Mid-April **) 1522.
Grace and peace to all my dear lords and brothers in Christ from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Saint Paul calls the holy gospel a word of the cross and a sermon of foolishness to the Gentiles, and a sermon of offense to the Jews [1 Cor. 1:18, 23]. But now, out of the unfathomable riches of the mercy of God our Father, we have again been graced with the wholesome, pure word of the Gospel, we must consider that it is and remains for us no other than, according to its nature, a word of the cross, of trouble, of foolishness. It is a great sign of a right faith and teaching among us that Satan attacks us with his scales so bitterly and grievously. If our doctrine were of the world, it would praise the world [John 15:19], as the teaching of the Pope has done until now; but now it is not of the world, but God has given it to us, therefore the world hates us.
Now this is the least challenge, that the world hates and persecutes us. Satan is not satisfied with this, but intends to exercise his will of courage among us, and whether we are too strong for his larva, the papists, from the outside, he wants to cut us apart and destroy us from the inside through ourselves. God our Father forbid him, amen.
(3) Therefore, we are to look more to ourselves than to our external enemies.
"We know well what he has in mind," says St. Paul 2 Cor. 2, 11. Now seeing that he cannot deceive us on the left, he throws himself on the right. Earlier he made us all too papal; now he wants to make us all too evangelical. But God has commanded us many times in the Scriptures: "We shall keep to the right road, and not turn aside to the right hand or to the left" [Is. 30:21]. Truly, it is time that we arm ourselves and protect ourselves with prayers and teachings, Satan wants to get at it. He has hitherto wrestled with me alone through vain rude heads, which can do nothing but blaspheme and lie; but now they stand in great hope, we shall disturb ourselves with our own dissension and discord.
4 But therefore be not dismayed. St. Paul had it worse, namely, false brothers and false apostles among his group [2 Cor. 11:26], and all who were in Asia fell away from him; also his special dear friend and disciple Demas left him [2 Tim. 4:10]. So here we must also wait for some of our own to fall away when the conflict begins; about that, when the real main conflict begins with the devil among ourselves, we must wait for those to fall who are now leading the way, be it Luther or whoever. It is not a sophistical disputation who should fight with Satan.
5 But I know where my teaching comes from and who has raised me up. The work also proves it sufficiently. For whether I may
*This writing appeared around the middle of April 1522 (on April 12 it was under the press. De Wette, Vol. II, p. 180) in Wittenberg under the title: "Von beider Gestalt des Sacraments zu nehmen und ander Neuerung, D. M. Luthers Meinung", and was reprinted in the same year there and elsewhere several times. Only one of the seven individual editions gives a printer, namely "Egydius Fellenfürst zu Coburg"; several of them do not give the time; two are also without indication of the place. In the collections: Wittenberger (1554), vol. VII, p. 355; Jenaer (1585), vol. II, p. 82; Altenburger, vol. II, p. 120; Leipzitzer, vol. XVIII, p. 185 and Erlanger, vol. 28, p. 286. We give the text according to the Jenaer edition.
**) The Erlangen edition has at the superscription, vol. 28, p. 286: "M. Mart." i.e. LIsE Nartio, which seems to be reprinted from the old edition of Walch, because in the Wittenberg collection, from which the Erlangen edition has allegedly reproduced the text, this closer time determination is not found. Walch's statement had its justification in the fact that at the end of this writing in the Jena edition this date is written: "XXIII LIartii Anno MDXXII."
of the small signs that we might have done (if it were necessary), it is to be considered a great miracle that Satan's highest head and greatest power, the papacy 1) with its body, has received such a blow from me that no temporal or spiritual power has ever been able to prove to him. Satan himself also feels well who is master of my teaching; therefore he rages and thus seeks weak grips.
(6) The temporal power, the servant of the pope, has now also interfered in the matter, which I do not like to see. But if it will not be otherwise, we must take comfort in Christ that he will help us, since we have beaten and despised the angry Lord, so that we will not be afraid of his ungracious servant. We believe that Christ is our Lord and theirs, and that he will help those who rely on his help. Let us pray for them, that God will enlighten them in this annual time, and that they will pull their hands out of the pope's sod, so that they will not be wrapped up with him and destroyed, because I am afraid they will make the main scratch. Christ has ever had it in mind that he does not want to be afraid that some angry pope's servants want to put body and goods on it, but he thinks it would be necessary for them to think about how they would bring body and goods away from it; it is already too far set on it. If they dampen my teaching, then God has certainly not spoken through me. But it must of course remain as it has been from the beginning, that no class has so many fools as the great classes, as the Greek proverb says: One shall be born a prince or a fool.
(7) I am saying all this so that we may be undaunted by Satan's manifold attacks and troubles, for St. John says: "He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world" [1 John 4:4]. For this reason I humbly ask all my dear lords and friends in Christ,
1) Erlanger "Bißthum", allegedly from the Wittenberg edition, which however offers "Bapstthum". That this cannot be a printing error is evident from the fact that "Pabstthum" is listed as Walch's variant.
These would kindly accept my instruction and opinion in such a rumor, and with earnest prayer help to preserve and promote before God this evangelical cause, which has now become common to us all, so that through it the poor souls who are still to come here may also be enlightened, and we together with them be strengthened in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; to whom be praise, thanksgiving and glory forever and ever, amen.
First of all, it should be known that I do not want to dispute here whether the holy sacrament should be given and received in both forms, and whether the laity have the power to take and receive it with their hands, and whether one has the power to do so in vessels other than chalices, in garments other than chasubles, in houses other than the church. In such and such external practices, even if they are contrary to the pope or not, God does not give us much discretion; but we Christians should and will have the power and right to keep the institution of Christ in whatever way we please, regardless of the false, lying titles of the church, ecclesiastical order, and of all tyrants, spiritual and secular, who are angry.
(9) And place our foundation in Him who cannot lie, saying Matt. 15:7, 8, 9: "The prophet Esaias hath said of you hypocrites, This people honoureth me with their lips, and their heart is far from me: but they serve me in vain, because they teach the commandments of men" (Isa. 29:13). On this a Christian should comfort his conscience and firmly believe that Christ does not lie. If he does not lie, then it must be true that all that is added and kept in this sacrament by the teaching of men, about the first institution of Christ, is a vain service. In spite of all the devils, that they protest against this.
(10) Now it is certain that it is vain man's addition and doctrine, that one should not use both forms, should not touch with hands, should not act with unconsecrated garments, in common houses and vessels. For through Christ, the apostle, and for a long time thereafter, this was neither established nor kept, but rather contradicted, as the evangelists clearly prove; therefore it is certainly a vain service of God to teach and keep this as a necessary commandment.
11) The other reason we place again on Christ, Marci 3, 1. ff. and Matth. 12, 8: "The Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. The word says Christ that his disciples had power to break the Sabbath. Now every Christian man is Christ's brother, as St. Paul Rom. 8, 14-17, Gal. 4, 6. 7. and he himself Ps. 22, 23. testifies. For "He has given power to all who believe in His name to become children of God," Joh. 1, 12. Therefore every Christian is also a lord over the Sabbath, much more over all human commandments, doctrine and statutes. As also Paul 1 Cor. 3, 21-23. says: "All things are yours, whether Peter or Paul, life or death, all things are yours. But ye are Christ's; but Christ is God's."
(12) For this reason we have, and will have unhindered, that we are masters over all papal and human doctrine and commandments, and it shall be at our will and pleasure whether we will keep them or not. Let us see what all devils may say or do against this. I mean that I am speaking German now, and that my words are not mine, but Christ's. They will not push Christ out of heaven, the ungracious nobles. For he who has set him at his right hand has in mind to keep him there. We defy and take comfort in this, and we will surely refrain from their wrath.
(13) But this Christian rule, freedom and power of ours must be understood only spiritually. For Christ did not want to have anything to do with worldly rule, to which he himself also gave subjects and interest, Matth. 17, 27. But this is called spiritual freedom, when the conscience remains free. This means that I do not make a conscience of myself before God if I transgress the teachings of men, as if I had committed a sin in doing so. Again, that I do not make a conscience of it, as if I had done a good work with it and deserved something before God, if I kept it. For that is what Christ himself says, that it is vain service; but I should respect such doctrines of men as eating and drinking, sleeping and walking, all of which I can do and refrain from doing, freely, without any injury to my conscience.
or correction, so that faith in Christ alone is my good work, life and merit, for the comfort of my conscience, and after that love toward my neighbor.
14 The third reason is St. Paul, Gal. 5:13: "Brethren, ye were called to liberty: but see ye give it not for a cause to the flesh, but serve one another in love. This is also said to Christians, that they owe nothing but to serve one another in love. For by faith they have all that they have before God and according to conscience: they are lords over sin, death, the devil, and all things; therefore no commandment can be laid down for them, by which their conscience should exercise itself to become pious, or by which they may sin, just as little can a healthy man be commanded to eat and drink, by which he may become healthy or unhealthy; for he is already healthy, and may become unhealthy without such a commandment, and may freely use or leave such a commandment.
(15) For there is a great difference between these three, to keep the commandment of men, and to serve in the commandment of men, and to be lord over the commandment of men. Christ did not reject the Sabbath, but wanted to be a master over it, that he might keep it and not keep it. Item, he also did not reject the teachings of men. For what harm would it have done him to wash his hands as the Jews commanded? But he would not serve in it, saying that it was a vain service of God, that is, they wanted to trap consciences with it, as if he who kept it was doing a necessary service, which he would have to do in mortal sin and would be guilty of doing; this is false and seductive.
16 So also here, that we keep papal laws, where they are not against God, would not be evil in itself, like eating, drinking etc. But that he wants it to be done in obedience to the church and in mortal sin, and that no one can be saved who does not keep it, and is not a Christian, is a heretic etc., thus wants to entrap the consciences, that is the devil himself. Here goes our freedom, and [we] speak: This is a lie; we are masters of such commandments according to conscience, and will be without sin if we transgress them.
and without piety, if we keep them; that and no other.
(17) We now return to the first, and say by command and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen, that those who attack the holy sacrament with their hands, or have acted without consecrated garments, vessels, or houses, or would still do so, whether in Wittenberg or Eilenburg, in Bohemia or Hungary, in Prussia or Prussia, should not, on losing their salvation, have any conscience about it, as if it were evil, as far as the work on him is concerned. Instead, he should insist on it and allow himself to be killed ten times before he wants to revoke it, condemn it, or confess it to be wrong, regardless of whether papal, imperial, princely, or even diabolical statutes, judgments, and orders have been issued against it. But I am talking about the work in itself, because we will talk about the abuse and the persons later.
The reason for all this is that those who have condemned or will condemn such things cannot prove that they were done contrary to Christ's first institution, but must confess that Christ himself and common Christianity have long done so, leaving us free to do so. Thus it is for the loss of every man's salvation that he should not recant, nor reprove for unrighteousness, nor blame what Christ himself and all Christendom have done in time past; for that would be as much as to deny and condemn Christ, together with all the apostles and all Christendom, when it was at its best. But that the papists should reproach such things for heresy, and that some angry princes should proclaim their Christian honor by blaspheming and persecuting such things, is not evil to them. What could Caiphas and Herod do more cheaply than crucify and mock the Son of God?
19 The other cause, they must also confess that all that they insist on, and therefore rage about, is man's law, or, as they lie and deceive, church commandment. For they will not prove for a long time yet that Christ has performed the sacrament in consecrated vessels, garments, houses, or has commanded it to be performed, or has put it into the mouth, not into the mouth.
the hands. Because we are Christians, we are masters over such human commandments, as far as consciences are concerned; therefore we owe it to ourselves to venture our necks over them, and not to forsake such liberty. For to do so would be to deny and condemn Christ, who has commanded such liberty so harshly and severely, and is not at all in our power to change or forgive it.
(20) Let them be content that we do not reject their statutes and ways, and may keep them; but let them make a nuisance of it, as if it ought not to be otherwise, and bind consciences in it, and let it be heresy who do otherwise, we will not suffer it, and put life and limb upon it. The conscience should be free to do otherwise or so in this matter, and the freedom should remain intact, that and no other; Christ should help us, who gave it to us and commanded it.
They write, the ungracious papists, and dress it up with a big trunk, that one has received the holy sacrament with the listening hands. What do you think? Delicious thing it is, listening hands, who does not know them, should well think, they trunk themselves thus very much in honor of the holy sacrament and out of Christian movement. If I now ask them with what kind of mouth they themselves receive the sacrament on Easter, whether they receive it with a listening mouth or with a priestly mouth, they will perhaps say: their mouth is then an angelic or episcopal mouth. I would humbly ask such gentlemen, if they would listen to me in front of thick ears, that, if they wanted to deceive and fool, they would do so in their goods, and leave God's work and the souls' business in peace. I am not saying this to be too close to the worldly authorities, but that it is our right, if they want to deceive and fool in God's business, that we should not suffer it nor remain silent. Those have attacked the Sacrament with eavesdropping hands, but these, when they want to joke like this, they fall in with their lay butts, and still boast of great Christian love.
22. is it wrong, therefore, to listen with your hands?
If a person touches the sacrament, that the hand commits sin, or that it is unconsecrated, then it would be more appropriate not to receive the sacrament with the mouth, much less in the stomach, nor to let a person see it; for neither the mouth nor the stomach nor the eye is consecrated; so much more sin is committed with the mouth and eyes than with the hand. Such wise brains should also finally persuade us that we do not have to speak or hear the holy word of God, lest the holy word be received with the lay mouth and ears. But with such nonsensical blindness, Christ uses to afflict his enemies, so that one may see how mightily he reigns over those who think they have eaten him, and must disgrace and punish themselves with their own foolishness.
23. 1) A Christian should know that there is no greater sanctuary on earth than God's Word; for even the Sacrament itself is made and sanctified by God's Word, and through it we are all born spiritually and consecrated as Christians. If a Christian understands the Word, which sanctifies all things, and is higher than the Sacrament (as much as one can grasp it with one's hands), nevertheless both with mouth, ears, heart, yes, with one's whole life, how should he not also be allowed to attack such a thing, which is sanctified with it? Or should he also not attack himself? For he is sanctified with it as well as the sacrament.
24. with the wise the Pharisees would come, of which Christ says, Matth. 23, 2) 17-19,
1) This paragraph, together with the following two, forms the conclusion of the unauthentic scripture, which was published under the title: "Das Hauptstück des ewigen und neuen Testaments, von dem hochwürdigen Sacrament beider Gestalt, Fleisch und Blut Christi, Zeichen und Zusage, die er uns in denselben gethan hat. Gepredigt von D. Martin Luther zu Wittenberg am Gründonnerstag 1522" was published in several individual editions, without indication of place and printer. This writing is not found in the old editions. First it is included in the Leipzig Supplement p. from it passed over into the old edition of Walch, vol. X, 2659. The Erlangen edition also brings it, vol. 22, p. 38. By mistake it has also found inclusion in the St. Louis edition, vol. X, 2164 ff.
2) Here the Erlangen edition has reprinted from the old edition of Walch: "Matth. 22". In addition, three other false bible quotations of Walch are reprinted in this publication.
That they made the gold more holy than the temple, and the sacrifice more holy than the altar. And it is just as if one were to begin to teach that it is a sin to touch the chalice's food, but one might well attack the chalice itself. I would like to hear a piece from the papists that they could present without being particularly foolish. But what else should they do, who judge and blaspheme God himself!
(25) A Christian man is holy in body and soul, whether he be layman or priest, man or woman; whoever says otherwise blasphemes holy baptism, Christ's blood and the Holy Spirit's grace. It is a great and strange thing about a Christian, and God is more interested in him than in the Sacrament. For the Christian was not made for the sake of the sacrament, but the sacrament was instituted for the sake of the Christian; and these blind heads want to dispute whether he may attack the sacrament, and even want to make a heresy out of it. Out with the stubborn and blinded heathen, who know nothing at all about what a Christian is called or is!
26 Therefore we also beseech those who have received both forms, and if it will help, we command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that they should not make a conscience of it, as if it were unjust or evil done, but should let life go before they recant or deny it, regardless of what the pope, emperor, prince, and devil may oppose, do, or want. For the text of the Gospel is so clear that even the papists cannot deny that Christ instituted both forms and gives them to all disciples. Therefore you are guilty, for the salvation of your soul, not to deny this or let it be blasphemed, since it would be just as much as if you said that Christ himself had done wrong in it and was a heretic, because he acts differently from the pope and the angry papists (who make themselves the church). The papists should put such blasphemy on the works of Christ; you must praise, honor and justify them with life and limb if you want to be a Christian and be saved.
27 And here again see how strongly the Lord Christ rules over his blasphemers, and by their own cleverness brings them to the sun.
bring. At Nuremberg, it came out of the regiment 1) that the matter of receiving both forms of the sacrament should be postponed until a future council, because the wise gentlemen do not want to condemn it, but do not want to allow it, but to condemn it unrecognized. What do you think now? I mean, these are Christians, they confess that Christ instituted it and that it stands in the Gospel, that is true; but they want to take a concern whether it is right or wrong, to keep or not to keep, what Christ sets and does. I would like Christians to consider whether the gospel is right or wrong, to suffer or not to suffer. He also commanded that one should not commit adultery; but now I see first of all whence the great lords commonly regard adultery so lightly: they have perhaps taken it into a consideration whether it is rightly commanded or not.
28. Since our Lord Christ publicly makes fools of his enemies, the great Hansa, both spiritual and secular, in this matter, so that they proceed in such a childish and shameful manner that Claus Fool would be man enough to answer them, we should be confident and despise their raving and foolishness, and not worry how we answer them; for they can do nothing by the grace of God, as the pope with his bulls and papist protectionists, 2) and now also the angry lords, have sufficiently proven, but we must put flesh and blood out of our eyes and remember that we base our conscience on God's word pure and alone, so that we can meet the devil in death and stand our ground. Dear brother, believe me, I who have experienced it, the devil is not afraid of man's word and commandment. Therefore, if he finds you dying, that you are casting your conscience on man's commandment, 3) and you want to say: thus the pope, church, princes etc. have commanded me, he will overthrow you, so that your 4) conscience will not be afraid of man.
1) Cf. Luther's letter to the Elector Frederick of March 7, 1522, Walch, old edition, vol. XV, 2391, § 12.
2) Thus the Jena; Wittenberg: Schutzfchreiben.
3) stönen - to support.
4) "dein" is missing in the Jenaer. Instead of "Fußstapff" in the Jenaer, the Wittenberg has "fußstab"; the Erlangen: "Fußstaf."
The footprint will remain. Again, if he finds you defying God's word and saying, "Thus Christ has commanded me, there is his word, so you will make the world close to him.
29 This is what St. Paul means - Eph. 6:12: "We have no quarrel with flesh and blood, but with the spiritual wickedness in the air, with the rulers of this darkness. But these only contend that they either seduce the conscience with wiles and doctrines, or overthrow it with false terror. But no weapon can help against this, except the word of God alone, the sword of the Spirit [Eph. 6:17]. Therefore we should always remain steadfast that both forms are right and Christian and evangelical; and whoever says otherwise is lying and blaspheming God, be it pope, emperor, princes, or the devil.
(30) So also we are to confess and maintain the liberty to receive the sacrament with our hands or with our mouths, to act with and in consecrated and unconsecrated garments, vessels, and houses, as we please. Whoever denies this freedom, or calls any of these things heresy, is lying again and blaspheming Christ and his word, be it pope, emperor, prince, or devil. We have the bright and clear gospel, as they themselves confess, but they have their own doubts whether they want to keep the gospel and their own mind against the gospel. Let the foolish go, let them go!
Summa Summarum, as St. Paul says Gal. 1, 8: "If we ourselves, or an angel from heaven, preached to you differently than we preached to you, let it be forbidden. So I also say here: You must therefore rely firmly and surely on God's word in this matter and all others, that even if I myself became a fool, since God was for me, and revoked or denied my teaching, that you therefore do not step away from it, but say: Even if Luther himself, or an angel from heaven taught differently, so be it. For you must not be a disciple of Luther, but of Christ, and it is not enough for you to say, Luther, Peter, or Paul said this, but you must feel Christ himself in your conscience,
and feel insensibly 1) that it is God's word, even if the whole world disputes it. As long as you do not feel, you have certainly not tasted God's word, and still hang with your ears on man's mouth or pen and not with your heart on the word, and do not yet know what it is, Matth. 23, 10: "You shall not call yourselves masters on earth, for One is your Master, Christ. The Master teaches in the heart, but by the outward word of his preachers, who drive it into the ears; but Christ drives it into the heart.
Therefore think for yourself, you have death or persecution ahead of you, I cannot be with you, nor you with me, but each one must stress there for himself, overcome the devil, death, the world. If then you would look around at the time, where I would stay, or I, where you would stay, and let yourself be moved, whether I, or someone on earth said otherwise, then you are already lost and have left the word out of your heart; because you do not stick to the word, but to me or to others. There is then no help. You can see what terrible murderers of souls these are, who do not preach the doctrine of men to the souls, or even God's word loudly and surely; in addition, how few cling to it with their hearts, even though it is preached loudly and preached by many. Let this be said of the first part.
The other part.
(33) If then this is certain, and there is no doubt about it, why is it not done? Yes, why do you yourself not let it go in Wittenberg, since it has begun, and elsewhere more? I answer, "I do not like that it should not be done, but my complaint is that it cannot be done. A prisoner should be able to travel, he would have the power and the right to do so; but he cannot, it is not up to him, but to others who hinder him. Take a like
1) imponderable i.e. without wavering. The Jenaer, which has this reading, gives as a conjecture in the margin: "inwendig". The Wittenberg and after it the Erlangen: impassable.
2) Thus the Erlangen; in the Wittenberg and Jena editions: "reissen".
niss. 3) The gospel should be preached rightly in all the world; where is the fault? Not in the gospel, for it is right and true, useful and blessed. But there is a lack of people who are fit for it. Where there are none, it is better to be silent than to preach, for the preaching is falsified and harmful.
(34) So here too, the sacrament and the above custom is right and good; but where are the people who are fit for it, so that they start it and do it? If it were so arranged and a Christian were to use the sacrament in this way, it would be no easier thing than to be a Christian; a sow would also like to be a Christian. 5) I have striven for this and would like that the pope's law would also be abolished, from the annual reception of the sacrament at Easter, and that each one would be left free to go to it without restraint out of his own conscience and out of the hunger of his soul, so that the horrible un-Christian abuse and blasphemy would be worsened, and henceforth hardly anyone would go to it, since now many hundreds go.
(35) Thus I see that Satan deals with it, that he wants to make both forms so common and even more common than the pope has made his one form (6) before Christians are made who are to do this; and he intends to make it worse on the right side than on the left. Therefore it is necessary for us to stay on the right middle road and ask God to help us and keep us on it, because Satan seeks us with earnestness.
I will leave the reason for not having this custom in Wittenberg. For this is a special
3) What is now in this paragraph and in the two following paragraphs is likewise used for the above-mentioned inauthentic writing. Cf. the note to § 23 of this paper.
4) In the old editions here and immediately following instead of "a Christian" "Christians".
5) The preceding sentence is omitted from the print just mentioned.
6) In the Wittenberg and the Jena: "sein eigen Gestalt". We have made this change according to the above-mentioned print, which offers "sein ein Gestalt". Erlanger Ausgabe, Vol. 22, p. 42. Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. X, 2167. The reading we have given is confirmed by what is said in the following § 39.
I do not want to confirm or help to strengthen such beginnings. Even if it were even more delicious and even more heavenly, I still do not want to confirm or help strengthen such beginnings. It is not the duty of every man to approach or do all that is right, but it is enough that he should do that which is rightly appointed and commanded him. For where this order is reversed, it is not right, however good the right may be. Therefore I will only tell the causes which hinder and promote that this custom of the sacrament cannot or may not proceed or continue.
The first is that this sacrament with its custom is not in our power, but is imprisoned by papal laws; just as the golden vessels of the temple were imprisoned in Babylon. But the prison is made so that the common man's conscience is so severely entangled and weakened in the faith by papal tyranny and laws that he cannot so suddenly let it go and strengthen his conscience that the pope's thing is wrong and this custom is right and evangelical.
(38) After all, I myself labored three years before I was delivered from the laws of the priest, with daily practice of the gospel, in preaching, reading, contemplating, discussing, writing, and listening; how then should the common man be brought out so quickly? Where such weak men go and take both forms, their conscience bites them afterwards and they confess that they have taken both forms, as if they had done evil. As some have already done. This is an abominable thing, and has become worse. With such confession and conscience they deny and condemn Christ and his institution. Only stay away from these people of both kinds, because they are following the saying of Christ, Matth. 9, 17: "No one puts must into old wineskins, otherwise the must breaks the wineskins, and the must is spilled and the wineskins spoil. The must is the doctrine of the Gospel; the old wineskins are these outdated weak consciences; therefore they cannot get along with each other. The conscience becomes angry and then denies the doctrine it had grasped.
(39) Yes, I say further, keep away from such people, even from one form and from the whole sacrament; for those who need only one form, the devil will be afraid to die with the gospel, which uses both forms. 1) Where they then do not know counsel, they must perish, and it will not help them to apply papal laws and old customs. The gospel asks neither for pope nor custom. That is why I said that there is no lack of law, but of people. The Pabst's law cannot be kept in all the world without atrocious murder of souls, to enjoy one form against the gospel. Again, it is not less harmful to raise both figures so suddenly among the whole community of such imprisoned weak consciences according to the Gospel.
40 Thus you speak: What will happen here? Is it so dangerous on both sides with this sacrament, that the devil at death with the gospel drives against 2) one form, and the pope at life with his law against both forms; where then shall we go? Answer: For this reason St. Paul proclaimed that the reign of the last Christ should make perilous times [2 Thess. 2:9, 10], that one cannot walk securely on either side, neither in the gospel nor out of the gospel, yet through no fault of the gospel, for the must is good, but through the fault of the pope, who has caused the consciences, the tubes, to grow old and corrupt, so that they cannot grasp nor keep the gospel, and yet cannot be kept without the gospel. What then shall we do? Answer: Nothing else, but what Christ teaches and says, Matth. 9, 17: "Put the must into new bottles, and they will both be kept.
We must first become coopers and make new barrels before the grape harvest begins and the must is gathered: the old ones must be put aside, that is, one must preach strongly and much against the pope's law of one form, and well drive the evangelical institution of Christ of both forms. But in
1) So the Jenaer. Wittenberger: inserts.
2) Erlanger: "again", probably after Walch's old edition.
that the people reject the whole sacrament, be it in one or both forms, and do not add to it, neither on Easter nor on Pentecost, and thus let the order of the pope fall, so long, until the people, sufficiently understood, without enticements and charms, but driven by their own conscience, come of their own accord, and [each one] wrestle and press for the sacrament to be given to him. Thereby one could feel that the barrels and tubes were new, and their consciences sufficiently strengthened; so the others, the weak, remained behind in their being until they also became strong.
(42) But if a man beget, or call, or entice, or provoke to the sacrament, the whole multitude shall fall down, and take the must in his old tube, and perish. Therefore it is not possible, and the sacrament cannot suffer it, that one should put a common ordinance on it, who should enjoy it, as the pope does, but one must first well preach to the people, and draw the weak consciences away from it, until they, fully informed of the gospel, come humbly of themselves, announce to the priest and ask for the sacrament out of spiritual hunger. With the others, all only far from the Sacrament, regardless of the pope, laws, church customs and all things. For Christ says Matt. 11:12: "The kingdom of God is preached, and suffereth violence: and they that do violence take it to themselves." That is, one should not compose men with commandments or laws, nor provoke them to the gospel with custom or words, but preach freely, and then let them come and press on to it from themselves.
But where do we find such preachers? And if we had them, how could they drive the common man away from going to the sacrament on Easter? The law of the pope is too deeply ingrained that we cannot put away all the old vessels and casks; we must let them continue in the old abuse for a while, until the casks become new, and the gospel comes to the people. If now these old barrels and hoses alone were the people who are repugnant to us, and condemn both forms, and put them to the test, we should not be able to do anything.
If Pabst's law and custom force the consciences, we would easily advise the matter in this way: We would again condemn their law, as it not only teaches against the gospel and both forms, but also, even if it teaches the gospel, still forces the consciences to it, and compels them to believe. This is not only foolish and unevangelical, but also impossible. One should not and cannot force anyone to believe, but let the gospel freely fetch whom it will. Therefore, we would only use such fools to defy and oppose both forms through and through, and trample their law underfoot.
44 But among their multitude are many good-hearted, simple-minded people who would gladly lead rightly and well if they knew or could grasp it. Here, then, we must confront the tyrants so that we do not shatter or mislead the poor group. Let faith contend against the tyrants, and hold fast to the gospel against their law, and thrust such old, useless barrels into a heap; but let love embrace and receive these weak, simple consciences, and work on them to make new barrels of them.
(45) Now here is the doctrine and example of St. Paul, who, when he came to stubborn 1) Jews who insisted on circumcision and the law, did and taught the contradiction with joy, and would be unconquered. But where he came to the weak simple-minded, he also circumcised, and let the law go, until he strengthened them, and brought them out of the law. So he boasts 1 Cor. 9, 20: "With the Jews I was a Jew, with the Gentiles I was a Gentile", and yet Gal. 6, 15. says, 2) in Christ there is neither Gentile nor Jew. All this because he did not want to suffer the law and the pressure on the conscience, but to have free power to do or not to do such things.
(46) So must we do here also; because we cannot draw the common man from the sacrament, as it ought to be, until the gospel be known, we must spare the simple who are under it, and not let them
1) Wittenberger: starrigen.
2) "speaks" is missing in the Erlanger.
The following table shows the different types of use of the two forms:
In the first place, let the old custom remain that one says mass in Latin with consecrated garments, with singing and all the usual ceremonies, considering that such a thing is a vain outward thing, in which the conscience does not care. In addition, the consciences must be kept free with the sermon, so that the common man learns that this does not happen because it must be done this way, or because it is heresy who does otherwise, as the mad laws of the pope urge; for such tyrants, who want and force this with laws, must be attacked sharply and harshly, so that Christian freedom remains whole.
48 On the other hand, priests who say mass must avoid all words in the canon and collects that refer to the sacrificium. For this is not a thing that is free to do or not to do, as was said next, but it must and should be avoided, and whoever wishes to do so may do so. But the priest can avoid such things, so that the common man will never find out, and he can do it without any trouble. But he who is stubborn and does not want to avoid such words, let him answer for himself, and let him always do it.
49. thirdly, that the words of the sacrament be well practiced in the sermon: "This is my body, given for you; this is my blood, shed for you," etc., and that every Christian take them to heart, and especially model and act them when he takes the sacrament or hears mass, for there is a thousand times more in the same words than in the forms of the sacrament; and without such words the sacrament is not a sacrament, but a mockery before God. Therefore, in the Papist Church the Sacrament is indeed given, but it is not given to anyone, because they hide the words and give only the form, which is abominable.
(50) In the fourth place, when thou comest to the place where there is but one form, take but one form, as they do. If both are given, take both, and do no special thing, nor sit down against the multitude; without confessing that it is not evangelical (if you are asked). To take a form. For with the gospel, and not
With the deed or ordinance, the two forms are to be restored. The common man is not taught by deed or ordinance, but by the gospel, that both forms are right.
(51) If Christ's institution of both forms challenges you here, as it does not befit you to take one form, you shall report yourself thus: First of all, you have the words of the sacrament, which are the main part of it; you can grasp and practice them, so well, 2) if you take one or both, or no form at all, that you are completely without driving, and still receive the power of the sacrament.
On the other hand, the fault is not yours, because you take only one and do not keep Christ's appointment. You would have liked to have both, but now the one is imprisoned by Pabst's law, in which the weak consciences are entangled, which you must not shatter, but tolerate and reject until they also become strong. Just as St. Peter in prison could not practice the preaching of the gospel, as he was guilty of doing [Acts 12:4], because necessity has no commandment. Therefore in such a case the commandment of love is to be placed far ahead of the institution of both forms. For Christ is more interested in love than in the sacramental form.
53. because Satan has so confused the matter by the pope's law that one cannot use both forms without damaging love against the weak consciences, again, one cannot practice love without damaging the institution of both forms: so love shall be incumbent and the institution shall depart for a time, but shall not be denied or condemned thereby. For love is a thing that must and should be. It is not necessary to receive the form of the sacrament, but one can leave it and keep the words alone. For Christ did not command to partake of the sacrament, but he set it free to be partaken of by whomsoever he will, so that he may take both forms if he can. But in this case it is not possible to keep for the sake of consciences, which love owes to serve.
1) "the" is missing in the Wittenberger.
2) Thus the Wittenbergers. Jenaer: "as well, as."
(54) With this I do not want to deny 1) those who want to and can take both forms, whether secretly or openly, without doing it especially, not on a common altar, or at the same time, when the weak need their way, that they do not also go along and confess again afterwards. But if someone is so weak on this side that he would rather do without the whole sacrament than take only one form, let him also be tolerated and let him live according to his conscience.
(55) This way, which has been rejected, is now going to Wittenberg; not that I want to condemn the previous one with it, or that it is sufficiently evangelical, or that I want to strengthen the tyranny of the pope with it, but that the weak consciences may be ministered to out of love for a time, until we better drive the gospel into the world. I do not see anything particularly wrong done, without Satan having insisted too much on haste, wanting to overleap love, and not letting the weak be aware of it. Thus, in the end, new ordinances would arise, which the gospel could perhaps suffer less than Pabst's law. It is a clever devil, he wants to go either to the left or to the right side, but the gospel wants to go freely on the right road, written with no ordinances, but to be a lord over all ordinances and to have power to hold now this, now that. Such freedom, however, cannot be brought to the people in a hurry, God would have it understood even by the most intelligent.
Fifth, I would have it so that there would be no mass at all, but only at the time when there were people who wanted the sacrament and asked for a mass, and that this would happen only once a week or in a month. For the Sacrament is to be administered only by the suggestion and request of hungry souls, not by duty, pen, custom, law or habit. But it is too early to begin this; the consciences will not follow me until it is truly preached and understood. Nevertheless, I cannot give the chaplains and priests who have to say mass
1) Wittenberger and Erlanger: confused.
They should advise otherwise than to do this for the poor, erroneous consciences, out of love; but besides this, they should drop some masses and make a clean break-in with time, as much as they can and want to suffer, and confidently preach that this mostly falls away through the word.
57 Some would say: Yes, how would one care for the sick? Answer: I leave it at that, that one keeps the Sacrament for the sick in the monstrances; but if this custom of the masses would arise through a clearer knowledge of the Gospel, one would see that the Sacrament's form would not be necessary in death, since the words of the Sacrament are there, since the power lies in it, and it would be enough that one would take the form in good health, or would not despise it in death. The papists have made the sacraments so necessary for the dying, and yet they have concealed the words, which alone are necessary.
58) In the sixth place, the corner masses, done as sacrifices or good works, are well done and to be done, of which I have written enough in Latin. 3) But since no one is to be driven to faith, the priests who want to keep them should not be torn from the altar. Let them answer for it before God; if it is enough that one preaches against it and tells the people that they give nothing to it and neither let nor establish any, then they will probably fall themselves by such preaching in time.
In the seventh place, I have taught that secret confession is not to be commanded, but much less to be forbidden, as my booklet on confession 4) teaches; here I still stand up. For everything that is evangelical, Christian, or faith should be free, so that people, without law and activity, may press toward it with desire and love. Therefore, whoever does not like to confess, let him stay far away from it and trample the pope, princes, devils, laws underfoot, and let him be satisfied with the secret confession before God. But even though I do not urge you, I advise you to confess with pleasure before you go to the sacrament,
2) "den" is missing in the Wittenberger.
3) Os ni-roAÄQäa missa privutu. On the abuse of the mass. Walch, St. Louis edition, vol. XIX, 1068 ff.
4) Walch, St. Louis Edition, vol. XIX, 814.
or ever not despise them. For although in the words of the Mass, as in the main part, there is absolution, nevertheless you should not despise the other absolutions. God has given us His absolution abundantly and much, none of which is to be despised for the sake of 1) the others.
60. as, in the Lord's Prayer he has set an absolution, that our sins shall be forgiven us, if we forgive our neighbor; which you shall not despise, nor leave the Lord's Prayer because of it, although in the Mass there is also an absolution. Thus he has Ps. 32, 5. made an absolution in secret confession before God, saying, "I have said, I will confess against me my iniquity; and thou hast forgiven me the iniquity of my sin." This absolution you shall also not despise for the sake of that which is in the Mass words, 2). Item, Matth. 18, 18. He gives absolution to all Christians, and says: "What you dissolve on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." And afterwards v. 19: "If two become one with one another on earth over anything, it shall be done for them." Therefore, do not despise any absolution, whether public or secret, that God gives. The more God's word 3) you have, the better it is.
61 Some of the images have acted shamefully, without the knowledge and will of their authorities and teachers, who would be worthy of good punishment. But let Satanam be Satanas, and let us speak to the matter. To have a picture is not wrong. In the Old Testament, God Himself set up the serpent of brass [Deut. 21:8], and the cherubim on the golden ark [Deut. 25:18]; but God forbade the worship of images [Deut. 20:4]. It is true that they are dangerous, and I would that there were none on the altars; but because they burn and desecrate and do not suffer, we shall not prove that it is right. Therefore I say my cause. The devil and his papists also want to be beautiful and have done nothing wrong. If you now pretend that the images are
1) Wittenberger and Erlanger: others.
2) In the old editions: the Messen Wort.
3) ^Word" is missing in the Jena.
4) This reading is a conjecture of the Jena edition. In 4en editions: "bei ihrer".
in great abuse, therefore have none, but profane them, and burn them; so shall they say, We abuse you not; how wilt thou persuade them? Woman and wine is also dangerous thing and in abuse; and what is not in abuse? But thou hast not reviled the abuse, but the images themselves, which I may well use. What wilt thou say to this? Behold, thus they have seized thee. Now if they break off a leaf from thee, they will have gained the whole forest; for they are hungry, and seek it indeed.
(62) Therefore we must wisely fight against the handsome devil and allow the images; but we do not preach strongly against this abuse or this driving alone, that one worships them, which is the least, and they should probably say that you are nonsensical, that you blame them, they worship stone and wood, but against the main abuse, which the papists are full of, namely, that they therefore put images in the churches, so that they think they are doing a good work and serving God with it. Although no one will confess such unbelief to them, even though it must be in the heart, where true Christian faith is not. Behold, with such a word you have quickly done more harm to the images than all the world can do with guns and swords. If the common man knows that it is not a service of God to set images, he will probably let it go himself, without your activity, and let them be painted on the walls only for pleasure, or for ornament, or otherwise need that it be without sin. How would we get into the prison, that men should forbid us, what God has not forbidden? and just those, who we 5) fence against the 6) human doctrine and statute.
The ninth, that priests should move and monks and nuns should be free to leave the order, also greatly annoys and enrages the papists beyond measure. But there is nothing to it. I have said above that where one can give way to weak consciences, one should do so, so that one does not shatter them, but so far that it may and can be done without damaging the things that must be.
5) "we" is missing in the Jena.
6) "the" is missing in the Wittenberger.
7) Wittenberger and Erlanger: man.
The fact that the mass is not a sacrifice or a good work is also almost annoying, so far unheard, but therefore one must not let it bother the strong or weak conscience. Since Christ was preached, it was also annoying to all the world; should he therefore be silent? Thus, that the priests have forbidden the devil's marriage and established monks' status is indisputably proven by St. Paul 1 Tim, 4, 3. Therefore, one must and shall confess that marriage is freely given to them by God, and may also not be written with any vow against God's word, or be committed to the devil's teachings.
(64) He therefore that can abstain, do well to remain without a wife. But he who cannot is not guilty of remaining without a wife, for he should not serve his neighbor with such love as would condemn him and corrupt his own soul, but others are guilty of not taking offense at him. Necessity has no commandment, necessity has no shame, necessity has no disgrace, necessity has no vexation. If there were such a need to avoid both forms, we would not want to look at anger or a weak conscience.
It is true that I worry that some will move or run away, not because of Christian opinion, but because they are glad that they have gotten a cover and a reason for their evilness in the evangelical freedom; what can we do about it? After all, the pope's prohibition of chastity has hardly one priest among a thousand who keeps such chastity publicly; I will keep silent about the secret impurity. What wonder is it that even some of our gospel do not need it? They have gallows, wheels, swords and water; those who do not want to do right can be resisted.
Here, see which priest wants to move, or which monk or nun wants to run away, that they start it with a strong conscience, so that they can stand before the devil at death. It is nothing that the unlearned and foolish Papists strive against, but the devil will drive you with your vows quite masterfully and force you to confession, and make your marriage and freedom a sin, if you are not well armed with God's word, on which you rely and despise him. Therefore understand the saying of Paul, 1 Tim.
4, 1. 2. 3. when he interprets the devil's teachings and lies, take it to heart, it will be necessary for you; and take comfort in the fact that [it is] God's words, who cannot lie; read Libellum de votis 1) well, and strengthen yourself as best you can. It is a miserable murder of souls that the devil has wrought by the pope's prohibition, in which the souls are deeply weakened and hard to strengthen against such devil's vows.
The tenth, that one is free to eat eggs, fish and meat every day of the year, and that the pope or the church has no power to forbid some days or food, is certainly true, as St. Paul's word 1 Tim. 4:3 clearly states: Prohibentium nubere et abstinere a cibis. But since one can spare the weak consciences in this, and there is no need to practice this among the simple who do not yet know, I do not resent that a good beating should befall them, because they have such freedom, out of sheer wanton wickedness, contrary to the simple, without correction of body and soul, and yet otherwise do not lift a finger to right Christian conduct, and thus make a shameful defamation of the gospel and the noble name of Christians, so that one speaks: These are Christians, of what? Well, they can eat meat on Friday. Well then, they have not learned it from us in this way, and yet we have to bear their bad habits.
Christ will one day come behind them and save his name from their disgrace. We have thus taught and thought to free the consciences from the laws of the devil, who by the pope, in mortal sins 2) and in hell, gives away the food and the days. When we have thus freed the consciences, we shall use them wisely and subject them to the service of our neighbor, so that we may bring him there as well; then you, mad head, approach and push the simple before the head, so that they recoil, and say, Behold, I can eat flesh. Yes, you dear sow, you should eat something else.
69. summa, it is grievous in the sight of God and in the sight of men, that we should not keep our Christian
1) Luther's Urtheil von den geistlichen und Kloster vows. Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XIX, 1500 ff.
2) Erlanger: "at death sins, and" etc.
We begin with the outward things and leave the right inward things. We want to prove ourselves evangelical by taking both forms of the sacrament and attacking it [with our hands]. We do not want to outline the image, eat flesh, fast, pray, and the like. But no one wants to fast from faith and love, which alone are necessary, and since all power lies with, and that is not necessary. But it is the devil's ghost who leads people in such a way that they fall from the pope and yet do not come to Christ, and thus become neither papal nor Christian, but remain attached to an external thing just as the papists do.
I have taught, then, that my teaching is based first and foremost on the knowledge of Christ, that is, on right, honest faith, true love, and thereby on freedom and 1) all outward things, be it eating, drinking, clothing, praying, fasting, monasteries, sacraments, and whatever else they may be called, that such freedom is actually possessed and blessed only by those who believe and love, that is, by those who are true Christians; to them no human law can or should be laid down, kept, or suffered to catch their conscience. One must first have the people who are to have such freedom, so that the must is put into new barrels and kept.
Thus the rabble plods in, and wants to establish such freedom with the fist, and with the head through; does not even think that it should believe and love; remains nevertheless full of avarice, affliction, unchastity, anger, swearing and cursing, as before. Truly I say that I do not recognize such for Christ disciples. Christian people only fight with the word against the devil's doctrine and work, and first tear the hearts and consciences away from him; after that it all falls away from him. The apostles never overthrew an altar among the Gentiles. St. Paul sailed in a ship that had a sign of the idols called Castores 2) and did not tear down the images or the ship [Acts 28:11]. I have also written hard enough against the Pabst's idolatry, when perhaps no one, but still no one.
1) It is here to take "and" - "also".
2) In the Vulgate: insiMk Oastorurn - the panier of the twins.
We have never done it with our hands, nor have we been called to do it without God's authority and power. We have done enough, if we preach against it and loosen the consciences; let God carry out the deed. For it is written that the last Christian shall be destroyed without hand, by the spirit of the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ, Dan. 8:25 [2 Thess. 2:8].
For this reason I ask all Christians to listen to my advice in the Sacrament and in all other matters: First of all, since Satan, by papal law, has thrown the Sacrament under the swine, so that he forces all the world to go to the Sacrament at Easter, whether they believe or not, whether they love or not, and has hidden from them the words of the Sacrament, in which faith should hang and be nourished, let us work to remove the Sacrament from the swine first. But we do this by drawing people away from it and turning them away with teachings and petitions, so that no one ever goes to it out of papal law compulsion or obedience. For the Sacrament cannot suffer people to be drawn or compelled, but, being taught by the Gospel, they should ask and press for it of their own accord, out of hungry faith.
73) On the other hand, whoever thinks he has such a hunger, let him see to it that he does not deceive himself, and that there is no fleshly, human desire, but let him examine such faith to see if it is right, as St. Paul teaches in 1 Cor. 11:28: "Let man examine himself. But the test is in your whole life, namely, that you feel within yourself an aching conscience, which is oppressed by sin, desires mercy, or is afraid of death or hell, and would like to be strong, and so, with good confidence in Christ's word, seeks and takes the sacrament to get such grace, strength, and help. For, as I have said, a hungry, meager, oppressed and distressed soul demands this sacrament, which is to be added to itself, irrespective of Pabst's law or lawlessness, but only of its own need and thirst, in good faith.
3) Erlanger: "the", which is not found in any edition. We are not dealing here with a mere printing error, because "or" is given as Walch's variant.
90 Erl. ss, 315-317. I. Luther's writings Wider Carlstadt. W. xx, 135-137.91
advocates. This is the test of faith and inwardly.
The third test is that you look at your outer being, whether you also show love toward your neighbor and serve him. If you do not find such a test in yourself, but live as before, still full of unfaithfulness, hatred, avarice, anger, unbelief, O dear one, then stay away from this sacrament until you become a different person; do not let yourself be driven to the pile, nor to Pabst's law, nor to habit. Oh, Lord God, if this doctrine were well practiced, you should see that where now a thousand go to the Sacrament, hardly a hundred would go to it. In this way, there would be fewer of the abominable sins that the pope has washed into the world with his infernal law; in the end, we would again come to a Christian assembly, who are now almost vain pagans under the Christian name; then we would be able to recognize from ourselves, who recognized by their works, that they neither believed nor loved, which is now still impossible for us.
Oh God, we are still far from Jerusalem; we have hardly begun to leave Babylon, and we want to go as if we were already at home. Everything wants to be called Christian, and we must allow it; but faith and love will not follow. Making sects is no good and does not help. Therefore there is no advice left but to preach the gospel and turn people away from the sacrament and all outward things, until they feel and prove themselves Christians, and press from themselves first to faith and love, and then to outward sacrament and the like. However, we must let go of what is possible. We are in Babylon in prison, and our enemies are sitting in the middle of the temple and need our sacrament and all our goods. We must do this with lamentation and prayer, as Jeremiah and the 137th Psalm do, so that God will help us back to what is ours, amen.
76. at the end. I see that a good admonition is needed to those whom Satan is now beginning to persecute. Among them are some who think they want to follow the ferry.
1) Thus the Wittenbergers. Jenaer: "den".
If they are attacked by saying, "I do not hold with Luther, nor with anyone else, but with the holy gospel, and with the holy church, or with the Roman church, they are left in peace, and yet in their hearts they keep my doctrine for evangelical, and stick to it. Truly, such confession does not help them, and is as much as denying Christ. Therefore I ask them to be careful.
It is true that you should not say in body and soul, "I am Lutheran or Papist," for no one of these died for you, nor did your Master, but Christ alone, and you should confess yourself a Christian. But if you think that Luther's teaching is evangelical and the Pope's is unevangelical, you must not throw Luther out altogether; otherwise you would also throw out his teaching, which you nevertheless recognize as Christ's teaching. Rather, you must say: Luther is a knave or a saint, I am not interested in that; his teaching, however, is not his, but Christ himself. For you see that the tyrants do not deal with killing Luther only, but they want to destroy the doctrine; and because of the doctrine they touch you and ask you whether you are Lutheran. Here you must truly not speak in tongues, but freely confess that Luther, Claus or George preached him. Let the person go; but you must confess the doctrine.
78 St. Paul also wrote to Timothy, 2 Tim. 1, 8: "Do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, who am bound for His sake. If Timothy here had been enough to confess the gospel, Paul would not have commanded him not to be ashamed of him either; not as of Paul's person, but as of him who was bound for the gospel's sake. If Timothy had said, "I do not hold with Paul nor with Petro, but with Christ," knowing that Peter and Paul taught Christ, he would have denied Christ Himself. For Christ says Matth. 10, 40. of those who preach Him: "He who receives you receives Me; he who despises you despises Me." [Luc. 10, 16.] Why is that? Because they keep his messengers (who bring his word) thus, therefore it is.
as if he himself and his word were thus kept.
79. Also see to it that everyone does not forget to love his enemies, and pray for those who persecute and blaspheme him, and do not seek vengeance, as Christ teaches Matt. 5:44. For the wicked people have already been punished too much, and we, unfortunately, have sensed too much that it is time to stand up for them against God, whether we might avert the punishment and judgment that presses upon them, as Christ did for us, when we also sinned in blindness. You see their horrible stubborn blindness; they do not want to hear, nor let us come to questioning; so they also do not want to answer, nor let themselves be heard, but like the Jews about St. Stephen, they cover their ears and eyes, and impudently pass their judgment without answer.
perform them with knowledge. If you are a Christian, you will know what kind of wrath, plague and punishment this is for them, and how you should hold yourself against God for them. They do not do otherwise than the frenzied and foolish who speak: We want to act so near to God and so wickedly that he must strike us on the head quickly. And be sure, they shall not long continue their raving. Wait a little while, and be satisfied that your God promises you, "He who touches you touches the apple of my eye." Help us to pray for this, and if we ever do not receive it, that God will not take His word from the whole German nation for the sake of their tyranny and blasphemy, and deprive the rest of the poor people who sigh for it. God's grace and strength be with you all, Amen.