Newly translated from the Latin.
For many reasons, I am very concerned when I hear of the deaths of pious people, especially those who distinguished themselves by their efficiency in the administration of both the community and the household. For first of all, I regret the loss that the church, the community, or I, the families suffer who have been deprived of their faithful guardians.
To speak of the churches now: what a great damage the Saxon churches have suffered by the loss of Urban Rhegius, who in truth was a right bishop of the neighboring countries, in which he spread the gospel of Christ purely and loudly, improved the worship and the life of the people, suppressed the nonsensical nature of the enthusiasts, ruled many godly ministers of the Word and others who are in negation by his teaching, counsel and reputation. A large part of these people now realize that they are going astray like a flock without a shepherd.
But in thinking of the loss of such men, there comes another far greater one
I am also in greater and more intense pain. For when I look in my mind at the churches of all countries around, which I also include in my prayers, I think, not without great sorrow, of how few capable preachers there are, even in those who are considered the most excellent, how great weakness, even perversity, there is in some. I also lament the people's disaffection with the Gospel, who do not care for religion, do not strive to maintain the preaching ministry, do not fear God's terrible wrath, and do not improve their lives. Furthermore, when I look at the schools in which the seedlings are to be raised, through which the church and the community are to be governed in the descendants, how much it grieves me when I see the carelessness, the ignorance and the presumptuous nature of the young people who will be our successors. Finally, when I turn my attention to the princes and their courts, I am truly filled with a displeasure that is coupled with pain. For since this highest estate is, above all, the churches
*Before Rhegius (Regius) turned to the Gospel, he worked in Ingolstadt as a teacher of poetry and oratory. Later he was a zealous promoter of the cause of the Gospel and became General Superintendent at Lüneburg. In 1532 he collected and explained for his wife all the Old Testament prophecies of Christ, and at the request of many friends published them in 1537 under the title: "Dialogus oder Gespräch von der herrlich kräfftigen Predigt, welche der Heyland aus Mose und den Propheten den zweyen nach Emaus reisenden Jüngern in Eröffnung der heiligen Schriften gehalten. Later, at the request of Rhegius, Johann Freder translated this writing into Latin and dedicated it to his sovereigns, the Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg, from Hamburg in the month of April 1542. As can be seen from the preface, Luther wrote it only after the death of Rhegius (but probably already in 1541) for the Latin edition, which has the title: Prophetiae veteris Testamenti de Christo collectae et explicatae per D. Urbanum Regium cum praef. D. Martini Lutheri etc. 1542. The same is subsequently included in "Opera Urbani Regii latine edita, Norimbergae 1562", tom. I, p. 165. In Latin, the preface is also found in the Lupplerueuto Lpi8tolaruru IVlart. ttutkerl euur praek. Luddei, p. 331 and in the Erlanger, Opera varii arAuioeuti, tona. VII, p. 558. 1VI Greifs prepared a German translation for the Leipzig edition, vol. XII, p. 74, which Walch has reprinted. We have retranslated according to the Erlangen edition.
If the ruler should cultivate and nurture, exercise discipline, encourage diligent study of the sciences and virtuous living, adorn the gospel with good examples, show godliness in domestic life, diligence in the administration of justice, zeal in serious punishment, bravery and valor in protecting the citizens and the confederates, what of these things does he do? If the princes carefully directed their office, they would in turn be adorned by God with great honor, as it is written [1 Sam. 2, 30/: "Whoever honors me, I will honor him also." How great an adornment it would be if God awakened them to protect the homeland against the ravages of the Turk, 1) and "taught their hand to fight," as the Psalm [Ps. 18, 35] speaks. But, to come back to the pointu: I deceive myself greatly when I look at the vices of the individual estates. And when outstanding members of Christ are called away from this life, I am also moved by what is indicated by this. 2) For when common punishments are imminent, God first takes away from the rest of the multitude the elect, as Isaiah [Cap. 57, 1.2/ says: "The righteous are taken away from calamity, and those who have walked rightly before them come to peace, and rest in their chambers." Thus, before the flood of sin, the godly fathers and their hearers gently fell asleep, so that they would not have to witness the wrath of God so great, by which the whole human race was destroyed, except for the One Family of Noah; and before the destruction of Jerusalem, the saints were torn out from there. Thus God, as John says [Matth. 3, 12.], first gathers the wheat into His barn, but after that He throws the chaff into the eternal fire. But at this time the deaths of godly people are frequent, and the bad crowd remains, which despises God, which is secure, which competes with each other in ambition and greed, which is devoted to indulgence, which is easy-going, and which has no desire to be a part of the world.
1) This passage shows that Luther wrote this preface around the time that he had his "Exhortation to Prayer Against the Turks" published, in which the same complaints are made that Luther has voiced in the preceding. Cf. St. Louis edition, vol. XX, 2194 ff.
2) The words: etiam significatione moveor have been given by the old translator as: "so gehet mir auch nur die Nachricht davon sehr nahe".
ready, mischievous, well-versed in new and unusual deceptions, lying, faithless. Precisely by these signs I am moved exceedingly strongly to believe that great misfortunes and changes in the conditions of people are imminent, which will chasten the insolence of men and again put a rein on the unruly world.
Although it is therefore to be regretted that the church is deprived of its protective walls by the death of the teachers and the godly, they are to be wished happiness in this, one might say, emigration. The Scripture says [Revelation 14:13], "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Therefore, we are to know that our Urban, who has lived continually in right invocation of God and in faith in Christ, and has served the church faithfully, and has adorned the gospel by a chaste and godly life, is blessed, and has eternal life and joy in the fellowship of Christ and the heavenly church, in which he now learns, sees, and hears as present what he has preached here in the church according to God's word. As he previously conversed with his wife, with his children, and even with all his readers about the sayings of the fathers and the prophets, which he cites in this "conversation" in a godly, learned and appropriate manner, so he now hears the first teachers themselves, and Christ, who interprets them, and rejoices that his faith overcomes the voice of Christ and the Fathers, and thanks God for the light that was given to him before he departed, through which sin was blotted out in him and eternal life began. And I believe that it was not by chance that he read this talk about the resurrection very often shortly before his death, as if he had foreseen in his mind his departure from here. Since he saw the glorious resurrection of Christ in it, he knew that death had passed and inculcated this word of Christ in himself, since he says [Hos. 13, 14/: "Death, I will be a poison to you; hell, I will be a pestilence to you."
But as Urban's behavior towards his wife and children was exceptionally godly, and his wife is distinguished by all the virtues of a godly man, his wife is a godly man.
If the priest had been guided to all honors by his wife's room and his family, it is to be believed that he did not part from his own who needed his service without sadness, but nevertheless he knew that God was the father of the orphans and the protector of the widows. Now he commands his family to God, who has certainly protected the families of godly priests until now, and will continue to protect and nourish them, even against the will of the world, as it is written [Ps. 37:25]: "I have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed going after bread." I also hope that it will happen that through the war service of these godly women, daughters and sons, that is, through godliness and prayer, our churches and communities will be protected against the cruelty of the Turk.
So much for our Urban, whose memory we must preserve, so that we may read his writings all the more eagerly, for they contain godly and salutary teachings. When we commemorate his death, we should wish him happiness in his exceedingly loving relationship with Christ, but take the orphanhood of the churches to heart, and ask God to send similar ministers of the Word into the harvest of the Gospel. We should also pray that He will alleviate the misfortune threatening the whole world and that we will improve our lives.
In particular, however, I command the students this "Conversation," which contains an exceedingly useful consolation for the godly, and has brought together many testimonies in One Little Covenant, and interprets them in an erudite manner. The world, too, must confess against its will that this teaching of the promises of the Gospel, which is presented in the Proverbs of the Fathers, has not had as much light in many centuries as it now has by God's grace. Therefore, these writings must be preserved. But the security of the people in the greatest vices is so great that it is to be feared that the thickest darkness will follow again and the punishments of it, multiple misfortunes, changes and disturbances of the kingdoms. It is also an honorable and praiseworthy example that he, together with his godly wife, has been able to overcome the
Proverbs of the Fathers and Prophets. For this conjugal communion is the beginning and the planting place of the church; therefore, it is fitting that married couples should discuss no matter more than God and His good deeds and admirable works, the examples of which godly married couples see daily in the witnessing and raising of their children. Then there is nothing more lovely than when husband and wife are of the same mind in faith and call upon God with one accord. It is a great help to each other when the faith of one is concerned for the other and makes an effort for him before God. Yes, marriage should be such a community of which Christ says [Matth. 18, 20.]: "Where two are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Husbands and wives should call upon God together in right faith, talk to each other about the Gospel, teach their children the Gospel. In the walk and dangers of such spouses, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is undoubtedly present, destroying the works of the devil, who, just as he seeks to destroy the whole Church, also attacks godly spouses and godly families in the most furious way. But under these dangers the faith of the saints shines and Christ triumphs. The impure papists and defenders of the defiled celibate state ridicule such conversations of godly spouses, but there is no doubt that the papists will suffer the punishments of their immorality, by which they defile the whole order of nature and offend God in a terrible way. O, how hard and iron are the hearts of men! The sins of Pabstism, their idolatry and most shameful lusts are obvious, and the punishment, namely the raging of the Turk, is before our eyes, and yet such atrocious deeds of shame are still praised and defended. Therefore, let us pray to God that the exceedingly joyful day may soon dawn for the Church, when Christ will publicly show Himself to the world and, after raising the dead, will destroy the devil and the wicked. He will, after raising the dead and casting out the devil and the ungodly into eternal torment, make glorious the multitude who have been obedient to the Gospel in this life under great tribulations.