June 24, 1521.
To the venerable and respectable Mr. Nicolao Demuth, provost and archidiacon of the New Work at Hall, my beloved master and patron, I, Andreas Carolstat D. wish health and prosperity through Christ! Amen.
Venerable, magnanimous Lord!
1. Since some apostates from the faith do not refrain from hindering the comforting and evangelical doctrine, and make those of little faith fear Christ, who has come to their benefit, salvation and help, especially that the sick shun and flee their physician and medicine, for this reason I have recently given notice herewith, that no one should abstain from receiving the flesh and blood of Christ because of his sin, and by the holy Scriptures I want to indicate that those who are sinners, because of their sin, should cheerfully, like Zacchaeus, take the Lord into their arms and house, and that the saying Centurionis 1) which the church uses, namely: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter my house (Matth. 8, 8.' Luc. 7, 6.), to which Christ answers, "I have found no greater faith in Israel." For by such words Christ did not praise Centurionem for considering himself unworthy of his presence, but only for believing that Christ would help him absent. Thus Centurion embraced and received Christ spiritually, as Zacchaeus received him spiritually and bodily, to whom Christ said (Luke 19:9): "Today blessedness is made to this house,
1) d. i. of the captain [at Capernaum].
for he is a son of Abraham", that is, a believer. Centurion placed the greatest on the word (Luke 7:7). Zacchaeus embraced the sign in the word; what word? "Today I must stay in your house" (Luc. 19, 5.). So Christ also stayed with Centurione, because he made his servant well. Recently, they both received Christ in that word, and it is a wonder why one does not say to those who go to the sacrament: "Say: I will receive the Lord with joy, as Zacchaeus did. For the word Centurionis, Non sum dignus etc., Christ has not yet praised, as he praised Zacchaeus. I know not what moved the teachers more to this word Centurionis, "Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest go under my roof." For Zacchaeus confessed his sin, infirmities and ineptitude no less than Centurion, who also accepted the Lord in spirit.
After this I wanted to report that signs in the sacraments are less, and because of the promise, 2) that also no one, but a sinner, receives the sacrament of bread; item, that everyone can know whether he takes such sacrament worthily. This I have attributed to Your Reverence (to indicate my service with it), highly requesting Your favor of official diligence, E. E. hereby wish, until long the other booklet 3)
2) What Carlstadt means by this can be seen from § 34.
3) This may refer to the exegetical writing that Carlstadt dedicated to Provost Nicolaus Demuth on the Monday after Jacobi (July 29) 1521: "Berichtung dieser Red: Das Reich GOttes leidet Gewalt etc. Matth. 9." (Jäger, Carlstadt, p. 216.)
will be printed, have patience. Then to serve E. E. and all your beloved ones, and especially Mr. Andreas Zeitlaß von Carolstat, your chamberlain, I am always willingly ready. Date Wittenberg, [on the day of birth] Johannis Baptistä, in the 15] 21st year.
In order to make this speech easier and more understandable, I will ask two questions. First, whether sinners should abstain from the reverend sacrament and withdraw, because of the iniquity and sin they have committed. For the other part I ask: Since there are two things in this sacrament that make it full, namely the sign and the divine promise, which is the highest and to which man should most of all adhere: Whether the flesh and blood of Christ more fei, or divine promise attached to the sign?
[Examination of the first question.]
(4) For the first part, some decide that a person should refrain from receiving the holy sacrament because of sin, and they base it on an illusion of the Scriptures. Namely, they read: "Our sins divide us from God" [Is. 59, 2]. If sins divide us from God, one must abstain from the Sacrament because of his guilt, for he should avoid that from which he is divided.
Item 5: "God says to the sinner, Why do you take my testament into your mouth? Ps. 49. [or 50, 16.] If a sinner may not take commandment and testament of God into his mouth, how should he be permitted to take the flesh of Christ into his mouth? If it displeases God that a sinner should put the divine word into his mouth, much less does he permit a sinner to eat his flesh.
(Isaiah 1:15) By whom God speaks thus: "If ye lift up your hands unto me, I will turn away mine eyes: and if ye worship me, I will not hear. Much less will he have his mercy on the sinner, if he needs the reverend Sacrament, than he has on those who call upon him with hands and words.
(7) To this they refer to the saying of Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27: "Whosoever eateth the bread, and drinketh of the drink unworthily, shall be guilty of the death of Christ." Now Paul says before of sinners who were chaste, 1) and had no distinction and judgment of the body of Christ, if they [ate] the flesh of Christ unworthily,
1) quarrelsome == unruly. 1 Cor. 11, 16: "who takes pleasure in quarreling."
that they became as guilty of the blood and death of Christ as the Gentiles and Jews who strangled Christ.
(8) With these writings they discourage sinners from the use of the sacrament and the communion of saints. Yes, they secretly say how Christ may come in to sinners, and make of our Savior a corrupter, of Christ (who is born to all sinners for joy) a frightening man. Therefore I will make this resolution:
(9) Sins committed by a man shall not deprive him of the reception of the reverend Sacrament, but shall rather impel and kindle him to run quickly and swiftly to the reverend Sacrament.
10. reason: Christ says (Matth. 9, 13.): "I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Hereby we hear clearly that Christ came on behalf of sinners to take away their sin and unrighteousness. Why would he say, "I have not come to call the righteous," when he was born to the pious? And if Christ wanted us to flee sin halfway, why does he say, "I have come to call sinners"? If he calls us, we are to come. Now you hear that he calls sinners, and for this reason he came, that he might call the erring and lost sheep to him" (Matth. 15, 24.). If this is so, the sheep should not flee from the Shepherd because of their loss and wandering.
(11) If you were to fear and shrink from the holy sacrament because of your sin, what would Christ have said when he said, "The shepherd feeds ninety-nine righteous sheep and seeks out one sheep that has gone astray" (Luc. 15:4, 7)? What does the story of the lost penny (Luc. 15:8, 9) serve us? I say unto thee, Fleuch Christum nicht Sünde halben, der darum kommen [ist] und dich sucht, dass erben dich von Sünden und erlösung will. His name is called Jesus because He was born to make His people holy from their sins (Matth. 1, 21.).
12. remember every one the words of Christ, which he said to the holy eaters 3) (Matth. 9, 12. Luc. 5, 31.) saying: "The healthy have no need of a physician, but the sick and weak." These words Christ answered when the Pharisees and scribes (who walked in great, praiseworthy and seeming works, as monks and clergy and other churchmen now walk) asked, "Why do you effet and drink with the
2) i.e. holy. In the Vulgate: salvum.
3) i.e. Pharisees. Several times later.
sinners?" To this Christ answered, "The healthy have no need of a physician," and set forth clear causes why he came, saying, "I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners only to repentance." With these words Christ compares sinners to the sick; for what sickness does in the body, sin does in the spirit. Therefore David says, "O Lord, make my soul whole, for I have sinned against thee." Ps. 40 or 41:5.
(13) Now everyone knows that the healthy do not desire a physician, nor do they seek one to make them well. But the sick, when they perceive their addiction and disease, desire a physician, and do not shrink from the physician for their infirmities. Yes, the harder they feel their sickness, the faster and more eagerly they flee to the physician, and consider nothing but the physician's help and their own sickness. It is the same with sinners: they should not be afraid of Christ, because Christ came to call sinners, to draw them to himself, to make them well. The more and the more grievous a sinner's sin, the more swiftly and fiercely he should run and hasten to Christ. If thou hast sinned, and needest nothing more on earth, but to know thy sickness and sin, and to find thyself in need of thy Lord Jesus, and to believe that he is able and willing to forgive thy sin, thou art more worthy 1) of Christ's help, than those who begin to run with good works, who hear that the healthy have no need of a physician. Item: "I have not come to claim the righteous" etc.
Let this be your eternal comfort, that Christ said: The sick need a physician. Confess your sickness, and you will have Christ standing before you as a physician to help you.
15 Therefore I say that no one should abstain from 2) the reverend Sacrament if he has sinned openly or secretly, if he has committed a great or small sin, vice or disgrace.
16 For though the deed be fresh, great, and abominable, yet fear not Christ, when thou knowest thine affliction. For Christ saith, Harlots and manifest sinners shall go before you unto the kingdom of God. (Matth. 21, 31.)
17. stand firm that Christ has come to make well those who are sick of sins; let nothing hinder you, believe this, and feel your sin, and come cheerfully, fresh and without doubt.
1) In the old edition: worthy.
2) So put by us instead of "before", because in Luther's time "abstain" is construed either with the genitive or with "from".
18) I say even more: even if a person realizes that he is not almost sorry for his sin, and would like to leave it 3) and repent, he should come to this sacrament with comfort. So you hear that many sins should greatly inflame you to receive this sacrament, and should drive you toward it, not keep you away. For this reason Christ said of Mary Magdalene: "Many sins are forgiven her, because she loved the physician much" (Luc. 7, 47.), and said: "To whom little is given before, he loves little. This is what Paul says: Since sin abounded, grace often abounded. (Rom. 5, 20.)
(19) I do not say that one should sin against the goodness of God, as the crafty gleamers try to argue when they preach the grace of God. Nay, I say, if thou hast sinned, thou shalt find thine affliction, and flee to Christ in good comfort without fear, and shalt not at all doubt that thy sins be forgiven thee. This is what Paul taught you, saying, "This is my faithful saying, which we should accept in all ways, that Christ came into this world to make sinners holy. (1 Tim. 1, 15.) If this is faithful speech, it must also be certain and true and not deceive anyone; so you should also meet Christ as a sinner and not flee him because he is going to meet you because of your sins. Keep his words, and bring your sin with you cheerfully to the Lord. Therefore it is written (in the Song of Songs Cap. 2, 14.): My dove is in the caves or holes of the rock. The rock is Christ, the holes or caves are his deep wounds, which he received because of our sin; to the same caves the sinners flee, as the Psalm says (Ps. 103. or 104, 18.): refugium herinaceis. The rock, that is, Christ, is to the bristling hedgehogs, 4) that is, to the sinners, a refuge to which all sinners should flee. Why should I flee sin halfway to him who is set up as a help, security and refuge to save me from my sins?
(20) Finally, Christ instituted the reverend sacrament of his own flesh and blood in order to help sinners and the sick, not the righteous and the healthy. For before his last departure, the Lord took the bread and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you" (Luc. 22:19), or as Paul said, "which is broken for you.
3) In the old edition: serene.
4) In the old edition: "dürftigen ügeln."
5) In the old edition: faithful.
(1 Cor. 11:24) If we had not sinned, how would the body of Christ have been given for us in suffering and death? But if his body was given for us, he died because of our sin. Now, as he was given, suffered, and died for us, in such a manner and opinion he instituted his sacrament. But he died for sinners, so he also ordained his sacrament for the benefit of sinners. Therefore Paul says (1 Cor. 11, 26.): that we should proclaim the death of the Lord as often as we take the sacrament.
21 To proclaim and confess the death of Christ is to say why Christ died, how with his death he put to death and buried our sin. And if I eat his flesh, I shall know that Christ forgives me my sin; if I do this in strong faith, I receive worthily. Why then should I flee Christ for sin, because he comes to me for sin and dies for me?
Yes, some say, one should abstain from sin in honor of the Sacrament. My dear! What do you teach 1)? Is this the honor of Christ, to avoid him because of sin? Or do I honor him, if he seeks me, and I will not let him find me? Well, should I honor the doctor if I did not trust him with my addiction? Recently, the next and first worthy feeling is in finding out your sins and believing that Christ will surely heal you without merit. This is the closest and most worthy reason to the doctor, when the sick person recognizes his illness and wants to get well, and does not doubt that the doctor can and will make him well.
The priests have deprived many people of their souls with their reverence for the holy sacrament, because they have frightened the afflicted consciences before their physician and medicine. Do as you will, and you will never receive Christ worthily, for you feel your infirmity. But if they are too high for you, say with Job (13:23), "Show me my vices and iniquities;" and with Paul (1 Cor. 4:4), "I am not righteous because I know nothing.
(24) If you do well, you sin, as it is written, There is not a righteous man on earth who does well and does not sin. (Eccl. 7, 21.) Therefore we pray in the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our trespasses (Matth. 6, 12.). Therefore there is no one who is without sin and not in need of the reverend sacrament.
1) In the old edition: lernest.
Answer to the contrast in the beginning.
(25) The above-mentioned writings may not take away or break off this reason and decision.
(26) The sin that a man willingly has, which a man does not want to feel, and who fears God and flees as if their sins could not be forgiven, these have sins that separate them from God and put them far away.
(27) With one word I say to all that sinners are separated from God, and shall not take His law into their mouths, and that God does not regard their prayers and works that go on the head, that is, those who seek God with works, and earnestly purge their sins with devotion, fasting, prayer, mourning, mortification, 3) and other works; these God will not hear, but will turn His eyes from them. For you must purify your heart with faith, and be completely satisfied; knowing nothing else but [that] you are a sinner, and that Christ is your Savior. Your trust and faith purifies you, for it binds you to God, and makes you one spirit with God, and washes away your sin.
(28) Neither shall the scriptures (2) (of sins and works) deter thee. Cause: All suffering that the Scriptures bring, and all despising and throwing away, and all divine disfavor of God, are therefore brought against us, so that we may become wise and understanding. Of this we have an amusing text in the third 4) Book of Moses, Cap. 26, 41: I will walk against them (says God) and will surround them with enmity until their uncircumcised heart will be ashamed, then they will plead for their wickedness. Listen! God will wander against you until you recognize yourself and plead for your sin. God wants you to be aware of yourself for a short time and to pray for your sin. All punishments, disgrace, and wrath of God point to and lead to the realization or feeling and confession of your sins. Therefore, if you want to approach God and take His words into your mouth, or if you want to fast, pray and celebrate properly, you must remember, that is, find out your sin, you must feel woe and sickness, you must have a desire for God.
(29) What a physician would remember if you were sick with broken feet and came to him as a healthy person, God would also remember if you were a sinner and yet wanted to run to God with works. For as one cannot walk well
2) i. Scripture passages.
3) In the old edition: Köstigen.
4) In the original: fourth.
with sick feet, so a sinner cannot well or without harm come to God with works before he has attained health. This is the cause of the saying Isaiah 1, 15: I will not hear your prayer etc. that the same sinners 1) (like our monks and priests and other holy gluttons) begin to go to God with works. For this reason Paul wrote (Rom. 4, 5.): To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that worketh unrighteousness, faith is made righteousness. If thou wilt be far from God, come with thy works and godliness; if thou wilt come near to God and be justified, come with confession of thy sins.
30 This is what Job says (13:15, 16): "I know that if I punish my ways before his face, he will be my deliverer; I know that no glorifier, no holy devourer, will come before his face.
(31) Hear this, whoever comes to or from God and returns, and realize that you need nothing else on earth if you want to receive the sacrament worthily, but that you confess your guilt and sins, that you feel your wounds. Christ [Matth. 11, 28.] says: Come to me all who are burdened. Thus saith Job [13:15, 16], I know that if I punish my ways, that is, if I feel my burdens, he shall be my deliverer.
32 But to the holy glutton, who would make himself worthy of the sacrament with good works, Christ says: I have not come to the righteous; and Job: No glorifier shall come before him. All and every one who comes with works and piety are glorifiers, for they may not be godly persons.
From this life you can know whether you received the sacrament worthily or unworthily and to your detriment. For, as Job (9:15) boldly says, "I know that I will be justified when I am judged. 2) So you may comfortingly say: I know that I will take the sacrament worthily and to my advantage, because I feel my sin and my unwillingness. But if you do not realize this in yourself, say: "Oh, that I would be angry with and against my will and sin! Item: I know that God will surely forgive my sin through the reverend Sacrament.
1) In the old edition, here and elsewhere: Gleichßner.
2) This passage in Job (also in the Vulgate) says the opposite of what is stated here.
[Examination of the other question.]
(34) Now I shall answer the other article, thus asked: Since in the reverend sacrament of the flesh and blood of Christ there are two things, the flesh and the Word, or the bread and the promise, which is the highest, the one most concerned with it?
(35) Before I answer, let it be known that I speak with the Scriptures, and take this for one thing, which I say, the sacrament of bread, of flesh, and of blood. For Christ calls it at times bread, at times flesh, at times body.
(36) For the other thing shall be heard as one thing, which I speak, the word, promise, covenant, or promise. Neither will I forbid you that the promise or word is called a testament in some parts of the Scriptures. For this cause ye shall not hinder yourselves, though I speak a thing by many words.
37. to the third, listen how Christ instituted the sacrament Luke 22, 19.: When the Lord and his disciples were eating, Jesus took the bread, gave thanks to God, broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples, saying: Take and eat; Matth. 26, 26.: This is my body, which is given for you among yourselves. Here you have bread and promise. Bread, he took the bread, saying: This is my body. The word or promise is this comfort: Who is given for you, that is, is sacrificed, persecuted, killed. So Paul says 1 Cor. 11, 23. 24.: Our Lord Jesus, in the night, when he was delivered to the enemies, took bread, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, Take and eat; this is my body, which is broken for you, and is to die, or is to perish and die.
38) For the fourth, that we may speak lately of the sacrament, note that bread, flesh, and blood are called a sign; Christ himself saith John 3:14: As Moses hath lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, and be exalted. Now the Scripture clearly says, in the fourth book of Moses, chapter 21, that Moses made a bronze serpent and set it up as a sign, so that anyone who was wounded and looked at the serpent might be healed. Since Christ himself said that he should be set up as Moses set up the bronze serpent, it follows that Christ: flesh, blood, body, or bread is a sign. To this Isaiah, on the 55th cap. [v. 13.], saying: that the Lord is called a sign, which would be eternal, and not pass away or be taken away. The other signs interpret and end in these signs of the flesh and blood, and are much removed from it, as from the
old and new law; but the sign, which is the Lord Himself, will stand forever.
(39) There are some who make a distinction between the flesh or bread in one part, and the sign of this sacrament in the other part, and have the word of Christ for a reason, when Christ says, Take and eat; the bread is my body. From this they draw that the eating of Christ's flesh is a sign of the worthy sacrament, and say that bread or the body or flesh of Christ without eating or using the food is not the sign. And following they say: If thou eatest not the flesh of Christ, and drinkest not his blood, that thou mayest not have the sign of the promise, or of the word, which thou heardest of the said sacrament.
(40) I do not dispute this subtlety, but I know that food is food, even though it is not pestilent, inasmuch as the things called food are prepared and used for the mouth and stomach.
41 Now Christ says John 6:55: "My flesh truly is meat, and my blood is drink. However, food never reaches its final essence until it is eaten; therefore Christ says next [v. 56]: "Whoever eats me remains in me, as if he were to speak: You must eat me if you want to be partaker of me. From this we conclude that Christ is not a sign of the sacrament of salvation, but is eaten. But if one wanted to be subtle, he would say that Christ is a sign of this sacrament, even though you do not eat or drink him, and he would turn to the text John 3:14, where Christ says: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in the Son may not perish but have eternal life. (The Scripture calls faith a sign 1). From the words now spoken it follows that, because the sign and word of God or promise are to make a sacrament, that Christ, exalted and looked upon, is a sign, and these words "that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" is the comforting promise, and that such two things make one sacrament. But I do not want to pursue subtlety begun.
1) In the old edition: "time look at", to which Walch has put a longer note, which does not satisfy us however quite. We believe that "time" is an error, which must be improved after 4 Mos. 21, 8. by "signs", which only fits into the context. Jäger ("Carlstadt") passes over this and other difficulties of the text.
(43) It is certain that some signs of the sacraments are used by touch, some by sight, and some by other senses. Circumcision you grasp, because it is done on the body, with the sense that is called grasping, as in the first book of Moses at the 17th Cap. [the] circumcision was done with hands, and made pain, and was a sign of faith; as Paul Rom. 4:11 [testifies]. The sign belonged to this promise of God, that Abraham should be multiplied and become great and many in his seed, like the stars in the sky. In the first book of Moses 15, 5. and 17, 6.
43 We also have more signs that are used with the sense called grasping. As the sacrament used for the confession and forgiveness of sins. For if a prince of the people, through error and ignorance, had acted contrary to a divine commandment and realized that he had unwittingly acted contrary to God's prohibition, he had to sacrifice a goat and lay his hand on the head of the sacrifice. After that the priest killed the sacrifice etc. and prayed for the prince, and his act or sins were forgiven him, Deut. 4, 22-26. See, you hear that the sign, which is given for confession and forgiveness of sins, had to be touched and used with hands.
44. so the serpent (which Moses set up in the wilderness) was looked at with the eyes, used and touched, 4 Mos. 21, 8. 9.
Thus God promised the rainbow in the clouds, Genesis 9:13-16. The same rainbow could not be touched and used in any other way than with the eyes. The signs are used in various ways in the Scriptures, and one cannot know why circumcision should be a sacrament, and the signs and promises mentioned above do not make a sacrament.
46 Finally, I do not much dispute that the flesh of Christ is not a sign, if it is not partaken of and touched and understood with the mouth: but I will include this, if one sees Christ with the eyes of faith, that he has no less a sign than John 3:14, 15 is clear and evident. From this long association we have partaken of the sign of this peaceable sacrament, namely bread and drink, which is the flesh and blood of Christ.
Now follows from the promise.
47. the promise and assurance is in these words: the body given for you; the blood poured out for you, Luc. 22:19, 20.
Or, as Paul says 1 Cor. II, 24: This is my body broken for you. The word "broken for you" is the promise. For Christ certainly tells us with such words that the body (which he calls us to take and eat) has been emptied and killed for us for salvation and good. This is a gospel word that brings us a joyful and comforting message. What is more comforting and joyful for us to hear than that the body (which we are to take and eat) is to be given to us for our prosperity and redemption into death and crime? Let my will, life and mind cling to these words and not doubt that the body of Christ, which is my food, died for me.
(48) Therefore Paul says that we should proclaim the death of the Lord as often as we eat his flesh. What is proclaiming death? Saying how Christ died? No, the Jews and the gallows knights could do that. The spirit must feel and know the cause of Christ's death. He must find that Christ's death came for our redemption, that he might put our sin with him to the gallows, and die [i.e., make us die] our old wicked Adam, pay all our debt, and justify our wicked life, and at last make no evil hurt us, and his righteousness become our righteousness.
This and much more, which we read in the Holy Bible, and especially in Paul, we are to consider most heartily when we partake of the Sacrament. He who will eat this worthily must do nothing more than feel the wounds of his sins and wickedness, and firmly believe the words that the body of Christ, which he will eat, died for his sin and sickness, and that his wickedness and sin fall away and die with the death of Christ. He that hath not this faith eateth unworthily; he that hath not this remembrance, when he receiveth the bread of Christ, eateth the flesh of Christ, as the Corinthians did, who took it for the fleshly hunger and pleasure.
You must have respect for the promise; the word of God is a word of faith, and teaches you the spirit of the sacrament. Whoever does not pay attention to the promise, the sacrament is of as little use to him as the flesh of Christ, as he says John 6:63: "The flesh is not useful, but the Spirit who makes alive.
51. divine promise is a word of faith, and proclaims the fruitful spirit, which invades eager ears with comforting and evangelical message, and makes the spirit of man alive, new, righteous and spiritual, if you believe the word.
For the promise of God does not lead to salvation if one does not believe, Hebr. 4, 2. So no one can come to peace and rest his heart without faith, unless he believes, as Ps. 94 [or 95, 11] is written: Quibus juravi in ira mea, that is. I have sworn to the unbelievers that they will not enter into my rest.
(52) After these sayings I say that a sign is less than the word, and that the sign is presented because of the promise. Recently: the flesh of Christ is because of the word of God, which we have often called a promise. Cause: that Christ Himself speaks that He had to die because of the Scriptures, and thus enter into the glory of His Father, Luke at the last [Cap. 24, 26].Thus Christ is also a Commander of His Fatherly Word, Joh. 12,49, and God has spoken through Christ, as He has spoken through the prophets in all times, Hebr. I1, 1. 2. Therefore it follows that Christ is a sign after flesh and blood, set up because of the promise, and we are to keep and bind ourselves beforehand and more to his word than to his flesh; although this is strange and odd, yet we learn this from Scripture, especially in the Gospel of John, which cannot speak or teach untruthfully.
(53) The 9th chapter of the first book of Moses informs us that the sign is set up because of the promise, and that we are to remember it through knowledge of the signs. There [v. 9. 11.] God speaks to Noah thus: The covenant, or promise and promise, I will make and bind with you: that I will not destroy the earth with rivers of sin and water. Hear, this is the promise; see also of the sign. I will (says [v. 13.] God) set my bow in the vaults for a sign of union or promise. Behold! that the bow is a sign of the comforting promise that God will never again desolate the earth with the flow of sin, and that the bow is only a sign of divine promise.
54. Now notice what you are to learn from the sign: If I (says [v. 14. 15.] God) have covered the air with clouds, then the bow will appear in the clouds, and I will remember my promise. Follows also [v. 16.]: I will look at the bow, and remember the covenant which I have put and promised between God and every living soul. From these words of Genesis 9, we are to learn that we are to take nothing but certain comfort from the signs and cast out all doubt. For we are to know that God is willing to keep His promise.
and has not forgotten his word at all. That is, we are to become firm and strong in the word of God from the signs, so that God will fulfill His word without doubt and give promised comfort and help.
55. Therefore, when you drink and eat the bread, flesh and blood of Christ, you should come to the certainty that Christ will keep his words without fail, and should not doubt his salvation, but firmly believe and have no assurance, except that the flesh and blood of Christ, when you take it, will kill your sin and be a medicine for you, and for righteousness and newness of your spirit. God, who is true and mighty, considers it a great injustice and wrong if you doubt him and his word. Therefore he has set signs to the promises, that you may be the more sure, the more at peace, and the more tranquil, and that you may stand in a living Sabbath. But if any man waver in the word and in the signs, he shall be severely punished for his unbelief, and so much the more severely, that he shall believe neither signs nor words.
Thus it is said and proved that signs serve the promises and covenants of God, and the word is more than its sign. Example: fleshly circumcision is less than faith and promise.
(57) Hereafter learn how to keep the best part, that is, how to firmly believe the word of God and keep it in the heart.
58 I will teach this shortly by a history of the scriptures, which is written in the 1st book of Moses at the 32nd. Since Jacob feared his brother Esau beyond measure, he held on with full faith to the divine promise forever, if this matzo was promised to him, namely in the first book of Moses at the 28th chapter [v. 13. 14.] God said to Jacob: "The ground in which you sleep, I will give to you and your seed; your seed shall become like the dust of the ground; that is, your seed shall become as many as the grains of dust in the ground. Follow [v. 14. 15.]: And in thy seed shall all generations be given; and I will be thy keeper, and will bring thee again into the ground, and will not leave thee, having accomplished all things that I have spoken.
59) This promise and glorification of God was well known to Jacob, when he was troubled, sad and fearful with him [i.e. with himself] because of his brother Esau, and said in anguish thus [Cap. 32, 9]: "O Lord, you told me that you would do me good. [V. 12. Thou hast said that I should spread forth my seed and my seed, as the
Sand of the sea that cannot be counted. [V. 10.:] I am inferior to all thy mercies, and to all thy veracity. [Deliver me from the power of my brother Esau, for I fear him greatly, lest he slay mothers and children. Jacob clung to the divine word as a ship clings to an anchor in the sea.
(60) Thus a Christian should firmly adhere to the words and promise of Christ when his brother Esau, the old Adam, and the devil and sin afflict or persecute him and make his conscience unpeaceful. When he realizes that his sins are beginning to frighten him, he should seek the sacrament that gives peace and tranquility to the spirit, and keep the word of Christ in the same way that Jacob kept the promise God made to him in his heart and mouth.
(61) The word that the body is given for you in death, and the drink is poured out for you, shall be in his heart and mouth:
022 O Lord my God, a God of all the faithful, Abraham, Isaac, etc., thou hast said, Take and eat this bread, which is my body given for you. O Lord, in the word which thou hast spoken, that I should eat thy flesh, for it is given for me and for us all in trouble, and in fear, and in death, I trust in thee, and I charge thee with thy promise, and doubt not that thou wilt give me the fruit of thy bitter death, if I eat thy flesh; for thou hast promised this. Thou art almighty, gracious and true; thou lackest nothing, so thou afflictest no one; so thy word is yea, yea (2 Cor. 1:19, 20), not yea today, no tomorrow.
I stand and stand on your words. You have told me with such words: you want to do me good, forgive sin, provide peace, make me safe, new and spiritual. I cling to your words and cling to the promise, as Abraham clung to your promise, who did not doubt that you would give him what you had said. (Rom. 4, 20. 21.) So I rely on your promise; I do not doubt that you can and will give me salvation from sins, even though my Adam will not admit it; I advance your word to you, as Jacob advanced his divine promise to God. Thou hast said, O Lord, thou hast spoken: I am not come unto the righteous, nor unto the sound, but unto the sick, and unto sinners. And, O Lord, thou hast said, I shall eat thy flesh gladly, and drink thy blood, that thou hast given thy body to be dead for me, for my sin and wickedness, all to me. Then come I unrighteous basket, 1) I wounded sinner and unpeaceful
1) If not "koth" should be read, then this expression "basket" is to be understood according to Amos 8, 1.
afflicted man, and advance your words in prayer and faith.
(64) Thou art not like the promises of men, as kings, princes, lords, and others, who promise much, and suffer not that their promise should be pressed upon them, or that they should be reminded of the promise which they have made, and that they should demand that which they have promised. No, you are another Lord, and you want your words to be in our hearts and mouths, Jos. 1, 8, that we also set our hearts and minds, will and spirit, and everything on your promise, Deut. 3, 13-17, Ps. 110 [111, 7-9], and say comfortingly: Lord, you have said, you have spoken, that we should take your flesh and eat it, because you have given yourself in death for our salvation. Upon thy word my faith, comfort, and hope stand; I will not let sin or my wickedness hinder me, for thou hast said that thou wast born and died to forgive our sicknesses and sins, and to make us whole.
65. Abraham stood firm on your promise; he did not doubt that you would give him what you spoke to him, even though he knew it was impossible by nature, yet he did not pay attention to his old and dead body, and you fulfilled 1) your words; what else should I remember but your promise? What should sin and wickedness subtract from me, because Abraham's age did not subtract from your word?
(66) Jacob advanced his promise to God that He had said He would do good to Jacob and spread his seed; Jacob knew this, so he firmly believed that his wife and child would not be slain, and he reminded God of His promise, and became strong in the divine word and in his faith, so that he was allowed to argue and wrestle with God, and held God so firmly in faith that he would not let God go until it was good for him. In such faith and constant adherence to the divine promise, Jacob was transformed in nature and name, for the Scriptures say (Gen. 32:28): "You must be called Israel, for you were strong against God, and how much more did you become strong against men.
(67) Is it not comforting that a firm attachment and faith in the divine Word can hold and overcome God? We should be more comforted by this than by heaven and earth; it should be our foundation. It is impossible for anyone to perish who firmly believes in the divine promise. As little as God can lie, so little can He let you perish if you hang firm, strong and manly in His promise. It is impossible that God
1) In the original: fulfill.
I do not want to leave a person who persists in such trust. Everything must be good for him, and better than man understands. In the firm and earnest adherence to the word of God stands all blessedness. Again, in unbelief stands all loss and harm, and all unworthy reception of the Sacrament, which Christ himself says in John 3:18: "He who believes is not condemned; he who does not believe is already lost. God cannot leave you any less than he left Jacob, if you, like Jacob, cling strongly and steadfastly to divine promise.
(68) So also one comes into true peace, and all bitterness is made sweet to him, and adversity is made kind, and evil is turned into good, as happened to Jacob, Gen 33:3: Jacob prayed seven times, and so long until his Esau, that is, his enemy and persecutor, drew near. What happened? When Jacob clung to the divine promise with faith and prayer, his persecutor and enemy Esau turned into a benefactor and friend; for Esau fell around Jacob's neck, pressed him kindly, and kissed him, and wept, and wanted to give Jacob his possessions and goods. So all evil turned to good, all mischief 2) and strife to goodness, peace and quiet. This happens to all those who steadfastly and firmly stand on the divine promise.
In such faith Moses says (in the other book, chapter 14, v. 13, 14): "Stand and see the great miracles of God and do not be afraid, for you will no longer see the Egyptians whom you see now: God who will contend for you, and ye shall be silent. Stand firm on the promise of God, do not be afraid, do not doubt His promise; for before His words should remain unfulfilled, heaven and earth must be broken. So the sea also became obedient, and was divided, and gave place and way to the faithful, and destroyed the Egyptians, which are our sin.
(70) It is the same with the reception of the joyful sacrament. He who wants to receive it worthily should not be afraid, that is, he should not doubt that Christ will fulfill his promise. And let not the Egyptians deter him from the divine word, that is, his evil deeds and sin, which fight against God. For God is the one who contends, the one who strangles sins; we stand still and silent, and find in the forgiveness of sins even worklessness. Cause: When God wants to work His great and wonderful works, we must do nothing more than to
2) i.e. quarrel, strife.
We turn our eyes to God and stand in good confidence when Jehoshaphat (in the 2nd book of Chronicles, chapter 20, v. 20) says: "Stand alone in comfort and strong confidence in God, and you will see divine help upon you; believe God, and you will be safe.
(71) This is what Moses says: Be silent; God is the one who contends. We must not be concerned whether we have prayed much, fasted, swept and searched churches, burned lights, and done such works, if we want to receive the holy sacrament; for we must be silent with our ears and feet, as it is written: "When you enter God's house, keep your feet and listen. (Eccl. 4, 17.) That is, we must not appear with any work, for if works should befall us and make us worthy recipients, God would not be the one who alone warred for us and killed the Egyptians. If I want to take the sacrament, I should do nothing else but believe the divine word that Christ gave and shed his flesh and blood for us in death, and that he gave us his flesh as food and his blood as drink for a sure sign: if I believe this, I will be sure, if I otherwise stand in divine promise with all confidence, that I will see the Egyptians no more; that is, my sins will no longer challenge me and make me miserable.
Thus I find his help and beneficence. In my person I need feel nothing more than manly, brave and firm faith.
and trust in God, that He will not forsake me, for one; for the other, I shall feel no strength, no health, no ability, no good work, and no piety, which I shall carry to the holy sacrament, but I shall see my nothingness, powerlessness, wickedness, and sin for that same banquet 1). As Jehoshaphat said [2 Chron. 20, 12.]; there is no strength in us to overcome the enemies that are our sins. So we see our weakness and Egypter, and flee to this sacrament, which strikes them all down and makes them drink, and makes us alive, gives strength and work, and makes us Esau, who gives us his possessions and goods, Gen. 33, 15. as the Gentiles gave tribute to the Jews. Jos. 16, 10. book of Judges 1, 28. 30. 33. 35. cap. 3, 3.
(73) Thus we have concluded that a worthy recipient has no need of anything other than to feel the wounds of his sins, to look upon his Esau, the Egyptians, or other offenders, and to stand alone chivalrous and manly, [placing his confidence] in divine promise, then God can by no means abandon him. He keeps God, and turns his enemies into servants, as said above. We have also heard that in the sacraments the word is more than the sign, and that the signs remind us that God wants to remember His promise and keep faith, not to let us perish in any way or temptation. May God help us through our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.
1) In the old edition: times.