Published in:
Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Ev. Lutheran Church.
(St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921), pp. 565-773
First.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD.
1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not take the name of th Lord, thy
God, in vain [for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in
vain].
3. Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day. [Remember
the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.]
4. Thou shalt honor thy father and mother [that
thou mayest live long upon the earth].
5. Thou shlt not kill.
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
7. Thou shalt not steal.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor
his man-servant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle [ox, nor his ass], nor
anything that is his.
Secondly.
THE CHIEF ARTICLES OF OUR FAITH.
1. I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth.
2. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under
Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell; the
third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on
the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge
the quick and the dead.
3. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy
Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the
resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Thirdly.
THE PRAYER, OR "OUR FATHER," WHICH
CHRIST TAUGHT
Our Father who art in heaven.
1. Hallowed be Thy name.
2. Thy kingdom come.
3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.
4. Give us this day our daily bread.
5. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us.
6. And lead us not into temptation.
7. But deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the
kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever.] Amen.
These are the most necessary parts which one
should first learn to repeat word for word and which our children should be
accustomed to recite daily when they arise in the morning when they sit down to
their meals, and when they retire at night; and until they repeat them, they
should be given neither food nor drink. Likewise every head of a household is
obliged to do the same with respect to his domestics, ma-servants and
maid-servants and not to keep them in his house if they do not know these
things and are unwilling to learn them. For a person who is so rude and unruly
as to be unwilling to learn these things is not to be tolerated, for in these
three parts everything that we have in the Scriptures is comprehended in short,
pain, and simple terms. For the holy Fathers or apostles (whoever they were)
have thus embraced in a summary the doctrine, life, wisdom, and art of
Christians, of which they speak and treat, and with which they are occupied.
Now, when these three arts are apprehended, it
behooves a person also to know what to say concerning our Sacraments, which
Christ Himself instituted, Baptism and the holy body and blood of Christ,
namely, the text which Matthew [28, 19 ff.] and Mark [16, 15 f.] record at the
close of their Gospels when Christ said farewell to His disciples and sent them
forth.
OF BAPTISM.
Go ye and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. He that
believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be
damned.
So much is sufficient for a simple person to know
fro the Scriptures concerning Baptism. In like manner, also, concerning the
other Sacrament in short, simple words, namely the text of St. Paul [1 Cor. 11,
23 f.].
OF THE SACRAMENT
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in
which He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it,
and gave it to His disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is
given for you: this do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup, when
He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the
remission of sins: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
Thus, ye would have, in all, five parts of the
entire Christian doctrine which should be constantly treated and required [of
children] and heard recited word for word. For you must not rely upon it that
the young people will learn and retain these things from the sermon alone. When
these parts have been well learned, you may, as a supplement and to fortify
them. lay before them also some psalms or hymns, which have been composed on
these parts, and thus lead the young into the Scriptures, and make daily
progress therein.
However, it is not enough for them to comprehend
and recite these parts according to the words only, but the young people should
also be made to attend the preaching, espeially during the time which is
devoted to the Catechism, that they may hear it explained and may learn to
understand what every part contains, so as to be able to recite it as they have
heard it, and, when asked, may give a correct answer, so that the preaching may
not be without profit and fruit. For the reason why we exercise such diligence
in preaching the Catechis so often is that it may be inculcated on our youth,
not in a high and subtile manner, but briefly and with the greatest simplicity,
so as to enter the mind readily and be fixed in the memory.
Therefore we shall now take up the abovementioned
articles one by one and in the plainest manner possible say about them as much
as is necessary.
Thou shalt have no other gods before
Me.
That is: Thou shalt have [and worship] Me alone
as thy God. What is the force of this, and how is it to be understood? What
does it mean to have a god? or, what is God? Answer: A god means that from
which we are to expect all good and to which we are to take refuge in all
distress, so that to have a God is nothing else than to trust and believe Him
from the [whole] heart; as I have often said that the confidence and faith of
the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and trust be right,
then is your god also true; and, on the other hand, if your trust be false and
wrong, then you have not the true God; for these two belong together faith and
God. That now, I say, upon which you set your heart and put your trust is
properly your god.
Therefore it is the intent of this commandment to
require true faith and trust of the heart which settles upon the only true God
and clings to Him alone. That is as much as to say: "See to it that you let Me
alone be your God, and never seek another," i.e.: Whatever you lack of good
things, expect it of Me, and look to Me for it, and whenever you suffer
misfortune and distress, creep and cling to Me. I, yes, I, will give you enough
and help you out of every need; only let not your heart cleave to or rest in
any other.
This I must unfold somewhat more plainly, that it
may be understood and perceived by ordinary examples of the contrary. Many a
one thinks that he has God and everything in abundance when he has money and
possessions; he trusts in them and boasts of them with such firmness and
assurance as to care for no one. Lo, such a man also has a god, Mammon by name,
i.e., money and possessions, on which he sets all his heart, and which is also
the most common idol on earth. He who has money and possessions feels secure,
and is joyful and undismayed as though he were sitting in the midst of
Paradise. On the other hand, he who has none doubts and is despondent, as
though he knew of no God. For very few are to be found who are of good cheer,
and who neither mourn nor complain if they have not Mammon. This [care and
desire for money] sticks and clings to our nature, even to the grave.
So, too, whoever trusts and boasts that he
possesses great skill, prudence, power, favor friendship, and honor has also a
god, but not this true and only God. This appears again when you notice how
presumptuous, secure, and proud people are because of such possessions, and how
despondent when they no longer exist or are withdrawn. Therefore I repeat that
the chief explanation of this point is that to have a god is to have something
in which the heart entirely trusts.
Besides, consider what in our blindness, we have
hitherto been practising and doing under the Papacy. If any one had toothache,
he fasted and honored St. Apollonia [[acerated his flesh by voluntary fasting
to the honor of St. Apollonia]; if he was afraid of fire, he chose St. Lawrence
as his helper in need; if he dreaded pestilence, he made a vow to St. Sebastian
or Rochio, and a countless number of such abominations, where every one
selected his own saint, worshiped him, and called for help to him in distress.
Here belong those also, as, e.g., sorcerers and magicians, whose idolatry is
most gross, and who make a covenant with the devil, in order that he may give
them plenty of money or help them in love-affairs, preserve their cattle,
restore to them lost possessions, etc. For all these place their heart and
trust elsewhere than in the true God, look for nothing good to Him nor seek it
from Him.
Thus you can easily understand what and how much
this commandment requires, namely, that man's entire heart and all his
confidence be placed in God alone, and in no one else. For to have God, you can
easily perceive, is not to lay hold of Him with our hands or to put Him in a
bag [as money], or to lock Him in a chest [as silver vessels]. But to apprehend
Him means when the heart lays hold of Him and clings to Him. But to cling to
Him with the heart is nothing else than to trust in Him entirey. For this
reason He wishes to turn us away from everything else that exists outside of
Him, and to draw us to Himself, namely, because He is the only eternal good. As
though He would say: Whatever you have heretofore sought of the saints, or for
whatever [things] you have trusted in Mammon or anything else, expect it all
of Me, and regard Me as the one who will help you and pour out upon you richly
all good things.
Lo, here you have the meaning of the true honor
and worship of God, which pleases God, and which He commands under penalty of
eternal wrath, namely, that the heart know no other comfort or confidence than
in Him, and do not suffer itself to be torn from Him, but, for Him, risk and
disregard everything upon earth. On the other hand, you can easily see and
judge how the world practises only false worship and idolatry. For no people
has ever been so reprobate as not to institute and observe some divine worship;
every one has set up as his special god whatever he looked to for blessings,
help, and comfort.
Thus, for example, the heathen who put their
trust in power and dominion elevated Jupiter as the supreme god; the others,
who were bent upon riches, happiness, or pleasure, and a life of ease,
Hercules, Mercury, Venus or others; women with child, Diana or Lucina, and so
on; thus every one made that his god to which his heart was inclined, so that
even in the mind of the heathen to have a god means to trust and believe. But
their error is this that their trust is false and wrong for it is not placed in
the only God, besides whom there is truly no God in heaven or upon earth.
Therefore the heathen really make their self-invented notions and dreams of God
an idol, and put their trust in that which is altogether nothing. Thus it is
with all idolatry; for it consists not merely in erecting an image and
worshiping it, but rather in the heart, which stands gaping at something else,
and seeks help and consolation from creatures saints, or devils, and neither
cares for God, nor looks to Him for so much good as to believe that He is
willing to help, neither believes that whatever good it experiences comes from
God.
Besides, there is also a false worship and
extreme idolatry, which we have hitherto practised, and is still prevalent in
the world, upon which also all ecclesiastical orders are founded, and which
concerns the conscience alone that seeks in its own works help, consolation,
and salvation, presumes to wrest heaven from God, and reckons how many bequests
it has made, how often it has fasted, celebrated Mass, etc. Upon such things it
depends, and of them boasts, as though unwilling to receive anything from God
as a gift, but desires itself to earn or merit it superabundantly, just as
though He must serve us and were our debtor, and we His liege lords. What is
this but reducing God to an idol, yea, [a fig image or] an apple-god, and
elevating and regarding ourselves as God ? But this is slightly too subtile,
and is not for young pupils.
But let this be said to the simple, that they may
well note and remember the meaning of this commandment, namely, that we are to
trust in God alone, and look to Him and expect from Him naught but good, as
from one who gives us body, life, food, drink, nourishment, health, protection,
peace, and all necessaries of both temporal and eternal things. He also
preserves us from misfortune, and if any evil befall us, delivers and rescues
us, so that it is God alone (as has been sufficiently said) from whom we
receive all good, and by whom we are delivered from all evil. Hence also, I
think, we Germans from ancient times call God (more elegantly and appropriately
than any other language) by that name from the word good as being an eternal
fountain which gushes forth abundantly nothing but what is good, and from which
flows forth all that is and is called good.
For even though otherwise we experience much good
from men, still whatever we receive by His command or arrangement is all
received from God. For our parents, and all rulers, and every one besides with
respect to his neighbor, have received from God the command that they should do
us all manner of good, so that we receive these blessings not from them, but,
through them, from God. For creatures are only the hands, channels, and means
whereby God gives all things, as He gives to the mother breasts and milk to
offer to her child, and corn and all manner of produce from the earth for
nourishment, none of which blessings could be produced by any creature of
itself.
Therefore no man should presume to take or give
anything except as God has commanded, in order that it may be acknowledged as
God's gift, and thanks may be rendered Him for it, as this commandment
requires. On this account also these means of receiving good gifts through
creatures are not to be rejected, neither should we in presumption seek other
ways and means than God has commanded. For that would not be receiving from
God, hut seeking of ourselves.
Let every one, then, see to it that he esteem
this commandment great and high above all things, and do not regard it as a
joke. Ask and examine your heart diligently, and you will find whether it
cleaves to God alone or not. If you have a heart that can expect of Him nothing
but what is good, especially in want and distress, and that, moreover renounces
and forsakes everything that is not God, then you have the only true God. If on
the contrary, it cleaves to anything else, of which it expects more good and
help than of God, and does not take refuge in Him, but in adversity flees from
Him, then you have an idol, another god.
In order that it may be seen that God will not
have this commandment thrown to the winds, but will most strictly enforce it,
He has attached to it first a terrible threat, and then a beautiful, comforting
promise which is also to be urged and impressed upon young people, that they
may take it to heart and retain it:
[Exposition of the Appendix to the First
Commandment.]
For I am the Lord, thy God, strong and jealous,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate Me; and showing mercy unto thousands of
them that love Me and keep My commandments.
Although these words relate to all the
commandments (as we shall hereafter learn), yet they are joined to this chief
commandment because it is of first importance that men have a right head; for
where the head is right, the whole life must be right, and vice versa. Learn,
therefore, from these words how angry God is with those who trust in anything
but Him, and again, how good and gracious He is to those who trust and believe
in Him alone with the whole heart; so that His anger does not cease until the
fourth generation, while, on the other hand, His blessing and goodness extend
to many thousands lest you live in such security and commit yourself to chance,
as men of brutal heart, who think that it makes no great difference [how they
live]. He is a God who will not leave it unavenged if men turn from Him, and
will not cease to be angry until the fourth generation, even until they are
utterly exterminated. Therefore He is to be feared, and not to be desisted.
He has also demonstrated this in all history, as
the Scriptures abundantly show and daily experience still teaches. For from the
beginning He has utterly extirpated all idolatry, and, on account of it, both
heathen and Jews; even as at the present day He overthrows all false worship,
so that all who remain therein must finally perish. Therefore, although proud,
powerful, and rich worldlings [Sardanapaluses and Phalarides, who surpass even
the Persians in wealth] are now to be found, who boast defiantly of their
Mammon, with utter disregard whether God is angry at or smiles on them, and
dare to withstand His wrath, yet they shall not succeed, but before they are
aware,they shall be wrecked, with all in which they trusted; as all others have
perished who have thought themselves more secure or powerful.
And just because of such hardened heads who
imagine because God connives and allows them to rest in security, that He
either is entirely ignorant or cares nothing about such matters, He must deal a
smashing blow and punish them,,so that He cannot forget it unto children's
children; so that every one may take note and see that this is no joke to Him.
For they are those whom He means when He says: Who hate Me, i.e., those who
persist in their defiance and pride; whatever is preached or said to them, they
will not listen; when they are reproved, in order that they may learn to know
themselves and amend before the punishment begins, they become mad and foolish
so as to fairly merit wrath, as now we see daily in bishops and princes.
But terrible as are these threatenings, so much
the more powerful is the consolation in the promise, that those who cling to
God alone should be sure that He will show them mercy that is, show them pure
goodness and blessing not only for themselves, but also to their children and
children's children, even to the thousandth generation and beyond that. This
ought certainly to move and impel us to risk our hearts in all confidence with
God, if we wish all temporal and eternal good, since the Supreme Majesty makes
such sublime offers and presents such cordial inducements and such rich
promises.
Therefore let everyone seriously take this to
heart, lest it be regarded as though a man had spoken it. For to you it is a
question either of eternal blessing, happiness, and salvation, or of eternal
wrath, misery, and woe. What more would you have or desire than that He so
kindly promises to be yours with every blessing, and to protect and help you in
all need?
But, alas! here is the failure, that the world
believes nothing of this, nor regards it as God's Word, because it sees that
those who trust in God and not in Mammon suffer care and want, and the devil
opposes and resists them, that they have neither money, favor, nor honor, and,
besides, can scarcely support life; while, on the other hand, those who serve
Mammon have power, favor, honor, possessions, and every comfort in the eyes of
the world. For this reason, these words must be grasped as being directed
against such appearances; and we must consider that they do not lie or deceive,
but must come true.
Reflect for yourself or make inquiry and tell me:
Those who have employed all their care and diligence to accumulate great
possessions and wealth, what have they finally attained? You will find that
they have wasted their toil and labor, or even though they have amassed great
treasures, they have been dispersed and scattered, so that the themselves have
never found happiness in their wealth, and afterwards never reached the third
generation.
Instances of this you will find a plenty in all
histories, also in the memory of aged and experienced people. Only observe and
ponder them.
Saul was a great king, chosen of God and a godly
man; but when he was established on his throne, and let his heart decline from
God, and put his trust in his crown and power, he had to perish with all that
he had, so that none even of his children remained.
David, on the other hand, was a poor, despised
man, hunted down and chased, so that he nowhere felt secure of his life; yet he
had to remain in spite of Saul, and become king. For these words had to abide
and come true, since God cannot lie or deceive. Only let not the devil and the
world deceive you with their show, which indeed remains for a time, but finally
is nothing.
Let us, then, learn well the First Commandment,
that we may see how God will tolerate no presumption nor any trust in any other
object, and how He requires nothing higher of us than confidence from the heart
for everything good, so that we may proceed right and straightforward and use
all the blessings which God gives no farther than as a shoemaker uses his
needle, awl, and thread for work, and then lays them aside, or as a traveler
uses an inn, and food, and his bed only for temporal necessity, each one in his
station, according to God's order, and without allowing any of these things to
be our food or idol. Let this suffice with respect to the First Commandment,
which we have had to explain at length, since it is of chief importance,
because, as before said, where the heart is rightly disposed toward God and
this commandment is observed, all the others follow.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in
vain.
As the First Commandment has instructed the heart
and taught [the basis of] faith, so this commandment leads us forth and directs
the mouth and tongue to God. For the first objects that spring from the heart
and manifest themselves are words. Now, as I have taught above how to answer
the question, what it is to have a god, so you must learn to comprehend simply
the meaning of this and all the commandments, and to apply it to yourself.
If, then, it be asked: How do you understand the
Second Commandment, or what is meant by taking in vain, or misusing God's name?
answer briefly thus: It is misusing God's name when we call upon the Lord God
no matter in what way, for purposes of falsehood or wrong of any kind.
Therefore this commandment enjoins this much, that God's name must not be
appealed to falsely, or taken upon the lips while the heart knows well enough,
or should know, differently; as among those who take oaths in court, where one
side lies against the other. For God's name cannot be misused worse than for
the support of falsehood and deceit. Let4this remain the exact German and
simplest meaning of this commandment.
From this every one can readily infer when and in
how many ways God's name is misused, although it is impossible to enumerate all
its misuses. Yet, to tell it in a few words, all misuse of the divine name
occurs, first, in worldly business and in matters which concern money,
possessions, honor, whether it be publicly in court, in the market, or wherever
else men make false oaths in God's name, or pledge their souls in any matter.
And this is especially prevalent in marriage affairs where two go and secretly
betroth themselves to one another, and afterward abjure [their plighted
troth].
But. the greatest abuse occurs in spiritual
matters, which pertain to the conscience, when false preachers rise up and
offer their Lying vanities as God's Word.
Behold, all this is decking one's self out with
God's name, or making a pretty show, or claiming to be right, whether it occur
in gross, worldly business or in sublime, subtile matters of faith and
doctrine. And among liars belong also blasphemers, not alone the very gross,
well known to every one, who disgrace God's name without fear (these are not
for us, but for the hangman to discipline); but also those who publicly traduce
the truth and God's Word and consign it to the devil. Of this there is no need
now to speakfurther.
Here, then, let us learn and take to heart the
great importance of this commandment, that with all diligence we may guard
against and dread every misuse of the holy name, as the greatest sin that can
be outwardly committed. For to lie and deceive is in itself a great sin, but is
greatly aggravated when we attempt to justify it, and seek to confirm it by
invoking the name of God and usiig it as a cloak for shame, so that from a
single lie a double lie, nay, manifold lies, result.
For this reason, too, God has added a solemn
threat to this commandment, to wit: For the Lord will not hold him guiltless
that taketh His name in van. That is: It shall not be condoned to any one nor
pass unpunished. For as little as He will leave it unavenged if any one turn
his heart from Him, as little will He suffer His name to be employed for
dressing up a lie. Now alas! it is a common calamity in all the word that there
are as few who are not using the name of God for purposes of Lying and all
wickedness as there are those who with their heart trust alone in God.
For by nature we all have within us this
beautiful virtue, to wit, that whoever has committed a wrong would like to
cover up and adorn his disgrace, so that no one may see it or know it; and no
one is so bold$as to boast to all the world of the wickedness he has
perpetrated, all wish to act by stealth and without any one being aware of what
thy do. Then, if any one be arraigned, the name of God is dragged into the
affair and must make the villainy look like godliness, and the shame like
honor. This is the common course of the world, hich, like a great deluge, has
flooded all lands. Hence we have also as our reward what we seek and deserve:
pestilences wars, famines, conflagrations, floods, wayward wives, children,
servants, and all sorts of defilement. Whence else should so much misery come?
It is still a great mercy that the earth bears and supports us.
Therefore, above all things, our young people
should have this commandment earnestly enforced upon them, and they should be
trined to hold this and the First Commandment in high regard; and whenever they
transgress, we must at once be after them with the rod and hold the commandment
before them, andconstantly inculcate it, so as to bring them up not only with
punishment, but also in the reverence and fear of God.
Thus you now understand what. it is to take God's
name in vain, that is (to recapitulate briefly), eiher simply for purposes of
falsehood, and to allege God's name for something that is not so, or to curse,
swear, conjure, and, in short, to practise whhtever wickedness one may.
Besides this you must also know how to use the
name [of God] aright. For when saying: Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord
thy God, in vain, He gives us to understand at the same time that it is to be
used properly. For it has been revealed and given to us for the very purpose
that it may be of constant use and profit. Hence it is a natural inference,
since using the holy name for falsehood or wickedness is here forbidden, that
we are, on the other hand, commanded to employ it for truth and for all good,
as when one swears truly where there is need and it is demanded. So also when
there is right teaching, and when the name is invoked in trouble or praised and
thanked in prosperity etc.; all of which is comprehended summarily and
commanded in the passage Ps. 50, 15: Call upon Me in the days of trouble; I
will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me. For all this is bringing 't into
the service of truth, and using it in a blessed way, and thus His name is
hallowed, as we pray in the Lord's Prayer.
Thus you have the sum of the entire commandment
explained. And with this understanding the question with which many teachers
have troubled themselves has been easily solved, to wit, why swearing is
prohibited in the Gospel, and yet Christ, St. Paul, and other saints often
swore. The explanation is briefly this: We are not to swear in support of evil,
that is, of falsehood, and where there is no need or use; but for the support
of good and the advantage of our neighbor we should swear. For it is a truly
good work, by which God is praised, truth and right are established, falsehood
is refuted, peace is made among men, obedience is rendered, and quarrels are
settled. For in this way God Himself interposes and separates between right and
wrong, good and evil. If one part swears falsely, he has his sentence that he
shall not escape punishment, ad though it be deferred a long time, he shall not
succeed; that all that he may gain thereby will slip out of his hands, and he
will never enjoy it; as I have seen in the case of many who perjured themselves
in their marriage-vows, that they have never had a happy hour or a healthful
day, and thus perished miserably in body, soul, and possessions.
Therefore I advise and exhort as before that by
means of warning and threatening, restraint and punishment, the children be
trained betimes to shun falsehood, and especially to avoid the use oo God's ame
in its support. For where they are allowed to do as they please, no good will
result, aa is even now evident that the world is worse than it has ever been
and that there is no government, no obedience, no fidelity, no faith, but only
daring, unbridled men, whom no teaching or reproof helps; all of which is God's
wrath and punishment for such wanton contempt of this commandment.
On the other hand, they should be constantly
urged and incited to honor God's name, and to have it always upon their lips in
everything that may happen to them or come to their notice: For that is the
true honor of His Name, to look to it and implore it for all consolation, so
that (as we have heard above) first the heart by faith gives God the honor due
Him, and afterwards the lips by confession.
This is also a blessed and useful habit and very
effectual against the devil, who is ever about us, and lies in wait to bring us
into sin and shame, calamity and trouble, but who is very loath to hear God's
name, and cannot remain long where it is uttered and called upon from the
heart. And, indeed, many a terrible and shocking calamity would befall us if,
by our calling upon His name, God did not preserve us. I have myself tried it,
and learned by experience that often sudden great calamity was immediately
averted and removed during such invocation. To vex the devil, I say, we should
always have this holy name in oor mouth, so that he may not be able to injure
us as he wishes.
For this end it is also of service that we form
the habit of daily commending ourselves to God, with soul and body, wife,
children, servants, and all that we have, against every need that may occur;
whence also the blessing and thanksgiving at meals, and other prayers, morning
and evening, have originated and remain in use. Likewise the practises of
children to cross themselves when anything monstrous or terrible is seen or
heard, and to exclaim: "Lord God, protect us!" "Help, dear Lord Jesus!" etc.
Thus, too, if any one meets with unexpected good fortune, however trivial, that
he say: "God be praised and thanked; this God has bestowed on me!" etc., as
formerly the children were accustomed to fast and pray to St. Nicholas and
other saints. This would be more pleasing and acceptable to God than all
monasticism and Carthusian sanctity.
Behold, thus we might train our youth in a
childlike way and playfully in the fear and honor of God, so that the First and
Second Commandments might be well observed and in constant practise. Then some
good might take root, spring up and bear fruit, and men grow up whom an entire
land might relish and enjoy. Moreover, this would be the true way to bring Up
children well as long as they can become trained with kinnness and delight. For
what must be enforced with rods and blows only will not develop into a good
breed and at best they will remain godly under such treatment no longer than
while the rod is upon their back.
But this [manner of training] so spreads its
roots in the heart that they fear God more than rods and clubs. This I say with
such simplicity for the sake of the young, that it may penetrate their minds.
For since we are preaching to children, we must also prattle with them. Thus we
have prevented the abuse and have taught the right use of the divine name,
which should consist not only in words, but also in practises and life, so that
we may know that God is well pleased with this and will as richly reward it as
He will terribly punish the abuse.
Thou shalt sanctify the holy day.
[Remember the Sabbath day to keep it
holy.]
The word holy day (Feiertag) is rendered from the
Hebrew word sabbath which properly signifies to rest, that is, to abstain from
labor. Hence we are accustomed to say, Feierbend machen [that is, to cease
working], or heiligen Abend geben [sanctify the Sabbath]. Now, in the Old
Testament, God separated the seventh day, and appointed it for rest, and
commanded that it should be regarded as holy above all others. As regards this
external observance, this commandment was given to the Jews alone, that they
should abstain from toilsome work, and rest, so that both man and beast might
recuperate, and not be weakened by unremitting labor. Although they afterwards
restricted this too closely, and grossly abused it, so that they traduced and
could not endure in Christ those works which they themselves were accustomed to
do on that day, as we read in the Gospel just as though the commandment were
fulfilled by doing no external [manual] work whatever, which, however, was not
the meaning, but, as we shall hear, that they sanctify the holy day or day of
rest.
This commandment, therefore, according to its
gross sense, does not concern us Christians; for it is altogether an external
matter, like other ordinances of the Old Testament, which were attached to
particular customs, persons, times, and places, and now have been made free
through Christ.
But to grasp a Christian meaning for the simple
as to what God requires in this commandment, note that we keep holy days not
for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians (for they have no need of it
[holy days]), but first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature
teaches and requires; for the common people, man-servants and maid-servants,
who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day
they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.
Secondly, and most especially, that on such day
of rest (since we can get no other opportunity) freedom and time be taken to
attend divine service, so that we come together to hear and treat of God's and
then to praise God, to sing and pray.
However, this, I say, is not so restricted to any
time, as with the Jews, that it must be just on this or that day; for in itself
no one day is better than another; but this should indeed be done daily;
however, since the masses cannot give such attendance, there must be at least
one day in the week set apart. But since from of old Sunday [the Lord's Day]
has been appointed for this purpose, we also should continue the same, in order
that everything be done in harmonious order, and no one create disorder by
unnecessary innovation.
Therefore this is the simple meaning of the
commandment: since holidays are observed anyhow, such observance should be
devoted to hearing God's Word, so that the special function of this day should
be the ministry of the Word for the young and the mass of poor people, yet that
the resting be not so strictly interpreted as to forbid any other incidental
work that cannot be avoided.
Accordingly, when asked, What is meant by the
commandment: Thou shalt sanctify the holy day? answer: To sanctify the holy
day is the same as to keep it holy. But what is meant by keeping it holy?
Nothing else than to be occupied in holy words, works, and life. For the day
needs no sanctification for itself; for in itself it has been created holy
[from the beginning of the creation it was sanctified by its Creator]. But God
desires it to be holy to you. Therefore it becomes holy or unholy on your
account, according as you are occupied on the same with things that are holy or
unholy.
How, then, does such sanctification take place?
Not in this manner, that [with folded hands] we sit behind the stove and do no
rough [external] work, or deck ourselves with a wreath and put on our best
clothes, but (as has been said) that we occupy ourselves with God's Word, and
exercise ourselves therein.
And, indeed, we Christians ought always to keep
such a holy day, and be occupied with nothing but holy things, i.e., daily be
engaged upon God's Word, and carry it in our hearts and upon our lips. But (as
has been said) since we do not at all times have leisure, we must devote
several hours a week for the sake of the young, or at least a day for the sake
of the entire multitude, to being concerned about this alone, and especially
urge the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer, and thus direct
our whole life and being according to God's Word. At whatever time, then, this
is being observed and practised, there a true holy day is being kept; otherwise
it shall not be called a Christians' holy day. For, indeed, non-Christians can
also cease from work and be idle, just as the entire swarm of our
ecclesiastics, who stand daily in the churches, singing, and ringing bells but
keeping no holy day holy, because they neither preach nor practises God's Word,
but teach and live contrary to it.
For the Word of God is the sanctuary above all
sanctuaries, yea, the only one which we Christians know and have. For though we
had the bones of all the saints or all holy and consecrated garments upon a
heap, still that would help us nothing; for all that is a dead thing which can
sanctify nobody. But God's Word is the treasure which sanctifies everything,
and by which even all the saints themselves were sanctified. At whatever hour
then, God's Word is taught, preached, heard, read or meditated upon, there the
person, day, and work are sanctified thereby, not because of the external work,
but because of the Word which makes saints of us all. Therefore I constantly
say that all our life and work must be ordered according to God's Word, if it
is to be God-pleasing or holy. Where this is done, this commandment is in force
and being fulfilled.
On the contrary, any observance or work that is
practised without God's Word is unholy before God, no matter how brilliantly it
may shine! even though it be covered with relics, such as the fictitious
spiritual orders which know nothing of God's Word and seek holiness in their
own works.
Note, therefore, that the force and power of this
commandment lies not in the resting but in the sanctifying so that to this day
belongs a special holy exercise. For other works and occupations are not
properly called holy exercises, unless the man himself be first holy. But here
a work is to be done by which man is himself made holy, which is done (as we
have heard ) alone through God's Word. For this, then, fixed places, times,
persons, and the entire external order of worship have been created and
appointed, so that it may be publicly in operation.
Since, therefore, so much depends upon God's Word
that without it no holy day can be sanctified, we must know that God insists
upon a strict observance of this commandment, and will punish all who despise
His Word and are not willing to hear and learn it, especially at the time
appointed for the purpose.
Therefore not only those sin against this
commandment who grossly misuse and desecrate the holy day, as those who on
account of their greed or frivolity neglect to hear God's Word or lie in
taverns and are dead drunk like swine; but also that other crowd, who listen to
God's Word as to any other trifle, and only from custom come to preaching, and
go away again, and at the end of the year know as little of it as at the
beginning. For hitherto the opinion prevailed that you had properly hallowed
Sunday when you had heard a mass or the Gospel read; but no one cared for God's
Word, as also no one taught it. Now, while we have God's Word we nevertheless
do not correct the abuse; we suffer ourselves to be preached to and admonished,
but we listen without seriousness and care.
Know, therefore, that you must be concerned not
only about hearing, but also about learning and retaining it in memory, and do
not think that it is optional with you or of no great importance, but that it
is God's commandment, who will require of you how you have heard, learned, and
honored His Word.
Likewise those fastidious spirits are to be
reproved who, when they have heard a sermon or two, find it tedious and dull,
thinking that they know all that well enough, and need no more instruction. For
just that is the sin which has been hitherto reckoned among mortal sins, and is
called _achedia_, i.e., torpor or satiety, a malignant, dangerous plague with
which the devil bewitches and deceives the hearts of many, that he may surprise
us and secretly withdraw God's Word from us.
For let me tell you this, even though you know it
perfectly and be already master in all things, still you are daily in the
dominion of the devil, who ceases neither day nor night to steal unawares upon
you, to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against the foregoing
and all the commandments. Therefore you must always have God's Word in your
heart, upon your lips, and in your ears. But where the heart is idle, and the
Word does not sound, he breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware.
On the other hand, such is the efficacy of the Word, whenever it is seriously
contemplated heard, and used, that it is bound never to be without fruit, but
always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness, and produces a pure
heart and pure thoughts. For these words are not inoperative or dead, but
creative, living words. And even though no other interest or necessity impel
us, yet this ought to urge every one thereunto, because thereby the devil is
put to flight and driven away, and, besides, this commandment is fulfilled, and
[this exercise in the Word] is more pleasing to God than any work of hypocrisy,
however brilliant.
Thou shalt honor thy father and thy
mother.
To this estate of fatherhood and motherhood God
has given the special distinction above all estates that are beneath it that He
not simply commands us to love our parents, but to honor them. For with respect
to brothers, sisters, and our neighbors in general He commands nothing higher
than that we love them, so that He separates and distinguishes father and
mother above all other persons upon earth, and places them at His side. For it
is a far higher thing to honor than to love one, inasmuch as it comprehends not
only love, but also modesty, humility, and deference as to a majesty there
hidden, and requires not only that they be addressed kindly and with reverence,
but, most of all that both in heart and with the body we so act as to show that
we esteem them very highly, and that, next to God, we regard them as the very
highest. For one whom we are to honor from the heart we must truly regard as
high and great.
We must, therefore impress it upon the young that
they should regard their parents as in God's stead, and remember that however
lowly, poor, frail, and queer they may be, nevertheless they are father and
mother given them by God. They are not to be deprived of their honor because of
their conduct or their failings. Therefore we are not to regard their persons,
how they may be, but the will of God who has thus created and ordained. In
other respects we are, indeed, all alike in the eyes of God; but among us there
must necessarily be such inequality and ordered difference, and therefore God
commands it to be observed, that you obey me as your father, and that I have
the supremacy.
Learn, therefore, first, what is the honor
towards parents required by this commandment to wit, that they be held in
distinction and esteem above all things, as the most precious treasure on
earth. Furthermore, that also in our words we observe modesty toward them, do
not accost them roughly, haughtily, and defiantly, but yield to them and be
silent even though they go too far. Thirdly, that we show them such honor also
by works, that is, with our body and possessions, that we serve them, help
them, and provide for them when they are old, sick, infirm, or poor, and all
that not only gladly, but with humility and reverence, as doing it before God.
For he who knows how to regard them in his heart will not allow them to suffer
want or hunger, but will place them above him and at his side, and will share
with them whatever he has and possesses.
Secondly, notice how great, good, and holy a work
is here assigned children, which is alas! utterly neglected and disregarded,
and no one perceives that God has commanded it or that it is a holy, divine
Word and doctrine. For if it had been regarded as such, every one could have
inferred that they must be holy men who live according to these words. Thus
there would have been no need of inventing monasticism nor spiritual orders,
but every child would have abided by this commandment, and could have directed
his conscience to God and said: "If I am to do good and holy works, I know of
none better than to render all honor and obedience to my parents, because God
has Himself commanded it. For what God commands must be much and far nobler
than everything that we may devise ourselves, and since there is no higher or
better teacher to be found than God, there can be no better doctrine, indeed,
than He gives forth. Now, He teaches fully what we should do if we wish to
perform truly good works, and by commanding them, He shows that they please
Him. If, then, it is God who commands this, and who knows not how to appoint
anything better, I will never improve upon it."
Behold, in this manner we would have had a godly
child properly taught, reared in true blessedness, and kept at home in
obedience to his parents and in their service, so that men should have had
blessing and joy from the spectacle. However, God's commandment was not
permitted to be thus [with such care and diligence] commended, but had to be
neglected and trampled under foot, so that a child could not lay it to heart,
and meanwhile gaped [like a panting wolf] at the devices which we set up,
without once [consulting or] giving reverence to God.
Let us, therefore, learn at last, for God's sake,
that, placing all other things out of sight, our youths look first to this
commandment, if they wish to serve God with truly good works, that they do what
is pleasing to their fathers and mothers, or to those to whom they may be
subject in their stead. For every child that knows and does this has, in the
first place, this great consolation in his heart that he can joyfully say and
boast (in spite of and against all who are occupied with works of their own
choice): "Behold, this work is well pleasing to my God in heaven that I know
for certain." Let them all come together with their many great, distressing,
and difficult works and make their boast, we will see whether they can show one
that is greater and nobler than obedience to father and mother, to whom God has
appointed and commanded obedience next to His own majesty; so that if God's
Word and will are in force and being accomplished nothing shall be esteemed
higher than the will and word of parents; yet so that it, too, is subordinated
to obedience toward God and is not opposed to the preceding commandments.
Therefore you should be heartily glad and thank
God that He has chosen you and made you worthy to do a work so precious and
pleasing to Him. Only see that, although it be regarded as the most humble and
despised you esteem it great and precious, not on account of our worthiness,
but because it is comprehended in, and controlled by, the jewel and sanctuary,
namely, the Word and commandment of God. Oh, what a high price would all;
Carthusians, monks, and nuns pay, if in all their religious doings they could
bring into God's presence a single work done by virtue of His commandment, and
be able before His face to say with joyful heart: "Now I know that this work is
well pleasing to Thee." Where will these poor wretched persons hide when in the
sight of God and all the world they shall blush with shame before a young child
who has lived according to this commandment, and shall have to confess that
with their whole life they are not worthy to give it a drink of water? And it
serves them right for their devilish perversion in treading God's commandment
under foot that they must vainly torment themselves with works of their own
device, and, in addition, have scorn and loss for their reward.
Should not the heart, then, leap and melt for joy
when going to work and doing what is commanded, saying: Lo, this is better than
all holiness of the Carthusians, even though they kill themselves fasting and
praying upon their knees without ceasing? For here you have a sure text and a
divine testimony that He has enjoined this, but concerning the other He did not
command a word. But this is the plight and miserable blindness of the world
that no one believes these things; to such an extent the devil has deceived us
with false holiness and the glamour of our own works.
Therefore I would be very glad (I say it again)
if men would open their eyes and ears and take this to heart, lest some time we
may again be led astray from the pure Word of God to the lying vanities of the
devil. Then, too, all would be well; for parents would have more joy, love,
friendship, and concord in their houses; thus the children could captivate
their parents' hearts. On the other hand, when they are obstinate, and will not
do what they ought until a rod is laid upon their back, they anger both God and
their parents, whereby they deprive themselves of this treasure and joy of
conscience and lay up for themselves only misfortune. Therefore, as every one
complains, the course of the world now is such that both young and old are
altogether dissolute and beyond control, have no reverence nor sense of honor,
do nothing except as they are driven to it by blows, and perpetrate what wrong
and detraction they can behind each other's back; therefore God also punishes
them, that they sink into all kinds of filth and misery. As a rule, the
parents, too, are themselves stupid and ignorant; one fool trains [teaches]
another, and as they have lived, so live their children after them.
This, now, I say should be the first and most
important consideration to urge us to the observance of this commandment; on
which account, even if we had no father and mother we ought to wish that God
would set up wood and stone before Us, whom we might call father and mother.
How much more, since He has given us living parents, should we rejoice to show
them honor and obedience, because we know it is so highly pleasing to the
Divine Majesty and to all angels, and vexes all devils, and is, besides, the
highest work which we can do, after the sublime divine worship comprehended in
the previous commandments, so that giving of alms and every other good work
toward our neighbor are not equal to this. For God has assigned this estate the
highest place, yea, has set it up in His own stead, upon earth. This will and
pleasure of God ought to be a sufficient reason and incentive to us to do what
we can with good will and pleasure.
Besides this, it is our duty before the world to
be grateful for benefits and every good which we have of our parents. But here
again the devil rules in the world, so that the children forget their parents,
as we all forget God, and no one considers how God nourishes, protects, and
defends us, and bestows so much good on body and soul; especially when an evil
hour comes we are angry and grumble with impatience and all the good which we
have received throughout our life is wiped out [from our memory]. Just so we do
also with our parents, and there is no child that understands and considers
this [what the parents have endured while nourishing and fostering him], except
the Holy Ghost grant him this grace.
God knows very well this perverseness of the
world; therefore He admonishes and urges by commandments that every one
consider what his parents have done for him and he will find that he has from
them body and life, moreover, that he has been fed and reared when otherwise he
would have perished a hundred times in his own filth. Therefore it is a true
and good saying of old and wise men: Deo, parentibus et magistris non potest
satis gratiae rependi, that is, To God, to parents, and to teachers we can
never render sufficient gratitude and compensation. He that regards and
considers this will indeed without compulsion do all honor to his parents, and
bear them up on his hands as those through whom God has done him all good.
Over and above all this, another great reason
that should incite us the more [to obedience to this commandment] is that God
attaches to this commandment a temporal promise and says: That thou mayest live
long upon the land which the Lord, thy God, giveth thee.
Here you can see yourself how much God is in
earnest in respect to this commandment, inasmuch as He not only declares that
it is well pleasing to Him, and that He has joy and delight therein; but also
that it shall be for our prosperity and promote our highest good; so that we
may have a pleasant and agreeable life, furnished with every good thing.
Therefore also St. Paul greatly emphasizes the same and rejoices in it when he
says, Eph. 6, 2. 3: This is the first commandment with promise: That it may be
well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. For although the rest
also have their promises contained in them, yet in none is it so plainly and
explicitly stated.
Here, then, you have the fruit and the reward,
that whoever observes this commandment shall have happy days, fortune, and
prosperity; and on the other hand, the punishment, that whoever is disobedient
shall the sooner perish, and never enjoy life. For to have long life in the
sense of the Scriptures is not only to become old, but to have everything which
belongs to long life, such as health, wife, and children, livelihood, peace,
good government, etc., without which this life can neither be enjoyed in
cheerfulness nor long endure. If, therefore, you will not obey father and
mother and submit to their discipline, then obey the hangman; if you will not
obey him, then submit to the skeleton-man, i.e., death [death the all-subduer,
the teacher of wicked children]. For on this God insists peremptorily: Either
if you obey Him rendering love and service, He will reward you abundantly with
all good, or if you offend Him, He will send upon you both death and the
hangman.
Whence come so many knaves that must daily be
hanged, beheaded, broken upon the wheel, but from disobedience [to parents],
because they will not submit to discipline in kindness, so that, by the
punishment of God, they bring it about that we behold their misfortune and
grief? For it seldom happens that such perverse people die a natural or timely
death.
But the godly and obedient have this blessing,
that they live long in pleasant quietness and see their children's children (as
said above) to the third and fourth generation.
Thus experience also teaches, that where there
are honorable, old families who fare well and have many children, they owe
their origin to the fact, to be sure, that some of them were brought up well
and were regardful of their parents. On the other hand, it is written of the
wicked, Ps. 109,13: Let his posterity be cut off; and in the generation
following let their name be blotted out. Therefore heed well how great a thing
in God's sight obedience is since He so highly esteems it, is so highly pleased
with it, and rewards it so richly, and besides enforces punishment so
rigorously on those who act contrariwise.
All this I say that it may be well impressed upon
the young. For no one believes how necessary this commandment is, although it
has not been esteemed and taught hitherto under the papacy. These are simple
and easy words, and everybody thinks he knew them a fore; therefore men pass
them lightly by, are gaping after other matters, and do not see and believe
that God is so greatly offended if they be disregarded, nor that one does a
work so well pleasing and precious if he follows them.
In this commandment belongs a further statement
regarding all kinds of obedience to persons in authority who have to command
and to govern. For all authority flows and is propagated from the authority of
parents. For where a father is unable alone to educate his [rebellious and
irritable] child, he employs a schoolmaster to instruct him; if he be too weak,
he enlists the aid of his friends and neighbors; if he departs this life, he
delegates and confers his authority and government upon others who are
appointed for the purpose. Likewise, he must have domestics, man-servants and
maid-servants, under himself for the management of the household, so that all
whom we call masters are in the place of parents and must derive their power
and authority to govern from them. Hence also they are all called fathers in
the Scriptures, as those who in their government perform the functions of a
father, and should have a paternal heart toward their subordinates. As also
from antiquity the Romans and other nations called the masters and mistresses
of the household patres- et matresfamiliae that is, housefathers and
housemothers. So also they called their national rulers and overlords patres
patriae, that is fathers of the entire country, for a great shame to us who
would be Christians that we do not likewise call them so, or, at least do not
esteem and honor them as such.
Now, what a child owes to father and mother, the
same owe all who are embraced in the household. Therefore man-servants and
maid-servants should be careful not only to be obedient to their masters and
mistresses but also to honor them as their own fathers and mothers, and to do
everything which they know is expected of them, not from compulsion and with
reluctance, but with pleasure and joy for the cause just mentioned, namely that
it is God's command and is pleasing to Him above all other works. Therefore
they ought rather to pay wages in addition and be glad that they may obtain
masters and mistresses to have such joyful consciences and to know how they may
do truly golden works; a matter which has hitherto been neglected and despised,
when, instead, everybody ran in the devil's name, into convents or to
pilgrimages and indulgences, with loss [of time and money] and with an evil
conscience.
If this truth, then, could be impressed upon the
poor people, a servant-girl would leap and praise and thank God; and with her
tidy work for which she receives support and wages she would acquire such a
treasure as all that are esteemed the greatest saints have not obtained. Is it
not an excellent boast to know and say that, if you perform your daily domestic
task, this is better than all the sanctity and ascetic life of monks? And you
have the promise, in addition, that you shall prosper in all good and fare
well. How can you lead a more blessed or holier life as far as your works are
concerned? For in the sight of God faith is what really renders a person holy,
and alone serves Him, but the works are for the service of man. There you have
everything good, protection and defense in the Lord, a joyful conscience and a
gracious God besides, who will reward you a hundredfold, so that you are even a
nobleman if you be only pious and obedient. But if not, you have, in the first
place, nothing but the wrath and displeasure of God, no peace of heart, and
afterwards all manner of plagues and misfortunes.
Whoever will not be influenced by this and
inclined to godliness we hand over to the hangman and to the skeleton-man.
Therefore let every one who allows himself to be advised remember that God is
not making sport, and know that it is God who speaks with you and demands
obedience. If you obey Him, you are His dear child; but if you despise to do
it, then take shame, misery, and grief for your reward.
The same also is to be said of obedience to civil
government, which (as we have said) is all embraced in the estate of fatherhood
and extends farthest of all relations. For here the father is not one of a
single family, but of as many people as he has tenants, citizens, or subjects.
For through them, as through our parents, God gives to us food, house and home,
protection and security. Therefore since they bear such name and title with all
honor as their highest dignity, it is our duty to honor them and to esteem them
great as the dearest treasure and the most precious jewel upon earth.
He, now, who is obedient here, is willing and
ready to serve, and cheerfully does all that pertains to honor, knows that he
is pleasing God and that he will receive joy and happiness for his reward. If
he will not do it in love, but despises and resists [authority] or rebels, let
him also know, on the other hand, that he shall have no favor nor blessing, and
where he thinks to gain a florin thereby, he will elsewhere lose ten times as
much, or become a victim to the hangman, perish by war, pestilence, and famine,
or experience no good in his children, and be obliged to suffer injury,
injustice, and violence at the hands of his servants, neighbors, or strangers
and tyrants; so that what we seek and deserve is paid back and comes home to
us.
If we would ever suffer ourselves to be persuaded
that such works are pleasing to God and have so rich a reward, we would be
established in altogether abundant possessions and have what our heart desires.
But because the word and command of God are so lightly esteemed, as though some
babbler had spoken it, let us see whether you are the man to oppose Him. How
difficult, do you think, it will be for Him to recompense you! Therefore you
would certainly live much better with the divine favor, peace, and happiness
than with His displeasure and misfortune. Why, think you, is the world now so
full of unfaithfulness, disgrace, calamity, and murder, but because every one
desires to be his own master and free from the emperor, to care nothing for any
one, and do what pleases him? Therefore God punishes one knave by another, so
that, when you defraud and despise your master, another comes and deals in like
manner with you, yea, in your household you must suffer ten times more from
wife, children, or servants.
Indeed, we feel our misfortune, we murmur and
complain of unfaithfulness, violence, and injustice, but will not see that we
ourselves are knaves who have fully deserved this punishment, and yet are not
thereby reformed. We will have no favor and happiness, therefore it is but fair
that we have nothing but misfortune without mercy. There must still be
somewhere upon earth some godly people because God continues to grant us so
much good! On our own account we should not have a farthing in the house nor a
straw in the field. All this I have been obliged to urge with so many words, in
hope that some one may take it to heart, that we may be relieved of the
blindness and misery in which we are steeped so deeply, and may truly
understand the Word and will of God, and earnestly accept it. For thence we
would learn how we could have joy, happiness, and salvation enough, both
temporal and eternal.
Thus we have two kinds of fathers presented in
this commandment, fathers in blood and fathers in office, or those to whom
belongs the care of the family, and those to whom belongs the care of the
country. Besides these there are yet spiritual fathers; not like those in the
Papacy, who have indeed had themselves called thus, but have performed no
function of the paternal office. For those only are called spiritual fathers
who govern and guide us by the Word of God; as St. Paul boasts his fatherhood 1
Cor. 4, 15, where he says: In Christ Jesus I hove begotten you through the
Gospel. Now, since they are fathers they are entitled to their honor, even
above all others. But here it is bestowed least; for the way which the world
knows for honoring them is to drive them out of the country and to grudge them
a piece of bread and, in short, they must be (as says St. Paul 1 Cor. 4, 13) as
the filth of the world and everybody's refuse and footrag.
Yet there is need that this also be urged upon
the populace, that those who would be Christians are under obligation in the
sight of God to esteem them worthy of double honor who minister to their souls,
that they deal well with them and provide for them. For that, God is willing to
add to you sufficient blessing and will not let you come to want. But in this
matter every one refuses and resists, and all are afraid that they will perish
from bodily want, and cannot now support one respectable preacher, where
formerly they filled ten fat paunches. In this we also deserve that God deprive
us of His Word and blessing, and again allow preachers of lies to arise to lead
us to the devil, and, in addition, to drain our sweat and blood.
But those who keep in sight God's will and
commandment have the promise that everything which they bestow upon temporal
and spiritual fathers, and whatever they do to honor them, shall be richly
recompensed to them, so that they shall have, not bread, clothing, and money
for a year or two, but long life, support, and peace, and shall be eternally
rich and blessed. Therefore only do what is your duty, and let God take care
how He is to support you and provide for you sufficiently. Since He has
promised it, and has never yet lied, He will not be found lying to you.
This ought indeed to encourage us, and give us
hearts that would melt in pleasure and love toward those to whom we owe honor,
so that we would raise our hands and joyfully thank God who has given us such
promises, for which we ought to run to the ends of the world [to the remotest
parts of India]. For although the whole world should combine, it could not add
an hour to our life or give us a single grain from the earth. But God wishes to
give you all exceeding abundantly according to your heart's desire. He who
despises and casts this to the winds is not worthy ever to hear a word of God.
This has now been stated more than enough for all who belong under this
commandment.
In addition, it would be well to preach to the
parents also, and such as bear their office, as to how they should deport
themselves toward those who are committed to them for their government. For
although this is not expressed in the Ten Commandments, it is nevertheless
abundantly enjoined in many places in the Scriptures. And God desires to have
it embraced in this commandment when He speaks of father and mother. For He
does not wish to have in this office and government knaves and tyrants; nor
does He assign to them this honor, that is, power and authority to govern, that
they should have themselves worshiped; but they should consider that they are
under obligations of obedience to God; and that, first of all, they should
earnestly and faithfully discharge their office, not only to support and
provide for the bodily necessities of their children, servants, subjects, etc.,
but, most of all, to train them to the honor and praise of God. Therefore do
not think that this is left to your pleasure and arbitrary will, but that it is
a strict command and injunction of God, to whom also you must give account for
it.
But here again the sad plight arises that no one
perceives or heeds this, and all live on as though God gave us children for our
pleasure or amusement, and servants that we should employ them like a cow or
ass, only for work, or as though we were only to gratify our wantonness with
our subjects, ignoring them, as though it were no concern of ours what they
learn or how they live; and no one is willing to see that this is the command
of the Supreme Majesty, who will most strictly call us to account and punish us
for it; nor that there is so great need to be so seriously concerned about the
young. For if we wish to have excellent and apt persons both for civil and
ecclesiastical government we must spare no diligence, time, or cost in teaching
and educating our children, that they may serve God and the world, and we must
not think only how we may amass money and possessions for them. For God can
indeed without us support and make them rich, as He daily does. But for this
purpose He has given us children, and issued this command that we should train
and govern them according to His will, else He would have no need of father and
mother. Let every one know therefore, that it is his duty, on peril of losing
the divine favor, to bring up his children above all things in the fear and
knowledge of God, and if they are talented, have them learn and study
something, that they may be employed for whatever need there is [to have them
instructed and trained in a liberal education, that men may be able to have
their aid in government and in whatever is necessary].
If that were done, God would also richly bless us
and give us grace to train men by whom land and people might be improved and
likewise well educated citizens, chaste and domestic wives, who afterwards
would rear godly children and servants. Here consider now what deadly injury
you are doing if you be negligent and fail on your part to bring up your child
to usefulness and piety, and how you bring upon yourself all sin and wrath,
thus earning hell by your own children, even though you be otherwise pious and
holy. And because this is disregarded, God so fearfully punishes the world that
there is no discipline, government, or peace, of which we all complain, but do
not see that it is our fault; for as we train them, we have spoiled and
disobedient children and subjects. Let this be sufficient exhortation; for to
draw this out at length belongs to another time.
Thou shalt not kill.
We have now completed both the spiritual and the
temporal government, that is, the divine and the paternal authority and
obedience. But here now we go forth from our house among our neighbors to learn
how we should live with one another, every one himself toward his neighbor.
Therefore God and government are not included in this commandment nor is the
power to kill, which they have taken away. For God has delegated His authority
to punish evil-doers to the government instead of parents, who aforetime (as we
read in Moses) were required to bring their own children to judgment and
sentence them to death. Therefore, what is here forbidden is forbidden to the
individual in his relation to any one else, and not to the government.
Now this commandment is easy enough and has been
often treated, because we hear it annually in the Gospel of St. Matthew, 5, 21
ff., where Christ Himself explains and sums it up, namely, that we must not
kill neither with hand, heart, mouth, signs, gestures, help, nor counsel.
Therefore it is here forbidden to every one to be angry, except those (as we
said) who are in the place of God, that is, parents and the government. For it
is proper for God and for every one who is in a divine estate to be angry, to
reprove and punish, namely, on account of those very persons who transgress
this and the other commandments.
But the cause and need of this commandment is
that God well knows that the world is evil, and that this life has much
unhappiness; therefore He has placed this and the other commandments between
the good and the evil. Now, as there are many assaults upon all commandments,
so it happens also in this commandment that we must live among many people who
do us harm, so that we have cause to be hostile to them.
As when your neighbor sees that you have a better
house and home [a larger family and more fertile fields], greater possessions
and fortune from God than he, he is sulky, envies you, and speaks no good of
you.
Thus by the devil's incitement you will get many
enemies who cannot bear to see you have any good, either bodily or spiritual.
When we see such people, our hearts, in turn, would rage and bleed and take
vengeance. Then there arise cursing and blows, from which follow finally misery
and murder. Here, now, God like a kind father steps in ahead of Us, interposes
and wishes to have the quarrel settled, that no misfortune come of it, nor one
destroy another. And briefly He would hereby protect, set free, and keep in
peace every one against the crime and violence of every one else; and would
have this commandment placed as a wall, fortress, and refuge about our
neighbor, that we do him no hurt nor harm in his body.
Thus this commandment aims at this, that no one
offend his neighbor on account of any evil deed, even though he have fully
deserved it. For where murder is forbidden, all cause also is forbidden whence
murder may originate. For many a one, although he does not kill, yet curses and
utters a wish, which would stop a person from running far if it were to strike
him in the neck [makes imprecations, which if fulfilled with respect to any
one, he would not live long]. Now since this inheres in every one by nature and
it is a common practice that no one is willing to suffer at the hands of
another, God wishes to remove the root and source by which the heart is
embittered against our neighbor, and to accustom us ever to keep in view this
commandment, always to contemplate ourselves in it as in a mirror, to regard
the will of God, and with hearty confidence and invocation of His name to
commit to Him the wrong which we suffer. Thus we shall suffer our enemies to
rage and be angry, doing what they can, and we learn to calm our wrath, and to
have a patient, gentle heart, especially toward those who give us cause to be
angry, that is, our enemies.
Therefore the entire sum of what it means not to
kill is to be impressed most explicitly upon the simple-minded. In the first
place that we harm no one, first, with our hand or by deed. Then, that we do
not employ our tongue to instigate or counsel thereto. Further, that we neither
use nor assent to any kind of means or methods whereby any one may be injured.
And finally, that the heart be not ill disposed toward any one, nor from anger
and hatred wish him ill, so that body and soul may be innocent in regard to
every one, but especially those who wish you evil or inflict such upon you. For
to do evil to one who wishes and does you good is not human, but diabolical.
Secondly, under this commandment not only he is
guilty who does evil to his neighbor, but he also who can do him good, prevent,
resist evil, defend and save him, so that no bodily harm or hurt happen to him
and yet does not do it. If, therefore, you send away one that is naked when you
could clothe him, you have caused him to freeze to death; you see one suffer
hunger and do not give him food, you have caused him to starve. So also, if you
see any one innocently sentenced to death or in like distress, and do not save
him, although you know ways and means to do so, you have killed him. And it
will not avail you to make the pretext that you did not afford any help,
counsel, or aid thereto for you have withheld your love from him and deprived
him of the benefit whereby his life would have been saved.
Therefore God also rightly calls all those
murderers who do not afford counsel and help in distress and danger of body and
life, and will pass a most terrible sentence upon them in the last day, as
Christ Himself has announced when He shall say, Matt.25, 42f.: I was an
hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; I was
a stranger, and ye took Me not in; naked, and ye clothed Me not; sick and in
prison and ye visited Me not. That is: You would have suffered Me and Mine to
die of hunger thirst, and cold, would have suffered the wild beasts to tear us
to pieces, or left us to rot in prison or perish in distress. What else is that
but to reproach them as murderers and bloodhounds? For although you have not
actually done all this, you have nevertheless, so far as you were concerned,
suffered him to pine and perish in misfortune.
It is just as if I saw some one navigating and
laboring in deep water [and struggling against adverse winds] or one fallen
into fire, and could extend to him the hand to pull him out and save him, and
yet refused to do it. What else would I appear, even in the eyes of the world,
than as a murderer and a criminal?
Therefore it is God's ultimate purpose that we
suffer harm to befall no man, but show him all good and love; and, as we have
said it is specially directed toward those who are our enemies. For to do good
to our friends is but an ordinary heathen virtue as Christ says Matt. 5, 46.
Here we have again the Word of God whereby He
would encourage and urge us to true noble and sublime works, as gentleness
patience, and, in short, love and kindness to our enemies, and would ever
remind us to reflect upon the First Commandment, that He is our God, that is,
that He will help, assist, and protect us, in order that He may thus quench the
desire of revenge in us.
This we ought to practice and inculcate and we
would have our hands full doing good works. But this would not be preaching for
monks; it would greatly detract from the religious estate, and infringe upon
the sanctity of Carthusians, and would even be regarded as forbidding good
works and clearing the convents. For in this wise the ordinary state of
Christians would be considered just as worthy, and even worthier, and everybody
would see how they mock and delude the world with a false, hypocritical show of
holiness, because they have given this and other commandments to the winds, and
have esteemed them unnecessary, as though they were not commandments but mere
counsels, and have at the same time shamelessly proclaimed and boasted their
hypocritical estate and works as the most perfect life, in order that they
might lead a pleasant, easy life, without the cross and without patience, for
which reason, too, they have resorted to the cloisters, so that they might not
be obliged to suffer any wrong from any one or to do him any good. But know now
that these are the true, holy, and godly works, in which, with all the angels
He rejoices, in comparison with which all human holiness is but stench and
filth, and besides, deserves nothing but wrath and damnation.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
These commandments now [that follow] are easily
understood from [the explanation of] the preceding; for they are all to the
effect that we [be careful to] avoid doing any kind of injury to our neighbor.
But they are arranged in fine [elegant] order. In the first place, they treat
of his own person. Then they proceed to the person nearest him, or the closest
possession next after his body namely, his wife, who is one flesh and blood
with him, so that we cannot inflict a higher injury upon him in any good that
is his. Therefore it is explicitly forbidden here to bring any disgrace upon
him in respect to his wife. And it really aims at adultery, because among the
Jews it was ordained and commanded that every one must be married. Therefore
also the young were early provided for [married], so that the virgin state was
held in small esteem, neither were public prostitution and lewdness tolerated
(as now). Therefore adultery was the most common form of unchastity among
them.
But because among us there is such a shameful
mess and the very dregs of all vice and lewdness, this commandment is directed
also against all manner of unchastity, whatever it may be called; and not only
is the external act forbidden, but also every kind of cause, incitement, and
means, so that the heart, the lips, and the whole body may be chaste and afford
no opportunity, help, or persuasion to unchastity. And not only this, but that
we also make resistance, afford protection and rescue wherever there is danger
and need; and again, that we give help and counsel, so as to maintain our
neighbor's honor. For whenever you omit this when you could make resistance, or
connive at it as if it did not concern you, you are as truly guilty as the one
perpetrating the deed. Thus, to state it in the briefest manner, there is
required this much, that every one both live chastely himself and help his
neighbor do the same, so that God by this commandment wishes to hedge round
about and protect [as with a rampart] every spouse that no one trespass against
them.
But since this commandment is aimed directly at
the state of matrimony and gives occasion to speak of the same, you must well
understand and mark, first, how gloriously God honors and extols this estate,
inasmuch as by His commandment He both sanctions and guards it. He has
sanctioned it above in the Fourth Commandment: Honor thy father and thy mother;
but here He has (as we said ) hedged it about and protected it. Therefore He
also wishes us to honor it, and to maintain and conduct it as a divine and
blessed estate; because, in the first place, He has instituted it before all
others, and therefore created man and woman separately (as is evident), not for
lewdness, but that they should [legitimately] live together, be fruitful, beget
children, and nourish and train them to the honor of God.
Therefore God has also most richly blessed this
estate above all others, and, in addition, has bestowed on it and wrapped up in
it everything in the world, to the end that this estate might be well and
richly provided for. Married life is therefore no jest or presumption; but it
is an excellent thing and a matter of divine seriousness. For it is of the
highest importance to Him that persons be raised who may serve the world and
promote the knowledge of God, godly living, and all virtues, to fight against
wickedness and the devil.
Therefore I have always taught that this estate
should not be despised nor held in disrepute, as is done by the blind world and
our false ecclesiastics, but that it be regarded according to God's Word, by
which it is adorned and sanctified, so that it is not only placed on an
equality with other estates, but that it precedes and surpasses them all,
whether they be that of emperor, princes, bishops, or whoever they please. For
both ecclesiastical and civil estates must humble themselves and all be found
in this estate as we shall hear. Therefore it is not a peculiar estate, but the
most common and noblest estate, which pervades all Christendom, yea which
extends through all the world.
In the second place, you must know also that it
is not only an honorable, but also a necessary state, and it is solemnly
commanded by God that, in general, in all conditions, men and women, who were
created for it, shall be found in this estate; yet with some exceptions
(although few) whom God has especially excepted, so that they are not fit for
the married estate, or whom He has released by a high, supernatural gift that
they can maintain chastity without this estate. For where nature has its
course, as it is implanted by God, it is not possible to remain chaste without
marriage. For flesh and blood remain flesh and blood, and the natural
inclination and excitement have their course without let or hindrance, as
everybody sees and feels. In order, therefore, that it may be the more easy in
some degree to avoid unchastity, God has commanded the estate of matrimony,
that every one may have his proper portion and be satisfied therewith; although
God's grace besides is required in order that the heart also may be pure.
From this you see how this popish rabble,
priests, monks, and nuns, resist God's order and commandment, inasmuch as they
despise and forbid matrimony, and presume and vow to maintain perpetual
chastity, and, besides, deceive the simple-minded with lying words and
appearances [impostures]. For no one has so little love and inclination to
chastity as just those who because of great sanctity avoid marriage, and either
indulge in open and shameless prostitution, or secretly do even worse, so that
one dare not speak of it, as has, alas! been learned too fully. And, in short,
even though they abstain from the act, their hearts are so full of unchaste
thoughts and evil lusts that there is a continual burning and secret suffering,
which can be avoided in the married life. Therefore all vows of chastity out of
the married state are condemned by this commandment, and free permission is
granted, yea, even the command is given, to all poor ensnared consciences which
have been deceived by their monastic vows to abandon the unchaste state and
enter the married life, considering that even if the monastic life were godly,
it would nevertheless not be in their power to maintain chastity, and if they
remain in it, they must only sin more and more against this commandment.
Now, I speak of this in order that the young may
be so guided that they conceive a liking for the married estate, and know that
it is a blessed estate and pleasing to God. For in this way we might in the
course of time bring it about that married life be restored to honor, and that
there might be less of the filthy, dissolute, disorderly doings which now run
riot the world over in open prostitution and other shameful vices arising from
disregard of married life. Therefore it is the duty of parents and the
government to see to it that our youth be brought up to discipline and
respectability, and when they have come to years of maturity, to provide for
them [to have them married] in the fear of God and honorably; He would not fail
to add His blessing and grace, so that men would have joy and happiness from
the same.
Let me now say in conclusion that this
commandment demands not only that every one live chastely in thought, word, and
deed in his condition, that is, especially in the estate of matrimony, but also
that every one love and esteem the spouse given him by God. For where conjugal
chastity is to be maintained, man and wife must by all means live together in
love and harmony, that one may cherish the other from the heart and with entire
fidelity. For that is one of the principal points which enkindle love and
desire of chastity, so that, where this is found, chastity will follow as a
matter of course without any command. Therefore also St. Paul so diligently
exhorts husband and wife to love and honor one another. Here you have again a
precious, yea, many and great good works, of which you can joyfully boast,
against all ecclesiastical estates, chosen without God's Word and
commandment.
Thou shalt not steal.
After your person and spouse temporal property
comes next. That also God wishes to have protected, and He has commanded that
no one shall subtract from, or curtail, his neighbor's possessions. For to
steal is nothing else than to get possession of another's property wrongfully,
which briefly comprehends all kinds of advantage in all sorts of trade to the
disadvantage of our neighbor. Now, this is indeed quite a wide-spread and
common vice, but so little regarded and observed that it exceeds all measure,
so that if all who are thieves, and yet do not wish to be called such, were to
be hanged on gallows the world would soon be devastated and there would be a
lack both of executioners and gallows. For, as we have just said, to steal is
to signify not only to empty our neighbor's coffer and pockets, but to be
grasping in the market, in all stores, booths, wine- and beer-cellars,
workshops, and, in short, wherever there is trading or taking and giving of
money for merchandise or labor.
As, for instance, to explain this somewhat
grossly for the common people, that it may be seen how godly we are: When a
manservant or maid-servant does not serve faithfully in the house, and does
damage, or allows it to be done when it could be prevented, or otherwise ruins
and neglects the goods entrusted to him, from indolence idleness, or malice, to
the spite and vexation of master and mistress, and in whatever way this can be
done purposely (for I do not speak of what happens from oversight and against
one's will), you can in a year abscond thirty, forty florins, which if another
had taken secretly or carried away, he would be hanged with the rope. But here
you [while conscious of such a great theft] may even bid defiance and become
insolent, and no one dare call you a thief.
The same I say also of mechanics, workmen, and
day-laborers, who all follow their wanton notions, and never know enough ways
to overcharge people, while they are lazy and unfaithful in their work. All
these are far worse than sneak-thieves, against whom we can guard with locks
and bolts, or who, if apprehended, are treated in such a manner that they will
not do the same again. But against these no one can guard, no one dare even
look awry at them or accuse them of theft, so that one would ten times rather
lose from his purse. For here are my neighbors, good friends, my own servants,
from whom I expect good [every faithful and diligent service], who defraud me
first of all.
Furthermore, in the market and in common trade
likewise, this practice is in full swing and force to the greatest extent,
where one openly defrauds another with bad merchandise, false measures,
weights, coins, and by nimbleness and queer finances or dexterous tricks takes
advantage of him; likewise, when one overcharges a person in a trade and
wantonly drives a hard bargain, skins and distresses him. And who can recount
or think of all these things? To sum up, this is the commonest craft and the
largest guild on earth, and if we regard the world throughout all conditions of
life, it is nothing else than a vast, wide stall, full of great thieves.
Therefore they are also called swivel-chair
robbers, land- and highway-robbers, not pick-locks and sneak-thieves who snatch
away the ready cash, but who sit on the chair [at home] and are styled great
noblemen, and honorable, pious citizens, and yet rob and steal under a good
pretext.
Yes, here we might be silent about the trifling
individual thieves if we were to attack the great, powerful arch-thieves with
whom lords and princes keep company, who daily plunder not only a city or two,
but all Germany. Yea, where should we place the head and supreme protector of
all thieves, the Holy Chair at Rome with all its retinue, which has grabbed by
theft the wealth of all the world, and holds it to this day?
This is, in short, the course of the world:
whoever can steal and rob openly goes free and secure, unmolested by any one,
and even demands that he be honored. Meanwhile the little sneak-thieves, who
have once trespassed, must bear the shame and punishment to render the former
godly and honorable. But let them know that in the sight of God they are the
greatest thieves, and that He will punish them as they are worthy and
deserve.
Now, since this commandment is so far-reaching
[and comprehensive], as just indicated, it is necessary to urge it well and to
explain it to the common people, not to let them go on in their wantonness and
security, but always to place before their eyes the wrath of God, and inculcate
the same. For we have to preach this not to Christians, but chiefly to knaves
and scoundrels, to whom it would be more fitting for judges, jailers, or Master
Hannes [the executioner] to preach. Therefore let every one know that it is his
duty, at the risk of God's displeasure, not only to do no injury to his
neighbor, nor to deprive him of gain, nor to perpetrate any act of
unfaithfulness or malice in any bargain or trade, but faithfully to preserve
his property for him, to secure and promote his advantage, especially when one
accepts money, wages, and one's livelihood for such service.
He now who wantonly despises this may indeed pass
along and escape the hangman, but he shall not escape the wrath and punishment
of God; and when he has long practiced his defiance and arrogance, he shall yet
remain a tramp and beggar, and, in addition, have all plagues and misfortune.
Now you are going your way [wherever your heart's pleasure calls you] while you
ought to preserve the property of your master and mistress, for which service
you fill your crop and maw, take your wages like a thief, have people treat you
as a nobleman; for there are many that are even insolent towards their masters
and mistresses, and are unwilling to do them a favor or service by which to
protect them from loss.
But reflect what you will gain when, having come
into your own property and being set up in your home (to which God will help
with all misfortunes), it [your perfidy] will bob up again and come home to
you, and you will find that where you have cheated or done injury to the value
of one mite, you will have to pay thirty again.
Such shall be the lot also of mechanics and
day-laborers of whom we are now obliged to hear and suffer such intolerable
maliciousness, as though they were noblemen in another's possessions, and every
one were obliged to give them what they demand. Just let them continue
practicing their exactions as long as they can; but God will not forget His
commandment, and will reward them according as they have served, and will hang
them, not upon a green gallows, but upon a dry one so that all their life they
shall neither prosper nor accumulate anything. And indeed, if there were a
well-ordered government in the land, such wantonness might soon be checked and
prevented, as was the custom in ancient times among the Romans, where such
characters were promptly seized by the pate in a way that others took
warning.
No more shall all the rest prosper who change the
open free market into a carrion-pit of extortion and a den of robbery, where
the poor are daily overcharged, new burdens and high prices are imposed, and
every one uses the market according to his caprice, and is even defiant and
brags as though it were his fair privilege and right to sell his goods for as
high a price as he please, and no one had a right to say a word against it. We
will indeed look on and let these people skin, pinch, and hoard, but we will
trust in God -- who will, however, do this of His own accord, -- that, after
you have been skinning and scraping for a long time, He will pronounce such a
blessing on your gains that your grain in the garner, your beer in the cellar,
your cattle in the stalls shall perish; yea, where you have cheated and
overcharged any one to the amount of a florin, your entire pile shall be
consumed with rust, so that you shall never enjoy it.
And indeed, we see and experience this being
fulfilled daily before our eyes, that no stolen or dishonestly acquired
possession thrives. How many there are who rake and scrape day and night, and
yet grow not a farthing richer! And though they gather much, they must suffer
so many plagues and misfortunes that they cannot relish it with cheerfulness
nor transmit it to their children. But as no one minds it, and we go on as
though it did not concern us, God must visit us in a different way and teach us
manners by imposing one taxation after another, or billeting a troop of
soldiers upon us, who in one hour empty our coffers and purses, and do not quit
as long as we have a farthing left, and in addition, by way of thanks, burn and
devastate house and home, and outrage and kill wife and children.
And, in short, if you steal much, depend upon it
that again as much will be stolen from you; and he who robs and acquires with
violence and wrong will submit to one who shall deal after the same fashion
with him. For God is master of this art, that since every one robs and steals
from the other, He punishes one thief by means of another. Else where should we
find enough gallows and ropes?
Now, whoever is willing to be instructed let him
know that this is the commandment of God, and that it must not be treated as a
jest. For although you despise us, defraud, steal, and rob, we will indeed
manage to endure your haughtiness, suffer, and, according to the Lord's Prayer,
forgive and show pity; for we know that the godly shall nevertheless have
enough, and you injure yourself more than another.
But beware of this: When the poor man comes to
you (of whom there are so many now) who must buy with the penny of his daily
wages and live upon it, and you are harsh to him, as though every one lived by
your favor, and you skin and scrape to the bone, and, besides, with pride and
haughtiness turn him off to whom you ought to give for nothing, he will go away
wretched and sorrowful, and since he can complain to no one he will cry and
call to heaven, -- then beware (I say again) as of the devil himself. For such
groaning and calling will be no jest, but will have a weight that will prove
too heavy for you and all the world. For it will reach Him who takes care of
the poor sorrowful hearts, and will not allow them to go unavenged. But if you
despise this and become defiant, see whom you have brought upon you: if you
succeed and prosper, you may before all the world call God and me a liar.
We have exhorted, warned, and protested enough;
he who will not heed or believe it may go on until he learns this by experience
Yet it must be impressed upon the young that they may be careful not to follow
the old lawless crowd, but keep their eyes fixed upon God's commandment, lest
His wrath and punishment come upon them too. It behooves us to do no more than
to instruct and reprove with God's Word; but to check such open wantonness
there is need of the princes and government, who themselves would have eyes and
the courage to establish and maintain order in all manner of trade and
commerce, lest the poor be burdened and oppressed nor they themselves be loaded
with other men's sins.
Let this suffice as an explanation of what
stealing is, that it be not taken too narrowly but made to extend as far as we
have to do with our neighbors. And briefly, in a summary, as in the former
commandments, it is herewith forbidden, in the first place, to do our neighbor
any injury or wrong (in whatever manner supposable, by curtailing,
forestalling, and withholding his possessions and property), or even to consent
or allow such a thing, but to interpose and prevent it. And, on the other hand,
it is commanded that we advance and improve his possessions, and in case he
suffers want, that we help, communicate, and lend both to friends and foes.
Whoever now seeks and desires good works will
find here more than enough such as are heartily acceptable and pleasing to God,
and in addition are favored and crowned with excellent blessings, that we are
to be richly compensated for all that we do for our neighbor's good and from
friendship; as King Solomon also teaches Prov. 19, 17: He that hath pity upon
the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him
again. Here, then you have a rich Lord, who is certainly sufficient for you,
and who will not suffer you to come short in anything or to want; thus you can
with a joyful conscience enjoy a hundred times more than you could scrape
together with unfaithfulness and wrong. Now, whoever does not desire the
blessing will find wrath and misfortune enough.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy
neighbor.
Over and above our own body, spouse, and temporal
possessions, we have yet another treasure, namely, honor and good report [the
illustrious testimony of an upright and unsullied name and reputation], with
which we cannot dispense. For it is intolerable to live among men in open shame
and general contempt. Therefore God wishes the reputation, good name, and
upright character of our neighbor to be taken away or diminished as little as
his money and possessions, that every one may stand in his integrity before
wife, children, servants, and neighbors. And in the first place, we take the
plainest meaning of this commandment according to the words (Thou shalt not
bear false witness), as pertaining to the public courts of justice, where a
poor innocent man is accused and oppressed by false witnesses in order to be
punished in his body, property, or honor.
Now, this appears as if it were of little concern
to us at present; but with the Jews it was quite a common and ordinary matter.
For the people were organized under an excellent and regular government; and
where there is still such a government, instances of this sin will not be
wanting. The cause of it is that where judges, burgomasters, princes, or others
in authority sit in judgment, things never fail to go according to the course
of the world; namely, men do not like to offend anybody, flatter, and speak to
gain favor, money, prospects, or friendship; and in consequence a poor man and
his cause must be oppressed, denounced as wrong, and suffer punishment. And it
is a common calamity in the world that in courts of justice there seldom
preside godly men.
For to be a judge requires above all things a
godly man, and not only a godly, but also a wise, modest, yea, a brave and bold
man; likewise, to be a witness requires a fearless and especially a godly man.
For a person who is to judge all matters rightly and carry them through with
his decision will often offend good friends, relatives, neighbors, and the rich
and powerful, who can greatly serve or injure him. Therefore he must be quite
blind, have his eyes and ears closed, neither see nor hear, but go straight
forward in everything that comes before him, and decide accordingly.
Therefore this commandment is given first of all
that every one shall help his neighbor to secure his rights, and not allow them
to be hindered or twisted, but shall promote and strictly maintain them, no
matter whether he be judge or witness, and let it pertain to whatsoever it
will. And especially is a goal set up here for our jurists that they be careful
to deal truly and uprightly with every case, allowing right to remain right,
and, on the other hand, not perverting anything [by their tricks and technical
points turning black into white and making wrong out to be right], nor glossing
it over or keeping silent concerning it, irrespective of a person's money,
possession, honor, or power. This is one part and the plainest sense of this
commandment concerning all that takes place in court.
Next, it extends very much further, if we are to
apply it to spiritual jurisdiction or administration; here it is a common
occurrence that every one bears false witness against his neighbor. For
wherever there are godly preachers and Christians, they must bear the sentence
before the world that they are called heretics, apostates, yea, seditious and
desperately wicked miscreants. Besides the Word of God must suffer in the most
shameful and malicious manner, being persecuted blasphemed, contradicted,
perverted and falsely cited and interpreted. But let this pass; for it is the
way of the blind world that she condemns and persecutes the truth and the
children of God, and yet esteems it no sin.
In the third place, what concerns us all, this
commandment forbids all sins of the tongue whereby we may injure or approach
too closely to our neighbor. For to bear false witness is nothing else than a
work of the tongue. Now, whatever is done with the tongue against a fellow-man
God would have prohibited, whether it be false preachers with their doctrine
and blasphemy, false judges and witnesses with their verdict, or outside of
court by lying and evil-speaking. Here belongs particularly the detestable,
shameful vice of speaking behind a person's back and slandering, to which the
devil spurs us on and of which there would be much to be said. For it is a
common evil plague that every one prefers hearing evil to hearing good of his
neighbor; and although we ourselves are so bad that we cannot suffer that any
one should say anything bad about us, but every one would much rather that all
the world should speak of him in terms of gold, yet we cannot bear that the
best is spoken about others.
Therefore, to avoid this vice we should note that
no one is allowed publicly to judge and reprove his neighbor, although he may
see him sin, unless he have a command to judge and to reprove. For there is a
great difference between these two things, judging sin and knowing sin. You may
indeed know it, but you are not to judge it. I can indeed see and hear that my
neighbor sins, but I have no command to report it to others. Now, if I rush in,
judging and passing sentence, I fall into a sin which is greater than his. But
if you know it, do nothing else than turn your ears into a grave and cover it,
until you are appointed to be judge and to punish by virtue of your office.
Those, then, are called slanderers who are not
content with knowing a thing, but proceed to assume jurisdiction, and when they
know a slight offense of another, carry it into every corner, and are delighted
and tickled that they can stir up another's displeasure [baseness], as swine
roll themselves in the dirt and root in it with the snout. This is nothing else
than meddling with the judgment and office of God, and pronouncing sentence and
punishment with the most severe verdict. For no judge can punish to a higher
degree nor go farther than to say: "He is a thief, a murderer, a traitor," etc.
Therefore, whoever presumes to say the same of his neighbor goes just as far as
the emperor and all governments. For although you do not wield the sword, you
employ your poisonous tongue to the shame and hurt of your neighbor.
God therefore would have it prohibited that any
one speak evil of another even though he be guilty, and the latter know it
right well; much less if he do not know it, and have it only from hearsay. But
you say: Shall I not say it if it be the truth? Answer: Why do you not make
accusation to regular judges? Ah, I cannot prove it publicly, and hence I might
be silenced and turned away in a harsh manner [incur the penalty of a false
accusation]. "Ah, indeed, do you smell the roast?" If you do not trust yourself
to stand before the proper authorities and to make answer, then hold your
tongue. But if you know it, know it for yourself and not for another. For if
you tell it to others, although it be true, you will appear as a liar, because
you cannot prove it, and you are, besides acting like a knave. For we ought
never to deprive any one of his honor or good name unless it be first taken
away from him publicly.
False witness, then, is everything which cannot
be properly proved. Therefore, what is not manifest upon sufficient evidence no
one shall make public or declare for truth; and in short, whatever is secret
should be allowed to remain secret, or, at any rate, should be secretly
reproved, as we shall hear. Therefore, if you encounter an idle tongue which
betrays and slanders some one, contradict such a one promptly to his face, that
he may blush thus many a one will hold his tongue who else would bring some
poor man into bad repute from which he would not easily extricate himself. For
honor and a good name are easily taken away, but not easily restored.
Thus you see that it is summarily forbidden to
speak any evil of our neighbor, however the civil government, preachers, father
and mother excepted, on the understanding that this commandment does not allow
evil to go unpunished. Now, as according to the Fifth Commandment no one is to
be injured in body, and yet Master Hannes [the executioner] is excepted, who by
virtue of his office does his neighbor no good, but only evil and harm, and
nevertheless does not sin against God's commandment, because God has on His own
account instituted that office; for He has reserved punishment for His own good
pleasure, as He threatens in the First Commandment, -- just so also, although
no one has a right in his own person to judge and condemn anybody, yet if they
to whose office it belongs fail to do it, they sin as well as he who would do
so of his own accord, without such office. For here necessity requires one to
speak of the evil, to prefer charges, to investigate and testify; and it is not
different from the case of a physician who is sometimes compelled to examine
and handle the patient whom he is to cure in secret parts. Just so governments,
father and mother, brothers and sisters, and other good friends, are under
obligation to each other to reprove evil wherever it is needful and
profitable.
But the true way in this matter would be to
observe the order according to the Gospel, Matt. 18, 15, where Christ says: If
thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee
and him alone. Here you have a precious and excellent teaching for governing
well the tongue, which is to be carefully observed against this detestable
misuse. Let this, then, be your rule, that you do not too readily spread evil
concerning your neighbor and slander him to others, but admonish him privately
that he may amend [his life]. Likewise, also, if some one report to you what
this or that one has done, teach him, too, to go and admonish him personally if
he have seen it himself; but if not, that he hold his tongue.
The same you can learn also from the daily
government of the household. For when the master of the house sees that the
servant does not do what he ought, he admonishes him personally. But if he were
so foolish as to let the servant sit at home, and went on the streets to
complain of him to his neighbors, he would no doubt be told: "You fool, what
does that concern us? Why do you not tell it to him ?" Behold, that would be
acting quite brotherly, so that the evil would be stayed, and your neighbor
would retain his honor. As Christ also says in the same place: If he hear thee,
thou host gained thy brother. Then you have done a great and excellent work;
for do you think it is a little matter to gain a brother? Let all monks and
holy orders step forth, with all their works melted together into one mass, and
see if they can boast that they have gained a brother.
Further, Christ teaches: But if he will not hear
thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three
witnesses every word may be established. So he whom it concerns is always to be
treated with personally, and not to be spoken of without his knowledge. But if
that do not avail, then bring it publicly before the community, whether before
the civil or the ecclesiastical tribunal. For then you do not stand alone, but
you have those witnesses with you by whom you can convict the guilty one,
relying on whom the judge can pronounce sentence and punish. This is the right
and regular course for checking and reforming a wicked person. But if we gossip
about another in all corners and stir the filth, no one will be reformed, and
afterwards when we are to stand up and bear witness, we deny having said so.
Therefore it would serve such tongues right if their itch for slander were
severely punished, as a warning to others. If you were acting for your
neighbor's reformation or from love of the truth, you would not sneak about
secretly nor shun the day and the light.
All this has been said regarding secret sins. But
where the sin is quite public so that the judge and everybody know it you can
without any sin avoid him and let him go, because he has brought himself into
disgrace, and you may also publicly testify concerning him. For when a matter
is public in the light of day, there can be no slandering or false judging or
testifying; as, when we now reprove the Pope with his doctrine, which is
publicly set forth in books and proclaimed in all the world. For where the sin
is public, the reproof also must be public, that every one may learn to guard
against it.
Thus we have now the sum and general
understanding of this commandment, to wit, that no one do any injury with the
tongue to his neighbor, whether friend or foe, nor speak evil of him, no matter
whether it be true or false, unless it be done by commandment or for his
reformation, but that every one employ his tongue and make it serve for the
best of every one else, to cover up his neighbor's sins and infirmities, excuse
them, palliate and garnish them with his own reputation. The chief reason for
this should be the one which Christ alleges in the Gospel, in which He
comprehends all commandments respecting our neighbor, Matt. 7, 12: Whatsoever
ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.
Even nature teaches the same thing in our own
bodies, as St. Paul says, 1 Cor. 12, 22: Much more, those members of the body
which seem to be more feeble are necessary; and those members of the body which
we think to be less honorable, upon these we bestow more abundant honor; and
our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. No one covers his face, eyes,
nose, and mouth, for they, being in themselves the most honorable members which
we have, do not require it. But the most infirm members, of which we are
ashamed, we cover with all diligence; hands, eyes, and the whole body must help
to cover and conceal them. Thus also among ourselves should we adorn whatever
blemishes and infirmities we find in our neighbor, and serve and help him to
promote his honor to the best of our ability, and, on the other hand, prevent
whatever may be discreditable to him. And it is especially an excellent and
noble virtue for one always to explain advantageously and put the best
construction upon all he may hear of his neighbor (if it be not notoriously
evil), or at any rate to condone it over and against the poisonous tongues that
are busy wherever they can pry out and discover something to blame in a
neighbor, and that explain and pervert it in the worst way; as is done now
especially with the precious Word of God and its preachers.
There are comprehended therefore in this
commandment quite a multitude of good works which please God most highly, and
bring abundant good and blessing, if only the blind world and the false saints
would recognize them. For there is nothing on or in entire man which can do
both greater and more extensive good or harm in spiritual and in temporal
matters than the tongue, though it is the least and feeblest member.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy
neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor
anything that is his.
These two commandments are given quite
exclusively to the Jews; nevertheless, in part they also concern us. For they
do not interpret them as referring to unchastity or theft, because these are
sufficiently forbidden above. They also thought that they had kept all those
when they had done or not done the external act. Therefore God has added these
two commandments in order that it be esteemed as sin and forbidden to desire or
in any way to aim at getting our neighbor's wife or possessions; and especially
because under the Jewish government man-servants and maid-servants were not
free as now to serve for wages as long as they pleased, but were their master's
property with their body and all they had, as cattle and other possessions.
Moreover, every man had power over his wife to put her away publicly by giving
her a bill of divorce, and to take another. Therefore they were in constant
danger among each other that if one took a fancy to another's wife, he might
allege any reason both to dismiss his own wife and to estrange the other's wife
from him, that he might obtain her under pretext of right. That was not
considered a sin nor disgrace with them; as little as now with hired help, when
a proprietor dismisses his man-servant or maid-servant, or takes another's
servants from him in any way.
Therefore (I say) they thus interpreted these
commandments, and that rightly (although their scope reaches somewhat farther
and higher), that no one think or purpose to obtain what belongs to another,
such as his wife, servants, house and estate, land meadows, cattle, even with a
show of right or by a subterfuge, yet with injury to his neighbor. For above,
in the Seventh Commandment, the vice is forbidden where one wrests to himself
the possessions of others, or withholds them from his neighbor, which he cannot
do by right. But here it is also forbidden to alienate anything from your
neighbor, even though you could do so with honor in the eyes of the world, so
that no one could accuse or blame you as though you had obtained it
wrongfully.
For we are so inclined by nature that no one
desires to see another have as much as himself, and each one acquires as much
as he can; the other may fare as best he can. And yet we pretend to be godly,
know how to adorn ourselves most finely and conceal our rascality, resort to
and invent adroit devices and deceitful artifices (such as now are daily most
ingeniously contrived) as though they were derived from the law codes; yea, we
even dare impertinently to refer to it, and boast of it, and will not have it
called rascality, but shrewdness and caution. In this lawyers and jurists
assist, who twist and stretch the law to suit it to their cause, stress words
and use them for a subterfuge, irrespective of equity or their neighbor's
necessity. And, in short, whoever is the most expert and cunning in these
affairs finds most help in law, as they themselves say: Vigilantibus iura
subveniunt [that is, The laws favor the watchful].
This last commandment therefore is given not for
rogues in the eyes of the world, but just for the most pious, who wish to be
praised and be called honest and upright people, since they have not offended
against the former commandments, as especially the Jews claimed to be, and even
now many great noblemen, gentlemen, and princes. For the other common masses
belong yet farther down, under the Seventh Commandment, as those who are not
much concerned whether they acquire their possessions with honor and right.
Now, this occurs most frequently in cases that
are brought into court, where it is the purpose to get something from our
neighbor and to force him out of his own. As (to give examples), when people
quarrel and wrangle about a large inheritance, real estate, etc., they avail
themselves of, and resort to, whatever has the appearance of right, so dressing
and adorning everything that the law must favor their side, and they keep the
property with such title that no one can make complaint or lay claim thereto.
In like manner, if any one desire to have a castle, city, duchy, or any other
great thing, he practises so much financiering through relationships, and by
any means he can, that the other is judicially deprived of it, and it is
adjudicated to him, and confirmed with deed and seal and declared to have been
acquired by princely title and honestly.
Likewise also in common trade where one
dexterously slips something out of another's hand, so that he must look after
it, or surprises and defrauds him in a matter in which he sees advantage and
benefit for himself, so that the latter, perhaps on account of distress or
debt, cannot regain or redeem it without injury, and the former gains the half
or even more; and yet this must not be considered as acquired by fraud or
stolen, but honestly bought. Here they say: First come, first served, and every
one must look to his own interest, let another get what he can. And who can be
so smart as to think of all the ways in which one can get many things into his
possession by such specious pretexts? This the world does not consider wrong
[nor is it punished by laws], and will not see that the neighbor is thereby
placed at a disadvantage, and must sacrifice what he cannot spare without
injury. Yet there is no one who wishes this to be done to him; from which we
can easily perceive that such devices and pretexts are false.
Thus it was done formerly also with respect to
wives: they knew such devices that if one were pleased with another woman, he
personally or through others (as there were many ways and means to be invented)
caused her husband to conceive a displeasure toward her, or had her resist him
and so conduct herself that he was obliged to dismiss her and leave her to the
other. That sort of thing undoubtedly prevailed much under the Law, as also we
read in the (Gospel of King Herod that he took his brother's wife while he was
yet living, and yet wished to be thought an honorable, pious man, as St. Mark
also testifies of him. But such an example, I trust, will not occur among us,
because in the New Testament those who are married are forbidden to be
divorced, except in such a case where one [shrewdly] by some stratagem takes
away a rich bride from another. But it is not a rare thing with us that one
estranges or alienates another's man-servant or maid-servant, or entices them
away by flattering words.
In whatever way such things happen, we must know
that God does not wish that you deprive your neighbor of anything that belongs
to him so that he suffer the loss and you gratify your avarice with it, even if
you could keep it honorably before the world; for it is a secret and insidious
imposition practised under the hat, as we say, that it may not be observed. For
although you go your way as if you had done no one any wrong, you have
nevertheless injured your neighbor; and if it is not called stealing and
cheating, yet it is called coveting your neighbor's property, that is, aiming
at possession of it, enticing it away from him without his will, and being
unwilling to see him enjoy what God has granted him. And although the judge and
every one must leave you in possession of it, yet God will not leave you
therein; for He sees the deceitful heart and the malice of the world, which is
sure to take an ell in addition wherever you yield to her a finger's breadth,
and at length public wrong and violence follow.
Therefore we allow these commandments to remain
in their ordinary meaning, that it is commanded, first, that we do not desire
our neighbor's damage, nor even assist, nor give occasion for it, but gladly
wish and leave him what he has, and, besides, advance and preserve for him what
may be for his profit and service, as we should wish to be treated. Thus these
commandments are especially directed against envy and miserable avarice, God
wishing to remove all causes and sources whence arises everything by which we
do injury to our neighbor, and therefore He expresses it in plain words: Thou
shalt not covet, etc. For He would especially have the heart pure, although we
shall never attain to that as long as we live here; so that this commandment
will remain, like all the rest, one that will constantly accuse us and show how
godly we are in the sight of God!
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and
earth.
This portrays and sets forth most briefly what is
the essence, will, activity, and work of God the Father. For since the Ten
Commandments have taught that we are to have not more than one God, the
question might be asked, What kind of a person is God? What does He do? How can
we praise or portray and describe Him, that He may be known? Now, that is
taught in this and in the following article, so that the Creed is nothing else
than the answer and confession of Christians arranged with respect to the First
Commandment. As if you were to ask a little child: My dear, what sort of a God
have you? What do you know of Him? he could say: This is my God: first, the
Father, who has created heaven and earth; besides this only One I regard
nothing else as God; for there is no one else who could create heaven and
earth.
But for the learned, and those who are somewhat
advanced [have acquired some Scriptural knowledge], these three articles may
all be expanded and divided into as many parts as there are words. But now for
young scholars let it suffice to indicate the most necessary points, namely, as
we have said, that this article refers to the Creation: that we emphasize the
words: Creator of heaven and earth But what is the force of this, or what do
you mean by these words: I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker, etc.?
Answer: This is what I mean and believe, that I am a creature of God; that is,
that He has given and constantly preserves to me my body, soul, and life,
members great and small, all my senses, reason, and understanding, and so on,
food and drink, clothing and support, wife and children, domestics, house and
home, etc. Besides, He causes all creatures to serve for the uses and
necessities of life -- sun, moon and stars in the firmament, day and night,
air, fire, water, earth, and whatever it bears and produces, birds and fishes,
beasts, grain, and all kinds of produce, and whatever else there is of bodily
and temporal goods, good government, peace, security. Thus we learn from this
article that none of us has of himself, nor can preserve, his life nor anything
that is here enumerated or can be enumerated, however small and unimportant a
thing it might be, for all is comprehended in the word Creator.
Moreover, we also confess that God the Father has
not only given us all that we have and see before our eyes, but daily preserves
and defends us against all evil and misfortune, averts all sorts of danger and
calamity; and that He does all this out of pure love and goodness, without our
merit, as a benevolent Father, who cares for us that no evil befall us. But to
speak more of this belongs in the other two parts of this article, where we
say: Father Almighty
Now, since: all that we possess, and, moreover,
whatever, in addition, is in heaven and upon the earth, is daily given,
preserved, and kept for us by God, it is readily inferred and concluded that it
is our duty to love, praise, and thank Him for it without ceasing, and, in
short, to serve Him with all these things as He demands and has enjoined in the
Ten Commandments.
Here we could say much if we were to expatiate,
how few there are that believe this article. For we all pass over it, hear it
and say it, but neither see nor consider what the words teach us. For if we
believed it with the heart, we would also act accordingly, and not stalk about
proudly, act defiantly, and boast as though we had life, riches, power, and
honor, etc., of ourselves, so that others must fear and serve us, as is the
practise of the wretched, perverse world, which is drowned in blindness, and
abuses all the good things and gifts of God only for its own pride, avarice,
lust, and luxury, and never once regards God, so as to thank Him or acknowledge
Him as Lord and Creator.
Therefore, this article ought to humble and
terrify us all, if we believed it. For we sin daily with eyes, ears, hands,
body and soul, money and possessions, and with everything we have, especially
those who even fight against the Word of God. Yet Christians have this
advantage, that they acknowledge themselves in duty bound to serve God for all
these things, and to be obedient to Him [which the world knows not how to
do].
We ought, therefore, daily to practise this
article, impress it upon our mind, and to remember it in all that meets our
eyes, and in all good that falls to our lot, and wherever we escape from
calamity or danger, that it is God who gives and does all these things, that
therein we sense and see His paternal heart and His transcendent love toward
us. Thereby the heart would be warmed and kindled to be thankful, and to employ
all such good things to the honor and praise of God.
Thus we have most briefly presented the meaning
of this article, as much as is at first necessary for the most simple to learn,
both as to what we have and receive from God, and what we owe in return, which
is a most excellent knowledge, but a far greater treasure. For here we see how
the Father has given Himself to us, together with all creatures, and has most
richly provided for us in this life, besides that He has overwhelmed us with
unspeakable, eternal treasures by His Son and the Holy Ghost, as we shall
hear.
This is, indeed, somewhat obscure, and not
expressed in good German, for in our mother-tongue we would say: Heavenly
Father, help that by all means Thy name may be holy. But what is it to pray
that His name may be holy? Is it not holy already? Answer: Yes, it is always
holy in its nature, but in our use it is not holy. For God's name was given us
when we became Christians and were baptized, so that we are called children of
God and have the Sacraments by which He so incorporates us in Himself that
everything which is God's must serve for our use.
Here now the great need exists for which we ought
to be most concerned, that this name have its proper honor, be esteemed holy
and sublime as the greatest treasure and sanctuary that we have; and that as
godly children we pray that the name of God, which is already holy in heaven,
may also be and remain holy with us upon earth and in all the world.
But how does it become holy among us? Answer, as
plainly as it can be said: When both our doctrine and life are godly and
Christian. For since in this prayer we call God our Father, it is our duty
always to deport and demean ourselves as godly children, that He may not
receive shame, but honor and praise from us.
Now the name of God is profaned by us either in
words or in works. (For whatever we do upon the earth must be either words or
works, speech or act.) In the first place, then, it is profaned when men
preach, teach, and speak in the name of God what is false and misleading, so
that His name must serve to adorn and to find a market for falsehood. That is,
indeed, the greatest profanation and dishonor of the divine name. Furthermore,
also when men, by swearing, cursing, conjuring, etc., grossly abuse the holy
name as a cloak for their shame. In the second place also by an openly wicked
life and works, when those who are called Christians and the people of God are
adulterers, drunkards, misers, envious, and slanderers. Here again must the
name of God come to shame and be profaned because of us. For just as it is a
shame and disgrace to a natural father to have a bad perverse child that
opposes him in words and deeds, so that on its account he suffers contempt and
reproach, so also it brings dishonor upon God if we who are called by His name
and have all manner of goods from Him teach, speak, and live in any other
manner except as godly and heavenly children, so that people say of us that we
must be not God's, but the devil's children.
Thus you see that in this petition we pray just
for that which God demands in the Second Commandment; namely, that His name be
not taken in vain to swear, curse, lie, deceive, etc., but be usefully employed
to the praise and honor of God. For whoever employs the name of God for any
sort of wrong profanes and desecrates this holy name, as aforetime a church was
considered desecrated when a murder or any other crime had been committed in
it, or when a pyx or relic was desecrated, as being holy in themselves, yet
become unholy in use. Thus this point is easy and clear if only the language is
understood, that to hallow is the same as in our idiom to praise, magnify, and
honor both in word and deed.
Here, now, learn how great need there is of such
prayer. For because we see how full the world is of sects and false teachers,
who all wear the holy name as a cover and sham for their doctrines of devils,
we ought by all means to pray without ceasing, and to cry and call upon God
against all such as preach and believe falsely and whatever opposes and
persecutes our Gospel and pure doctrine, and would suppress it, as bishops,
tyrants, enthusiasts, etc. Likewise also for ourselves who have the Word of
God, but are not thankful for it, nor live as we ought according to the same.
If now you pray for this with your heart, you can be sure that it pleases God;
for He will not hear anything more dear to Him than that His honor and praise
is exalted above everything else, and His Word is taught in its purity and is
esteemed precious and dear.
As we prayed in the First Petition concerning
the honor and name of God that He would prevent the world from adorning its
lies and wickedness with it, but cause it to be esteemed sublime and holy both
in doctrine and life, so that He may be praised and magnified in us, so here we
pray that His kingdom also may come. But just as the name of God is in itself
holy, and we pray nevertheless that it be holy among us, so also His kingdom
comes of itself, without our prayer, yet we pray nevertheless that it may come
to us, that is, prevail among us and with us, so that we may be a part of those
among whom His name is hallowed and His kingdom prospers.
But what is the kingdom of God? Answer: Nothing
else than what we learned in the Creed, that God sent His Son Jesus Christ our
Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and
to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness, life and
salvation against sin death, and an evil conscience, for which end He has also
bestowed His Holy Ghost, who is to bring these things home to us by His holy
Word, and to illumine and strengthen us in the faith by His power.
Therefore we pray here in the first place that
this may become effective with us, and that His name be so praised through the
holy Word of God and a Christian life that both we who have accepted it may
abide and daily grow therein, and that it may gain approbation and adherence
among other people and proceed with power throughout the world, that many may
find entrance into the Kingdom of Grace, be made partakers of redemption, being
led thereto by the Holy Ghost, in order that thus we may all together remain
forever in the one kingdom now begun.
For the coming of God's Kingdom to us occurs in
two ways; first, here in time through the Word and faith; and secondly, in
eternity forever through revelation. Now we pray for both these things, that it
may come to those who are not yet in it, and, by daily increase, to us who have
received the same, and hereafter in eternal life. All this is nothing else than
saying: Dear Father, we pray, give us first Thy Word, that the Gospel be
preached properly throughout the world; and secondly, that it be received in
faith, and work and live in us, so that through the Word and the power of the
Holy Ghost Thy kingdom may prevail among us, and the kingdom of the devil be
put down, that he may have no right or power over us, until at last it shall be
utterly destroyed, and sin, death, and hell shall be exterminated, that we may
live forever in perfect righteousness and blessedness.
From this you perceive that we pray here not for
a crust of bread or a temporal, perishable good, but for an eternal inestimable
treasure and everything that God Himself possesses; which is far too great for
any human heart to think of desiring if He had not Himself commanded us to pray
for the same. But because He is God, He also claims the honor of giving much
more and more abundantly than any one can comprehend, -- like an eternal,
unfailing fountain, which, the more it pours forth and overflows, the more it
continues to give, -- and He desires nothing more earnestly of us than that we
ask much and great things of Him, and again is angry if we do not ask and pray
confidently.
For just as when the richest and most mighty
emperor would bid a poor beggar ask whatever he might desire, and were ready to
give great imperial presents, and the fool would beg only for a dish of gruel,
he would be rightly considered a rogue and a scoundrel who treated the command
of his imperial majesty as a jest and sport, and was not worthy of coming into
his presence: so also it is a great reproach and dishonor to God if we, to whom
He offers and pledges so many unspeakable treasures, despise the same, or have
not the confidence to receive them, but scarcely venture to pray for a piece of
bread.
All this is the fault of the shameful unbelief
which does not look to God for as much good as will satisfy the stomach, much
less expects without doubt such eternal treasures of God. Therefore we must
strengthen ourselves against it, and let this be our first prayer; then,
indeed, we shall have all else in abundance, as Christ teaches [Matt. 6, 33]:
Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things
shall be added unto you. For how could He allow us to suffer want and to be
straitened in temporal things when He promises that which is eternal and
imperishable?
Thus far we have prayed that God's name be
honored by us, and that His kingdom prevail among us; in which two points is
comprehended all that pertains to the honor of God and to our salvation, that
we receive as our own God and all His riches. But now a need just as great
arises, namely, that we firmly keep them, and do not suffer ourselves to be
torn therefrom. For as in a good government it is not only necessary that there
be those who build and govern well, but also those who make defense, afford
protection and maintain it firmly, so here likewise, although we have prayed
for the greatest need, for the Gospel, faith, and the Holy Ghost, that He may
govern us and redeem us from the power of the devil, we must also pray that His
will be done. For there will be happenings quite strange if we are to abide
therein, as we shall have to suffer many thrusts and blows on that account from
everything that ventures to oppose and prevent the fulfilment of the two
petitions that precede.
For no one believes how the devil opposes and
resists them, and cannot suffer that any one teach or believe aright. And it
hurts him beyond measure to suffer his lies and abominations, that have been
honored under the most specious pretexts of the divine name, to be exposed, and
to be disgraced himself, and, besides, be driven out of the heart, and suffer
such a breach to be made in his kingdom. Therefore he chafes and rages as a
fierce enemy with all his power and might, and marshals all his subjects, and,
in addition enlists the world and our own flesh as his allies. For our flesh is
in itself indolent and inclined to evil, even though we have accepted and
believe the Word of God. The world, however, is perverse and wicked; this he
incites against us, fans and stirs the fire, that he may hinder and drive us
back, cause us to fall, and again bring us under his power. Such is all his
will, mind, and thought, for which he strives day and night, and never rests a
moment, employing all arts, wiles, ways, and means whichever he can invent.
If we would be Christians, therefore, we must
surely expect and reckon upon having the devil with all his angels and the
world as our enemies, who will bring every possible misfortune and grief upon
us. For where the Word of God is preached, accepted, or believed, and produces
fruit, there the holy cross cannot be wanting. And let no one think that he
shall have peace; but he must risk what whatever he has upon earth --
possessions, honor. house and estate, wife and children, body and life. Now,
this hurts our flesh and the old Adam; for the test is to be steadfast and to
suffer with patience in whatever way we are assailed, and to let go whatever is
taken from us.
Hence there is just as great need, as in all the
others, that we pray without ceasing: "Dear Father, Thy will be done, not the
will of the devil and of our enemies, nor of anything that would persecute and
suppress Thy holy Word or hinder Thy kingdom; and grant that we may bear with
patience and overcome whatever is to be endured on that account, lest our poor
flesh yield or fall away from weakness or sluggishness."
Behold, thus we have in these three petitions, in
the simplest manner, the need which relates to God Himself, yet all for our
sakes. For whatever we pray concerns only us, namely, as we have said, that
what must be done anyway without us, may also be done in us. For as His name
must be hallowed and His kingdom come without our prayer, so also His will must
be done and succeed although the devil with all his adherents raise a great
tumult, are angry and rage against it, and undertake to exterminate the Gospel
utterly. But for our own sakes we must pray that even against their fury His
will be done without hindrance also among us, that they may not be able to
accomplish anything and we remain firm against all violence and persecution,
and submit to such will of God.
Such prayer, then, is to be our protection and
defense now, is to repel and put down all that the devil, Pope, bishops,
tyrants, and heretics can do against our Gospel. Let them all rage and attempt
their utmost, and deliberate and resolve how they may suppress and exterminate
us, that their will and counsel may prevail: over and against this one or two
Christians with this petition alone shall be our wall against which they shall
run and dash themselves to pieces. This consolation and confidence we have,
that the will and purpose of the devil and of all our enemies shall and must
fail and come to naught, however proud, secure, and powerful they know
themselves to be. For if their will were not broken and hindered, the kingdom
of God could not abide on earth nor His name be hallowed.
Here, now, we consider the poor breadbasket,
the necessaries of our body and of the temporal life. It is a brief and simple
word, but it has a very wide scope. For when you mention and pray for daily
bread, you pray for everything that is necessary in order to have and enjoy
daily bread and, on the other hand, against everything which interferes with
it. Therefore you must open wide and extend your thoughts not only to the oven
or the flour-bin but to the distant field and the entire land, which bears and
brings to us daily bread and every sort of sustenance. For if God did not cause
it to grow, and bless and preserve it in the field, we could never take bread
from the oven or have any to set upon the table.
To comprise it briefly, this petition includes
everything that belongs to our entire life in the world, because on that
account alone do we need daily bread. Now for our life it is not only necessary
that our body have food and covering and other necessaries, but also that we
spend our days in peace and quiet among the people with whom we live and have
intercourse in daily business and conversation and all sorts of doings, in
short, whatever pertains both to the domestic and to the neighborly or civil
relation and government. For where these two things are hindered [intercepted
and disturbed] that they do not prosper as they ought, the necessaries of life
also are impeded, so that ultimately life cannot be maintained. And there is,
indeed, the greatest need to pray for temporal authority and government, as
that by which most of all God preserves to us our daily bread and all the
comforts of this life. For though we have received of God all good things in
abundance we are not able to retain any of them or use them in security and
happiness, if He did not give us a permanent and peaceful government. For where
there are dissension, strife, and war, there the daily bread is already taken
away, or at least checked.
Therefore it would be very proper to place in the
coat-of-arms of every pious prince a loaf of bread instead of a lion, or a
wreath of rue, or to stamp it upon the coin, to remind both them and their
subjects that by their office we have protection and peace, and that without
them we could not eat and retain our daily bread. Therefore they are also
worthy of all honor, that we give to them for their office what we ought and
can, as to those through whom we enjoy in peace and quietness what we have,
because otherwise we would not keep a farthing; and that, in addition, we also
pray for them that through them God may bestow on us the more blessing and
good.
Let this be a very brief explanation and sketch,
showing how far this petition extends through all conditions on earth. Of this
any one might indeed make a long prayer, and with many words enumerate all the
things that are included therein, as that we pray God to give us food and
drink, clothing, house, and home, and health of body; also that He cause the
grain and fruits of the field to grow and mature well; furthermore, that He
help us at home towards good housekeeping, that He give and preserve to us a
godly wife, children, and servants, that He cause our work, trade, or whatever
we are engaged in to prosper and succeed, favor us with faithful neighbors and
good friends, etc. Likewise, that He give to emperors, kings, and all estates,
and especially to the rulers of our country and to all counselors, magistrates,
and officers, wisdom, strength, and success that they may govern well and
vanquish the Turks and all enemies; to subjects and the common people,
obedience, peace, and harmony in their life with one another, and on the other
hand, that He would preserve us from all sorts of calamity to body and
livelihood, as lightning, hail, fire, flood, poison, pestilence, cattle-plague,
war and bloodshed, famine, destructive beasts, wicked men, etc. All this it is
well to impress upon the simple, namely, that these things come from God, and
must be prayed for by us.
But this petition is especially directed also
against our chief enemy, the devil. For all his thought and desire is to
deprive us of all that we have from God, or to hinder it; and he is not
satisfied to obstruct and destroy spiritual government in leading souls astray
by his lies and bringing them under his power, but he also prevents and hinders
the stability of all government and honorable, peaceable relations on earth.
There he causes so much contention, murder, sedition, and war also lightning
and hail to destroy grain and cattle, to poison the air, etc. In short, he is
sorry that any one has a morsel of bread from God and eats it in peace; and if
it were in his power, and our prayer (next to God) did not prevent him, we
would not keep a straw in the field, a farthing in the house, yea, not even our
life for an hour, especially those who have the Word of God and would like to
be Christians.
Behold, thus God wishes to indicate to us how He
cares for us in all our need, and faithfully provides also for our temporal
support. and although He abundantly grants and preserves these things even to
the wicked and knaves, yet He wishes that we pray for them, in order that we
may recognize that we receive them from His hand, and may feel His paternal
goodness toward us therein. For when He withdraws His hand, nothing can prosper
nor be maintained in the end, as, indeed, we daily see and experience. How much
trouble there is now in the world only on account of bad coin, yea, on account
of daily oppression and raising of prices in common trade, bargaining and labor
on the part of those who wantonly oppress the poor and deprive them of their
daily bread! This we must suffer indeed; but let them take care that they do
not lose the common intercession, and beware lest this petition in the Lord's
Prayer be against them.
This part now relates to our poor miserable
life, which, although we have and believe the Word of God, and do and submit to
His will, and are supported by His gifts and blessings is nevertheless not
without sin. For we still stumble daily and transgress because we live in the
world among men who do us much harm and give us cause for impatience, anger,
revenge, etc. Besides, we have Satan at our back, who sets upon us on every
side, and fights (as we have heard) against all the foregoing petitions, so
that it is not possible always to stand firm in such a persistent conflict.
Therefore there is here again great need to call
upon God and to pray: Dear Father, forgive us our trespasses. Not as though He
did not forgive sin without and even before our prayer (for He has given us the
Gospel, in which is pure forgiveness before we prayed or ever thought about
it). But this is to the intent that we may recognize and accept such
forgiveness. For since the flesh in which we daily live is of such a nature
that it neither trusts nor believes God, and is ever active in evil lusts and
devices, so that we sin daily in word and deed, by commission and omission by
which the conscience is thrown into unrest, so that it is afraid of the wrath
and displeasure of God, and thus loses the comfort and confidence derived from
the Gospel; therefore it is ceaselessly necessary that we run hither and obtain
consolation to comfort the conscience again.
But this should serve God's purpose of breaking
our pride and keeping us humble. For in case any one should boast of his
godliness and despise others, God has reserved this prerogative to Himself,
that the person is to consider himself and place this prayer before his eyes,
and he will find that he is no better than others, and that in the presence of
God all must lower their plumes, and be glad that they can attain forgiveness.
And let no one think that as long as we live here he can reach such a position
that he will not need such forgiveness. In short, if God does not forgive
without ceasing, we are lost.
It is therefore the intent of this petition that
God would not regard our sins and hold up to us what we daily deserve, but
would deal graciously with us, and forgive, as He has promised, and thus grant
us a joyful and confident conscience to stand before Him in prayer. For where
the heart is not in right relation towards God, nor can take such confidence,
it will nevermore venture to pray. But such a confident and joyful heart can
spring from nothing else than the [certain] knowledge of the forgiveness of
sin.
But there is here attached a necessary, yet
consolatory addition: As we forgive. He has promised that we shall be sure that
everything is forgiven and pardoned, yet in the manner that we also forgive our
neighbor. For just as we daily sin much against God and yet He forgives
everything through grace, so we, too, must ever forgive our neighbor who does
us injury, violence, and wrong, shows malice toward us, etc. If, therefore you
do not forgive, then do not think that God forgives you; but if you forgive,
you have this consolation and assurance, that you are forgiven in heaven, not
on account of your forgiving, -- for God forgives freely and without condition,
out of pure grace, because He has so promised, as the Gospel teaches, -- but in
order that He may set this up for our confirmation and assurance for a sign
alongside of the promise which accords with this prayer, Luke 6, 37: Forgive,
and ye shall be forgiven. Therefore Christ also repeats it soon after the
Lord's Prayer, and says, Matt. 6,14: For if ye forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father will also forgive you, etc.
This sign is therefore attached to this petition,
that, when we pray, we remember the promise and reflect thus: Dear Father, for
this reason I come and pray Thee to forgive me, not that I can make
satisfaction, or can merit anything by my works, but because Thou hast promised
and attached the seal thereto that I should be as sure as though I had
absolution pronounced by Thyself. For as much as Baptism and the Lord's Supper
appointed as external signs, effect, so much also this sign can effect to
confirm our consciences and cause them to rejoice. And it is especially given
for this purpose, that we might use and practise it every hour, as a thing that
we have with us at all times.
We have now heard enough what toil and labor
is required to retain all that for which we pray, and to persevere therein,
which, however, is not achieved without infirmities and stumbling. Besides,
although we have received forgiveness and a good conscience and are entirely
acquitted, yet is our life of such a nature that one stands to-day and
to-morrow falls. Therefore, even though we be godly now and stand before God
with a good conscience, we must pray again that He would not suffer us to
relapse and yield to trials and temptations.
Temptation, however, or (as our Saxons in olden
times used to call it) Bekoerunge, is of three kinds, namely, of the flesh, of
the world and of the devil. For in the flesh we dwell and carry the old Adam
about our neck, who exerts himself and incites us daily to inchastity,
laziness, gluttony and drunkenness, avarice and deception, to defraud our
neighbor and to overcharge him, and, in short, to all manner of evil lusts
which cleave to us by nature, and to which we are incited by the society,
example and what we hear and see of other people, which often wound and inflame
even an innocent heart.
Next comes the world, which offends us in word
and deed, and impels us to anger and impatience. In short, there is nothing but
hatred and envy, enmity, violence and wrong, unfaithfulness, vengeance,
cursing, raillery slander, pride and haughtiness, with superfluous finery,
honor, fame, and power, where no one is willing to be the least, but every one
desires to sit at the head and to be seen before all.
Then comes the devil, inciting and provoking in
all directions, but especially agitating matters that concern the conscience
and spiritual affairs, namely, to induce us to despise and disregard both the
Word and works of God to tear us away from faith, hope, and love and bring us
into misbelief, false security, and obduracy, or, on the other hand, to
despair, denial of God, blasphemy, and innumerable other shocking things. These
are indeed snares and nets, yea, real fiery darts which are shot most
venomously into the heart, not by flesh and blood, but by the devil.
Great and grievous, indeed, are these dangers and
temptations which every Christian must bear, even though each one were alone by
himself, so that every hour that we are in this vile life where we are attacked
on all sides, chased and hunted down, we are moved to cry out and to pray that
God would not suffer us to become weary and faint and to relapse into sin,
shame, and unbelief. For otherwise it is impossible to overcome even the least
temptation.
This, then, is leading us not into temptation, to
wit, when He gives us power and strength to resist, the temptation, however,
not being taken away or removed. For while we live in the flesh and have the
devil about us, no one can escape temptation and allurements; and it cannot be
otherwise than that we must endure trials, yea, be engulfed in them; but we
pray for this, that we may not fall and be drowned in them.
To feel temptation is therefore a far different
thing from consenting or yielding to it. We must all feel it, although not all
in the same manner, but some in a greater degree and more severely than others;
as, the young suffer especially from the flesh, afterwards, they that attain to
middle life and old age, from the world, but others who are occupied with
spiritual matters, that is, strong Christians, from the devil. But such
feeling, as long as it is against our will and we would rather be rid of it,
can harm no one. For if we did not feel it, it could not be called a
temptation. But to consent thereto is when we give it the reins and do not
resist or pray against it.
Therefore we Christians must be armed and daily
expect to be incessantly attacked, in order that no one may go on in security
and heedlessly, as though the devil were far from us, but at all times expect
and parry his blows. For though I am now chaste, patient, kind, and in firm
faith, the devil will this very hour send such an arrow into my heart that I
can scarcely stand. For he is an enemy that never desists nor becomes tired, so
that when one temptation ceases, there always arise others and fresh ones.
Accordingly, there is no help or comfort except
to run hither and to take hold of the Lord's Prayer, and thus speak to God from
the heart: Dear Father, Thou hast bidden me pray; let me not relapse because of
temptations. Then you will see that they must desist, and finally acknowledge
themselves conquered. Else if you venture to help yourself by your own thoughts
and counsel, you will only make the matter worse and give the devil more space.
For he has a serpent's head, which if it gain an opening into which he can
slip, the whole body will follow without check. But prayer can prevent him and
drive him back.
In the Greek text this petition reads thus:
Deliver or preserve us from the Evil One, or the Malicious One; and it looks as
if He were speaking of the devil, as though He would comprehend everything in
one so that the entire substance of all our prayer is directed against our
chief enemy. For it is he who hinders among us everything that we pray for: the
name or honor of God, God's kingdom and will, our daily bread, a cheerful good
conscience, etc.
Therefore we finally sum it all up and say: Dear
Father pray, help that we be rid of all these calamities. But there is
nevertheless also included whatever evil may happen to us under the devil's
kingdom -- poverty, shame, death, and, in short, all the agonizing misery and
heartache of which there is such an unnumbered multitude on the earth. For
since the devil is not only a liar, but also a murderer, he constantly seeks
our life, and wreaks his anger whenever he can afflict our bodies with
misfortune and harm. Hence it comes that he often breaks men's necks or drives
them to insanity, drowns some, and incites many to commit suicide, and to many
other terrible calamities. Therefore there is nothing for us to do upon earth
but to pray against this arch enemy without ceasing. For unless God preserved
us, we would not be safe from him even for an hour.
Hence you see again how God wishes us to pray to
Him also for all the things which affect our bodily interests, so that we seek
and expect help nowhere else except in Him. But this matter He has put last;
for if we are to be preserved and delivered from all evil, the name of God must
first be hallowed in us, His kingdom must be with us, and His will be done.
After that He will finally preserve us from sin and shame, and, besides, from
everything that may hurt or injure us.
Thus God has briefly placed before us all the
distress which may ever come upon us, so that we might have no excuse whatever
for not praying. But all depends upon this, that we learn also to say Amen,
that is, that we do not doubt that our prayer is surely heard and [what we
pray] shall be done. For this is nothing else than the word of undoubting
faith, which does not pray at a venture, but knows that God does not lie to
him, since He has promised to grant it. Therefore, where there is no such
faith, there cannot be true prayer either.
It is, therefore, a pernicious delusion of those
who pray in such a manner that they dare not from the heart say yea and
positively conclude that God hears them, but remain in doubt and say, How
should I be so bold as to boast that God hears my prayer? For I am but a poor
sinner, etc.
The reason for this is, they regard not the
promise of God, but their own work and worthiness, whereby they despise God and
reproach Him with lying, and therefore they receive nothing. As St. James says
[1, 6]: But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering; for he that wavereth is
like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man
think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. Behold, such importance God
attaches to the fact that we are sure we do not pray in vain, and that we do
not in any way despise our prayer.
We have now finished the three chief parts of
the common Christian doctrine. Besides these we have yet to speak of our two
Sacraments instituted by Christ, of which also every Christian ought to have at
least an ordinary, brief instruction, because without them there can be no
Christian; although, alas! hitherto no instruction concerning them has been
given. But, in the first place, we take up Baptism, by which we are first
received into the Christian Church. However, in order that it may be readily
understood we will treat of it in an orderly manner, and keep only to that
which it is necessary for us to know. For how it is to be maintained and
defended against heretics and sects we will commend to the learned.
In the first place, we must above all things know
well the words upon which Baptism is founded, and to which everything refers
that is to be said on the subject, namely, where the Lord Christ speaks in the
last chapter of Matthew, v. 19:
Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Likewise in St. Mark, the last chapter, v. 16:
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;
but he that believeth not shall be damned .
In these words you must note, in the first place,
that here stand God's commandment and institution, lest we doubt that Baptism
is divine, not devised nor invented by men. For as truly as I can say, No man
has spun the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer out of his
head, but they are revealed and given by God Himself, so also I can boast that
Baptism is no human trifle, but instituted by God Himself, moreover, that it is
most solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we cannot be
saved, lest any one regard it as a trifling matter, like putting on a new red
coat. For it is of the greatest importance that we esteem Baptism excellent,
glorious, and exalted, for which we contend and fight chiefly, because the
world is now so full of sects clamoring that Baptism is an external thing, and
that external things are of no benefit. But let it be ever so much an external
thing here stand God's Word and command which institute, establish, and confirm
Baptism. But what God institutes and commands cannot be a vain, but must be a
most precious thing, though in appearance it were of less value than a straw.
If hitherto people could consider it a great thing when the Pope with his
letters and bulls dispensed indulgences and confirmed altars and churches,
solely because of the letters and seals, we ought to esteem Baptism much more
highly and more precious, because God has commanded it, and, besides, it is
performed in His name. For these are the words, Go ye baptize; however, not in
your name, but in the name of God.
For to be baptized in the name of God is to be
baptized not by men, but by God Himself. Therefore although it is performed by
human hands, it is nevertheless truly God's own work. From this fact every one
may himself readily infer that it is a far higher work than any work performed
by a man or a saint. For what work greater than the work of God can we do?
But here the devil is busy to delude us with
false appearances, and lead us away from the work of God to our own works. For
there is a much more splendid appearance when a Carthusian does many great and
difficult works and we all think much more of that which we do and merit
ourselves. But the Scriptures teach thus: Even though we collect in one mass
the works of all the monks, however splendidly they may shine, they would not
be as noble and good as if God should pick up a straw. Why? Because the person
is nobler and better. Here, then, we must not estimate the person according to
the works, but the works according to the person, from whom they must derive
their nobility. But insane reason will not regard this, and because Baptism
does not shine like the works which we do, it is to be esteemed as nothing.
From this now learn a proper understanding of the
subject, and how to answer the question what Baptism is, namely thus, that it
is not mere ordinary water, but water comprehended in God's Word and command,
and sanctified thereby, so that it is nothing else than a divine water; not
that the water in itself is nobler than other water, but that God's Word and
command are added.
Therefore it is pure wickedness and blasphemy of
the devil that now our new spirits, to mock at Baptism, omit from it God's Word
and institution, and look upon it in no other way than as water which is taken
from the well, and then blather and say: How is a handful of water to help the
soul? Aye, my friend, who does not know that water is water if tearing things
asunder is what we are after? But how dare you thus interfere with God's order,
and tear away the most precious treasure with which God has connected and
enclosed it, and which He will not have separated? For the kernel in the water
is God's Word or command and the name of God which is a treasure greater and
nobler than heaven and earth.
Comprehend the difference, then, that Baptism is
quite another thing than all other water; not on account of the natural
quality, but because something more noble is here added; for God Himself stakes
His honor His power and might on it. Therefore it is not only natural water,
but a divine, heavenly, holy, and blessed water, and in whatever other terms we
can praise it, -- all on account of the Word, which is a heavenly, holy Word,
that no one can sufficiently extol, for it has, and is able to do, all that God
is and can do [since it has all the virtue and power of God comprised in it].
Hence also it derives its essence as a Sacrament, as St. Augustine also taught:
Aocedat verbum ad elementum et fit sacramentum. That is, when the Word is
joined to the element or natural substance, it becomes a Sacrament, that is, a
holy and divine matter and sign.
Therefore we always teach that the Sacraments and
all external things which God ordains and institutes should not be regarded
according to the coarse, external mask, as we regard the shell of a nut, but as
the Word of God is included therein. For thus we also speak of the parental
estate and of civil government. If we propose to regard them in as far as they
have noses, eyes, skin, and hair flesh and bones, they look like Turks and
heathen, and some one might start up and say: Why should I esteem them more
than others? But because the commandment is added: Honor thy father and thy
mother, I behold a different man, adorned and clothed with the majesty and
glory of God. The commandment (I say) is the chain of gold about his neck, yea,
the crown upon his head which shows to me how and why one must honor this flesh
and blood.
Thus, and much more even, you must honor Baptism
and esteem it glorious on account of the Word, since He Himself has honored it
both by words and deeds; moreover, confirmed it with miracles from heaven. For
do you think it was a jest that, when Christ was baptized, the heavens were
opened and the Holy Ghost descended visibly, and everything was divine glory
and majesty?
Therefore I exhort again that these two the water
and the Word, by no means be separated from one another and parted. For if the
Word is separated from it, the water is the same as that with which the servant
cooks, and may indeed be called a bath-keeper's baptism. But when it is added,
as God has ordained, it is a Sacrament, and is called Christ-baptism. Let this
be the first part regarding the essence and dignity of the holy Sacrament.
In the second place, since we know now what
Baptism is, and how it is to be regarded, we must also learn why and for what
purpose it is instituted; that is, what it profits, gives and works. And this
also we cannot discern better than from the words of Christ above quoted: He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. Therefore state it most simply
thus, that the power, work, profit, fruit, and end of Baptism is this, namely,
to save. For no one is baptized in order that he may become a prince, but, as
the words declare, that he be saved. But to be saved. we know. is nothing else
than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil, and to enter into the
kingdom of Christ, and to live with Him forever.
Here you see again how highly and precious we
should esteem Baptism, because in it we obtain such an unspeakable treasure,
which also indicates sufficiently that it cannot be ordinary mere water. For
mere water could not do such a thing, but the Word does it, and (as said above)
the fact that the name of God is comprehended therein. But where the name of
God is, there must be also life and salvation, that it may indeed be called a
divine, blessed, fruitful, and gracious water; for by the Word such power is
imparted to Baptism that it is a laver of regeneration, as St. Paul also calls
it, Titus 3, 5.
But as our would-be wise, new spirits assert that
faith alone saves, and that works and external things avail nothing, we answer:
It is true, indeed, that nothing in us is of any avail but faith, as we shall
hear still further. But these blind guides are unwilling to see this, namely,
that faith must have something which it believes, that is, of which it takes
hold, and upon which it stands and rests. Thus faith clings to the water, and
believes that it is Baptism, in which there is pure salvation and life; not
through the water (as we have sufficiently stated), but through the fact that
it is embodied in the Word and institution of God, and the name of God inheres
in it. Now, if I believe this, what else is it than believing in God as in Him
who has given and planted His Word into this ordinance, and proposes to us this
external thing wherein we may apprehend such a treasure?
Now, they are so mad as to separate faith and
that to which faith clings and is bound though it be something external. Yea,
it shall and must be something external, that it may be apprehended by the
senses, and understood and thereby be brought into the heart, as indeed the
entire Gospel is an external, verbal preaching. In short, what God does and
works in us He proposes to work through such external ordinances. Wherever,
therefore, He speaks, yea, in whichever direction or by whatever means He
speaks, thither faith must look, and to that it must hold. Now here we have the
words: He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. To what else do they
refer than to Baptism, that is, to the water comprehended in God's ordinance?
Hence it follows that whoever rejects Baptism rejects the Word of God, faith,
and Christ, who directs us thither and binds us to Baptism.
In the third place since we have learned the
great benefit and power of Baptism, let us see further who is the person that
receives what Baptism gives and profits. This is again most beautifully and
clearly expressed in the words: He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved. That is, faith alone makes the person worthy to receive profitably the
saving, divine water. For, since these blessings are here presented and
promised in the words in and with the water, they cannot be received in any
other way than by believing them with the heart. Without faith it profits
nothing, notwithstanding it is in itself a divine superabundant treasure.
Therefore this single word (He that believeth) effects this much that it
excludes and repels all works which we can do, in the opinion that we obtain
and merit salvation by them. For it is determined that whatever is not faith
avails nothing nor receives anything.
But if they say, as they are accustomed: Still
Baptism is itself a work, and you say works are of no avail for salvation; what
then, becomes of faith? Answer: Yes, our works, indeed, avail nothing for
salvation; Baptism, however, is not our work, but God's (for, as was stated,
you must put Christ-baptism far away from a bath-keeper's baptism). God's
works, however, are saving and necessary for salvation, and do not exclude, but
demand, faith; for without faith they could not be apprehended. For by
suffering the water to be poured upon you, you have not yet received Baptism in
such a manner that it benefits you anything; but it becomes beneficial to you
if you have yourself baptized with the thought that this is according to God's
command and ordinance, and besides in God's name, in order that you may receive
in the water the promised salvation. Now, this the fist cannot do, nor the
body; but the heart must believe it.
Thus you see plainly that there is here no work
done by us, but a treasure which He gives us, and which faith apprehends; just
as the Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross is not a work, but a treasure
comprehended in the Word, and offered to us and received by faith. Therefore
they do us violence by exclaiming against us as though we preach against faith;
while we alone insist upon it as being of such necessity that without it
nothing can be received nor enjoyed.
Thus we have these three parts which it is
necessary to know concerning this Sacrament especially that the ordinance of
God is to be held in all honor, which alone would be sufficient, though it be
an entirely external thing like the commandment, Honor thy father and thy
mother, which refers to bodily flesh and blood. Therein we regard not the flesh
and blood, but the commandment of God in which they are comprehended, and on
account of which the flesh is called father and mother; so also, though we had
no more than these words, Go ye and baptize, etc., it would be necessary for us
to accept and do it as the ordinance of God. Now there is here not only God's
commandment and injunction, but also the promise, on account of which it is
still far more glorious than whatever else God has commanded and ordained, and
is, in short, so full of consolation and grace that heaven and earth cannot
comprehend it. But it requires skill to believe this, for the treasure is not
wanting, but this is wanting that men apprehend it and hold it firmly.
Therefore every Christian has enough in Baptism
to learn and to practise all his life; for he has always enough to do to
believe firmly what it promises and brings: victory over death and the devil,
forgiveness of sin, the grace of God, the entire Christ, and the Holy Ghost
with His gifts. In short, it is so transcendent that if timid nature could
realize it, it might well doubt whether it could be true. For consider, if
there were somewhere a physician who understood the art of saving men from
dying, or, even though they died, of restoring them speedily to life, so that
they would thereafter live forever, how the world would pour in money like snow
and rain, so that because of the throng of the rich no one could find access!
But here in Baptism there is brought free to every one's door such a treasure
and medicine as utterly destroys death and preserves all men alive.
Thus we must regard Baptism and make it
profitable to ourselves, that when our sins and conscience oppress us, we
strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say: Nevertheless I am baptized; but
if I am baptized, it is promised me that I shall be saved and have eternal
life, both in soul and body. For that is the reason why these two things are
done in Baptism namely, that the body, which can apprehend nothing but the
water, is sprinkled, and, in addition, the word is spoken for the soul to
apprehend. Now, since both, the water and the Word, are one Baptism, therefore
body and soul must be saved and live forever: the soul through the Word which
it believes, but the body because it is united with the soul and also
apprehends Baptism as it is able to apprehend it. We have, therefore, no
greater jewel in body and soul, for by it we are made holy and are saved, which
no other kind of life, no work upon earth, can attain.
Let this suffice respecting the nature, blessing,
and use of Baptism, for it answers the present purpose.
In the same manner as we have heard regarding
Holy Baptism, we must speak also concerning the other Sacrament, namely, these
three points: What is it? What are its benefits? and, Who is to receive it? And
all these are established by the words by which Christ has instituted it, and
which every one who desires to be a Christian and go to the Sacrament should
know. For it is not our intention to admit to it and to administer it to those
who know not what they seek, or why they come. The words, however, are
these:
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He
was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and gave
it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for
you: this do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup when
He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;
this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the
remission of sins: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.
Here also we do not wish to enter into
controversy and contend with the traducers and blasphemers of this Sacrament,
but to learn first (as we did regarding Baptism) what is of the greatest
importance, namely that the chief point is the Word and ordinance or command of
God. For it has not been invented nor introduced by any man, but without any
one's counsel and deliberation it has been instituted by Christ. Therefore,
just as the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Creed retain their
nature and worth although you never keep, pray, or believe them, so also does
this venerable Sacrament remain undisturbed, so that nothing is detracted or
taken from it, even though we employ and dispense it unworthily. What do you
think God cares about what we do or believe, so that on that account He should
suffer His ordinance to be changed? Why, in all worldly matters every thing
remains as God has created and ordered it, no matter how we employ or use it.
This must always be urged, for thereby the prating of nearly all the fanatical
spirits can be repelled. For they regard the Sacraments, aside from the Word of
God, as something that we do.
Now, what is the Sacrament of the Altar!
Answer: It is the true body and blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, in and under the bread and wine which we Christians are commanded
by the Word of Christ to eat and to drink. And as we have said of Baptism that
it is not simple water, so here also we say the Sacrament is bread and wine,
but not mere bread and wine, such as are ordinarily served at the table, but
bread and wine comprehended in, and connected with, the Word of God.
It is the Word (I say) which makes and
distinguishes this Sacrament, so that it is not mere bread and wine, but is,
and is called, the body and blood of Christ. For it is said: Accedat verbum ad
elementum, et At sacramentum. If the Word be joined to the element it becomes a
Sacrament. This saying of St. Augustine is so properly and so well put that he
has scarcely said anything better. The Word must make a Sacrament of the
element, else it remains a mere element. Now, it is not the word or ordinance
of a prince or emperor, but of the sublime Majesty, at whose feet all creatures
should fall, and affirm it is as He says, and accept it with all reverence
fear, and humility.
With this Word you can strengthen your conscience
and say: If a hundred thousand devils, together with all fanatics, should rush
forward, crying, How can bread and wine be the body and blood of Christ? etc.,
I know that all spirits and scholars together are not as wise as is the Divine
Majesty in His little finger. Now here stands the Word of Christ: Take, eat;
this is My body; Drink ye all of it; this is the new testament in My blood,
etc. Here we abide, and would like to see those who will constitute themselves
His masters, and make it different from what He has spoken. It is true, indeed,
that if you take away the Word or regard it without the words, you have nothing
but mere bread and wine. But if the words remain with them as they shall and
must, then, in virtue of the same, it is truly the body and blood of Christ.
For as the lips of Christ say and speak, so it is, as He can never lie or
deceive.
Hence it is easy to reply to all manner of
questions about which men are troubled at the present time, such as this one:
Whether even a wicked priest can minister at, and dispense, the Sacrament, and
whatever other questions like this there may be. For here we conclude and say:
Even though a knave takes or distributes the Sacrament, he receives the true
Sacrament, that is, the true body and blood of Christ, just as truly as he who
[receives or] administers it in the most worthy manner. For it is not founded
upon the holiness of men, but upon the Word of God. And as no saint upon earth,
yea, no angel in heaven, can make bread and wine to be the body and blood of
Christ, so also can no one change or alter it, even though it be misused. For
the Word by which it became a Sacrament and was instituted does not become
false because of the person or his unbelief. For He does not say: If you
believe or are worthy, you receive My body and blood, but: Take, eat and drink;
this is By body and blood. Likewise: Do this (namely, what I now do, institute,
give, and bid you take) . That is as much as to say, No matter whether you are
worthy or unworthy, you have here His body and blood by virtue of these words
which are added to the bread and wine. Only note and remember this well; for
upon these words rest all our foundation, protection, and defense against all
errors and deception that have ever come or may yet come.
Thus we have briefly the first point which
relates to the essence of this Sacrament. Now examine further the efficacy and
benefits on account of which really the Sacrament was instituted; which is also
its most necessary part, that we may know what we should seek and obtain there.
Now this is plain and clear from the words just mentioned: This is My body and
blood, given and shed FOR YOU, for the remission of sins. Briefly that is as
much as to say: For this reason we go to the Sacrament because there we receive
such a treasure by and in which we obtain forgiveness of sins. Why so? Because
the words stand here and give us this; for on this account He bids me eat and
drink, that it may be my own and may benefit me, as a sure pledge and token,
yea, the very same treasure that is appointed for me against my sins, death,
and every calamity.
On this account it is indeed called a food of
souls, which nourishes and strengthens the new man. For by Baptism we are first
born anew; but (as we said before) there still remains, besides, the old
vicious nature of flesh and blood in man, and there are so many hindrances and
temptations of the devil and of the world that we often become weary and faint,
and sometimes also stumble.
Therefore it is given for a daily pasture and
sustenance, that faith may refresh and strengthen itself so as not to fall back
in such a battle, but become ever stronger and stronger. For the new life must
be so regulated that it continually increase and progress, but it must suffer
much opposition. For the devil is such a furious enemy that when he sees that
we oppose him and attack the old man, and that he cannot topple us over by
force, he prowls and moves about on all sides, tries all devices, and does not
desist until he finally wearies us, so that we either renounce our faith or
yield hands and feet and become listless or impatient. Now to this end the
consolation is here given when the heart feels that the burden is becoming too
heavy, that it may here obtain new power and refreshment.
But here our wise spirits contort themselves with
their great art and wisdom, crying out and bawling: How can bread and wine
forgive sins or strengthen faith? Although they hear and know that we do not
say this of bread and wine, because in itself bread is bread, but of such bread
and wine as is the body and blood of Christ, and has the words attached to it.
That, we say, is verily the treasure, and nothing else, through which such
forgiveness is obtained. Now the only way in which it is conveyed and
appropriated to us is in the words (Given and shed for you). For herein you
have both truths, that it is the body and blood of Christ, and that it is yours
as a treasure and gift. Now the body of Christ can never be an unfruitful, vain
thing, that effects or profits nothing. Yet however great is the treasure in
itself, it must be comprehended in the Word and administered to us, else we
should never be able to know or seek it.
Therefore also it is vain talk when they say that
the body and blood of Christ are not given and shed for us in the Lord's
Supper, hence we could not have forgiveness of sins in the Sacrament. For
although the work is accomplished and the forgiveness of sins acquired on the
cross, yet it cannot come to us in any other way than through the Word. For
what would we otherwise know about it, that such a thing was accomplished or
was to be given us if it were not presented by preaching or the oral Word?
Whence do they know of it, or how can they apprehend and appropriate to
themselves the forgiveness, except they lay hold of and believe the Scriptures
and the Gospel? But now the entire Gospel and the article of the Creed: I
believe a holy Christian Church, the forgiveness of sin, etc., are by the Word
embodied in this Sacrament and presented to us. Why, then, should we allow this
treasure to be torn from the Sacrament when they must confess that these are
the very words which we hear everywhere in the Gospel, and they cannot say that
these words in the Sacrament are of no use, as little as they dare say that the
entire Gospel or Word of God, apart from the Sacrament, is of no use?
Thus we have the entire Sacrament, both as to
what it is in itself and as to what it brings and profits. Now we must also see
who is the person that receives this power and benefit. That is answered
briefly, as we said above of Baptism and often elsewhere: Whoever believes it
has what the words declare and bring. For they are not spoken or proclaimed to
stone and wood, but to those who hear them, to whom He says: Take and eat, etc.
And because He offers and promises forgiveness of sin, it cannot be received
otherwise than by faith. This faith He Himself demands in the Word when He
says: Given and shed for you. As if He said: For this reason I give it, and bid
you eat and drink, that you may claim it as yours and enjoy it. Whoever now
accepts these words, and believes that what they declare is true, has it. But
whoever does not believe it has nothing, as he allows it to be offered to him
in vain, and refuses to enjoy such a saving good. The treasure, indeed, is
opened and placed at every one's door, yea upon his table, but it is necessary
that you also claim it, and confidently view it as the words suggest to you.
This, now, is the entire Christian preparation
for receiving this Sacrament worthily. For since this treasure is entirely
presented in the words, it cannot be apprehended and appropriated in any other
way than with the heart. For such a gift and eternal treasure cannot be seized
with the fist. Fasting and prayer, etc., may indeed be an external preparation
and discipline for children, that the body may keep and bear itself modestly
and reverently towards the body and blood of Christ; yet what is given in and
with it the body cannot seize and appropriate. But this is done by the faith of
the heart, which discerns this treasure and desires it. This may suffice for
what is necessary as a general instruction respecting this Sacrament; for what
is further to be said of it belongs to another time.
In conclusion, since we have now the true
understanding and doctrine of the Sacrament, there is indeed need of some
admonition and exhortation, that men may not let so great a treasure which is
daily administered and distributed among Christians pass by unheeded, that is,
that those who would be Christians make ready to receive this venerable
Sacrament often. For we see that men seem weary and lazy with respect to it;
and there is a great multitude of such as hear the Gospel, and, because the
nonsense of the Pope has been abolished, and we are freed from his laws and
coercion, go one, two, three years, or even longer without the Sacrament, as
though they were such strong Christians that they have no need of it; and some
allow themselves to be prevented and deterred by the pretense that we have
taught that no one should approach it except those who feel hunger and thirst,
which urge them to it. Some pretend that it is a matter of liberty and not
necessary, and that it is sufficient to believe without it; and thus for the
most part they go so far that they become quite brutish, and finally despise
both the Sacrament and the Word of God.
Now, it is true, as we have said, that no one
should by any means be coerced or compelled, lest we institute a new murdering
of souls. Nevertheless, it must be known that such people as deprive themselves
of, and withdraw from, the Sacrament so long a time are not to be considered
Christians. For Christ has not instituted it to be treated as a show, but has
commanded His Christians to eat and drink it, and thereby remember Him.
And, indeed, those who are true Christians and
esteem the Sacrament precious and holy will urge and impel themselves unto it.
Yet that the simple-minded and the weak who also would like to be Christians be
the more incited to consider the cause and need which ought to impel them, we
will treat somewhat of this point. For as in other matters pertaining to faith,
love, and patience, it is not enough to teach and instruct only, but there is
need also of daily exhortation, so here also there is need of continuing to
preach that men may not become weary and disgusted, since we know and feel how
the devil always opposes this and every Christian exercise, and drives and
deters therefrom as much as he can.
And we have, in the first place, the clear text
in the very words of Christ: Do this in remembrance of Me. These are bidding
and commanding words by which all who would be Christians are enjoined to
partake of this Sacrament. Therefore, whoever would be a disciple of Christ,
with whom He here speaks, must also consider and observe this, not from
compulsion, as being forced by men, but in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ,
and to please Him. However, if you say: But the words are added, As oft as ye
do it; there He compels no one, but leaves it to our free choice, answer: That
is true, yet it is not written that we should never do so. Yea, just because He
speaks the words, As oft as ye do it, it is nevertheless implied that we should
do it often; and it is added for the reason that He wishes to have the
Sacrament free, not limited to special times, like the Passover of the Jews,
which they were obliged to eat only once a year, and that just upon the
fourteenth day of the first full moon in the evening, and which they must not
vary a day. As if He would say by these words: I institute a Passover or Supper
for you which you shall enjoy not only once a year, just upon this evening, but
often, when and where you will, according to every one's opportunity and
necessity, bound to no place or appointed time; although the Pope afterwards
perverted it, and again made a Jewish feast of it.
Thus, you perceive, it is not left free in the
sense that we may despise it. For that I call despising it if one allow so long
a time to elapse and with nothing to hinder him yet never feels a desire for
it. If you wish such liberty, you may just as well have the liberty to be no
Christian, and neither have to believe nor pray; for the one is just as much
the command of Christ as the other. But if you wish to be a Christian, you must
from time to time render satisfaction and obedience to this commandment. For
this commandment ought ever to move you to examine yourself and to think: See,
what sort of a Christian I am! If I were one, I would certainly have some
little longing for that which my Lord has commanded [me] to do.
And, indeed, since we act such strangers to it,
it is easily seen what sort of Christians we were under the Papacy, namely,
that we went from mere compulsion and fear of human commandments, without
inclination and love, and never regarded the commandment of Christ. But we
neither force nor compel any one; nor need any one do it to serve or please us.
But this should induce and constrain you by itself, that He desires it and that
it is pleasing to Him. You must not suffer men to coerce you unto faith or any
good work. We are doing no more than to say and exhort you as to what you ought
to do, not for our sake, but for your own sake. He invites and allures you; if
you despise it, you must answer for it yourself.
Now, this is to be the first point, especially
for those who are cold and indifferent, that they may reflect upon and rouse
themselves. For this is certainly true, as I have found in my own experience,
and as every one will find in his own case, that if a person thus withdraw from
this Sacrament, he will daily become more and more callous and cold, and will
at last disregard it altogether. To avoid this, we must, indeed, examine heart
and conscience, and act like a person who desires to be right with God. Now,
the more this is done, the more will the heart be warmed and enkindled, that it
may not become entirely cold.
But if you say: How if I feel that I am not
prepared? Answer: That is also my scruple, especially from the old way under
the Pope, in which a person tortured himself to be so perfectly pure that God
could not find the least blemish in us. On this account we became so timid that
every one was instantly thrown into consternation and said to himself: Alas!
you are unworthy! For then nature and reason begin to reckon our unworthiness
in comparison with the great and precious good; and then it appears like a dark
lantern in contrast with the bright sun, or as filth in comparison with
precious stones. Because nature and reason see this, they refuse to approach
and tarry until they are prepared so long that one week trails another, and one
half year the other. But if you are to regard how good and pure you are, and
labor to have no compunctions, you must never approach.
We must, therefore, make a distinction here among
men. For those who are wanton and dissolute must be told to stay away; for they
are not prepared to receive forgiveness of sin since they do not desire it and
do not wish to be godly. But the others, who are not such callous and wicked
people, and desire to be godly, must not absent themselves, even though
otherwise they be feeble and full of infirmities, as St. Hilary also has said:
If any one have not committed sin for which he can rightly be put out of the
congregation and esteemed as no Christian, he ought not stay away from the
Sacrament, lest he may deprive himself of life. For no one will make such
progress that he will not retain many daily infirmities in flesh and blood.
Therefore such people must learn that it is the
highest art to know that our Sacrament does not depend upon our worthiness. For
we are not baptized because we are worthy and holy, nor do we go to confession
because we are pure and without sin, but the contrary because we are poor
miserable men and just because we are unworthy; unless it be some one who
desires no grace and absolution nor intends to reform.
But whoever would gladly obtain grace and
consolation should impel himself, and allow no one to frighten him away, but
say: I, indeed, would like to be worthy, but I come, not upon any worthiness,
but upon Thy Word, because Thou hast commanded it, as one who would gladly be
Thy disciple, no matter what becomes of my worthiness. But this is difficult;
for we always have this obstacle and hindrance to encounter, that we look more
upon ourselves than upon the Word and lips of Christ. For nature desires so to
act that it can stand and rest firmly on itself, otherwise it refuses to make
the approach. Let this suffice concerning the first point.
In the second place, there is besides this
command also a promise, as we heard above, which ought most strongly to incite
and encourage us. For here stand the kind and precious words: This is My body,
given for you. This is My blood, shed for you, for the remission of sins. These
words, I have said, are not preached to wood and stone, but to me and you; else
He might just as well be silent and not institute a Sacrament. Therefore
consider, and put yourself into this YOU, that He may not speak to you in
vain.
For here He offers to us the entire treasure
which He has brought for us from heaven, and to which He invites us also in
other places with the greatest kindness, as when He says in St. Matthew 11, 28:
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Now it is surely a sin and a shame that He so cordially and faithfully summons
and exhorts us to our highest and greatest good, and we act so distantly with
regard to it, and permit so long a time to pass [without partaking of the
Sacrament] that we grow quite cold and hardened, so that we have no inclination
or love for it. We must never regard the Sacrament as something injurious from
which we had better flee but as a pure wholesome, comforting remedy imparting
salvation and comfort, which will cure you and give you life both in soul and
body. For where the soul has recovered, the body also is relieved. Why, then,
is it that we act as if it were a poison, the eating of which would bring
death?
To be sure, it is true that those who despise it
and live in an unchristian manner receive it to their hurt and damnation; for
nothing shall be good or wholesome to them, just as with a sick person who from
caprice eats and drinks what is forbidden him by the physician. But those who
are sensible of their weakness, desire to be rid of it and long for help,
should regard and use it only as a precious antidote against the poison which
they have in them. For here in the Sacrament you are to receive from the lips
of Christ forgiveness of sin which contains and brings with it the grace of God
and the Spirit with all His gifts, protection, shelter, and power against death
and the devil and all misfortune.
Thus you have, on the part of God, both the
command and the promise of the Lord Jesus Christ. Besides this, on your part,
your own distress which is about your neck, and because of which this command,
invitation and promise are given, ought to impel you. For He Himself says: They
that be whole need not a physician, but they that be sick; that is, those who
are weary and heavy-laden with their sins, with the fear of death temptations
of the flesh and of the devil. If therefore, you are heavy-laden and feel your
weakness, then go joyfully to this Sacrament and obtain refreshment,
consolation, and strength. For if you would wait until you are rid of such
burdens, that you might come to the Sacrament pure and worthy, you must forever
stay away. For in that case He pronounces sentence and says: If you are pure
and godly, you have no need of Me, and I, in turn, none of thee. Therefore
those alone are called unworthy who neither feel their infirmities nor wish to
be considered sinners.
But if you say: What, then, shall I do if I
cannot feel such distress or experience hunger and thirst for the Sacrament?
Answer: For those who are so minded that they do not realize their condition I
know no better counsel than that they put their hand into their bosom to
ascertain whether they also have flesh and blood. And if you find that to be
the case, then go, for your good, to St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, and
hear what sort of a fruit your flesh is: Now the works of the flesh (he says
[chap. 5, 19ff.]) are manifest, which are these: Adultery fornication
uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revelings, and such like.
Therefore, if you cannot feel it, at least
believe the Scriptures, they will not lie to you and they know your flesh
better than you yourself. Yea, St. Paul further concludes in Rom. 7, 18: l know
that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing. If St. Paul may speak
thus of his flesh, we do not propose to be better nor more holy. But that we do
not feel it is so much the worse; for it is a sign that there is a leprous
flesh which feels nothing, and yet [the leprosy] rages and keeps spreading. Yet
as we have said, if you are quite dead to all sensibility, still believe the
Scriptures, which pronounce sentence upon you. And, in short, the less you feel
your sins and infirmities, the more reason have you to go to the Sacrament to
seek help and a remedy.
In the second place, look about you and see
whether you are also in the world, or if you do not know it, ask your neighbors
about it. If you are in the world, do not think that there will be lack of sins
and misery. For only begin to act as though you would be godly and adhere to
the Gospel, and see whether no one will become your enemy, and, moreover, do
you harm, wrong, and violence, and likewise give you cause for sin and vice. If
you have not experienced it, then let the Scriptures tell you, which everywhere
give this praise and testimony to the world.
Besides this, you will also have the devil about
you, whom you will not entirely tread under foot, because our Lord Christ
Himself could not entirely avoid him. Now, what is the devil? Nothing else than
what the Scriptures call him, a liar and murderer. A liar, to lead the heart
astray from the Word of God, and to blind it, that you cannot feel your
distress or come to Christ. A murderer, who cannot bear to see you live one
single hour. If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every
moment aimed at you, you would be glad to come to the Sacrament as often as
possible. But there is no reason why we walk so securely and heedlessly, except
that we neither think nor believe that we are in the flesh, and in this wicked
world or in the kingdom of the devil.
Therefore, try this and practise it well, and do
but examine yourself, or look about you a little, and only keep to the
Scriptures. If even then you still feel nothing, you have so much the more
misery to lament both to God and to your brother. Then take advice and have
others pray for you, and do not desist until the stone be removed from your
heart. Then, indeed, the distress will not fail to become manifest, and you
will find that you have sunk twice as deep as any other poor sinner, and are
much more in need of the Sacrament against the misery which unfortunately you
do not see, so that, with the grace of God, you may feel it more and become the
more hungry for the Sacrament, especially since the devil plies his force
against you, and lies in wait for you without ceasing, to seize and destroy
you, soul and body, so that you are not safe from him one hour. How soon can he
have brought you suddenly into misery and distress when you least expect it!
Let this, then, be said for exhortation, not only
for those of us who are old and grown, but also for the young people, who ought
to be brought up in the Christian doctrine and understanding. For thereby the
Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer might be the more easily
inculcated to our youth, so that they would receive them with pleasure and
earnestness, and thus would practise them from their youth and accustom
themselves to them. For the old are now well-nigh done for, so that these and
other things cannot be attained, unless we train the people who are to come
after us and succeed us in our office and work, in order that they also may
bring up their children successfully that the Word of God and the Christian
Church may be preserved. Therefore let every father of a family know that it is
his duty by the injunction and command of God, to teach these things to his
children, or have them learn what they ought to know. For since they are
baptized and received into the Christian Church, they should also enjoy this
communion of the Sacrament, in order that they may serve us and be useful to
us; for they must all indeed help us to believe, love, pray, and fight against
the devil.