Eph. 5, 13-21.
Therefore, see that you walk carefully, not as the unwise, but as the wise. And send yourselves into the time; for it is an evil time. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand the will of the Lord. And be not drunken with wine, whereof a disorderly manner ensues; but be filled with the Spirit, and speak one to another of psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs; and sing and play unto the Lord in your hearts; and give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jehovah Christ; and be subject one to another in the fear of God.
1 This admonition is given by St. Paul. St. Paul also admonishes those who, when they have heard the gospel or have even begun to believe it, soon become so perfectly secure, and think that they have it all; do not think that they still have flesh and blood on their necks and still live in the world in the devil's kingdom; But go along without all care, as if they were without all danger, and the devil fled far from them; and just so as to be hurried by the devil and their flesh, that they come from the gospel before they know it, keep only so much of it that they can speak of it, boast themselves Christians, and prove it by no deed.
2 Therefore it is necessary here to pay attention to your life (St. Paul means "to walk carefully and with understanding"). Paul says, for this is what he calls "walking carefully and being prudent"), how you conduct yourselves according to God's good pleasure, so that you always have His will before your eyes, and direct all your actions according to it; for if you leave this mirror out of your eyes, the devil will soon break in on you and do you harm, so that he will turn a Christian into a lazy, secure hypocrite; a hypocrite into a heretic and spirit of the mob; a heretic into a public enemy. That is why he speaks here: It is no joke, but he who wants to remain unconvinced and unconquered by the devil must be courageous and watch carefully how he walks, for we have in him an enemy who is not only to hinder and stop us, but even to destroy us.
3. from this concludes the judgment that those who do not look at themselves with seriousness whether
they are true Christians, that is, right believers, and like to hear God's word and live according to it, they have already become unwise and unintelligent, and hear nothing of God's will; for they have put the light out of their eyes, and another noise before the eyes of their own conceit, by which they see as through a painted glass, and think that if they follow such misconceptions of their reason, they are well off, until such time as they are deceived and overthrown by the devil.
Therefore St. Paul warns, not without reason, that Christians should always be wise and understanding, that is, have God's word before their eyes (for in it is their wisdom and understanding), both for themselves and especially in the church among one another; for where the word comes out of the church, and for instance babblers are allowed on the preaching chair, who pretend to their own art, then it is done for the church and the crowd is found like its preachers. Likewise, if anyone, especially in his own state, does not live his life according to God's word, but forgets it and thinks how he can get rich, and gets involved in other affairs and things, he soon becomes a cold, lazy Christian, and then an erring person, until he finally despises God, His word and His will. That is why God so often commands in the Scriptures that one should always act and do His word, gladly hear it, handle it and remember it day and night; and thus man's life should always be one of praise and thanksgiving to God, and look daily into this mirror. But there belongs diligence and
Care. And in this each one should help the other with faithfulness, with teaching, instructing, admonishing etc.
(5) I have often enough urged that whoever can do something should do it with all diligence, that the youth be brought to school, properly instructed and taught for the ministry and preaching, and that they be provided only for their necessities; but alas! few cities and sovereigns do it. Look at all of Germany, bishops, princes, nobility, citizens and peasants, how confidently they go along, snoring and sleeping, thinking that there is no need; that it will do itself good, that one can always have pastors and preachers: but they will truly have overslept, if they think they have done well; for they will also become unintelligent, and do not want to see what God's will is. Therefore they will have to learn that they do not want to believe now, that it will come to this in a few years after us, that they will look for preachers and find none, and then they will have to listen to coarse unlearned asses, who neither know nor understand God's word, and preach, like the pope's asses, the pope's filth and stink of consecrated water and salt etc., or of their gray skirts and new monasticism.
6. one cries, preaches and exhorts, until one will never listen. That is why St. Paul tells us this prophecy beforehand, that such will become unwise and foolish, who do not realize what God's will is, and thus, as follows, miss and lose the time of grace and their salvation. Now this is God's will that we sanctify His name, love and promote His word, and thus help God to build His kingdom. If this happens, he will also do our will, namely, to give us our daily bread, peace and good.
Now the most important thing should be that we think how to keep God's word and will with us, which would mean to be rightly understanding and skillful in time. If we do not do this, we will also be like the unintelligent, the unwise and the foolish, and we will have to hear: Because ye have not sanctified my name, nor multiplied my kingdom, neither have ye
I will not give you your daily bread, nor forgive your sins, nor help and save you from temptation and evil. Then he will let you complain about the great misfortune, discord and wickedness of the world (as one must now complain, and the world blames the gospel); but this shall be the punishment of those who do not want to know God's will, nor send themselves into it, and yet want to justify themselves and not be scolded for acting and doing unwise and as fools.
(8) This is what is said in general about walking wisely and cautiously, and again, about being unwise in the things that are most necessary in the church, which concern the ministry and God's word. For where this remains, there will also be preserved among the multitude some who are right in it, or who are yet to come. But where it also comes from the preaching chair, it will be of little help, although one or some can read the Scriptures for themselves alone, and think that they are not allowed to preach. Meanwhile, where is the other great multitude that must be taught? Behold, how has it happened in our time to the poor people, both of whom have been deceived by the Münzerian and Münsterian prophets and mobs. Therefore, let every man first do and help that God's word be preached and heard publicly everywhere, and so that the church may stand properly arranged and built; then let him also put on for himself the wedding garment (of which the Gospel says today), and think that he may also be found to mean God's word in earnest; do not think, as the secure spirits do, O! I have pastors and preachers enough, I can hear or read it when I want to, or still come to it daily; I must first see where I earn my bread etc., others may also provide for themselves. Nay, dear man, beware, it may soon fail thee, that thou mayest fail, and be found without the wedding garment, and so die, or be deceived, before thou knowest; who then shall be to blame, neither thyself, who hast not hearkened to the admonition of St. Paul, nor walk wisely and cautiously?
9. now you should buy, because the market
For as the world is apt to do, it will not long keep that which it has. One helps everywhere faithfully to chase away the preachers, or to press them, at least with hunger and poverty, or other secret wiles, so that one can only get rid of them. Well, it does not require much effort and work here; one will otherwise get rid of them well and too soon, and have enough seducers for that. But I would much rather burn in hell with Judah the traitor than be guilty of devastating a parish or giving place to a traitor; for even the traitor of Christ will not have such unbearable torment as this one, for countless souls must be lost through this sin.
(10) St. Paul continues this exhortation, and interprets what he means by "walk carefully" and be prudent: "And send ye," saith he, "into the time, because it is evil. As if he wanted to say, "Do not think that you will have good days here, or want to wind up your things until you see a better time, because it will not get better: you always have the devil in the world, who only wants to hinder you from everything good, and the longer the more you wait, the less you will be able to do good: and if you miss the time, it will not be so good for you afterwards. Therefore, get yourselves into it, so that you also stand still and rob the time as you can. Let nothing be so dear to you as to promote God's kingdom and serve Christianity for good and profit, wherever you can, come what may.
11 Christ also says to his Jews Joh. 12, 36: "Believe in the light, because you have it, that you may be children of light"; item, St. Paul 2 Cor. 6, 1. 2. from the prophet Isaiah Cap. 49, 8. "Behold, now is the acceptable time, now is the day of salvation. Therefore see to it," he says, "that you have not received the grace of God in vain"; that is, that you do not let salvation go in vain, but use it, because you can, to help increase God's kingdom, for your salvation and others, do not save it for another time, because time may slip away from you afterwards. So
he also says Gal. 6, 10: "Therefore, if we have time, let us do good" etc. As if he wanted to say: Do this now, because you can; for you will see wonders how time will pass from under your hands. Therefore, do not let your thoughts deceive you: Oh, I shall be able to do it for a year or two or three. For this is the very foolishness and unwise thoughts of the imprudent, who let their own salvation pass away, which they have before they know it, and think not what God's will is, but set it in one place, until they have done their thing, and thereafter have tarried too long.
12. now he comes to you at the door (that you may not seek him), and greets you, if you want to thank him; but if you let him pass by, you will also have to sing, yes, lament with the bride in the Song of Songs of Solomon Cap. 5, 6: "When I wanted to open the door to my friend" when he had knocked, "he had gone away. I sought him, but found him not; I called unto him, but he answered me not. "etc. You must not think that you will find him when he is gone, even if you leave the world; but because he is still there, you may seek him and find him; as Isaias Cap. 55, 6. says: "Seek the Lord, because he is to be found" etc. If you fail to do so and let him pass by, all seeking will be lost. This I myself have tried and experienced for more than twenty years in my monastic life, seeking him with great labor and breaking of my body, by fasting, watching, singing and praying, and shamefully spending the time, and yet not finding him, but the more I sought and thought to come closer to him, the farther I got from him. No, he cannot be found in this way, he wants to be unscathed by us: he must first come to us himself and look for us at home; he cannot be caught or captured by our running after him and chasing after him.
013 Therefore see thou, and send thee into the time, because thou hast it, which thou must accept, and diligently see what he will have of thee, because he is near thee. If thou wilt know it, take thy faith and thy commandments before thee, and they shall tell thee: according to them shall thy life be, and thou shalt take thy help.
Our Father, begin with yourself, pray for yourself and the Church, that God's name may be hallowed everywhere, etc., and that your life also may be according to His will. If you do this diligently, you will walk wisely, avoid sin, and do good; for such attention and understanding will not give you room to do evil; God's word will soon tell you to hallow His name, increase His kingdom, and do no harm or harm to your neighbor.
(14) Behold, that is "sent in time", that is, well used to the time, because there is the right golden year, when we have forgiveness of chastisement and guilt (not, as the Pope deceived the world with his Jubilee); so let us see to it that we do not deceive ourselves with false conceit, as if it could not escape us; lest it happen to us as it did to the people of Israel, of which the 95th Psalm v. 11. and the epistle to the Hebrews Cap. 4, 3. 7. says that they did not come to God's rest because of their unbelief, because they did not want to accept the time when he gave them his word and miracles for forty years, calling and exhorting them daily to repentance and faith, but they tempted and angered him more and more; therefore he now exhorts them again and sets another day, saying: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" etc. It is still called "today" every day, when God lets Himself be heard by us, crying out and calling, so that we should not miss the time.
(15) We should give God the highest thanks for such grace (as this epistle also admonishes at the end), that he comes so close to us, is with us at home, at table, at bedtime, and wherever we want him, offers us and brings before us all his help and what we may ask of him. Yes, we should also value and honor this dear guest, because we have him.
We may pray, as I have said; otherwise, alas, there is already too much sleepiness in German lands; for it is not possible to understand with thought how it is possible to preserve the gospel and to fill the preaching chairs for more than ten years, because the world is raging in such a way that again blindness and
The error will be torn down, as happened before; that will be no one's fault but the fault of the foolish bishops, princes and ours, who do not respect God's word. That I must, alas! against my will, be a prophet over Germany, yes, not I, but my and your Our Father, by which he will thus say to us: You have let my word pass by, and have not wanted to suffer, but have persecuted and starved: so I will take your daily bread from you, and send you theurung, war and murder in addition, until not even a stick remains; for you have thus wanted it. When you cry out for forgiveness of sins and deliverance from this evil, I will hear you as you have heard my word, my cry and my cry to you, and I will leave you in your misery as you have left me in my word.
17. It is a bad thing not to consider that he has poured himself out on us so generously, abundantly and graciously that we now have the true paradise, yes, the whole kingdom of heaven, if only we would recognize it; and we so shamefully and ungratefully despise it, as if it were not enough and all too much, that we transgress his toe commandments with our disobedience, we must also trample under foot his grace and mercy, offered to us in the Gospel; what wonder is it, then, if he also lets his wrath pass over us? What else should he do (as the Gospel says today, threatening all such despisers and persecutors of his Son and of his servants who invite us to his wedding) but to send out his army and kill such murderers and even put an end to them; As he showed in particular and as an example to all the world with Jerusalem and all Judaism, which also did not cease to sin against all his commandments, and when he offered and proclaimed to them his grace and forgiveness of sins, they also trampled them to the ground. Shall he not avenge this, that they should thus make a mockery of his precious blood?
018 Yea, over all such abominable sin must blasphemy be heaped up, crying out and lamenting, when the wrath and
As for the punishment, it is all the fault of the Gospel, or as they say now, of the new doctrine; just as the Jews still to this day blame no one, neither us Christians, that they are hunted down in all the world, and pray against us alone day and night, with such blasphemy and desecration that it cannot be said that they were destroyed and devastated not by the Christians, but by the pagan Roman emperors. But to whom do they owe it but to themselves that they did not want to suffer the Christ who was supposed to help them and bring all grace? but since they did not want it, which God had given them, and with Him all good things were promised, they must also lose their daily bread, given by God (without which they would have sinned and practiced usury against God), regiment, priesthood, preaching chair, forgiveness of sins, redemption, and be stuck in God's wrath and damnation for eternity. This should and must be the punishment of the unintelligent or unwise, who did not want to recognize the time of their visitation.
19. we still see this terrible example in front of our noses, and yet we do not turn away from it, but go the same way, and thus also overtake, not only with disobedience to God's will, but also with contempt of grace, after which we should sigh with all earnestness, ask and help, that also after us and on our children pure baptism, preaching, sacrament etc. may remain; therefore it will also finally go like it happened to the Jews and other ingrates and despisers.
20 Therefore let it still be advised and said by St. Paul, whoever wants to be advised and helped, that he still sends himself into time and does not miss this rich golden year; as Christ also seriously warns by the parable of the five foolish virgins Matth. 25:10, 11: They also might have bought in time before the bridegroom came; but since they had not, and went not to buy until the bridegroom was to be met, both the market and the wedding were missed.
21 Thus the ancient poets and sages played of the crickets or locusts: which came in winter, when they had no more to eat.
to the ants, and asked that they also tell them what they had gathered; and they said: What did you do in the summer that you did not also gather? We sang," they said. Then they heard again: If ye have sung in summer, dance now in winter. So shall one answer such fools, who do not want to become wise, nor learn to understand what God's will is. But it is a terrible, horrible wrath, whom God thus rejects with loud scorn and mockery; as he threatens, Prov. 1:24, 26: "Because I call, and ye turn away; I stretch out my hand, and no man heareth: so will I laugh at your calamity, and mock you, when there cometh that which ye fear."
(22) Someone might ask: What is it that St. Paul says, "You should send yourself into time," and adds, "It is evil time"? Should one use the time as the right golden time; how then is it called evil time?
23 Answer: Yes, the time is certainly good, because the gospel is sounding, being heard and preached with diligence; but besides this, the world is also full of trouble, mobs, self-conceit, evil examples in all kinds of things at the same time, and there is still much of it in our bosom. With the same things, that the devil thus pursues us, and our own flesh drags us down and provokes us from the understanding and attention of divine will, Christians must always fight and contend: otherwise it is soon done and the harm is done, even at the time when we hear the gospel. For there the devil rages and drives most of all, that he may throw rottenness on the world, and also pull and tear those who have the gospel away from pure doctrine and faith; so we ourselves are still in the flesh and blood, which always wants to be safe, and does not let the spirit rule and pull it, is lazy and sluggish to God's word and to prayer. Item, in outward life and conditions among each other and everywhere vain aversions and hindrances advance, which only turn men away and drive them to dampen the gospel and tear the church apart.
(24) Therefore let no one think that he lives on earth in a good and peaceful time. For although the time itself is good, and God gives us the right golden year of His word and grace, yet there is the devil with his mobs and evil men and our flesh, who spoils such a good time wherever he can, or makes it so hard and sour for Christians that they must fight and resist with all their might, so that through such trouble and hindrance they may not be deprived again of what they have received, but may preserve it to the end. Therefore, we have excellent reasons to be prepared for such times, and to walk as the wise and understanding, and to think as we perceive God's will and follow it, because we have the time to do so, now that we have His word, grace and spirit. But because the devil and the flesh strive against it and want to pull us back, you must be wise, St. Paul says, and be careful not to follow them; for if you do not do this, you will not be excused by saying that you did not know, or did not have time, and could not strive against it etc.
Behold, this is called "evil time," that is, full of cause and irritation of God's word and will etc.
And do not drink yourselves full of wine, from which a disorderly nature follows etc.
(25) He touches on several vices that help people to miss the time and let the golden year pass by. This is especially the drunkenness, which makes people very safe, nefarious, wild and disorderly; as was common in Greece in ancient times, and now in Germany is such a people, who only want to feast and be full day and night. With such people it is not possible that there can be attention, diligence and care to do what God's will is; for they can neither in any other worldly matters attend to things with diligence nor do them in due time, indeed, they become so beastly and sour that they lose all shame, honor, discipline and human thoughts; as one sees before one's eyes, alas! more and better than is to be said of this.
26) That St. Paul exhorts to speak to one another with spiritual psalms and hymns etc. is said elsewhere, in the epistle of the fifth Sunday after Epiphany, where the same text is written.