# Der Lutheraner_St. Louis Missouri_1849 06 12_S164
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

164

But whoever despises such speaking of God also, and thinks, if only it be over and past, gone is gone, must at last drink the dregs to the bottom, so that God says: Come hither, and drink here the last draught, namely, the lees and all the slaver and slime; go and be off to the devil, into outer darkness, where shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth, in everlasting fire and in everlasting frost.

In such manner God deals with us, quite fatherly and graciously, until He can no longer restrain His wrath, and Himself becomes our preacher of repentance. For when men will not endure His Word, and we will not let ourselves be reproved and instructed by faithful teachers, then God Himself must come and preach repentance. This He now does with signs in the heaven, and otherwise, and with pestilence, dearth, war, and other plagues, and says: If ye will not hear my Word, which I cause to be shown you through your fellow-brother and companion in the faith, then I will preach from heaven above, and will let my signs be seen in the air, in the clouds, in the winds, in the waters, upon the earth, and will also send among you pestilence and sickness, dearth and war. See whether ye will yet amend. If ye do it, well and good; if ye do it not, then go your way, I will find you well enough, be ye where ye will. Ye cannot escape from me and my wrath.

Now when God thus Himself preaches repentance, and lets the pestilence rage round about us, among and in our midst, how shall Christians rightly conduct themselves and accommodate themselves to it? The first thing shall be that one come to the aid of the conscience, how it is to hold and show itself toward God, what it has to expect and to be comforted with. For on this most of all it depends.

When the conscience is not well guarded with God's Word, a rustling leaf may easily frighten us, so that we are aghast, fearful, and shy, and know not what we are to do, and cling merely to natural means and human counsel and help. When these cease or fail, our comfort also ceases, and we think it is now all over and lost. Then we fear for our skin and for the old maggot-bag, flee, and let others die and perish beside us, before we show them a work of love. But when the conscience is well instructed, comforted, strengthened, and guarded with God's Word, then it is said: in the name of God, what God wills, let that be done; he that is afraid, let him put on a coat of mail and harness, namely the Word of God and true faith. Then the pestilence cannot harm, but a Christian knows that he has God for his Father, who forgives him all his sins, and is a God of life. He says accordingly: What is it to me, they fall here, they fall there, one after another, it must needs be, we deserve it daily and every moment. But I am sure that I am a child of God and shall live forever, and that death is my gain. If I must leave my life here, it matters not, I know a better life for myself, my conversation is already in heaven. I desire to be dissolved and to be with my Lord Christ.

But it comes indeed hard and heavy. For whoever is healthy, strong, rich, and full-fed, and has no cross and misery, desires no such comfort, but thinks only of good long days and worldly honor and joy, as Sirach says, chap. 41: O death, how bitter art thou, when a man thinketh of thee that hath good days and enough and liveth without care, and to whom it goeth well in all things!

Although it is natural, however, that we are aghast at death, especially in common times of pestilence, yet this is certain, that a true Christian, be he as weak in faith as he may, so often as he but looks upward to his Lord Christ, becomes comforted and courageous, and can say: Am I not baptized, and a child and heir of God, and God is my Father, a God of life, with whom and by whom I shall live in eternity. Christ is my life, what can death do to me? Death is my gain, why then should I fear? Be gracious to me, thou merciful God, for the sake of Jesus Christ, thy Son, and strengthen my faith.

We all experience it in deed, and must testify to it, when we remain only here below, and think upon earthly, transitory things, and seek all human means, counsel and help, and look to our health, wife, child, honor, goods, and this life, we become the longer the more timid and fainthearted in times of pestilence, and always think we have the pestilence already at our throat, if we but hear it spoken of, and know not how we can sufficiently protect ourselves, and if it also falls upon us and comes into the house, we think God is angry with us, it ought not to have befallen us, murmur or keep quite silent like senseless people, and know not with anything right to comfort ourselves, and if we escape the plague, we ascribe it to our prudence and precaution and human means, and thank God not for His protection, and make as though God had done nothing for us that were worthy of thanks.

But when we swing and lift ourselves up to Him who is and is called the Most High and Almighty, to God the Father, and to our Saviour Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has brought to nought and overcome death and all pestilence, devil, hell, and sin, is it not true? it seems to thee as if all heaven laughed upon thee, and as if thou heardest in thy heart the voice of God, Isa. 41: I am the Lord thy God, who holdeth thy right hand, and saith unto thee: Fear not, I will help thee. Likewise: Son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee. Likewise: Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Likewise: This is life eternal, that they might know thee, that thou alone art the true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Thereby the conscience becomes lively, yea, defiant against all enemies, sin, death, hell, devil, and against all pestilence that walketh in darkness. And whereas before man had crept away for fear, and knew not where was in or out, now he steps forth like a lion, and says: Pshaw, pestilence, wilt thou devour me? Pshaw, death, art thou there also? Devour away, ye have a dainty morsel, what care I for you? Your defiance gives and takes from me nothing, yea, it gives me more than it takes from me, for it advances me to my Lord Christ in eternal life. To this Lord I commend myself with body and soul, and heed not what ye can do and accomplish. I know whither I shall go, and where I shall abide in eternity, why then should I dread? I commend myself to God and say: Commit thy way unto the Lord, and thou wilt do it well. Into thy hands I commend my spirit, thou hast redeemed me, thou faithful God. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. In thee do I trust, let me never be ashamed. Deal with thy servant according unto thy mercy, and teach me thy statutes.

Now when the conscience is thus guarded, and holds to the Word of God and the holy sacraments, and is sure that, as the 91st Psalm says, God's truth is shield and buckler, it can go right through all devils and pestilence, and attend to its calling, let it go therewith as the dear God will.

The second thing thereafter shall be that one nevertheless despise not the ordinary means which God has set before us, but use them in the fear of God, as Sirach says: Honor a physician with the honor due unto him, that thou mayest have him at need; yet that thou above all things seek counsel and help from God, who says to thee, Exod. 15: I am the Lord, thy physician. For one must not begin at the wrong end, and prefer the bodily medicine to the true medicine of the soul, else God becomes angry thereat, as we read 2 Chron. 17: Asa, the king, was sick, and his sickness grew very great, and he sought not the Lord in his sickness, but the physicians, and he died, etc.

When one seeks God first, and repents, calls upon Him, and commends himself to Him, there may thereafter easily be a medicine which has the blessing of God, so that it must help. Yea, a roasted onion and a dried fig must well do the best, when one seeks counsel and help from God first, as we see in King Hezekiah, who, when he was 39 years old, fell into a mortal sickness (which it is held was pestilence) and prayed to God with weeping heart, and said: Remember now, O Lord, how I have walked before thee in truth (that is, in my office which thou hast commanded me, faithfully labored) with a perfect heart (without hypocrisy and neglect) and have done that which was good in thy sight (that I upon thy right doctrine