Phil. 1:3-11.
I thank my God as often as I remember you (which I always do in all my prayers for all of you, and do the prayer with joy) for your fellowship in the Gospel, from the first day until now. And I am confident of this, that he who began the good work in you will carry it out until the day of Jesus Christ. For this reason I have you in my heart, in this my prison, in which I answer for and confirm the gospel, as all of you are partakers of grace with me. For God is my witness, how I long for you all from the bottom of my heart in Jesus Christ. And therefore I pray that your love may abound more and more in all knowledge and experience, that you may consider what is best, that you may be pure and undefiled until the day of Christ, filled with the fruits of righteousness which come to pass through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.
In the first part of this epistle, the apostle Paul thanks God (as he is wont to do in the beginning of his epistles) for the grace that they have come to the fellowship of the gospel or have been made partakers of it. In addition, he desires and asks from God that they increase and become richer in such knowledge and fruits of the same. And he does both so that he may exhort them with such praise and glory of the gospel that they may remain firm and steadfast in it, as they began and now stand in faith. But it seems to be a bad epistle, especially among those who can do everything else and soon become masters of the Scriptures, as if there is no great art to be felt or learned in this; yet we must also act such and such sermons for those who cannot do it too well and would still like to learn.
(2) In these words, especially, we are shown a true image, or conterfection, as it is now called, of a Christian heart that believes earnestly in the holy gospel, which is strange and rare in the world, and especially beautiful, except in the case of the dear apostles, who were their neighbors in Christ. For we are too lazy and cold for this.
(3) But a Christian heart, and this is its color and shape, is like St. Paul's words, that it is fundamentally joyful and glad about it, and thanks God that other people also belong to the fellowship of the Lord.
He has a good confidence in those who have begun to believe, accepts their salvation, "rejoices" in it as much as his own, and cannot thank God enough for it; and prays without ceasing that he may experience and see many people come with him to such fellowship, and be preserved in it until the day of Jesus Christ, who makes everything perfect and complete, which is still lacking and lacking here, and thus continue in such faith and hope unwaveringly until they reach the same joyful day.
4 Behold, the pious apostle thus tells and pours out the reason of his heart, full of the right fruits of his spirit and faith, which burns with joy and delight over those where he sees the gospel recognized and accepted and honored, and with heartfelt love for his churches, that he knows nothing higher to wish for them and to ask of God than that they increase and remain in it. He considers it such a precious and great treasure where one may have and keep God's word; just as Christ Himself pronounces such blessed, Luc. 11, 28.
Now, the first thing that St. Paul gives us an example of is that we should also be grateful. For this belongs first of all to a Christian who recognizes and believes in God's grace and good deeds through the gospel, that he should show himself grateful for them, not only to God, which is the most important thing, but also to men.
For now that we have become Christians and have given up false worship and sacrifices, to which we were very fervent and willing before in our pagan blindness, we should now think that we will henceforth much more and rather do true worship and sacrifices. Now we have no other even better outward service and work than that which the Scriptures call the sacrifice of thanksgiving, that we preach, hear, honor and promote God's word not only with mouth and words, but with all our heart, body and life, to the praise and glory of His grace. For the same is also the best part of gratitude.
6 This is called the pure sacrifice, Mal. 1:11, which is made and given to him among all the Gentiles, when his name is praised and preached; not out of avarice or presumption, and presumption of their own priesthood and holiness of works, which the Jews boasted about, thinking that God should celebrate them (as he complains about them there), that they had not opened or closed a door or window to him in vain; but from a right voluntary heart and with joy. For he wants such services and sacrifices, as the 110th Psalm v. 3. says: "Your people will willingly sacrifice to you" etc.; and 2 Cor. 9, 7.: "God loves a cheerful giver" etc. This is what the knowledge of the Gospel should do in us, so that we are not found ungrateful and forgetful of God's great good deeds.
(7) All pagans, who did not have this knowledge and grace from God, cursed the vice called ingratitude to the highest degree, as if there were no more hostile and shameful one on earth, and said that it was the mother of all vices. And among others, one reads an example of them in Arabia, called Nabatheos, who were such fine people in their regiment, and so hostile to this vice, where one man showed ingratitude to another, that they punished it with death and considered it like murder.
8. for there is none so abominable, and which human nature can suffer less; that it is also much easier to overcome, nay, to forget, that an enemy may cause one suffering.
and does harm, where he also would have murdered his father and mother, because that one shall be paid with ingratitude and unfaithfulness by those who show all good and faithfulness, and have bought with love and friendship nothing but hatred; and as the Latin proverb says, a serpent has nourished and raised itself in its own bosom. That is why God is most hostile to such vice and punishes it; as Scripture says, Prov. 17:13: "He who repays good with evil will not leave evil at home."
9. Now, this is what nature and reason teach us about the ingratitude that men practice among themselves; how much greater, more shameful and more cursed must such vice be where it is practiced against God Himself; who, while we were still his enemies and guilty of hellish fire, gave us, out of causeless, inexpressible kindness, not ten or a hundred thousand florins, but redemption from his wrath and eternal death, and filled with comfort, security and good conscience, joy and life; which goods are not to be pronounced nor comprehended in this life, but will have to be seen in that life eternally. How much more terrible it is now, when one becomes ungrateful for this benefit; like the servant, of whom the gospel says today, to whom ten thousand pounds were remitted and given, and he would not remit a hundred pennies to his fellow brother.
(10) Who would believe that there are such wicked people on earth, who should show great ingratitude to God for the highest eternal blessing? But where and who they are, indeed, how full the world is of them, we see, alas! before our eyes, not only in those who knowingly persecute the recognized truth of the gospel of God's grace, comfort of conscience and promise of eternal life; which is terrible, and the infernal wickedness of the devil incarnate: But even among us who receive the gospel and boast of it, the great multitude are so shamefully ungrateful for it that it is no wonder that God strikes at hell with thunder and lightning, yes, with all the Turks and devils. This ungrateful wretch has become so mean, only because he so soon forgets to be in
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What troubles and distresses he had been in the other day, since he could not pay the bill, and the wrathful sentence was pronounced on him that he and everything he had should be sold and imprisoned forever. So soon we have forgotten how we were plagued under the papacy and how we were flooded and drowned with all kinds of strange doctrines, when our consciences were in anguish and would have been happy. But now that we have been redeemed from all of these by the grace of God, we give thanks for this in the same way that we have only incurred God's wrath more heavily upon us, as others have done before us, and have also taken their punishment for it in a horrible way.
(11) For count for yourself what an unpleasant wickedness it is, since we have received from God such great, inordinate benefits, forgiveness of all sins, and have become lords of heaven; and yet he cannot raise so much with us, nor move us, that we should remember it, and for the sake of it forgive our neighbor a word from the heart, I will hold our peace, that we should also give and serve him. And he should laugh at this, and let us always go in this way, and give great happiness and salvation as pious and obedient children. We still think that we only have the power and the right to live and do as we please; and the greater, more learned, more noble, more powerful, the bigger boys we become, we exercise all our courage, and start quarreling, strife, war and murder to carry out our defiance, because we should let go of a farthing and give in to a hundred thousand guilders, which we still receive daily from God for all our ingratitude.
(12) What is it that two great goats and mighty lords do to one another, for the sake of half a city or two, which, if they should consider what they receive from God, they ought to be a little ashamed of themselves, and think, What are we doing to destroy one another, who have all been baptized in one name of Christ, and have been joined together and sworn under one Lord? But this they must not look upon, nor think; but far from their eyes and hearts.
and purely forget what God has done for us, warring country and people with each other, or reproaching the Turk for the impotent penny that no one wants to give to the other.
But it is the wretched devil, whom the world lets saddle and ride as he wills. For it is quite true in all classes that no one wants to give way or provide anything for the other, and everyone pushes out his own defiance by force, thinking that it is in our highest honor and all prosperity that we forgive nothing at all, and that it would be our ruin if we were to keep what we have with peace; but we must still put the two remaining cows in the stable on them and get everything down to the last stick, so that in the end we must stop when the evil comes, and we have neither cow nor stable, house nor stick. That we would have so much grace, and could think how it would be with us, if God would also act with us in this way, and demand of us (as He is well entitled to do) the debt that we have to pay on ourselves, and would not forgive anything; whether we would not have to sink eternally into the abyss of hell at that moment. As must finally happen to those who do not want to pay attention to this and only keep heaping God's wrath upon themselves, and do not want it any other way, neither that he should deal with them, as with this servant, on whom the irrevocable judgment goes, that he should be handed over to the tormentors without all mercy, to pay the debt, which he can neither ever cancel nor pay.
14 This is also right and just; for ingratitude, says St. Bernard, is such an accursed, shameful vice, like an evil, dry, hollow wind, which dries up and makes dry all the fountains of grace and goodness with God and man. For human nature cannot suffer it; neither can it be with God that he should shower you with all grace and goodness, both spiritual and bodily, and yet you would continue without ceasing in your wickedness and abuse his goodness, only to spite and shame him, and thus wantonly provoke his wrath upon you; for
Nor can he do you good without your thanks, if you yourself reject his goodness from you and do not let it find a place with you. Here the fountain of grace and mercy, which springs and overflows eternally toward all who desire it from the heart, must dry up and cease toward you, so that you cannot enjoy it, which would give you water in abundance and without cessation, if you do not dry it up for yourself with the hollow wind of your ingratitude; because you so shamefully forget the unspeakable good deed that God has showered on us, and the blood of the Lord Christ, that he bought and reconciled us to God, that you do not so much honor that you would forgive a word to your neighbor for his sake.
(15) And what is it that a man complains so much that he has shown himself a little as a Christian to please and thank God and to honor Christ? If it costs you no great effort or work, it will not break your leg or harm your property or honor. And even if something happens to you that is a little wrong or too close, think of what God has given you and will give you in return for His grace and blessings. Yes, what would you complain about it, when it already costs you life and limb? How did God's Son have to do for you? It was not sweet and easy for him, but cost him bloody sweat and unspeakable anguish and distress of his heart, because he gave up his body and blood to take upon himself and bear God's wrath and curse for you, which was to pass over you forever; and yet he did all this gladly and out of ardent love. Shouldn't you be ashamed in your heart before all creatures, that you are so heavy, sullen, yes, as hard as a rock, to bear and forgive even one unkind word to him in praise and thanksgiving? What greater thing should such people do, where they should suffer for the sake of Christ, or give and help the poor and needy, especially for the preservation of God's word, parishes, preaching stands and schools?
16 It would be no wonder if Germany had long since perished or been destroyed by Turks and Tartars.
over such infernal damnable forgetfulness and contempt of the great grace. Yes, it is a miracle that the earth still supports us and the sun still shines; but if for our ingratitude the whole sky should become black and the earth salted, as the Scripture says, Ps. 106, like Sodom and Gomorrah, and not a leaf nor a blade of grass should bear any more, and everything and everything should turn back; if God did not spare the few pious Christians, whom he still knows and knows, and still stop them.
17. For we see everywhere and wherever one turns, nothing but a flood of terrible examples of ingratitude against the dear Gospel, among all classes: how kings, lords, princes scratch and bite each other, envy and hate, press and destroy their own country and people, think of no good Christian harmony to help poor Germany, and to preserve the wretched church even a shelter and place from the devil's, Pabst's and Turk's murder: the nobility only paws, tears and robs both princes and others of what they can, especially the poor churches, and as vain devils trample pastors and preachers underfoot; burghers and peasants also only stingy, usurious, deceptive and drive all defiance and bravery, without all shyness and punishment, so that it cries out to heaven and the earth can no longer bear it.
(18) Well, what shall we say of this? It is lost in the world, and no admonition will help: it is and remains of the devil, and one must consider that the apostle's example will not be found in it at all, but rather a vain counterpart and antithesis of the most shameful ingratitude. But where there are still God-fearing Christians, they should think that they follow this beautiful image, that they are also grateful; that it is seen that they gladly hear God's word, have joy and pleasure in it, and do not like to see it despised; also prove with their lives that they do not forget the great good deeds towards those from whom they have received the gospel; and in short, as such people, whose hearts and mouths are always full of the golden word: DEO gratias, and, praise be to God etc. For to this
we are called, and, as I have said, this should be our daily service and sacrifice to God, and the work and fruits of righteousness, as St. Paul says here, should also shine before men; as such should follow, and would easily follow, if one recognized what God has given and given to us.
(19) Whether the world does not want this, and we have to see, hear and suffer from it every day, that it only gets worse and more ungrateful the longer it goes on, we should not be mistaken, for we will not make it any different. We shall preach about it, and severely rebuke and punish this vice, because we can, and most diligently admonish everyone to beware of it; but we must take care that it will not be so in the world. We must live among ungrateful people, and not be annoyed by it, nor want to stop doing good because of it; but, as Solomon says Proverbs 5:16, let our fountain flow out and always do good, not turning to whether people give thanks for it; just as God makes His sun rise daily on both the thankful and the unthankful. Matth. 5, 45.
(20) For if you do it for the sake of the world and think you deserve it, you will find a contradiction, and it will be just and right for you, like a man who bites open a dead nut and gets a mouthful of dirt. If thou wilt now be vehemently angry and cast down mountains, and therefore do no more good, thou art no longer a Christian; thou hast hurt thyself, yet thou dost not right anything. Seest thou not where thou art at home, and livest in the world that shall be full of iniquity and ingratitude? As their rhyme reads: Qui retribuunt mala pro bonis: Those who pay good with evil. Whoever does not want to learn this, may run away from the world; for it is not an art to be only with pious people and do good to them, but to be able to stay with evil people and not become evil as well.
(21) Therefore let a Christian learn from his youth (so that he will be accustomed and able to bear it) to do good to everyone and to expect evil in return; but not to praise or approve of it, but to punish and rebuke as much as he can according to his office. For this is the best test and sign of a true good man.
work, if those who are served by it are not only ungrateful, but also do evil for it. For such a thing is also good, that man may not think himself good for it, and please himself; so also in the sight of God it is so very golden and delicious, that the world must not be worthy to reward it etc.
22 The other work that St. Paul models here is that Christians should pray; for both belong together, giving thanks for the benefit received, and asking that God may strengthen and preserve in us such things as he has begun. This is also necessary, because the evil of the devil and the world attacks us and would like to tear us away from it, so that we must fight against it without ceasing, which hurts our weak flesh and blood, and cannot stand in such a battle and remain unconquered without constant and heartfelt invocation of divine help; Therefore these two pieces must go on forever, one next to the other, as formed in the daily sacrifices of the Old Testament; the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and Deo gratias for the good and gifts received, and the sacrifice of prayer or Our Father against the evil and evil which we would like to be rid of.
(23) For this life has not yet reached the end where it is to go, but only the firstfruits begun; and we have not yet been filled with that which we desire, but have only a morning soup and a foretaste of it; for we are still in the faith of that which is given us, and not in present feeling and full possession. Therefore we must pray for the remaining misfortune, of which we are not yet rid, until we come to the point where we may no longer ask, but be nothing more, neither vain life and joy, and an everlasting Deo gratias and Hallelujah. But so that such praise and joy may also begin and be strengthened here on earth, we must do it by prayer, both for ourselves and for the whole church, that is, all who have accepted and believed the gospel, and so all help one another with it; for such good also becomes much nobler and joy much stronger when it does not remain alone, but is shared by many, as St. Paul says,
that he may give thanks to God, and also do his prayer for them, over the fellowship of the Gospel.
(24) Yes, this should be the joy and delight of a Christian heart, that he may see many people also come to grace, and praise and thank God with him; for such desire also awakens the stronger the praying and calling. For a Christian must not be such an inhuman being, who neither asks nor cares where other people stay, whether they believe or not; but takes care of all people, and always sighs and cries for them, that God's name may be sanctified, His kingdom come, His will be done, the devil's lies everywhere be defiled, and his power and murder over the poor souls be increased, His will be controlled.
(25) This is what a true Christian should do from the heart and in all earnestness; as we hear that St. Paul shows with these words that both this giving of thanks and this praying come to him from a fervent heart; for no man would speak such words: "I give thanks to my God as often as I remember you, and do prayer with gladness," etc. if his heart were not full of such thoughts. This is the right way for an apostle to speak, that he both gives thanks and prays with all joy, so heartily does he feel good that he may have a city or a group where he finds Christians who love the gospel, in whom he may rejoice, and thank and pray to God for it. Should it not rather be the case here that where the gospel was heard, all people would be full of joy, and would thank St. Paul with heart and mouth and ask God for him, that they had become worthy of grace, and having been redeemed from their blindness, would now receive the light from him, through which they would come from sins and death to God's grace and life?
26. now he does not wait for them to start declaring their joy and gratitude towards him, but as soon as he starts talking to them, he has to pour out his heart, how he is so joyful and gives thanks to God for them from the bottom of his heart etc. That they should be justly ashamed of this and have punished themselves, since they read or heard this epistle beginning with these words: Behold, we ought not to let him say this, but
ourselves and have displayed our joy and gratitude against him.
(27) Such a beautiful and perfect likeness of this apostle we others will not be able to attain for a long time, nor will we be able to boast of ourselves; and since we hear how the apostle rejoices so highly that there is someone who accepts the gospel, what shall we complain if we are not heard and so little accept God's word with earnestness? We may keep silent and not let ourselves be lazy, if it was so strange to Christ himself, the prophets and apostles, and we must be glad that some have believed; just as one can see in Christ how glad he becomes when he finds some fine faith, since he is often grieved and unwillingly angry with his own people, who did not want to hear his word. It was also strange for St. Paul that in the whole Roman Empire, which he had almost penetrated with the Gospel, he found a city where he had a group of righteous Christians, about which he was especially happy and comforted himself about all the treasures on earth.
(28) Well then, it is good for the world and will be well advised that Christ and his apostles and preachers must be glad that only his dear word is heard: that will be found one day. I meant that all people should willingly and gladly run to the end of the world to hear only one apostle. So St. Paul has to run through the world with his sermon, with great difficulty, with great hardship, despised and trampled underfoot by everyone, and disregarding all of this, be glad that someone still accepts the gospel. Until now, the pope and all his people have not needed to run or walk after anyone; they have sat in their regiment as masters of the world, and all the world has had to run after them wherever they wanted to go, and no one has thanked them for it.
29. how there has been a lamentation of our fathers, and of many among ourselves, from all countries, for many hundred miles, to Jerusalem to the Holy Sepulcher, to Compostel to St. James, to Rome to St. Peter's and St. Paul's Head, where some have gone barefoot, some in all their armor (I will tell you about other countless pilgrimages).
(silent), like the foolish people; then we carried money in great heaps, thanked God, and were glad that we could only buy the pope's lying indulgence with it, and become worthy of the bones of death.
(which they have shown for sanctuary), but rather of the most holy sanctuary, the pope's, feet to kiss or to see. That is what the world wants again, and nothing better shall come to it.