here," says Isaiah Cap. 28:20, "and the ceiling is too narrow," so that truth and lies cannot rest together, Christ with his faith and the devil with his unbelief. Therefore, this gracious visitation must follow (if Christ is to have the upper hand over the devil), so that he must put an end to the haggling. But because the devil does not want to expose his lie and the world wants to have its way, the strife arises, as we see and experience before our eyes. We preach nothing else than how to believe rightly and call upon God, as Christ wants to preach and do in His church; and we do this for our bishops and priests, because they do not want to do it themselves. They cannot stand this, condemn it as heresy, persecute and murder so many devout Christians for it; in this they are much worse than the priests and Pharisees at Jerusalem.
(25) Do you ask what reason they have for this? They answer that it is against the old traditional faith. What kind of faith is that? What the pope believes with his clergy and monks. How old is it? Two or three hundred years, from the time they held their own concilia at Rome, and set what they willed for articles of faith. Here I ask: Has such faith now become older and better, so that it may justly be called the old traditional faith and religion?
neither the one founded by Christ himself nor the one of origin? Let us all write, not of the papacy at Rome, but of the birth of our Lord Christ, now more than 1500 years old; see your own letters. Shall these then be called articles of our Christian faith, which are not more than two hundred, nay, many of which are not one hundred years old? How then many new papal articles arise and are torn down in my memory. For I still remember that in this church and these lands St. Anne (who is called Mary, the virgin mother and grandmother of the Lord Christ) was not known, and St. Anneberg did not yet have the name; without which St. Joachim, St. Joseph, our Lady's Psalter, crowns and rosary, and very innumerable foolish prayer books, devised by the monks, have arisen: all of which is now called with them "the old traditional faith". Truly, a beautiful faith, which is not so old as a man of sixty years; and this is not to be called the true old Christian faith, which is clearly and certainly founded in Scripture; but must be called a novelty, and forbidden by life and limb to be accepted or professed.
26 But is it not grievous that the word of the Lord Christ, even of the holy prophets and fathers from the foundation of the world, should be called a new faith among them that boast themselves Christians? For we neither preach nor want to preach anything else than what you yourself read in the Scriptures of the prophets and apostles. Nor should we accept and consider as articles of faith what every insolent monk invents daily, of which no one, not even the bishops themselves, knew anything before, the golden psalter, the seven golden masses, and innumerable pilgrimages to the oak, to the pear tree etc. And on the other hand, the teaching of the Gospel is called a vain new thing. Why? Because they did not preach it twenty or thirty years ago, nor did they know it, nor do they want to know (that they, as teachers of Christianity, should teach others) that this is the doctrine and the faith that was proclaimed 1500 years ago from the birth of Christ and before that from the beginning of the world, 5000 years ago, by the fathers and the prophets, and that they have not known it.
The Pharisees and priests have also obscured the true old doctrine and worship, even though they still had Mosiah's law for themselves.
(27) Therefore, we say, this visitation is to be done, which is the preaching of the gospel, which cannot stand the former lies and deceits of the devil, but reveals them and brings them to light. We must command God that those who want to protect their new errors and idolatry and not let them be disgraced, and persecute us for it, should oppose it. But let us do so, that we may recognize the gracious visitation of our dear Lord, and take to heart the sermon that Christ is preaching here. He wants to say that you have seen the miraculous works that I and my apostles have done, and have even cried out and shouted that God has visited his people (as they say in Luc. 7:16), and yet you have not recognized it, that is, you have not wanted to accept it. For "to know" does not only mean to look at with the eyes, as the cow looks at the gate; but to accept a thing from the heart, as the Scriptures use to say. For example, Genesis 4:1: "Adam knew his wife Evam"; this means more than to look at her badly or to beget children, but to accept her heartily as his own. So you have seen and experienced me, and you know that I have come to visit you: But ye have not accepted it, neither have ye known it; but ye have opposed it, and raged against it, and raged against it, and could not cease until ye had brought me to the cross to visit you; I can do no more to you than weep because you are so blinded and stiff-necked, and push away your own salvation, and bring upon yourselves the final wrath and your eternal destruction, and let no counseling, nor admonition, nor warning, nor defense help you against it.
(28) This is also what we are now complaining against our pope, cardinals, bishops; but we see that what we say, admonish, punish, sour or sweet, does not help them. But, as I have said, let us
We must recognize this and be grateful and hold fast to God's word; for we must not doubt that it will not happen any other way, that it must finally happen to the pope and all those who cling to him, as it did to those in Jerusalem. If the Turk or any other ruler does not do it, the last day will do it in a short time, even if he now despises and does not want to believe, but persecutes and murders the Christians who do not worship him, and thinks to maintain his tyranny by force. Yes, such rioting and raging is the right sign (as it was with them) that it will soon come to pass that it will finally be destroyed, and as Christ says here, not one stone will be left upon another, that is, that their thing will be destroyed together with them. God does not yet begin neatly and quietly, does not yet strike with the sword by war and bloodshed, but draws the people to him by his word, cleanses and thus sweeps the monasteries and convents, and finely separates and separates his own from the rest of the heap; as he also did there: When he had threshed out the good grain and gathered it into his barns, he no longer wanted to thresh straw alone, but since there was nothing left but chaff, he set it on fire over a heap and turned it into ashes. So now he is threshing, gathering his grain from the other damned heap, in monasteries and everywhere in the world. When this is done, and the scattered of his people shall be gathered together, saith the angel Dan. 12:7, that he shall bring in his corn, and shall find nothing in the tabernacle but chaff and straw: then shall it also be finished, and only set on fire, and burnt up by the Turk and hell fire. For it is decided: He must endure, as the Scripture has proclaimed of him.
29 Therefore, dear friends, let us at this time of God's gracious visitation.
For if we should run away from such a thing, nothing will help us anywhere except that we take God's word seriously and help to preserve it with all diligence for ourselves and our descendants, especially by maintaining good schools, for we will not be helped in any way except that we take God's word seriously and help to preserve it with all diligence for ourselves and our descendants, especially by maintaining good schools. For if we should run away from such things, nothing will help us anywhere, except that we take God's word seriously, and help to preserve it with all diligence for ourselves and our descendants; especially by maintaining good schools and educating the youth. For these are the little plants by which the Church of God is built up and carried forward as a beautiful garden. Therefore, all of us who want to be Christians are obligated to help and promote this with all our faithfulness and with what we are able.
(30) Although we who serve Christ and his churches in this ministry are not all equally rich, as lawyers, medics, and those who deal with other things and trades, let us be content with what God gives us, and thank him that we have churches and schools, so that our children and youth, and the poor unlearned, may also hear it and come here. You are rich enough if you become a devout, faithful pastor or preacher. For thou hast already appointed a throne in heaven, more adorned and more glorious than that of all emperors and kings, where thou shalt sit high above them, exalted and honored above all the earth, and shalt see both devils, the pope, and all enemies cast down to hell at thy feet. For we have rich and certain promises enough, and know that they are not lacking to us. Therefore, let us all, both teacher and student, help God to gather his grains even at the time of this visitation, before the final wrath begins, which will set fire to the chaff and burn it forever.