Locus 18 — Calamities, the Cross, and True Consolations
review the impelling and final causes or purposes of these things, then learn them, and think of them often. of evils, and so is the sea" [Hesiod, "Works and Days,"
101].
Furthermore, the devil, a spirit who is hostile to God and raging with hatred against Him, adds to our confusion and arouses lusts in our weakness. Thus he piles up the accidental and the willful evils and in creases the ravings of Caligula, Nero, and others like them, so that when the wrath of God is aroused our punishments and miseries increase. Who can even fully contemplate these sources of evils? We see in these examples, and experience in our miseries, that the trou bles of mankind are sadder than men can even com prehend in their thoughts, or describe in their words.
1. Because of the fall of our first parents and the remnants of their sin which inheres in us in this corrupt nature, the church of God is subject to physical death and other troubles, just as the rest of the human race is. Rom. 8[: 10], "The body is doomed to death because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."
2. Since the world does not consider that this inner uncleanness of human nature, our doubts about God, or our neglect of Him are things which are con demned by God, and since it despises the wrath of God, the church is even more pressed down because God wills that His wrath against sin be seen, and He wills that repentance increase among us. 1 Peter 4[:17],
"Judgment begins at the house of'God"; and Jer.
30[:11 ], "I will correct you in justice, lest you think you are innocent"; Is.[66:2], "Upon whom shall I look except on him who has a contrite heart and trembles at My words?"
But it is even more difficult to contemplate the greatness of the cause, how enormous an evil sin is, what the anger of God is when by a definite law He punishes sin, and how great the raging of the devil is as he adds to the miseries of men. These causes can be understood in a general way in the overwhelming evils in the whole nature of men, both in the church and among the ungodly. But here the much more difficult question is that, since death and other calamities are punishments for the sins and crimes of mankind, why is the church of God even more burdened down with miseries than the godless multitude? Why is Abel killed by his brother? Why does the tyrant Manesseh cruelly cut Isaiah in half with a saw [cf. Heb. 11:37]? Why does
Apryes kill Jeremiah? Why do the priests kill Zecha riah? Why does Herod kill the Baptist? Why does Pilate kill Christ? The examples are well known. Very often the church of God is a small group retaining the profes sion of the true teaching and enduring various heavy burdens which are common to all, and some which are peculiar to the church. Jacob lost his wife in childbirth.
Joseph lost his son. The poor person wanders, without a definite dwelling place, among evil and arrogant people.
3. Because the devil burns with even greater hatred toward Christ and the church, he craftily sneaks madness into the church and often creates divisions, as when he stirs up heresies. He often subverts the saints, as when he caught David in that great web of miseries, so that he drove many of those who were caught in it to despair. Concerning this cause it says in Gen. 3[:15], "The serpent shall bruise His heel." And what great misery those poisoned bites are which the godly often experience, as in the case of David who scarcely could extricate himself from all those sins and offenses. Also note Matt. 12[:44], [where the unclean spirit says], "I will return to the home from which I came." And 1 Peter [5:8], "Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walks about seeking whom he may devour."
4. Very often calamities are punishments for par ticular sins which God in His wrath imposes on men because of their sins, so that at the same time He may punish crimes and also bring back the fallen to repen tance. And these punishments, since they are imposed because of lapses, are also used as examples, so that the rest of the people may be instructed and learn to fear God and improve their behavior.
Often worldly princes hold power—men who are ignorant and contemptuous of the prophetic and apos tolic doctrine and lord it over the church not only with their wealth and their glory and pleasures, but also with civil power, so that how often do we compare godly princes with the power of Alexander, Pyrrhus, Scipio, and others like them?
The miseries of the church prompt many people to have strong doubt whether God is concerned about any part of the human race, or whether there is indeed a church of God at all, or whether they alone are the people of God, who hold to the prophetic and apostolic doctrine, or whether God hears this group in their trou bles. Finally, since these well-known tragedies cause many people to turn away from God and embrace Ep icurean notions, it is necessary that the church be warned against these scandalous ideas and be taught why the church is subjected to these miseries—that despite them it is still heard by God, aided, sustained, and ultimately delivered by Him. This is the wisdom which belongs to the church. Therefore, we must first
Thus David, because of his adultery and the de livery of Uriah to death, was tormented and punished with terrible torments: his son killed his brother, and afterward stirred up a sedition, drove his father out of the kingdom, and polluted his father's wives with in cestuous shame. Finally, no human language can de scribe the enormity of the catastrophes which David endured over a period of many years. Likewise Uzziah
[2 Chron. 26:16-23] was punished with leprosy be cause he was going to make a sacrifice contrary to the law. Manasseh was taken into exile because of his wor ship of idols and his killing of the prophets. And re garding the entire nation and the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, Jeremiah says in 22[:8 f.], "And everyone
demned with the world." Rev. 3[:19], "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." shall say to his neighbor, 'Why has the Lord done this to this great city?' Then they will answer, 'Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods.' " Amos 2[:4 ff.] says that the people had taken up idols, and "I shall send a fire upon Judah and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem ... because they have ground the poor to powder... and a son and a father have had relations with the same girl to violate My holy name."
5. That our afflictions may be testimonies to doc trine. For although Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Baptist were not punished for some particular sins which they had done, yet they endured great burdens for other reasons. First of all, this was done that they might un derstand the wrath of God against the common sin of mankind, and then endure the controversies because of the confession of their teaching. For both of these elements are observable in the troubles which Paul endured, that is to say, that he did not bring the Gospel around to the people for the sake of his comfort or his pleasure, but for the sake of his doctrine he sustained great miseries, when otherwise he could have lived among his fellow men in a position of honorable leisure.
And also because he truly and earnestly believed that his teaching was true, he confirmed it by the fact that he preferred to endure even death rather than turn away from his proclaiming of the Gospel. Matt. 16[:24] speaks of this cause: "He who wishes to follow Me, let him take up his cross and follow Me." And 2 Tim. 3[: 12],
"All who wish to live piously in Christ shall suffer per secution." Ps. 126[:5], "Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy." Ps. 116[:15], "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
Further, the sermons and the historical portions of the prophets are filled with examples and testimonies which show that this fourth cause applies very broadly.
Very often particular sins are punished with particular calamities that are common both to a group and an individual, because, in order that the matter might be clear, the forms of the punishment fit the sins, as it says in Wisd. 11[:17], "By what things a man sin?, by the same he also is tormented." As when David took the wife of another man, his own marriages were in turn polluted. Likewise his son killed a brother and took up arms against his father because he [David] had polluted his own seed with his adultery. The accounts of the pagans have countless examples in which the forms of punishment fit the crimes, as when Oedipus bore chil dren by his mother, and consequently the sons per ished in a mutual murder. Antigone was killed by her daughter. Thus the outcome shows that the offspring had been cursed. Likewise, the histories show that the punishments had wide ramifications, and that from one crime countless sins and many calamities arose. There fore, when we wonder at or deplore the greatness of human catastrophes, the countless confusions of our lives, and the innumerable ruins of nations, we must look to the source: as sins mount, so do the punish ments, even though God mitigates them, as I shall point out later.
6. That the afflictions may be a testimony of im mortality. For although God has promised good things to His people, and here in this life He permits them to be frightfully oppressed by the ungodly, yet with clear testimonies He shows that He gives His approval to the Baptist, to Paul, and to others, and it is necessary that there remain for them another life in which the Baptist and Paul are adorned with good things, and for their sakes Herod and Nero are punished. Thus Peter says
[1 Peter 4:17], "And if judgment begins with us first, what will be the end of those who reject the Gospel?"
But now let us speak specifically of the punish ments of the church. We need to know that the church
7. That "we may be conformed to the image of the Son of God," as it says in Rom. 8[:29]. And Christ
Himself says [Matt. 10:24], "The disciple is not above his master." Christ endured punishment and torment because of our sin. He assuaged the wrath of God so that we might be accepted, even though we are un worthy. But because we are received, that we may be made heirs of the glory which Christ merited for us, it is necessary that first this body of sin be destroyed, as it says in Rom. 6[:6], "Our old man is crucified with Christ that the body of sin might be destroyed." is punished, and we must keep in mind the testimonies which show this: Mic. 7[:9], "I will endure the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against Him"; Ps.
89[:32 ff.], "I will punish their iniquities with the rod, but I will not take My mercy from them"; Is. 64[v. 5 f.], "You are indeed angry, for we have sinned, and we have continued in our sins, and finally we shall be delivered
... we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have scattered us." This is a vivid description, and a very doleful picture of suffering. In the same way churches, nations and families are scattered and laid waste by the winds because of sins, as was the case with the ten tribes of Israel, among whom the remnants of the church still continued even after they were carried away into exile and scattered far and wide. Christ is speaking of this kind of punishment in John 5[:14], "Do not sin again, lest something worse befall you." And Paul says 1 Cor. 11 [:32], "When we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord so that we may not be con
8. Even in the case of those in whom the pun ishment is not for some particularly vicious actions, yet there is the inner uncleanness, the carnal security, self pride, and many doubts. These evils must be emended under the cross and we must beware of future lapses, as it says in 2 Cor. 1 [:9], "We had the sentence of death over us, that we not trust in our own goodness." To this cause many statements and examples are pertinent.
For God wills that in all the saints there be an increase of repentance and gifts. 2 Cor. 4[:16], "Even though
causes of our miseries and deplore them, just as we must recognize the wrath of God against our common sins and our individual sins, and we must curb the forces within us which lead us away from the Law, as we consider the enormity of our frightful punishments.
And then we must seek the remedy. our outward man is perishing, yet the inner man is being renewed every day." Prov. 3[:12], "Whom the Lord loves He chastens." Heb. 12[:6],"He scourges every son whom He receives." Ps. 119[:71], "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." Is. 28[:19 ], "Vexation gives understanding."
Is. 26[: 16], "Lord, in trouble they have visited You." The anxiety in which they cry out is training for them.
Philosophy errs in both points, for it does not see the principal reasons for human miseries, nor can it give us an effective remedy. It explains things in terms of matter, and thinks that man is in no way different from vegetables or violets or roses. Hence it does not understand what a great fall has occurred in the nature of men. Thus it quite properly criticizes the erring and depraved desires of men, but it does not understand the root problem, nor does it condemn our ignorance and our contempt for God.
9. That it might appear that the saints render wholehearted obedience not out of their ambition or only for the sake of some present advantages, but prin cipally that they might serve God and glorify Him, as it says in Ps. 44[:17], "All these things have come upon us, but we have not forgotten You."
10. That it might be apparent that the church is not gathered, defended, and preserved by human counsels and protection but by the Son of God Himself, who is the head of the church, and under the leading of divine power, and in our weakness the presence and power of Christ may be seen as He fights for us against the raging of the devil and tyrants. 2 Cor. 4[:7], "We carry about this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not from ourselves." Ps. 20[:7], "They trust in chariots and horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."
Ps. 44[:1 ff.], "We have heard with our ears, O God, and our fathers have told us of the deeds which You did in their days, in days of old. Your hand scattered the nations, but them You planted . . . They did not gain possession of the land with their own sword, nor did their own arm save them, but it was Your right hand and Your arm and the light of Your countenance." John
15[:5], "Without Me you can do nothing." 1 Cor. 1 [:31], "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord." Hos. 13[:9],
"Destruction is yours, O Israel, and only in Me is your help." Is. 46[:3 ff.], "You were carried in My bowels, you were borne up in My womb. Even in your old age
Then it provides remedies which only increase the sorrow and unworthiness of the feverish mind. They only say that the evil, when it cannot be gotten rid of, must be borne out of necessity, just as they drive their horses or cattle to the point where they suffer death.
What does it help, they ask, to add to this unavoidable evil the useless torments of the mind and the fact that they will achieve nothing? The good mind, says Plau tus, in a bad situation is only half of the evil. Nor do they offer any mitigation, aid, or deliverance, but tell us to flee all occasions for trouble to the greatest degree possible. Hence the Epicureans teach that a person must avoid being the ruler of his government, because it is abundantly clear that governing is filled with trou bles and dangers and often brings a tragic outcome, as the examples of Palamedes, Thrasybulus, Demos thenes, Cicero, Pompey, and Caesar bear witness.
Some [philosophers] indeed do call for more se rious virtues, but in this request they omit many things; yet it is true that they say that we must not act contrary to any virtue because of sorrows. For example, Cato because of his grief must not commit suicide, for that would be acting contrary to righteousness. Coriolanus must not give way to the desire for revenge and bring war upon his fatherland because of his anger, for then he would be forgetful of the duty which he owes to his country. Demosthenes, when he was driven from his city, must not therefore lament in a womanish manner, for that would be contrary to propriety, which acts with moderation in every situation.
I will carry the church. I have made you and I will bear you, I will carry you and I will save you." Is. 48[:11],
"For My own sake, for My own sake, I will perform it, that I may not be blasphemed, and I will not give My glory to another."
I have now listed the causes or reasons on ac count of which the church is subject to great burdens.
This recitation is not given only to comfort our minds out of rhetorical habit, but I have done this in order that we might understand that these are genuine reasons and they are very important, if we really give serious consideration to our own burdens and those of men in general. These ideas are ridiculed by the Epicureans and all others who are drunken with pleasures or the love of glory. But the godly recognize that in real trou bles and sorrows we must diligently meditate on this true teaching, and that as a result of this we must stir up our minds to fear God and seek true consolations.
For just as beneficial remedies cannot be offered to the sick unless the cause of their sickness is determined, so we in the church must learn to understand the Having listed these consolations, they then pro ceed to lament the miseries of the human race and cite many examples of calamities because the burden seems much lighter when we all together bear in com mon the common miseries of the human race. Finally, when they see that certain tragic evils cannot be made lighter by any kind of comfort, they then take refuge in the statement: "It would be best if we had not been born." Thus in the consolation of the philosophers there is absolutely no mention of God, no deliverance, no escape, no helper to be seen. Just as those who are in good physical condition do not pay much attention
to the speeches of doctors, and just as those who are drunk with pleasures give no consideration to the ad monitions of either philosophers or preachers, yet on the other hand a sick mind earnestly seeks a remedy and wherever it is offered he receives it, but especially he finds comfort if he understands that consolation is offered to him by God with definite testimonies, and then he seeks the thoughts of wise men which will bring some relief to his sufferings in his troubles. And the very comparison of these teachings is beneficial to a good mind and adds light to the divine comforts and makes them even sweeter, and raises up our minds so that they give thanks to God because He has been truly affected by His concern for our troubles and demon strated this by beautiful testimonies. For He has shown to us His Son, that He might be a witness and guarantee of God's mercy toward us. With many and apple in structions He promises help and deliverance to those sparrows." Acts. 17[:28], "In Him we live and move and have our being." Ps. 33[:15], "He fashions their hearts individually. He understands all their works." Ps. 94[:9],
"He who formed the eye, shall He not see?" In the Lamentations of Jeremiah 3[:38], there is a clear re futation of the words of the Epicureans, "Who is he who has commanded a thing to be done, when the Lord commanded it not? Is it not from the mouth of the Most
High that good and evil proceed? Why should a man complain against God?" Ps. 100[:3], "Know that the Lord is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture." Is. 45[:6 ff.], "I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness; I make peace and create evils," that is, punishments. [V. 19]
"I the Lord speak righteousness and announce truth."
Zeph. 1[:12], "And it shall come to pass in that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will visit the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their hearts, 'The Lord will not do good nor will He do evil.' Their houses shall become a desolation." [1 Sam.
2:6], "The Lord kills and makes alive."
Here let each person make note of the many tes timonies in order that he may firmly determine for him self that troubles do not arise by accident, but are decreed by God and that He as a righteous judge is truly angry at their sins and punishes evil-doers, but He chastens the godly by His own counsel in the same calamities. Let them affirm this first axiom and the tes timonies which will be cited in the passages which fol low and the cases which have been cited above, because they always include the mention of God, both as the one who punishes and the one who chastens and delivers, as it says in Ps. 118[:18], "The Lord has chastened me severely." who seek His aid in their calamities, and He adds ex amples of famous deliverances, and we experience ex amples of these things every day. Therefore, it is useful to keep in mind and place before our eyes the chief points of our consolations, which were given us in the heavenly doctrine, and it is necessary that we cling to certain well-known points which must instruct our minds regarding the will of God. For these have been given to us in order that we may ponder them and that they may urge us to the knowledge of God and bring us His aid.
Now we shall take up five axioms dealing with comfort which have been given us by God which we must always keep in mind.
1. The first is that all men, and particularly the church, need to make certain that our afflictions do not happen only by accident but with the knowledge of God.
Although afflictions do indeed come either from material things or from the devil or from the wickedness of men, we must understand that they are permitted by the counsel of God and that He set bounds to them beyond which the maliciousness of the devil and of men cannot reach. And although this first point is certainly not a matter of complete consolation, yet at the beginning we must drive out of our minds Epicurean notions and de stroy them. Indeed there is no doubt that particularly for this reason the church is tormented harshly and then again delivered, in order that there may increase in us the light which teaches us the truth that men are not born and do not die by mere accident, but it is the truth that it is God who has revealed Himself by sending His
Son, and He has given to us His Word, and He is truly wrathful against sin, and that He cleanses those who repent. And it is no small battle to free our minds from Epicurean ravings. Therefore, we must steep ourselves
Countless people have no Epicurean notions in minor situations or ordinary difficulties but normally hold the persuasion that human matters are of concern to God. But when the troubles become unbearable, they absolutely give up this idea and conclude that all things are in a state of confusion and rise and fall by mere accident and without the counsel of God, some pleas antly and some tragically. Finally, the lying spirits, using the darts of the devil, impair their minds to such a point in these troubles that they come to despise God by the Epicurean notions which have been created. Therefore, our minds must be diligently forewarned against these darts of the devil.
2. The second axiom is that nothing is loved or even borne with equanimity without some good reason.
Thus, when Saul finally concluded that he was only being punished by God, he ran away from God with tragic raging. Thus in the midst of our troubles we must keep this good reason in our minds. We must remem ber the ultimate reason why God punishes. Above we have discussed the matter of impelling and final causes. But whatever the impelling causes of some thing may be (which can be of various kinds and un in these axioms first.
Matt. 10[:29], "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them falls to the earth without your Father's will. All the hairs of your head are num bered. Do not be afraid, you are worth more than many
known to us), we must always cling to the ultimate reason or final cause with the firmest faith, namely, that God punishes or chastens us not to destroy us but to bring us back to repentance, or to move us so that fear, prayer, and other virtues may increase in us. When we come to recognize this good will of God, then our mind begins to submit itself to God in every respect, and it can bear the punishment or the troubles with a calm mind. and the heart of the contrite." Ps. 34[:18], "The Lord is near to those who have a broken spirit." Therefore, He does not punish in order to destroy, but He shows His wrath in order to encourage us to repentance, as it is written [Gal. 3:22], "He has imprisoned all under sin in order that He may have mercy upon all." It is sad to be imprisoned under sin, for it signifies being made subject to the wrath of God, to sin and to torments.
Thus David was imprisoned under sin when he was driven into exile and stripped of the glory of his power, as if he had been coYnpletely rejected by God. The Emperor Maurice was imprisoned under sin when his daughters, his son, and his wife were murdered before his very eyes. But in these enormous difficulties we must cling to the second part of the passage, namely,
"that He may have mercy upon all." We need to know that in the greatest of our torments we must still not forsake God, but determine for ourselves that He wills to receive us and deliver us from eternal wrath. But experience shows how difficult it is in the time of great catastrophes to cling to this comfort.
This properly is the doctrine of the Gospel, which has been handed down from the very beginning through the patriarchs, the prophets, Christ, and the apostles. From this we know that, although the human race is subject to so many sorrows, yet we must not fall into eternal destruction, but recognize the wrath of God against sin and by this admonition be drawn back to repentance and return to God who is our helper.
Adam and Eve understood this when they saw the death of Abel, and they believed that they were being instructed concerning their own sin, but yet they also understood that God willed that they should not lose all hope of eternal life. They remembered the promise which had been given concerning the Seed, that when death had been abolished this Abel who had been killed would return to them. But yet in times of great sorrow it was hard for them to be delivered from their doubt.
3. The third axiom of consolation is the promise of help, the mitigation of punishments, the presence of God, and deliverance. The axiom is far removed from philosophy. For human reason does not judge that God was present at the expulsion of David. When Cato saw that Pompey had been killed and that Julius had con quered, he became angry at God and said that he, a just man in his opinion, had been unjustly deserted in a most honorable cause. But the doctrine of the Gospel testifies that men are not rejected by God because they have catastrophes, but rather that thereby God is prom ising His aid and the mitigation of their evils and their deliverance. Nor should we think that these consola tions are merely vain words. They are true realities, and faith awaits the outcome, as these examples show.
Therefore, we shall first cite some of the promises to strengthen ourselves.
Therefore, this doctrine is repeated over and over again in the prophets: Ezek. 33[:11], "As I live, says the Lord, I do not will the death of the sinner, but that he may turn and live." God swears that He punishes not to destroy, but to draw us back to repentance.
1 Cor. 11[:32], "When we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened, that we may not be condemned with the world." Ps. 119[:71 ], "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes." Rev.
3[:19], "Those whom I love I rebuke and chasten." Is.
28[:19], "Vexation makes you understand what you hear." [V. 9], "Whom shall He teach knowledge ... those that are weaned from the milk, that are drawn away from the breasts?" Is. 26[:16], "Lord, they seek
You in distress. They poured out a prayer when your chastening was upon them." Heb. 12[:6], "He chastens every son whom He receives." Prov. 3[:12], "Whom the Lord loves He corrects." Matt. 11 [:28], Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Here Christ commands all who feel that they are burdened down with miseries to seek Him as the helper sent from God." And in Is. 61 [:2 ff.], He says that He has been sent by God "to comfort all those who mourn . . . [and] to give the oil of gladness for mourning."
Nah. 1 [:7], "The Lord is good, a comfort in trib ulation, and He knows those who trust in Him." Joel
2[:13], "Return to the Lord your God, for He is kind and merciful, and He relents from doing harm." God wills this, for Joel says that God is moved by repentance, even though He chastens. Ps. 34[:18], "The Lord is near to those who are of a troubled heart." Ps. 147[:3],
"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Ps. 50[:15], "Call upon Me in the day of trou ble, and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." Is.
57[:15], "I will dwell with him who has a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the hearts of those who are contrite." Is. 66[:2] "To whom shall I look if not to him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, who trembles at My words?" Matt. 5[:3], "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn."
Finally, the passages used in connection with the following axiom teach the same points, and contain promises in which God promises deliverance and help to those who are afflicted. He testifies that He is present with those who call upon Him in their calamities, as it says in Is. 57[:15],"l dwell... with him who has a con trite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble
God finally delivers His church from all its mis eries. But in the meantime, in this life, it is necessary that we obey in the time of troubles because it is His
will, as has been said. The church is under the cross and yet every day He delivers many from their physical miseries, and even when He does not deliver them entirely, yet He mitigates their troubles. The prophets often describe this mitigation and pray for it, and we must also learn to ask for it. For this weak nature of mankind cannot endure the enormity of God's wrath, if He should burn with the anger that our sins deserve.
Thus David cries in Ps. 6[:1 ], "Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger." Again, Ps. 130[:3], "If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" That is, if His wrath only matched our sins, we would all instantly perish. Ps. 78[:38], "And He did not stir up all His wrath." Jer. 10[:24], "O Lord, correct me, but with jus tice, not in Your anger, lest I am reduced to nothing."
Hos. 11 [:8-9], "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? Shall I destroy you like
Admah and Zeboim? My heart is stirred within Me, My things fail, many people are destroyed with mental an guish and find no comfort. This sorrow demonstrates that they trust only in visible things, not in God. It is permissible to use things which have been established by God, as when David used his army; but the divine
Word rejects this confidence in things without trusting God [Jer. 17:5]: "Cursed is he who trusts in the arm of flesh." This unrighteous trust is very quickly found want ing when we lose these visible supports and when we are deserted by our friends. Hence the laments of ty rants are more ridiculous than pitiable: "Bereft of friends, O wretch that I am, I am destroyed." Why do you trust in these things and then embark on improper or evil endeavors?
David is more correct when he says [Ps. 27:10], "When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up." And more correct is the Ca naanite woman who, when she had given up all hope of human remedies, sought help from Christ and would not permit herself to be deterred, even though at the beginning Christ answered her very harshly. sympathy is aroused. I will not execute the fierceness of My anger. I will not destroy Ephraim again, because
I am God and not a man, the Holy One in your midst," that is, I will not permit My Word to return void, because
In the course of our life, in dangers and miseries, we need to learn what kind of trust God demands and what kind He rejects. Nor can these precepts be un derstood without some experience. Indeed the church is burdened under the cross, so that in these testings faith may grow. Faith is often quenched in leisure and pleasures, as it is written [Ex. 32:6], "The People sat down to eat and to drink and rose up to play." Likewise,
Deut. 32[:15], "He [Jeshuran = Israel] grew fat and kicked." But in order that we may remind ourselves of this kind of invocation, we need to cling to these state ments: Ps. 50[:15], "Call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me." Ps. 9[:10],
"Those who know Your name will put their trust in You.
For you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You."
Ps. 55[:22], "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you." Ps. 34[:6], "This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him." Ps. 145[:18], "The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth." John 16[:24], "Ask and you shall receive." Luke
I have given it to you. Hab. 3[:2], "In wrath, remember mercy." Is. 64[:8 f.], "But now, O Lord, You are our
Father. We are the clay and You are our potter, and we are all the work of Your hands. Do not be furious,
O Lord, nor remember our iniquities forever. Look, all of us are Your people!"
We must consider these statements very care fully concerning the mitigation of punishments, in order that, even when our miseries are not completely taken away, yet we may understand that we do receive help, are supported and strengthened in the meantime, so that we can endure the burden and lighten our calam ities. Hagar was driven from the home of Abraham with her son in the midst of great trials, and they almost perished from thirst, both she and her son. Still, she was heard by God and helped by Him who showed her a well. In the same way, as individuals we seek and expect some mitigation so that our weakness does not succumb. Thus in Rom. 8[:26] it says that "the Spirit aids us in our weakness."
18[:1], "We must always pray and not grow weary."
Phil. 4[:6], "Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God." And faith should always be exercised in this way, in order that first it might seek the remission of guilt and afterwards the mitigation of punishment, as I shall describe later under the subject of prayer.
4. The fourth axiom is that the church and indi vidual godly people in times of troubles, when they con sider the three points which I have just given, must add their own faith and invocation. For God gives the sweet est and fullest promises in order that we may cling to them in faith, be upheld by His expected kindness, and finally call upon Him and glorify Him. Let us take refuge in God, having been instructed by these words. Let us seek and await divine aid, and take comfort in these promises, just as the godly in Egypt, in the wilderness, or in the Babylonian exile took comfort, knowing that God was present, that He was aiding them, and that there would finally be an end to these troubles.
5. The fifth axiom. Statements were cited above regarding the will of God in the midst of our torments, namely, that they do not take place merely by accident, because God punishes not in order to destroy, but to draw us back to repentance since He wills to help us, since He wills that aid be sought from Him and expected from Him, and that we should recognize the good will of God even in our calamities. Whenever we consider those statements we should know, finally, that it is the All men seek, as much as they are able, visible protection in times of adversity. One trusts in his money, another in the favor of powerful friends. When these
I have been helped." 1 Cor. 10[:10], "Do not murmur as some of them murmured and were destroyed by the destroyer," as is told in Num. 21 with regard to the fiery serpents. Ps. 37[:7], "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him." This is a short sermon dealing with most im portant things. It includes two parts: the precept con cerning obedience, and the teaching concerning the consolation which we are to ask of God and expect from Him. Ps. 46[:10], "Be still and see that I am God."
This is a marvelous precept and one which is unknown to philosophy, but is rn keeping with the statement in Is.[30:15], "In quietness and confidence shall be your strength." command of God that in catastrophes we who believe this way must be obedient to Him and not become angry at His chastening, but acknowledge that His punish ment is just and submit ourselves to the will of God and be willing to bear this punishment humbly, in order that we might be obedient to the righteousness of God. For God wills that in all His punishments we see the or dering of His righteousness and His wrath against sin.
Since this obedience and the mitigation of our sorrow have also been mandated by divine command, we must fight against sorrow and indignation.
The following passages teach this: Micah [7:9], "I will endure the indignation of God because I have sinned against Him." And the consolation is also added, for it is not sufficient that we know the precept or endure evil, but, as I said at the beginning, faith and prayer must be added, and thus Micah also says [v. 8], ''When
What, then, is this quietness? What is it to be still? It means, first, obediently to bear the burdens which have been laid upon us; then'not to undertake things without a calling; third, not (as is customary for human unbelief) to run hither and thither seeking var ious kinds of protection, and among them some righ teous and some unrighteous things, as did the kings of Judah, who now leaned toward Egypt and now to ward Assyria, and now toward others, caught up in wrongful treaties and finally compelled to follow the rag ing of foreign overlords. To this lack of patience and running about on the part of those seeking help without a righteous order of things are addressed these words:
"Be still," that is, be quiet, await help from the Lord, do not run in all directions to Egypt, Syria, the Turks, the Africans. In a good cause, be calm in mind and await your help from God; and if something worse happens, yet it is better to endure troubles than to disgrace a good cause by dishonorable counsels.
I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light." 1 Peter [5:5 f.], "God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God." He gives this precept in order that we may be obedient to God even when He presses us down. He calls it His "mighty hand," a term which can be understood in two ways: the hand of God is powerful both to overturn the proud and to guide the afflicted. Nor is there any power so great, so thriving with glory and riches, that God cannot overturn it, as the history of all ages shows.
But remember the examples of the saints, of David and Nebuchadnezzar. These men were cast down from the place of highest honor, and they learned that they had been in safe positions not by their own power, nor by the trustworthiness of their friends, nor by the protection of human weapons, but by God, who preserved, protected, and governed them. The list would be too long if we were to cite the cases of the heroes who were tragically overturned: Achilles, Her cules, Ajax, Jason, Philip of Macedon, Pompey, An thony, and countless others. Their sad endings confirm the statement: "He who is arrogant in this world" is an abomination before the Lord, that is, the man who is boastful without knowing and fearing God is destroyed.
Thus, great is the ruin of proud men who lord it over others, not only with their power, but also with their strength.
I have now explained the five points which have been given to us under the doctrine of the Gospel re garding our enduring of miseries, points which are un known to philosophy. Furthermore, when our minds have been strengthened by this faith, they then bear afflictions, and then our patience or endurance is truly a sacrifice, that is, the worship of God or a work com manded by God and performed with the very purpose that honors might be given to Him. As it says in Ps.
51 [:17], "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." And Rom. 12[:1], "Present your bodies as living sacrifices."
But the laceration of the body itself is not a sacrifice (as the Gentiles think), but the sacrifice is our obedi ence to His will or the endurance of it in times of trouble, when indeed our will looks to God and seeks and awaits aid from Him. Nor are calamities which we bring upon ourselves sacrifices, as when the prophets of Baal stabbed their own bodies or the followers of [Publius]
Decius vowed to sacrifice themselves to die for the sake of the Republic.
Again, God often shows His power in directing the godly, as when Joseph was delivered from prison,
David after being driven out was restored to his king dom, and Manasseh, although for a long time a captive, was finally freed unharmed after his repentance. In these Scriptural examples it is affirmed that God is the author of these deliverances so that we may under stand that the same is the case in examples not re corded in Scripture. When things which are adverse to us are mitigated or taken away, this comes about be cause of God's help or His guiding counsel, and the outcome is described in Ps. 28[:7], "The Lord is my helper and my shield, in Him my heart has hoped, and These mad actions of the Gentiles are to be con demned and rejected, but the endurance of calamities of this kind is a sacrifice which goes with our calling, just as the torments of Christ, the prophets, the apos tles, and of all pious people accompany their profession of the truth, or they are punishments which follow our
the punishment, but they endured them as if they were being torn to pieces by lions. common frailty or our sins, such as illness or legitimate punishments, as when thieves and murderers are pun ished. And we say that the enduring of these miseries becomes a sacrifice, as it says of them in 1 Peter 1 [:6],
"For a little while, if it is necessary, you have been grieved."
But Paul wills a punishment in a different way, because he knows the testimony of confession. David wants a punishment in a different way, because he knows that we owe God this obedience; he knows that an example of His wrath has been given to the whole human race in his punishment, and especially the fact that he awaited a mitigation in the punishment. There fore in the definition of the Gospel here is added this statement: patience is Christian, and to obey God in enduring troubles is Christian, so that we do not turn our backs on God or become angry at Him or act con trary to His precepts, but we temper the anguish of our minds and look for help and aid and mitigation from God. A comparison of these definitions shows the dif ference, and this is even clearer in some of the ex amples. David realized that he was being punished by the counsel of God, and he obeyed God and sought mitigation of his punishment. Socrates wondered at the injustice he was enduring and gave no thought to the counsel of God; he thought he was being persecuted by sheer chance so that even if he should experience an accident of a tower falling on him, he still would not seek help or deliverance from God.
Therefore the thief, when he is brought to pun ishment, endures the torment of his own making. First, let him determine that he has not come into this pun ishment by accident, but by the knowledge and per mission of God and with His definite counsel. To what end or why? Why am I being punished more than the other purse snatchers in the court who have stolen more? God wills that you recognize His wrath against sin, and He is calling you to repentance. Now think how great is your weakness. Driven by blind greed, you have robbed another person. You have yielded to tfie devil who delights in the wickedness of men. Now therefore you are caught in this punishment. But do not yield again to the devil, who will try once more to turn you away from God. Begin to know the Son of God, Jesus
Christ, and understand that for His sake you are re ceived by God. He will comfort you now also, just as He did the robber on the cross. Therefore obey God, who in the midst of these public penalties is showing examples of His wrath against sins and instructing men that they should consider how great is the wickedness of the devil, who drives poor and weak men into these awful miseries. Say as Daniel did [Dan. 9:7], "We have shame, but to God belongs mercy.'' In these sad spec tacles, God does not drive us poor wretches entirely away, but we can flee to His Son and be sure and certain of being received by Him. Therefore, govern your mind by faith and the knowledge of Christ, seek comfort and look for eternal life through Him, just as the thief on the cross did.
Therefore, we must separate ourselves from the Gentiles in this matter of our troubles and learn es pecially because of this that the human race is loaded down with such great burdens in order that we might be drawn to the knowledge of God and true worship of Him. Whenever we see death, sicknesses, injuries, wars, pestilences, floods, the destruction of cities and the innumerable other calamities, both individual and common to us all, God wills that we seek in wonderment the causes of these miseries and deliverance from them. The thought of Plato is highly praised in the Ep itaph, where Cicero expresses it thus: "For he whose happiness rests with himself, who is not dependent on other men or the changes in their fortune, he has the best manner of life." These are the words of Plato [Me lanchthon quotes the Greek]: "The man who has pro cured for himself all the things that bring happiness, or nearly done so, and does not depend on other men, whether some of them fare well or poorly, forced to be in doubt regarding these things—this man has best pre pared himself to live." Plato's instruction that we do not pin all our hopes on the fortune of or goodness of or our connections with other men is very true, but when he leads us to consider our own virtues or powers, he is not correct. For he must lead us to God. For many things befall a man where human power without the aid of God will fail. Here God wills that we acknowledge
Him and call upon Him, and He promises us help. We discover that this comfort is not some empty rhetoric.
But if we call upon Him in our sorrow, as it is written [Ps. 34:18], "The Lord is near to those who are troubled in heart," [He will help].
In an example of this kind, we can see the dif ference between the endurance of which the philoso phers spoke and the patience which the Gospel proclaims. The philosophers say nothing about the chief causes—nothing about God, nothing about divine help or deliverance. Therefore, this should be the def inition of this virtue, according to the philosophers: pa tience is to be obedient to reason in our miseries, so that we may to some extent lessen our sorrow in order that we do not act contrary to justice or other virtues.
Thus Cato acts unjustly when he brings death upon himself. Coriolanus acts impiously when he brings a civil war upon his country and his kinsmen. Demos thenes acts without propriety when in a womanish man ner he laments being driven into exile. And how much does a guilty person sometimes want a just punish ment, as Adrastus, who had accidentally killed the son of Croesus. Yet human reason cannot go along willingly with an unjust punishment or a particularly frightful one.
For example, Palamedes, Socrates, and others like them endured punishments not because they wanted
I have spoken about the causes of our burdens
and about the consolations which we receive, and I have already described the virtue which is called pa tience or endurance, which the Greeks call anexikakia,
And this is also necessary, because this obedience has been divinely commanded, and yet there are great ad vantages which should stir us to agree with this most heartily. When our minds are not strengthened by this virtue, they rush into destruction in various directions, they become angry at God, and they seek help from forbidden sources, as when Saul consulted the witch
[cf. 1 Sam. 28], when kings make unjust treaties, and many people moved by the desire for revenge upset the church and empires, as they say Arius did when he was moved to anger at being defeated and then stirred up the church. And our own age sees many examples of the same thing. The desire for revenge is a great fire burning in many people, as in Alcibiades,
Coriolanus, and other great men. But let us learn to put the public good ahead of our own individual sorrow and not stir up unnecessary tumults over our own unwill ingness to suffer. How far removed from this attitude was the moderation of Scipio, when he could easily have crushed with arms the unjust crimes of the tri bunes, and yet he preferred to leave the city rather than destroy the Republic unnecessarily.
Therefore, the first classification [in this distinc tion] must be the retributions (timoriai), which are the punishments for particular sins. They certainly are not compensations or satisfactions which merit the remis sion of guilt or eternal punishment, but are works of divine justice through which God wills that we and oth ers be instructed concerning His righteousness. Their purpose is that we may come to understand what sins are and that God is truly angry at sins, and that He punishes them both in this mortal life and in the future, unless we are converted back to God. To this category pertain most of the calamities which befall the whole human race, because the majority of men do stir up the wrath of God by their frightful sins.
Moreover, because these punishments are the works of the most righteous wrath of God visited upon all nations, yet in the church there are also the promises which are firm and immovable, which God bestows upon us and reveals to us out of His immeasurable mercy. These promises assure us that in the midst of this anger, God still wants us to take refuge in His Son, our mediator, and be saved and obtain eternal life. And often in this mortal life the calamities are taken away or minimized. Thus in Mic. 7[:9] it is written, "I will en dure the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against Him." Here he is plainly speaking about pun ishment. And yet [in v. 8] he adds the consolation,
"When I sit in darkness,dhe Lord is my light."
And especially we in the church must be con cerned about the public peril. Conflicts which are stirred up by the desire for revenge often bring with them hor rendous confusions in doctrine and civil wars. We must earnestly avoid these evils and make careful and pru dent judgment as to which points we must fight for and which not. We certainly must not fight about our private concerns, nor under the pretext of the public good in dulge our private hatreds and malice, but on the other hand we must defend the purity of the true and nec essary doctrine with earnestness and determined minds.
And the church learns many things in these pun ishments. It learns what sins are, it knows the righteous judgment of God and His wrath against sins, and it gives to God the praise of righteousness, as it says in Dan.
[9:7], "To You, Lord, belongs righteousness." At the same time, the light of the Gospel is kindled, which teaches us that grace abounds over sin, as it is written to the Romans [cf. Rom 5:15 ff.]. Godly minds learn that God, out of His measureless goodness and mercy, softens His most righteous wrath and puts our salvation ahead of His own indignation. And yet, in order that He
Even though philosophy seeks in the abilities and the wills of men the immediate causes for human ca lamities, yet other principles have been revealed in the church of God, namely, sin in man's nature, and the raging of the devil, who, in order to pour contempt on God, is particularly violent in his attacks against the church. might satisfy His righteousness, His anger is laid upon His Son. A comparison of these two things, His righ teousness and His mercy, will be the object of our con sideration as we study His heavenly wisdom in eternal life. But even now in the very beginning of our training we should give godly thoughts to these things.
And although the first causes of all calamities are from this source, yet we need to make a distinction.
Just as there is one immediate cause why David is afflicted and driven out of his kingdom (because of his adultery and murder), so there is a different immediate cause for the troubles which Jeremiah endured—he gave up his life in his confession of the truth. Because of this distinction of causes, different kinds of causes for our calamities can be named which I can distinguish by descriptive words, so that the doctrine of the dis tinction of causes can be more plainly and easily un derstood. And indeed, this must be understood both for the sake of our comfort and in order to evaluate the disputes regarding satisfactions and other matters.
The second category is examination (dokimasiai), as when, not for particular sins but for the sake of training and strengthening, men are afflicted even though they are pleasing to God and do not have stained consciences, as in the case of Joseph in prison,
David's troubles when Saul made a sinister plot against him, and the calamities of Job. For even though there are sins in all the saints in this life, yet there is one immediate cause on account of which God so harshly chastens these instruments of His. He does not will that faith and invocation'be quenched by idleness or high living. He wills that in these very troubles our virtues
should grow, so that men may be more vigilant and successful in controlling themselves.
God, and that God had not cast him off, even when he suffered death at the hands of a terrible tyrant. There fore, there remains a second judgment in which God
The third category is witness-bearing (martyrion) as when for the sake of the confession of the true teach ing men are tortured for their worship of God and even killed, as in the case of the death of Abel, the torments of Jeremiah, of Paul, and others who were put to death in their confession of the truth. And yet, in no way are their troubles the punishments for particular sins but testimonies in which they show that they, when they put truth ahead of their life, were so sincere in their belief about God that they kept on teaching, and so truthfully determined that there was nothing false about the doctrine of the Gospel. And they also are testifying that there still remains another life and another judg ment after this life. Paul had brought back certain peo ple to life from the dead, and by this example a [divinely given testimony was shown that Paul was pleasing to will bless Paul and punish the work of Nero. And just as the Son of God endured the most bitter torments, so the leading lights of the church suffered frightful trou bles so that they might taste the suffering of the Son of God, and likewise Abel, Isaac, and the other patri archs and the prophets were types foreshadowing the death of Christ.
The fourth category is paying the ransom (lutron).
This is the obedience of the Son of God alone by means of all of His afflictions and death. For upon Him fell the wrath of the eternal Father against our sins.
It is useful to consider these four different cate gories by name in order to explain many of the argu ments which have arisen.
Locus 19 The Invocation of God, or Prayer of heaven and earth, who has given to us this Word handed down through the prophets and apostles, nor do they agree that Christ is the Son of God. Therefore they deviate from God, as Christ clearly says [John
5:23], "He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father." And God*does not will to be known in any way other than how He has revealed Himself—in His
Word and through His Son. Thus, as we have said over and over again, we must not imagine any church of the elect except in that group where the Gospel is clearly proclaimed. And this alone is true invocation, because our invocation must be directed to this God who has revealed Himself in the giving of His Word and the send ing of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Although we can read many fine writings about other virtues such as moderation and gentleness, it is remarkable that in regard to this highest of all virtues, the invocation of God, not only have there been only a few things handed down to us, but the writings which have been [handed down to us] have been mixed in with corruptions about the invocation of the dead, and have neglected the doctrine of faith, which must shed the greatest light possible on the subject of invocation.
Likewise, [these writings] have neglected the distinction between the promise of grace and the promise of phys ical goods. Thus it is most useful that the church be instructed correctly, carefully, and sufficiently regarding invocation, the work which is proper for the church alone. There are many other virtues, such as moder ation and gentleness, which are found also in those who do not know God, as in Pompeus Atticus and oth ers like him. But invocation belongs only to the church and indeed is the chief bastion of the church, as Sol omon says [Prov. 18:10], "The name of the Lord is a strong tower," that is, calling upon the true God [is a strong tower].
The second distinction is no less necessary.
Even if natural reason does confess that there is a God and an eternal mind of measureless power, wisdom, righteousness, and goodness, the creator of things, and even if it confesses that the guilty are punished, yet all of those who are ignorant of the Gospel do not know whether God wills to accept our prayers or why He should receive them. They do not know Christ, the me diator, or the promises [of God]. Further, this is not an invocation which doubts whether God does receive our prayers and does not know why He accepts them. It is insane to murmur, as the prayer of the barbarian king does in Virgil (Aeneid 4.208-10): "Do you, O creator, cast the thunderbolts, or do we shudder at blind chance? Is it only empty winds which terrify and con fuse us?"
Now we must note the different kinds of invo cation. We seek something from God. This is properly called petition (petitio) or prayer (pratio). Or we give thanks for a benefit we have received, that is, we bear witness that we have been truly helped by God and we are giving Him thanks, and in recognition of this benefit we are inviting ourselves and others to the fear of God, to faith, and to invocation. Paul often speaks of this kind of invocation, and we are familiar with his words in Phil.
4[:6], "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your re quests be made known to God." Therefore our prayer must not be an empty "vain repetition" or the mur muring of the Gentiles, and we must separate our in vocation from that of the Gentiles, the Mohammedans, and the Jews, and learn how God is to be invoked correctly.
They tell that in Crete there was a statue of Ju piter which had neither eyes nor ears, by which some atheist signified that there is no providence, and that the prayers of men are not heard. In opposition to this evil, our minds need to be instructed that it is necessary to add to our praying the confidence that our prayers are truly heard by God and received for the sake of the Son, our mediator, in accord with His promises.
Thus, we must in our praying use some formula which includes both of these distinctions and which in structs us regarding the persons of the Godhead as well as the promise:
In the first place, we must often consider in our invocation what the difference is between true invo cation, which the church of God offers, and that of the Gentiles, Mohammedans, and the Jews. Here we need to understand that there are two particular differences: the one concerns the essence of God, and the other,
"Almighty, eternal and living God, the eternal Fa ther of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has revealed Your self in Your measureless goodness and who has proclaimed regarding Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
Hear Him, the creator and preserver of all things, to gether with Your co-eternal Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the Holy Spirit, who was poured out upon the apostles, wise, good, merciful, judge and comforter— be merciful to me for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, whom You have willed to be a sacrifice for us as our mediator and as a suppliant for us by Your
His will as revealed in the promise of His Son, the me diator. As regards the first point, the Gentiles, Moham medans, and Jews are in error, and those who invoke idols and the dead have also strayed from the true God who has revealed Himself by the giving of His Word and the sending of His Son. The Turks invoke a God, who, as they put it, is the creator of heaven and earth, but they do not want Him to be the true God, the creator