# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 04 17_S134
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

134

breasts of eternal wisdom, and continued ever to suck freely in this land of bondage, from the perverted opinions, from the self-will and self-conceit of godless men, has found against the oppression of bad princes and magistrates, as against all other tribulation, no other weapons in the armory of Christian believers than private revenge and wanton rebellion:

Isaiah 26:16: "LORD, in trouble they seek thee; when thou chastenest them, they cry in anguish."

He still continues to set the pious and the godless against one another. The Gospel is spread to the uttermost bounds of the earth, though all princes and kings set themselves against it; yet its spreading takes place in weakness. For both the teachers and the disciples of it are oppressed with the holy cross, which is Thy discipline, by which Thou teachest Thine own and keepest them in their duty, which is as needful to the spirit as food and drink are to the body. For without tribulation the Word cannot prove its power. And as iron, when it is used, becomes bright, so also a Christian is instructed and helped through temptations, as the proverb says: The rod makes good children. But he adds an excellent lesson: When thou chastenest them, they cry in anguish, that is an anxious crying. They do not scream, they do not lament, as the godless are wont to do in misfortune; but they send forth unspeakable sighs, which pass through the mouth as a murmuring, as conjurers are wont to murmur.

To this passage Paul points in the 8th chapter to the Romans, when he says, v. 26: The Spirit maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. For a Christian in his tribulation should not howl, run hither and thither, lament, become fainthearted, blaspheme or despair, but sigh to the LORD with patience. So in these days against the princes and bishops, who are our rods, we have no other means than this sighing.

Of the Crafty Assaults of the Devil.

(From Luther's sermon on the Armor of Christians, of the year 1532. See his works, Halle ed., IX, 448 ff.)

What and how manifold his crafty assaults are, we shall not be able to relate or devise, except what we must experience in ourselves. For here he is master over masters, and of a thousand arts, with so many kinds of thoughts and suggestions, which he puts forth for God's Word, through which he has deceived all the world from the beginning, and has forcibly introduced all manner of heresy into Christendom. For (as I have said) he does not come trotting along in his hideous black color, so as to say: I am Satan, beware of me; but sneaks along like a serpent, and adorns himself most beautifully with God's Word and name, brings the very Scripture and texts which we hold, love, and found ourselves upon, and pretends besides an excellent earnestness and devotion, as a faithful, pious preacher who seeks nothing else than God's honor and the salvation of souls.

As he now does through our Sacramentarian factions and others, who likewise bring nothing but Scripture against us, and want to found their doings upon it, they hold up to us our own texts and articles, and bring forward lofty, excellent words, Christ's honor and name, besides great earnestness for the truth, excellent love and concern for souls. Behold, dear Christian, (say they,) there thou hast God's Word, thus thy own faith holds that Christ ascended into heaven, sits above at the right hand of the Father, there one is to seek him, etc. How comest thou then to think that he should be in the bread and wine, and let himself down to be conjured by the hissing of a man over the altar, etc. O, that would be far too near to the honor of Christ; and whatever more of such words belong thereto. Behold, that is a true assault and knocking, not as from Satan; but adorned as the Word and truth of the LORD Christ, whereby he wins the poor, unwise, and secure souls, and suddenly snatches them away.

So he did also in former times through the Arians, (who denied the article of the divinity of Christ,) and other heretics, who verily did not want to fight against the Scripture either, but brought forward the very same for themselves, and interpreted the opinion of Christians as against the Scripture, as those who divided the Godhead and made more than one God, etc., adorning this with such excellent appearance and precious words that with it they drew emperors and all the world to themselves, until scarcely a bishop or two remained standing, through whom God preserved Christendom.

But after these there came another assault of the roguish devil, through the doctrine of works of the Pope, against the righteousness of faith through Christ, whereby he has also broken in so craftily through the Scripture, drawn in from good works and outward righteousness, bringing in a great show of holiness and spiritual life. That first did the harm, and broke in with violence like a flood, and flooded the whole world full, and set up such a government of the Papacy, with so many kinds of divine service, masses, orders, pilgrimages, vows, saint-worship, etc., which also were confirmed with miracles (but yet false ones) by the devil; as Christ and the Apostles foretold, that even the elect might be led into error thereby. Matt. 24:24.

For thus it goes: where the devil first finds a gap open, and there are no valiant preachers who resist, there he soon breaks through farther, and tears on ever, until he gets quite the upper hand, and takes everything in again. For he comes always with such a fair pretext as is agreeable to reason and human wisdom, and can be understood and comprehended by it, and pleases it so naturally that it gives itself up willingly captive, and then everything falls to him in heaps, as if it were a precious thing that no one can resist. For a higher spiritual understanding is required, which has and keeps God's Word pure and clear, that it may recognize and refute such things. Therefore there must and shall be in Christendom wise and faithful preachers and bishops, who watch in all places and see to it that no devil's vermin steal in secretly and gain a gap. Hence they also have the name that they are called Bishops, Episcopi, that is, watchmen and overseers, who are to lie in wait where the enemy wants to come in, and drive him back; otherwise he has very easily broken through and spoiled everything.

For if he brings it so far that one yields to him in one article, he has won, and it is just as much as if he had them all, and had already lost Christ, and can thereafter also well unsettle and take others: for they are all wound and locked together, like a golden chain, so that, where one link is loosed, the whole chain is loosed, and everything falls apart. And there is no article which he cannot overturn, if he brings it about that reason falls in and wants to be clever, and then knows how to twist and stretch the Scripture finely thereto, so that it rhymes with it; that goes down then like a sweet poison. Therefore we also see now, since the devil has once gained room, that he is ever introducing one heresy and rabble of vermin after another, today attacking this, tomorrow another article; as he is already now on the way, through his forerunners, whereby he intends again to assail the divinity of Christ, likewise the resurrection of the dead, etc. These are now such assaults wherewith he attacks the whole of Christendom.

Besides this he attacks each one also in particular, first with the high spiritual temptations of faith, etc., and concerning the high article of Christ: there he can put forth so many kinds of thoughts whereby he removes the Word from thee or perverts it, and puts Christ out of thy sight, so that thou lookest upon thyself, upon what thou hast done or not done, etc. For he is to paint and picture himself to thee as if he were Christ himself in majesty, and terrify thee as a judge who demands thy works of thee, etc. Yea, he deceives even thine own thoughts of Christ and of faith, so that thou thinkest thou art right in it, and yet it is nothing but thy conceit or devotion. If then thou clingest to such a thing, and canst not resist with God's Word, and lettest thyself be lured out of thy defense, so that thou disputest with him, then he drives thee in at last, and makes thee so confused that thou knowest not where Christ or his Word and faith abide. But of this few people know who fight and defend themselves with him. The other, rude multitude never comes to it, whom the devil rides with security, so that they do not heed God's Word, or let themselves think they know it only too well.

Therefore it is very needful that each one here be watchful and careful, and look about him on every side, and know that the devil is not far from us, but is always around us, and lies in wait how he may catch us, so that he may not give us his thoughts or pretence for God's Word. We have the articles of our faith sufficiently grounded in the Scripture, hold thou to that, and let it not be twisted for thee with glosses, and interpreted according to reason, how it may rhyme or not, etc., but if one will otherwise smear thee over from reason and thy thoughts, then say: Here I have the plain God's Word and