Fifth Sunday after Trinity — Sermons of Martin Luther

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. pel, as it advances, brings poverty in its train, together with hunger and nakedness and want.

But at last, when the storms of the devil have blown over a little, and the world's greed and appetite have been satisfied,

Christ comes and declares that he, too, is a Lord of the earth.

For in Ps. 24:1 it is written: "The earth is Jehovah's, and the fulness thereof," etc.

"Thou hast put all things under thy feet; all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea." All these must obey our Lord, and must bend beneath his sceptre, so that the world, after all, cannot prevent him and his from sharing in its food.

33. But, as I have said, we must first have hunger and want, that is, Peter's empty boat and net, even where there has been long-continued labor. Yet Christ, after such a trial, makes his gifts all the more abundant, not only a tub full, with which the disciples might have been satisfied, but the entire net full and the two empty boats full.

He does this that their faith in his spiritual help may thereby be strengthened.

He shows this sign to Peter, and to the others whom he intends to call to be his Apostles, not only in order that they should believe that he would care for their bodies, but that he would so strengthen and help them in their apostolic calling that it should not prove to be in vain or fruitless.

P A R T I I . T H E S P I R I T U A L D I S T R E S S AND C O N F L I C T 34. The second part of this Gospel presents the great doc¬ trine of the inner distress and conflict of conscience, and what constitutes our true comfort in the midst of it. Only after Peter saw this wonderful work of Christ and the abundance it produced, did he begin to consider what sort of a Man this Wonderworker must be, and what sort of a man he himself was in comparison.

Out of this great blessing there comes upon him a greater distress than he has ever experienced from any bodily want.

L U T H E R ' S CHURCH terror, he almost sinks to the earth and bids Christ depart from him. He has begun to feel his unworthiness and sins.

He is forced to acknowledge and lament that he is a poor sinner.

35. Peter is to become a different man; and a greater miracle is to be wrought in him than in the draught of fishes.

The sermon which Christ had previously preached from the boat now first began to have its effect upon him.

He, with the others, had indeed listened to Christ before this, but he had given no thought to the character of his Person. He had not thought of obtaining any temporal or eternal good from him; nor had he yet begun to tremble on account of his sins.

But now when Peter perceives the miracle and the bless¬ ing, and realizes, through the present event, what sort of a Man this Jesus is, he stumbles at the greatness of the blessing and of the Person on the one hand, and, on the other, at the extent of his own unworthiness. He trembles on account of his sins.

His heart tells him that he does not deserve such great favor, and that he is far more de¬ serving of God's wrath and disfavor. He is now filled with anxiety and fear, not as to temporal poverty, or as to means of support, for he has been supplied with what he needs; but as to his ability to stand before God and before this man who has shown this great favor to such an un¬ worthy and sinful human being as he.

36. This is the way Christ begins to make Peter spirit¬ ually rich in things that are eternally good, so that he may be able to impart them to others, yea, to the entire world. As on a previous occasion, he must first feel spirit¬ ual hunger and distress, that is, terror and anguish of con¬ science, before he can attain to forgiveness and to comfort.

The boat and the world have become too narrow for him.

He knows not whither to betake himself from Christ, whom, however, he has found to be, not terrifying, but friendly and helpful.

37. Here you see how poor and miserable conscience is when it really begins to feel its sins. How it trembles!

Taradise thought to hide himself when God kindly asked:

"Adam, where art thou?"

So shy and timorous is such a heart and conscience that it gets frightened at itself, and flees from a rustling leaf as from thunder and lightning.

It cannot endure the judgment of the Law, which reveals its sins and God's eternal wrath. And here it is of no use to comfort a man by reminding him of the favors that God has shown him in the past.

This only terrifies him all the more, as thereby he realizes that he deserves still greater wrath on account of his ingratitude and sins.

38. Yea, even they have ever to contend with this temp¬ tation and fear who already have received the comfort of the grace of God through faith. For his goodness and grace are too great and overwhelming. On the other hand, our heart, in the feeling and consideration of its own unworthiness, is far too narrow and feeble to hold and com¬ prehend such great goodness and mercy. At this it is sim¬ ply filled with amazement.

God therefore shows himself merciful to us by veiling and covering these things under simple words and beneath great weakness.

39. But such is the awful wickedness of our nature that, even when Christ comes to us with his grace and comfort, we avoid and flee from our Saviour, while we rather, though naked and barefooted, should run after him to the ends of the earth.

We turn and twist, and resort to our own works, and would first, by our own efforts, cleanse and make ourselves worthy enough to deserve such a gracious

Thus Peter thinks to seek peace and to escape sin by running away from the Lord. He first looks for something in himself to make him worthy of coming to Christ, but thereby only falls all the more deeply into terror and despair, until the Saviour, by his word, raises him up again.

40. All this does, and indeed must, come to pass, where nothing but the Law is taught and understood, and where Christ is not rightly and fully known through the Gospel.

The Law teaches us what we are to do, and pro¬ nounces us guilty of disobedience.

It does so in many ways, not only through dreadful tokens and feelings of punishment and of God's anger, but also through the vari¬ ous gifts and operations of the Lord, that appear to the eyes and ears of man and point out to him the sin and divine wrath which follow upon their abuse in contempt and diso¬ bedience towards God. From this he may conclude that those who are ungrateful to God for his gifts and favors, are worthy of his wrath and condemnation.

41. Ail God's benefits when they move the heart, are really living sermons unto repentance that lead a man to acknowledge his sins and make him fear them, as St. Paul, in Rom. 2:4, says to the impenitent, hardened hypocrite:

"Despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?"

42. Hence, there is nothing in the juggling tricks which our Antinomians play upon this example, when they say that repentance is not to be preached and practiced through the Law, but through the Gospel, or, as they put it, through the revelation of the Son. They change the proper order of the two parts : the revelation of grace and the revelation of wrath, as if we are first to preach comfort through grace and afterwards to terrify through wrath.

This is nothing but a blind and foolish pretext on the part of these people.

They have no understanding of wrath or grace or repent¬ ance, and know not how to comfort the conscience.

43. All preaching of sin and God's wrath is a preaching of the Law, no matter how or when it may be done. On the other hand, the Gospel is such preaching as sets forth and bestows nothing but grace and forgiveness in Christ.

And yet it is true that the Apostles and preachers of the Gospel sanctioned the preaching of the Law, as Christ himself did, and began with this in the case of those who had not yet acknowledged their sins and had felt no fear

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com of God's anger. Thus our Lord says in John 16:8: "The Comforter, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin," etc.

Yea, what more solemn and terrible proof and preaching of God's wrath can there be than the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ, his son?

It is not the preaching of the Gospel, nor is it Christ's own preaching, but the preaching of Moses and the Law to the impenitent, so long as nothing but God's wrath is preached and men are terrified. For the Gospel and Christ were neither ordained nor given in order to terrify or con¬ demn, but to comfort and raise up such as are fearful and faint-hearted.

And from this it follows that the man, whose heart has been rightly impressed by the sufferings of Christ, must, of his own accord, see and feel in these the unbearable wrath of God against sin, and thereby be so stricken with fear that the world becomes too narrow for him. St. Bernard testifies that this was his experience as soon as he gained a right insight into the sufferings of He says: "Alas, I thought I was safe!

I knew nothing of the judgment and wrath that had come upon me, till I saw that the only begotten Son of God had to take my place," etc.

This idea is so terrible that even the damned in hell can have no greater torment, no greater feeling of God's wrath and condemnation, than this vision of the death of the Son of God, the benefits of which they have forfeited.

Judas, the traitor, as he would not heed the kindly admoni¬ tions and warnings of the Lord Jesus, and would not take into consideration how he acted towards him, was finally driven into such terror by this vision that he preached the Law and damnation to himself in saying:

"I have betrayed innocent blood," etc., Mat. 27:4.

44. In like manner, Peter preaches to himself the Law concerning his sins and God's wrath, and takes as his text Christ's great kindness towards him.

From this kindness he can gather nothing but wrath and terror on account of his unworthiness before God. For he has, as yet, no other understanding in his heart than that of the Law, which Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com

Law shows that God is hostile to sin and will punish it.

He is still ignorant of the grace of Christ which, through the Gospel, is freely offered to all sinners. To this grace he could not have attained, but must have despaired in the midst of his terror, had not Christ delivered another sermon whereby he comforted him and raised him up. For, of himself, no man can grasp this doctrine, or arrive at an understanding of it, without the revelation of the Holy

Spirit through the word of the Gospel.

45. Hence those foolish souls are entirely wrong, who allege that the Law is not to be preached under the New Testament dispensation, or that men are to be terrified with God's wrath through the Gospel only after grace has been preached to thpm.

For it is certain that the Gospel preaches no wrath; nor does it cause fear and anguish.

When it comes, it is for the purpose of comforting con¬ sciences.

The order everywhere indicated and observed by Scripture is this, that sin must always be acknowledged and fear of God's wrath be realized, through the preaching or experience of the Law, before there can be such comfort as proceeds from forgiveness, the purpose of this order being that men may be led to long for grace and be made fit to receive the comfort of the Gospel. Those, therefore, who are yet without any fear of God's wrath, who are secure and hardened and unyielding, must be strongly ad¬ monished and urged to repentance by the threats and ter¬ rors of that wrath, that is, to them no Gospel is to be preached, but only the Law and Moses.

46. On the other hand, no law is to be preached to those in whose hearts it has wrought its purpose so that, through the realization of their sins, they have be¬ come terrified, faint-hearted and fearful. To such as these nothing is to be preached but the Gospel and its comfort.

For it is really the purpose of Christ's coming, and of his command to preach the Gospel to all poor sinners, that they should believe that it abolishes and does away with all the accusations and fears and threatenings of the Law, and puts a perfect comfort in their place.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor."

I have often said, therefore, that Moses must not be permitted to dominate the consciences that are agitated by the assaults of the devil and the dread of God's wrath, but that these are straightway to dismiss Moses, together with the entire

Law, and not listen to him.

47. But besides, we must bear in mind that the doctrine of the Law is not to be entirely done away with, even in the case of those who are Christians, inasmuch as Christians must exercise themselves in daily repentance, because they still live in the flesh which is moved by sinful lusts.

Hence they must be so taught and admonished, after they have received the forgiveness of sins, that they do not fall back again into a state of security, or give the flesh occasion to war against the Spirit. Gal. 5:13.

48. Such is Peter's experience at this time. In his terror he has not, as yet, any revelation or knowledge of grace or forgiveness of sins.

The revelation of wrath is working in him, and this impels him to flee even from Christ, which he certainly would not have done, had he rightly known him.

But Christ is now about to make of him a true Christian, about to make him experience the real comfort of conscience which overcomes the terror of the Law and raises man from the misery of sin to grace and blessedness, from death to life, from hell to heaven.

It is necessary, therefore, that he should first have a real taste of that power of the Law which is roused and wrought, not by Christ, but by Moses through the ten Commandments.

49. Now, see how kindly Christ comforts the terrified heart and conscience.

He says: "Fear not; from hence¬ forth thou shalt catch men."

In tones so truly loving does the Saviour speak to all who are in fear and terror by reason of their sins.

He will not have them to remain any longer in fear and anguish.

He takes away from them all the dread of the Law, and shows them that they should not, on account of their sins, flee from him but to him, so Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com that they may learn to know him as the loving Saviour who has come into this world, not to reject poor sinners, but to allure them to himself, and to enrich and bless them with his comfort and help.

He therefore says, in Luke 19:10 : "The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost."

And in 1 Tim. 1:15 St. Paul says: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."

50. Not only does Christ give comfort to poor, terror¬ stricken Peter by the kindly words in which he declares and offers to him his grace and absolution, but he goes on to strengthen this comfort by the great promise that he will give him something far beyond anything he has hitherto received from him; and all this in order that Peter may perceive and experience how Christ's heart and love go out to him.

"From henceforth," Christ says, "thou shalt catch men."

That Peter is not to be alarmed on account of his unworthiness and sins is, in itself, an abundant comfort and grace.

However, he is not only to have the forgiveness of his sins, but is also to know that God intends to accomplish still greater things through him by making him a help and comfort to others.

What Christ would say is this:

"That which thou hast accomplished by this draught of fishes is much too little; really, it is nothing at all. Thou art henceforth to become a different kind of fisherman, in a different sea, with a different net and boat.

For I am going to engage thee in a business which shall be called 'catching men'; and this means that, throughout the entire world, thou art to draw away souls from the power of the devil into the kingdom of God. Then, first, wilt thou become the sort of man that can help others, even as thou thyself hast been helped."

51. From this Gospel let us rightly acknowledge and lay hold upon Christ and the power of his comfort, in order that we may comfort both ourselves and others, and may instruct and remind the consciences which are in distress and fear that they are by no means to run or flee away from Christ, but should much rather flee to him and wait for his comfort.

Thus to run away, thus to fear, is nothing Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com else than to drive your own salvation and happiness away from you. For Christ has not come to make you afraid, but to remove from you your sins and distress.

Nor does he draw nigh and follow after you in order to drive you away, but that he may kindly allure you to himself.

You must therefore not do him the dishonor of thrusting him away from you.

And you must not pervert to your own fear and despair the comfort he brings you, but much rather run to him in all confidence.

Then you will soon hear the cheering and comforting words: which he speaks to your heart, and to the hearts of all troubled consciences, and through them he pronounces ab¬ solution for all sins and removes all fear.

Yea, he will grant you a still richer grace by making you such a holy, blessed and useful man in his kingdom, that you can be of comfort to others, and can bring those to him who, like yourself, are now full of fear and in need of comfort and grace.

52. Here you see how a man is delivered from spiritual poverty and distress, that is, how, through Christ's Word, he obtains forgiveness of sins and peace of conscience together with grace and increase of spiritual gifts, without any merit or worthiness of his own but only through the grace of Christ.

It is in this respect as it was with the temporal miracle of the draught of fishes, which the disciples did not secure by reason of their toil, and which was not given to them before they had labored and striven in vain, and had despaired of taking anything.

And yet, as Christ on that occasion does not forbid their laboring, but com¬ mands them to let down their nets for a draught, so now he does not abolish works. Although Peter does not deserve grace and forgiveness by what he does, but receives for¬ giveness and grace freely, yet the Lord will not permit him to dispense with all work and effort.

Yea, he assigns to him the duty and business of bringing the same blessings to others, and, in the assignment of this duty, comforts him with the assurance that the necessary power and bless¬ ing shall be added.

"For," says he, " I will make thee a Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com Thus are the two parts rightly taught, namely, that faith deserves nothing by its works, and yet, that it performs all sorts of works in its station and calling, according to the word and command of God.

P A K T I I I . T H E S P I R I T U A L M E A N I N G O F T H I S D R A U G H T O F F I S H E S .

53. Christ himself teaches the meaning of this history of Peter's draught of fishes when he says:

"From henceforth thou shalt catch men."

Herein is represented the spiritual rule of the Church, which consists in the office of preaching.

The sea, or the water, represents the world, the fishes represent men, while the outward office of preaching is represented by the hand and the net by which the fishes are caught.

For as the net is let down among the waves, so the sermon finds its way among men.

54. But this office of preaching is of twofold.

One seeks to win men without Christ.

This is the preaching of the Law, which demands of us nothing but works, and either makes arrogant saints who, without accomplishing any¬ thing, would pursue their own free, unhampered course through the wild and watery wastes, or only terrifies and drives away the consciences which, without works, are timid and weak.

55. Hence the labor and effort of the entire night (of the Law) must prove vain and lost until Christ comes with the other kind of preaching,—until he brings with him the dawn and revelation of the comforting and cheering Gospel that enlightens the hearts of men with the knowledge of the grace of God,—until he commands us to let down the net for a draught.

When this is done at his word and com¬ mand, great and rich fruits are the result.

Then men's hearts are willing and ready to come to the obedience of faith in Christ, yea, even to press forward to it, and to venture life and limb in its attainment, as Christ says in "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and men of violence take it by storm."

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com 56. This draught of fishes is so great that the one boat alone (hitherto representing the Church of the Jewish peopie) is not able to draw it up or large enough to contain it.

Those in the one boat must beckon to their partners in the other to come and help them.

This other boat is the assembly and Church of the Gentiles which has been established and spread by the Apostles.

Thus were the two boats filled with one and the same draught of fishes, that is, with one and the same sort of preaching, and with a corresponding faith and confession.

57. Owing to the great draught the nets began to break, and some of the fishes fell out.

These are they who are not sincere, and do not abide in the Gospel, but cast them¬ selves out of it, preferring to continue amid their free and wild waves rather than submit themselves to Christ.

So there were many, especially among the Jews, who disobeyed and gainsaid the Gospel. These, and all others who estab¬ lish sects and factions of their own, may not and cannot continue with the true band of God's people in the assembly of the Church, but make themselves manifest as being good for nothing.

Hence St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 11:19:

"There must be also factions among you, that they who are ap¬ proved may be made manifest among you." These sects and factions must therefore fall away, while the others are gathered together out of the net and put into the two boats, where they are so kept, in the unity of the Church and of faith in Christ, that they do not fall away again.

Otherwise they would be in danger of falling away at last, together with the factions by whom they had been seduced.

58. And as the net suffers through being let down into the water and becomes wet, so must the office of preaching suffer through all sorts of trials and persecutions in the world, even to the extent of being rent and torn.

It cannot produce profitable or fruitful results in all men; yet great power and much fruit are found in those who remain stead¬ fast and are kept to the end.

It is our comfort, however, that Christ, through our preaching, will lead his own into the boat, and will keep them there, although we know that Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com we cannot make devout men of all to whom we preach, and that we cannot escape persecution on account of our office; yea, though we know that many will fall away even among those of whom we felt sure that we had them in the net.

S I X T H S U N D A Y A F T E R T R I N I T Y .

Text. Mat. 5:20-26. For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scrihes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom, of heaven.

Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall he in danger of the judg¬ ment: hut I say unto you, that every one who is angry icith his brother shall he in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire. If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy tvay, first be recondied to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, ichile thou art tcith him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by 110 means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing.

THE EXPLANATION OP THE FIFTH COM¬ Works by no means make a persou 4. The motives why this part was pious. 1-3.

Works develop hypocrites, and CHRIST FOR THIS EXPLANAthe law develops despair. 18.

How the conscience should act II T H E EXPLANATION I T S E L F . w h e n t e״ l f l e d by the law. 19.

- H I . AN OBJECTION RAISED BY Λ. xne msi parr. o-i.

C. The third part. 9.

There is no person who can Concerning the civil sword, keep the fifth commandment. 5-10.

1. Among what persons should the How and why no one can be civil sword be exercised, and where saved by his works. 11.

D. The fourth and fifth parts.

2. The way it is to be used is indi1. The sense and understanding cated : of these parts. 12-14.

2. How and why God desires b. On the coat of arms and shield these parts to be observed. of the Elector of Saxony.

(1) The first part of this coat 3. How the Papacy cared very of arms and shield. 23-24. little about them. 16.

(2) The second part. 25-27.

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com L U T H E R ' S CHURCH THE SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL: 1. The righteousness of God is through faith and that is the righteousness of the heart.

The outward righteousness, however holy and beautiful it may ap¬ pear, is hypocritical, deceptive righteousness.

2. The Lord wants a good tree, without winch the fruit can not be good.

3. It is a hypocritical, deceptive righteousness, if one does not commit murder with the hand, and yet at the same time cherishes anger in his heart; but the Christian righteousness requires that we be not angry. To do this we must constantly obtain from God grace and forgiveness, and confess ourselves to be sinners, which belongs to Christian righteousness.

4. It is not pleasing to God, if we be not reconciled to our brother.

Here we all can learn, what the good works are that God esteems as great.

1. This Gospel teaches us the difference between true piety and dissimulation, or hypocrisy. And it is one of the best Gospels for teaching how our works cannot render us pious; something higher than anything we can do is rerequired. For the Pharisees also led a pious life ; they did what they should, externally; they did not break any of the commandments of God, abstained from property not their own, went about in fine showy clothes, and hence derived their name, being called Pharisees, meaning those set apart, or the select.

2. In like manner he also attacks the scribes, the flower of the Jews, who were so well versed in the law of God and the Scriptures as to teach other people, lay down rules for the community and render decisions in all matters. To sum up, we here have the best, the most learned and the most pious of the Jews. These Christ attacks, whom of all men he should least have attacked. But he says of them to his disciples:

"Unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."

3. As though he would say, Behold the Pharisees and scribes lead such a good life that both they and other peopie believe they will possess the kingdom; but they are wide of the mark.

Therefore he reproves them and says:

Verily, I say unto you, if you will not be more pious than the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter heaven.

Here the question of those is disposed of who ask, What shall we do in order that we may be pious?

For here all works that man can do are overthrown and disposed of, and the most holy of the sanctimonious are cast to the ground. Hence you cannot do any deed by means of which one may be saved and rescued from sin.

If a man now says that, he surely is a heretic.

PART I. T H E OCCASION F O R T H I S E X P L A N A T I O N .

4. They at that time might have said, Well, you are a heretic; are you going to reject good deeds? He pays no at¬ tention to that, however, but freely concluded that their works are nought.

They might now have said, Pray, if works do not make us holy, why have we the law through which we hope to be saved, if we live up to it? This now gives Christ an occasion to introduce the commandments, explaining them, telling us how they are to be understood.

"Ye have heard that it teas said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill;and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; and ichosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire."

P A R T I I . T H E E X P L A N A T I O N .

5. These words are too high and too deep for any one fully to put into practice. To this our Lord not only here testifies, but every man's experience and his very emotions.

Four points are here presented, to-wit:

Thoughts, de¬ meanor, words and deeds; which no one can avoid; he must be guilty.

As though he would say, You might find persons that do not kill with their hands; but to be with¬ out hatred, not to be angry, be of smiling

1 countenance, not to snub persons—of such a nature none is to be found.

Now, experience teaches this.

6. For take a godly man or a godly woman; as long as everybody keeps his distance, peace and harmony prevail, but if one comes along that speaks harshly and possibly

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com intrudes, even to the extent of the smallest word, he cannot keep from becoming angry; and follows this up by irritating and enraging the offender.

Our reason can never come to the conclusion that we are to be considerate to the wicked.

Peruse all your heathen books, enter into your own ex¬ perience, and you will find it so, we cannot refrain from be¬ coming angry, if not against our friends, then against our enemies.

Now God is not satisfied with this, nor can my flesh and blood evade the question, for mark the wording closely when he says, "Thou shalt not kill." Who is "thou?"

No; but thon, thou and all that is in thee and with thee; thine hand, heart, and thoughts shall not kill.

7. Thus Christ interprets the law saying with authority, "Every one who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment."

This sentence pertains to the whole world, for I ask, Who is there on this earth that is not a debtor to this commandment?

Seeing that we are to comply with it and cannot, what are we to do? For we can never remove the filth. Then despair must be ours, depend on that. So the commandments of God are but a mirror, wherein we behold our filth and wickedness; for they conclude us all under sin, we being unable to work our way out by our own efforts and free will; unless some¬ thing else comes to our assistance. This is the first point.

8. The Lord continues :

"Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca," which indicates various manifestations of wrath and hatred. But no one is free from this. For if I am told to be friendly to the person I hate, they can tell it on me that my heart is not in it. For you cannot confine the heart; it will out, and show its presence by signs or words.

It does not hide itself, and it cannot be hidden.

Hence we conclude that we are found guilty of saying Raca, that is, of not being kind to both friend and foe.

Now go to past experiences and see this in other people and in yourselves, namely, that no one can deliver himself out of this condition, from this wicked heart, which is planted so deeply in the nature of man.

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E R T R I N I T Y . friendly toward your brother; but for you to give him your heart, this you cannot do though you should rend yourself to pieces. Therefore no man can here help himself.

9. Following this he says, ''Whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire." This too makes you appear as nought, without the grace of God, for nobody is so fraught with loving-kindness as never to utter an un¬ seemly word, if not to his friends then to his enemies. Even when you are compelled to speak kindly to your neighbor, your heart is not in it, and whenever you with seeming propriety can do so, you will say, "Thou fool."

That al ־ ready is contrary to this commandment, embracing, as it does, both friend and foe, since it reads, "Thy brother."

We all, you know, are brethren, descended from one com¬ mon father, and Scripture brings us so closely together as to call us all one flesh. Isaiah says, 58:7, "When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thy¬ self from thine own flesh." Here the prophet is speaking of your neighbor; and the word "fool" is to embrace all manner of infamy, cursing, slandering, abuse, judging, ma¬ ligning and all reviling.

10. It clearly follows that we all are guilty of the com¬ mandment : "Thou shalt not kill," and whoever is not born again of God cannot abstain from murder. Though he de¬ sist from the act itself, he cannot banish thoughts and in¬ clinations, for if our enemy meet with death, we will be ready to say, This served him right! And soldiers compose a song on the enemy they have slain or put to flight. But that again conflicts with this commandment, for God does not look at the outward act, but at the heart. Hence much is contained in the words: "Thou shalt not kill," as mucn as to say:

You must be born again and become a new creature.

11. So the Gospel always reverts to this question, What shall a man do that he may become pious? For, pray as long as you will; fast as long as you will; give alms as long as you will; pay for masses and build churches as many as you will; you are, nevertheless, still a murderer, for you

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com hate your brother; you cannot give him a kind look nor a kind word. It follows that your righteousness is nought; it is of and pertains to perdition.

And now we have two more points that are about as severe as the preceding. We read:

"If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against tlice, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and thou be cast into prison.

Verily, I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou have paid the last farthing."

12. Here are two things that go against our nature. The first:

When I am angry, my brother is to conciliate me.

My feelings being hurt, I am to forgive my brother, though he offer no apology; I am to have a kind heart toward him, so he does not deliver me to the judge, as you have just heard.

This last part they formerly severed from this Gospel, and I hold that Augustine did so in writing, as appears from his book, "De 81>iritu et Ufera."

The sense of the passage is as follows:

13. Here are two persons : the one offending is to ask par¬ don.

The other being offended, is to forgive kindly and willingly, even though he be not asked to do so. By nature we can do neither. Our nature may prompt us to go and say, My dear friend, forgive me! but doing this under com¬ pulsion, in fear of hell and God's wrath, hatred still re¬ mains in our heart. On the other hand, the one offended cannot forgive from his heart; and as the one acts the hypocrite in asking forgiveness, so does the other in grant¬ ing it.

But that certainly is of no avail before God, for thus says our text: "If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." And this reconciliation must pro¬ ceed from the heart; mark well the words of the text.

14. The passage conveys the meaning that God does not want you to come and serve him without having previously been reconciled with your brother; "then come and offer thy gift."

"Behold, man, I have created and redeemed thee ; recognize this, and shape thine whole life toward serving thy neighbor.

If not, do not serve me either.

If thou wilt not do the one (serve thy neighbor), seeing that is needed, you had better not do the other (serve me), since that is not needed." So God would much rather be deprived of his service than of the service you owe your neighbor, and would sooner see you less stringent in your service toward himself, if you are pious at the expense of serving your neighbor.

Summing up, God wishes you to see first to your neighbor's service and in¬ terests.

15. Now, there are many ways of harming our neighbor, as for instance, when I do not protect his reputation, being well able to do so; when I am not kind to him, or fail to aid him; I am already his antagonist.

So, if I want to be agreeable to God, I must, in the first place, be reconciled to my brother; if not, I cannot be pleasing to him. For God rejects the service rendered him, if the service due our neighbor is not performed.

16. Now look at the kind of life we have led hitherto. We have been going to St. James, to Aix-la-Chapelle, to Rome, to Jerusalem, have built churches, paid for masses, and withal have forgotten our neighbor; this now is the wrong side up. The Lord, however, here says, Go and take the money with which you were about to build a church and give it to thy neighbor.

Look to your neighbor how you may serve him. It is not a matter of moment to God if you never build him a church, as long as you are of service to your neighbor. But all this is now being neglected, and only the contrary is observed. Oh, the miserable, perverted life that we have learned from the Papists! This is why no one wants to enter the married state, for nobody lends him a helping hand, nobody offers him any aid, so that he might support himself and get along.

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com pass that the one turns monk, the other nun, the third a priest, a thing we could indeed obviate if we would but show works of love. Thus they go along, forgetful of maid¬ servants and manservants, and finally bequeath a legacy and go to perdition with their legacy.

17. It follows that God simply wants you to serve your neighbor, doing your duty to him, so that matters are righted first of all between yourself and him and you be first reconciled to him; or God will neither see nor hear you.

Furthermore, if my adversary come to me, I am to forgive him willingly; if he does not come, I am still to be conciliatory and kind to him, while I am on the way with him, in this life, so that he does not deliver me to the judge.

18. How does that come about? He does not take me by the hand and conduct me to the judge; but when I face judgment my conscience realizes that it had been unwilling to forgive the neighbor, entertaining secret but inveterate hate even then. My conscience over against my neighbor delivers me to the judge; he delivers me to the officer; and he, in turn, casts me into prison, that is to say, into hellfire, until I pay the uttermost farthing, which means for¬ ever; for there the liquidation of the debt and deliverance are impossible.

Here you see the exalted works that no one can attain, neither by work righteousness nor by the law.

For works, if alone, will make hypocrites and dissembiers; the law, if alone, brings forth despair.

19. But what am I to do? Do I hear correctly: am I to be damned? Do as follows:

Flee to Christ when thus con¬ scious of iniquity, saying: Oh, my God, thy law is now a mirror to me, whence I see how perverted and lost a being

I am! Oh God, now save me for thine only begotten Son's sake. Thus, by faith God gives you the Spirit, who changes your heart, so that you will be very kind to your neighbor and will argue thus : Behold, if God has acted thus toward me, forgiving me more than I can ever hope to forgive, why should I not be willing to forgive'my neighbor a little?

P A R T I I I . A N O B J E C T I O N A N D T H E A N S W E R .

20. Now the sword of the government seems to conflict with this, and the question arises: If I am to forgive, not to hate, not to kill, how then am I to correct and chastise?

If I am to wield the sword and with it execute, how can I help being angry? This question is in order, for the G08pel here seemingly subverts the sword of the government.

But we are to bear this in mind : Christ is here a spiritual teacher, solely guiding the consciences, showing them how much hatred, envy and wrath they contain, and how to get rid of it.

That is his office in which he is engaged; with the worldly sword he has nothing to do, he lets those see to it whose duty it is.

21. Well, this doctrine does not enter all hearts; most of it remains on the surface. But those, into whose heart it falls, prostrate themselves before God and cry to him for help, are at once pious and have no need of the worldly sword, for they are being ruled by words. Now those who do not grasp this but lead an outwardly wicked life, there the worldly sword must be used.

Thus you are now to understand that a secular prince or whoever he be that wields the worldly sword, must conform to what is here taught, namely, not to be angry and not to kill.

22. How then are they to conduct themselves who wield the sword in God's stead? Thus: the fact that they wield the sword is a part of their office.

In a sense, the Gospel has claims on them, and then they are to be very kind in heart, meek and compassionate; then again, when duty calls, they are to be grave, punishing with alacrity, without regard to friend, foe, beauty, riches or learning. We see this in the case of Moses. He was the meekest man that has ever lived, so much so as to fall down and ask to be blotted out of the Book of Life, Ex. 32:32, if only the multftude be saved. Behold, was he not a mild, sweet and kind man, being willing to go to perdition and be condemned in body and soul that the people might be spared? But, when placed as chief in command, he, in questions of governStill Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com ment, took energetic measures, executing three and twenty thousand, by which he might appease the wrath of God.

St. Paul acted in like manner. He too was ready to sur¬ render his soul's salvation for the Jews, as shown by Romans 9:3. But on learning that a man at Corinth "had his father's wife," he wrote so stern and severe an epistle as he had never done before, ordering that such a one be delivered unto Satan, "that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus," 1 Cor. 5:5.

Likewise David and others acted. In fact, we find a number of such in the Old Testament as would, externally, use the sword in full rigor, executing the people as they would kill chickens, and at the same time be very tender and kind at heart.

23. Let us take a bold illustration, that you may see how a person in authority is to conduct himself. Take the coat of arms of the Elector of Saxony. It shows two swords in a white and black field, so arranged as to have the hilt below on a white background, and the blade above on a black background. These indicate how you are to conduct yourself when in authority: below, holding the sword by the hilt, you are to be clean, white, tender-hearted and gra¬ cious, having the best of intentions; above, when on duty, you have the blade in a black field, that is to say, a deter¬ mined and strict enforcement is called for, in order out¬ wardly to stay transgressors.

And the red color of the swords indicate that blood is to be shed.

Moses, David and others have thus beautifully handled the sword by the hilt in the white field, being sober, mild and kind at heart; and have wielded the blade in the black field, being grave and austere in their oflBcial duties.

24. Just so should a citizen or civil judge also do. When dealing with a wicked person that will not be controlled by words, his thoughts are to be:

"Oh, my God, how gladly I "would die for this man, if it could be done ! He has a soul that I cannot succor; besides, he leads a wicked life, not being able to bring his flesh and blood under subjec¬ tion to the spirit." And then when comparing the two and seeing which outweighs the other, he will find that it is an Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com

S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E R TRINITY. easy thing for the man to die, but a grave matter for the soul to die, for the soul's dying is eternal.

Hence his thoughts and words should be:

"Ah, see how your soul might enter into judgment; see, how you might enter into perdition. For that reason, in order that sin may make no further inroads, I must divest you of your body, and see to the saving of your soul, since I cannot save your body."

And then we must strike hard, resolutely take to the sword, so that we may prevent wrath and stern judgment, as did Moses with the children of Israel.

In that event you are carrying your swords in a white and a black field.

25. The design of the two swords crossing each other, as though one would stay the other, is well conceived.

This is to teach that a judge should be wise and prudent, and see, where he must temper and modify a harsh sentencej where it is just and right. It is like two sentences clashing when one will annul the other.

You are not always to proceed secundum strictum jus, strictly according to law, but see what is just and right, and where a case can be adjusted, there he should also give his attention.

2G. Take an example. The disciples of the Lord plucked ears of corn and ate, when passing through the fields. Now the Sabbath was by divine command to be observed under pain of death, Num. 15:35; but the disciples were hungry, so one law cancelled the other. For that reason the Lord excuses them over against the Pharisees, saying: "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day," Mat. 12:8. Al¬ though the observance of the Sabbath was a matter of di ־ vine command, the disciples nevertheless were excused, in¬ asmuch as the Sabbath was not to be so strictly observed as to prevent them from eating and thus to cause them to perish because of this very observance.

The same holds true of David, who partook of the consecrated bread which no layman was allowed to eat, 1 Sam. 21:6.

This was a case of the two swords clashing, it being necessary for one law to give room to the other. For this reason David and also the disciples were excused.

27. Hence, to sum up all, civil authorities should be severe externally, staying transgressions; but internally, they should harbor a tender, gentle, Christian, amiable spirit; withal they are to be wise and prudent, so that they may know how to temper stern justice, in accord with what is right and proper. This may suffice on this Gospel. Let us pray God for grace.

S I X T H S U N D A Y A F T E R T R I N I T Y .

Second Sermon. Mat. 5:20-26.

This sermon appeared in tract form twice during 1523 and in "The Thirteen Sermons by Luther, 1523."

THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT EXPLAINED.

VIEWED AS A GREAT BLESS¬ GIVE THIS EXPOSITNON. 2.

III. HOW CHRIST IN THIS EXPO¬ SITION PASSES A T E R R I B L E JUDGMENT UPON A L L HYPO¬ A comparison of this exposltion of the fifth commandment with that given by the Jews and the Papists. 4.

IV. HOW CHRIST IN THIS EXPO¬ SITION R E V E A L S T H E MIS¬ E R A B L E CONDITION OF T H E All men by nature are murder¬ ers.

How one should conduct himself when anger takes possession of bis heart. 6.

V. T H E SUMMARY CONTENTS OF How a Christian should conduct himself toward an enemy. 7-8.

VI. T H E F A L S E COMMENT T H E PAPISTS MAKE ON THIS EX¬ H E R E FOUR D E G R E E S AND STEPS IN ANGER. 1012.

A. These degrees and steps In de¬ tail.

1. The first degree and step. 13.

2. The second degree and step.

3. The third degree and step.

4. The fourth degree and step.

B. These degrees and steps In gen¬ eral. 17-18.

How a Christian should behave toward one who offends him. 19.

V I I I . AN OBJECTION RAISED BY THIS EXPOSITION AND T H E 1. In this Gospel the Lord takes in hand the office of ex¬ tolling and explaining the law of Moses, for it would not have been becoming for him to have insisted in an un¬ friendly manner to make the people pious.

He is not a lawgiver, but a Saviour, who never takes aught from anyone, but always gives.

So he also in this instance proves his kindness in explaining the law and gently instructing; where there is need and want, he does not sternly insist, as did Moses, who without much ado wished that people were either pious or dead.

For this reason Christ's action on this occasion is to be considered one of great benefit to us, in that he teaches us where we fail and come short. Here

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com he particularly treats of the failings due to wrath, which causes so much havoc among men, as is seen on every side, yea, nearly the whole world is under its sway.

2. Now let us examine the command, "Thou shalt not kill," in the sense the Jews took it, and how we should take it.

The Jews considered those only murderers who com¬ mitted the act of murder with their hands; while those who abstained from the outward act were considered by them as pious.

I n like manner they treated Christ.

Having de¬ livered him to Pontius Pilate for trial, they remained with¬ out, thus fancying to be innocent of his blood, and to have perfectly kept the law, John 18:28. Again, Saul acted the same way toward David; he believed himself to be godly so long as he only did not kill David with his hand, 1 Sam. 19.

Thus they have interpreted the law, failing to see that its roots run into the heart. In view of this Christ here says to his Christians:

"For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven."

3. This is a strong, yea, a dreadful sentence, whereby all false saints and hypocrites, who go about with their own external works, are condemned.

4. But how have we interpreted this commandment? A little better, that is to say, doubly worse is our interpréta¬ tion. On this wise: it is indeed a matter of the heart that we are to be free from hatred. But a man, according to our conception, may conduct himself friendly and thus ban¬ ish hatred from his heart. So we have made it a question of free will, going from bad to worse. The Jews have made it a matter of deceptive appearance; we placed the issue with free will.

Thus the hypocrisy of the Jews rests in their works; ours in our thoughts.

Well, I will forgive him, will be good to him, and thus lay hold of the doing in the strength of our free will, then it shall be accomplished.

S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E R TRINITY. born again, who does not become angry, and give forth evil words and evil deeds; nature cannot do otherwise.

For there stands the law and says: Thou shalt be a fine, sweet-tempered man in heart, in words and in works; and no evil fiber shall be found in thee. Well, where am I to find such a man? My mother does not give him to me; he must come down from heaven. For there is not a man on earth, so far as he is flesh and blood, that can help becoming angry and giving forth evil words and actions.

But if I abstain, it certainly is because I fear the sword or I seek a selfish end. If I do not curse, if I do not calumniate, either the sword or hell deters me, the fear of death or of the devil; these I have in my mind and abstain, otherwise, I could not abstain.

Not alone this, but I would actually murder and massacre, wherever and whenever I could. By nature I cannot produce a single kind word or action. If I do, it certainly is hypocrisy, since the heart at least always remains full of poison.

This you now hear from Christ, who so explains the law as to cause you to feel ashamed in your inner heart. He would say:

Thou art not sweet in heart, thine heart is full of hatred, full of murder and blood, and so thy hands and eyes would also gladly be full of the same; nor canst thou prevent it, any more than thou canst prevent the fire from burning, for it is its nature to burn.

6. A person might here say, What then am I to do? I feel all that within me, but I cannot change conditions. I reply, Flee to the Lord, thy God, lay thy complaint before him and say: Behold, Lord, my neighbor has injured me a little, has spoken a few words touching my honor, has caused some damage to my property, this I cannot suffer, therefore, I would cheerfully see him killed. Oh my God, how gladly would I be amiable to him, but, alas, I cannot!

See how wholly cold, yea, dead I am!

Ο Lord, I cannot help myself, I must stand back. Make thou me different, then I will be godly; if not, I will remain like I have been.

L U T H E R ' S CHURCH perpetually bubbles and boils with anger, you cannot pre¬ vent it.

7. Now, this is the sum of the law: You are to be kind, amiable and benignant in heart, word and deed; and even though they take your life, still you are to suffer all in love, and render thanks to your Lord. Behold, thus a great deal is included in the short sentence, "Thou shalt not kill."

Christ lived up to this; do the same, and you are a good Christian. When nailed to the cross, his name, which was above every name, and his honor were profaned by the Jews, while they reviled him by words of the following and similar import: Well, what a nice God he has! If he be

God's son, let him come down! Let his God come now, in whom he banked and boasted so much, and help him! Mat.

27:43, Mark 15:32, Luke 23:35. Such words pierced his very heart, hurting him more than all his other sufferings; still, he suffered all this with patience; he wept over his enemies, because they would have no part in the great benefit to be derived from his death; yea, he prayed for their sin. And in the face of this we are ready to snarl and growl over the least trifle, when asked to yield even a little to our neigh¬ bor.

8. Here you see how far we are still from Christ.

It is indeed necessary to suffer with Christ, if we would enter with him into glory.

He has gone before, so we should follow, as St. Peter says, 1 Epistle 2:21f.: "For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leav¬ ing you an example, that ye should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth : who when he suffered, threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously."

Now see what kind of an ex¬ ample St. Peter places before us; truly we should emulate it, endeavoring to be and to act like him.

But this we cannot do by nature; it follows that we without exception are the devil's own, there being not a man on earth that is found not guilty. Hence the sentence holds good: You must be likewise skillful, namely, good at heart, or you be¬ long to perdition.

9. What then must we do? You must do as follows: You must acknowledge that you are condemned by the law, and the devil's own property and that you are unable to rescue yourself by any power of your own.

Therefore you must flee to God, pray him to change you, or all is lost and ruined.

This was well understood and observed by those highly learned, but they argued thus:

If we preach that the whole world is condemned and the devil's own, what is to become of the sanctimonious priests and monks, for then they too would be condemned?

God forbid! Wait, wait, we will sharpen our tongues, bore a hole into the paper for our God, make a comment and say thus: Why, God never meant it in that sense, for who could keep it?

He did not command it, but merely suggested it to such as wished to be perfect.

Again, the perfect are not under obligetions to be so, it suflices, if they strive after perfection.

Many large books, called Formas conscientiarum, treatises to comfort and acquit the consciences, have been written on this subject. Thomas Aquinas was about the leading here¬ tic in this line.

Later the same doctrine was confirmed by the Pope, and diffused throughout the world; this ex¬ plains the later origin of the Orders, which aimed at per¬ fection. Well, God be praised that we have understood the error, so that we can avoid it.

10. We comfort consciences in a manner quite different, namely thus:

Dear brother, all this is addressed not to the monks and priests only; Christ is not trifling with his words; it is a direct command, you must conform to it, or you are the devil's property. This is our way of comforting.

Alas! exclaims our nature, Do you call that comforting? It is rather a transfer of souls to the devil. True, friend, but I must first take you down to hell before taking you up to heaven, you must despair in the first place, then come to Christ, behold his example, how he conducted himself to¬ ward his enemies, in that he wept over them. But the bare example alone moves you; yet, it does not help you to any extent.

L U T H E R ' S CHURCH he will change you ; this only will help you. Pray thus : 011 my God, thou hast placed Christ, thine only beloved Son, before me as an example, so that I might lead a like life; but I am not able to do this. Ο my God, change me, grant me thy grace! God then comes and says:

Behold, since you know yourself and seek grace from me, I will change you and do as you desire. And though you are not so perfeet as Christ, as indeed you should be, I shall nevertheless have my Son's life and perfection cover your imperfections.

So you see we must always have something to keep us in the right humility and fear.

12. This is true comfort that does not rest on our abil¬ ity, but on the fact that we have a gracious God, who for¬ gives our sins; on the fact that we believe in Christ and not in our own worthiness, he cleansing us from day to day; on the fact that whenever we fall short, we should al¬ ways place our hope and trust in Christ.

See, this is the main drift of our Gospel. Now let us briefly run over the text and consider the contents.

CONCERNING T H E F O U R G R A D E S O F ANGER.

13. The Lord here notes four grades or degrees of anger or wrath. The first is the anger of the heart; and that is the main grade; it should be so pure that you are not sens¬ ible of it. But this cannot be in our present state.

Hence when you are sensible of it, come direct to Christ and ask him graciously to change you; ask him to extinguish the fire where it starts to burn; you cannot work a way out by your own efforts.

14. The other grade is "Raca," which means an angry, un¬ friendly expression with the eyes, with the neck and with the whole countenance, and in whatever other way it may be made. This too should by no means be. So you should at all times know when and how to obtain help.

The third grade consists in saying, "Thou fool."

This implies the use of all kinds of scolding and profane words, by which our neighbor is degraded.

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E R TRINITY. also be laid aside; but we should defend and protect our neighbor with the utmost zeal, wherever we can.

16. The fourth grade consists in gross murder with our hands. The meaning is that we are to help our neighbor with our hands, give and advance to him, so that he may be sustained. For if I behold a poor person lying in dis¬ tress and-fail to help, protect and give, so that he be sus¬ tained, I murder him with my own hand.

17. Now if you want to see and know who you are, you must not judge yourselves by those whom you love. Nature teaches that we do not want those we love to meet with any ill. But judge yourself by your enemies, and you will soon see who you are. Do you find that you are not in your heart kindly disposed toward them, nor kind in con¬ duct, but speak evil of them, failing to help them with your hands, you are a murderer.

18. But in that our Lord says: "Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Baca, shall be in danger of the council; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of the hell of fire," he uses the language in vogue in the civil courts, when the accused is brought be¬ fore the court, the question of guilty or not guilty is first discussed; afterwards the deliberations are on the penalty to be imposed; and lastly, the culprit is delivered over for punishment.

The same holds true with these grades of wrath; that is to say, as they advance, the one is punished more severely than the preceding. There is indeed but one hell, but there is a variety of penalties and punishments, and of these the one is always nearer infliction than the other: just as he is nearer death concerning whom the question is being debated what death he is to die, than the man just cited before the court.

The Lord himself further explains his words when he says :

"If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way, first be reconciled to Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art with him in the way; lest haply the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the last farthing."

19. Here you see what God demands of us, that he does not want anything done even for himself, unless it be done in love, after the proper relation has been established with one's neighbor.

So you see, anger cancels all good deeds that might be done, for instance, prayers, fastings, selfmortification, giving of alms, and other like deeds.

God in the first place wants those to be reconciled who live in discord, they asking the pardon of the ones they have offended, as indeed is proper.

This is the meaning he would convey when he says: "If therefore thou art of¬ fering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother," that is, ask his forgiveness.

"Agree with thine adversary quickly;" and even though he does not come at once to you and beg pardon, be kindly dis¬ posed toward him nevertheless and forgive him. See how

God has balanced both sides: on the one hand, when of¬ fended, we are to be kind and forgiving, on the other hand, the offender is to beg pardon, so all things may go well.

20. Now one might ask: You tell us not to say, "Thou fool," but how about Christ often calling his disciples "fools" and "unbelievers," Mark 16:14, a great and strong slander for a Christian? Reply: We must judge according to the condition of the heart : that determines the nature of our actions.

Christ and Paul rebuke and reprove harshly, but they have the best of intentions, hence their words are to be counted good deeds.

Even as a father ofttimes calls his son a fool, yea, and adds bodily correction, yet he does all this out of love, in that he is always kind in his heart to his son; so Christ and the Apostles and all the faithful act; whatever they do, they do from a paternal and materStill Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com

S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E R TRINITY. nal heart, hence they are truly good deeds.

Therefore we must judge such questions according to the heart and the person. This may suffice for the present on this Gospel.

This sermon was first printed in the "Two Sermons on Anger."

A new and unaltered reprint appeared under the title: "One person should not be angry at another, an excellent sermon. — An exhorta¬ tion to patience and meekness, a second sermon by Dr. Martin Lu¬ ther, Wittenberg, 1543." At the end are the words, "Printed at Wittenberg by Joseph Klug."

CONTEXTS: CONCERNING ANGER AND ITS SIGNS.

1. Anger is a very common evil. 1.

2. Anger is a beautiful Satanic sin, which tries to adorn itself with a line appearance. 2-7.

3. How Christ seeks to fully aboiish all anger. 8-10.

How we should act when of¬ fended. 9-10.

4. The objections raised by this teaching of anger, and the an¬ swer. a. The first objection and its answer. 11-13. b. The second objection and its answer. 141.

5. Anger is always full of hatred and envy to one's neighbor, and is the fruit of Satan. 16.

6. The different kinds of anger. a. How it springs from love. 17-19. b. This is not human but divine anger. 19. c. How the Pope misuses this anger. 20. a. The nature of this anger. b. Why one should guard against the misuse of this anger. 22. c. The necessity of this anger. 22. a. The nature of this anger. b. How and why this anger should be totally abol¬ ished. 23-24. c. How this anger is dis¬ cerned among the workrighteous. 25. d. How and why this anger is totally condemned. 26.

II. CONCERNING T H E SIGNS OP 1. The first sign. 27. b. An objection, raised here, and the answer. 29-31.

This text has now been the theme of sermons for more than fifteen hundred years, and will continue to be until the day of judgment, before a person can be found who fully believes and keeps it. It has been copied enough and clearly enough explained, so that we can read and hear it daily and continually. However, it will indeed not be exhausted and still less lived perfectly, al¬ though everybody fancies he can hear and learn his fill in one day, so that he will need no more of it. But God knows what fools and Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com

S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E l t T1UN1TY. dunces we are when we believe ourselves to be the wisest; for that reason he constantly presents one and the same sermon to us, and does not grow tired of drilllug and forcing it into us continually, hoping to bring us to the point of seeing our blindness and stupidity, and, like obedient pupils, begin to learn and practice it. [The above is inserted from Luther's Two Sermons, "Zwo Predigten."]

P A K T I. CONCERNING A N G E R .

1. This Gospel we have fully and sufficiently explained 011 other occasions, when treating of the entire sermon of Christ, which Matthew the Evangelist records in three chapters; for to-day we will take a part of it, where Christ expounds and explains the fifth commandment.

For here we observe first, that Christ attacks a sin called anger, which is very common and powerfully rules the world.

And it is not one of the gross, public vices punished also by the world, but one of those fine sins of the devil that do not want to pass for sin. For they sail under false colors, so that no one can rebuke and punish them. For instance, pride will not be called pride, but truth and justice; envy and hatred do not want to be reprimanded, but rather extolled as being true earnestness and godly zeal against wickedness. These are really the two colors the devil car¬ ries in his realm, namely, lying and murder, which in the eyes of the world claim the honor and praise of being holi¬ ness and righteousness in the highest degree.

2. For this reason our Lord and Saviour singles out the Pharisees, who fain would be the holiest and most pious, and be so considered by everybody; he even calls their do¬ ings by the beautiful name of righteousness, but he pic¬ tures and judges it as one not leading to heaven but into the abyss of perdition, a veritable fruit of satan.

And this he does for the reason that they wanted to be called right¬ eous and pious, defying the whole world to prove the con¬ trary, and at the same time were filled with venomous wrath, envy and hate. The world cannot see nor judge in such matters, therefore Christ alone is the judge here who dare and can pass such a sentence of judgment.

Even if this righteousness of the Pharisees be ever so beautiful Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com and holy, yet, they shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven; for I do not desire nor will have a righteousness that stamps itself as such, and will not be called sin, but struts about in the line coat of divine righteousness, so that we must call them Christian, pious people, holy spiritual fathers, etc.

3. Now r, on what is this righteousness of the Pharisees based and where does it derive its name?

On the fact that God said, "Thou shalt not kill," etc. On these words they planted themselves and stood. The text says nothing more than "Thou shalt not kill;" hence it follows that whoever does not kill, is righteous.

But when my feelings are hurt and I am wronged, I have good grounds and rea¬ sons for being wrought up and for resenting the injustice; at the same time my wrath appears doubly justified be¬ cause it suffers violence and injustice without actually killing.

This wrath of mine advances a step by embellish¬ ing its cause in proclaiming its innocence and parading its piety before God and the world thus:

Have I not good reasons for being angry? This and that my neighbor has done to me in return for my many favors, and I would have gladly given him my life's blood; this is the thanks, the returns, with which he pays me. Am I to suffer all this and pass such malice by? And at this point a Pharisee boldly proceeds to malign and persecute his neighbor in the highest degree, wherever he can, inflicting harm and injury; and all this is claimed to be done justly, he himself being pious and holy, yea, extolled as a martyr in the sight of God and men.

4. In like manner, when the Pope and his followers con¬ demn. burn and murder all who will not worship their abominations, counting them as disobedient to the Chris¬ tian Church and obstinate, this of course must be called genuine service of God, and God should feel elated over becoming worthy of such saints. Our great noblemen act much in the same way, who boast so loudly they are friends of God and of the whole world, but enemies to iniquity.

S I X T H SUNDAY A F T E R TRINITY. with God and with mankind! Where shall God stand be¬ fore such saints in order to raise them high enough heaven¬ ward?

5. Behold the excellent, grand and sacred anger of the cavalier or nobleman, who cannot possibly be guilty of a transgression or an injustice; and whoever is not of this opinion is evidently not a godly man.

Christ seems therefore very peculiar to the world, in fact it is unknown in use and practice, though heard often enough and well known as to its words.

For the world does not consider it a sin for a man to resent a wrong, when he is innocent; and it is true that he who has a clear case against his offender can also seek redress in court, all this we must admit. But in adding his personal wrath to matters and trying to avenge himself, he overdoes it; one law now conflicts with the other, and a small right developes into a great wrong.

6. Hence you must in this instance so tune the organ as to have the pipes sound in harmony, and so as to prevent two from clashing. For what kind of justice would you call it when one offends you by a mere word, or pilfers a penny's worth, and you go and cut off his arm or burn down his house, crying angrily the while : Well, he did me wrong, and I have good reasons, etc.! In such a case your murderous wrath, that does tenfold more violence and in¬ justice to me, is not to be called a sin, but righteousness and holiness, while I am to be considered unrighteous anà suffer wrong.

7. This now I am not saying for the benefit of strangers, who are without, except merely for an illustration to show how this vice rules in the world; but concerning us, both teachers and scholars, who pride ourselves on being evan¬ gelical and still want the liberty of becoming angry and to rage when we please; and not permit ourselves to be pun¬ ished nor reproved, but rather than that everything may go to pieces, if only we be considered to be in the right, and pious, despite the fact that such a despicable farce of right causes a hundredfold more wrong.

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com 8. Therefore Christ here takes energetic action, and abol¬ ishes anger wholly and completely in the entire world, draws it to himself and says: I do not merely say, Thou shalt not kill, nor say Raca to thy brother, but thou shalt in no case be angry; the one is as solemnly and earnestly prohibited as the other.

For you are not told to judge or avenge yourself, and even though you are right and have a just cause, still your wrath is of the devil; as St. James in his Epistle, 1:20, says:

"The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Hence all anger is to be abolished entirely from us and the wrath of God alone is to work; otherwise it will turn out to be the devil's wrath and it certainly does not cool down without sin. Just as also these three: to judge, to avenge and to glory, have been taken from us, and no person should share in them, though they have ever so good a cause and ever so great holiness. But to God alone belong honor, judgment and vengeance, hence also wrath.

9. Now, I fear, this will not be done by us as long as we are here in this life, and yet it would be grace, if we only became so pious as to make a beginning; for as soon as we suffer an injury, flesh and blood at once act as flesh and blood; they begin to rage and rave in anger and impa¬ tience.

It is natural for us to feel hurt when suffering injustice and violence, hence it is necessary to check and restrain the feelings of anger and resist them.

The feel¬ ing that you are injured will pass away; but that you in addition desire to avenge yourself in this or that way, is prohibited. Therefore see to it that one fits well into the other, that one claim does not conflict with the other nor cancel it, but let the two harmonize, so that both may continue.

If you cannot secure your rights without doing greater harm, let it go.

For it is not good to check or punish one wrong with another, nor is God willing to have universal justice perish because of your petty claims.

10. Now the aim and contents of this sermon by Christ are as follows: You fancy that whoever does not inflict a blow with his arm has not acted contrary to God's comStill Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com mand; but he is at liberty to be angry at his neighbor and to avenge himself; and to take vengeance is so far right, and no sin at all. This would nullify the commandment, leaving it without any force whatever.

For it does not ask merely that you refrain from killing with your fist, but also from doing harm or injury with your tongue or your heart. If not, how about the command that wè are to do good to our enemy? If that is to hold good, we most certainly must not work against our neighbor. Otherwise in what respect would we be better than publicans and public sinners, as Christ himself says, Luke 6:32, who are friends to each other, the one not inflicting any harm on the other?

11. But possibly you say: Well, if wrath is to be so thor¬ oughly rooted out of the heart of man, how is evil to be stayed and punished, which cannot be done without some severity?

But if evil is to have free course and left go unpunished, you would soon have no house and no town.

We know that God has committed the judiciary to the civil government and to that end estab¬ lished princes and lords, who bear the sword in God's stead; their sword and its edge is God's sword and edge.

Aside from this they are personally exactly as other peopie are, having no more right to be angry than anybody else.

Now the judge or executioner, in condemning and executing a man that never personally did an injury to either, does so in God's stead, officiating in God's place, inasmuch as the malefactor has become liable to God's sentence and penalty. Assuredly there should be no anger nor bitterness in man's heart, and yet God's wrath and sword accomplish their work.

12. The same holds good in war, when you must either de¬ fend yourself, or vigorously thrust, beat and burn: then likely wrath and revenge reign supreme, and yet it should not proceed from the heart of man, but emanate from the divine authority and command, so that the wicked be pun¬ ished and peace be maintained. Even though you thereby meet with damage and harm, you must submit. Thus God

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com suffered his wrath to come over Jerusalem through the king of Babylon; again through the Romans, until not one stone remained upon another.

13. Hence where such wrath exists it is not to be called man's wrath, but God's. And when, unhappily, you com¬ mingle God's and man's wrath, it is the miserable doings of the devil. Wickedness, I say, must be restrained; but this duty must be performed in God's place and stead. But when a judge and government are not godly, and they mingle their personal wrath with God's, and grace their actions with the name and shield of the office; when they are secretly hostile to me and can do me harm, they avail themselves of opportunities to do so, and then claim to have done so officially: this I would call diabolical malig¬ nity, but they claim to have done the right thing and to be entitled to praise.

14. But you say: Well, the officer has done this and the other thing to me, and I cannot restrain him in any other way; if I should allow it, I would never have peace.

It is indeed not right for persons to harm you, nor are you forbidden to protect yourself in a proper way; but it will never do for you to play double, using the office as a vent for your wrath, so that people will later on say: Mr. John or Mr. Peter did not do this, but the mayor or the judge, and you then take credit in saying that you did not do it from motives of anger or hatred, but of duty and justice.

15. Here you see that infamous filth formed by appending human, yea, devilish wrath to divine wrath and making one cake of both, which indeed should be kept asunder farther than heaven and earth. And just as they, contrary to the second commandment, use the name of God in vain by swearing and the like, making that sacred name serve the purpose of a lie, so that it can be on the market under the label of that beautiful and glorious name: so too in this instance the office and law that are God's must serve the purposes of your envy and hatred giving them a standing so they can achieve all they purpose in the way of harmStill Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com ing a neighbor. At the same time you parade about as if you had done the right and proper thing.

Yea, you are a two-fold saint; in the first place you have been abused; in the second place, you do not avenge yourself or seek redress personally, but in the capacity of an officer or judge.

In this same way our tender saints, the Papists, bishops and priests, now act everywhere, and, following in their wake, great princes and lords illtreat and murder people, as the whim of their raving wrath and hatred may move them.

And in the end all this is to be called the service of God and supreme holiness.

16. Thus the wrath of man is at all times full of envy and hatred to his neighbor, being occasioned by the devil and planted in the heart of man, especially in the Pharisaical saints, who sin manifoldly and are more worthy of con¬ demnation than others, since, for one thing, they interfere with God's office and law, robbing him of his own, and then want to be in the right and be considered pious.

17. On the contrary when God's wrath is administered ac¬ cording to his command, it does not spring from envy or hatred, but from pure love and a good heart. A heart that deplores the fact that man should suffer any ill, and yet, for his own sake and the sake of his office, God must punish and abolish wickedness.

18. For it is indeed plain that Adam loved his son Cain as being his first-born flesh and blood, and he moreover wished to be holy and began to serve God with his first offering, etc; and thought his offering was far more ac¬ ceptable to God than his brother's. He also insisted that he was right and his brother wrong by virtue of being the first-born, so that he had to be the true priest and the first in God's sight. On these things he depended, despised his brother, and fancied to have good reasons for being angry and for persecuting and slaying his brother; as if injustice were done him in that Jehovah had no respect unto his offering.

Therefore he goes ahead, and because his father did not approve and praise him, he murders his brother. He follows this up by being insolent, for when

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com Adam in the name and place of God calls him to account he retorts, What do I know of my brother? Am I to be his keeper? Now, dear as he was to Adam as a natural child, a31d after Abel's death his only child, still his father pronounces that stern and dreadful sentence, Gen. 4:10:

"The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now thou art cursed from the earth." Again :

"A fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth."

Truly these are the words and actions of wrath, for by them he placed him under the gravest ban and direst anathema, expelling him from heaven and earth.

Adam forthwith proceeds to execute this stern wrath, and banished his son, so that he should nowhere have a safe dwelling place. Without doubt he did this very reluctantly, for he would by far have preferred to keep his son; but the wrath of God must take its course, assigning death and the fire of hell.

19. The Christian Church must act on the same principles, when putting a person under the ban and "delivering such a one unto Satan," as St. Paul did at Corinth, 1 Cor. 5:5; also when denying him the sacrament and all fellowship, so as not to participate in his sin. This indeed is a dread¬ ful sentence and terrific wrath; still it is not the wrath of man but of God. For the Church would much rather see man converted and be saved; as she shows by her ac¬ tions, for where one repents and is converted, she glad¬ ly receives him back as her dear son and rejoices over him with all the angels, as Christ says of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. Luke 15:6f.

20. Here we must beware not to abuse this power, as the Pope has been guilty of doing against those attacking his person or rule, thus confounding his person with his office, making out that his wrath is God's wrath, thereby spoiling both and pouring poison into the wine.

For thus the Pope has, under the name of divine wrath, threatened and stunned emperors and kings, and yet he accomplished nothing more than to pour out his own wrath and spite.

For this reason his church is in Scripture called a church Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com of blasphemies, Rev. 13:5, 16, having the marks of biasphemies written on her forehead, in all her words and deeds.

21. This now is the wrath we call the divine or paternal wrath. Then there is another, called the brotherly wrath, of the same nature because it proceeds from love. For in¬ stance when I am angry at a person whom I heartily love and to whom I wish all manner of good, and I am grieved because he will not forsake his sins and do better, so that I always distinguish between the person and the sin, to help the person and restrain the sin, doing all I can by exhorting, warning, threatening and correcting, in order to lead him to forsake his sins.

22. But it is well here also to be on one's guard, lest a rogue be back of this, in the sense of one's own wrath in¬ termingling.

For our wrath should be so wholly absent that not a speck of it be found; but that God's wrath alone hold sway, which is to flow either from the office assigned, or from brotherly love, which here would mean from the wrath of God. For it is God's command that we admonish, correct, reform and help one another, so that our neigh¬ bor desists from his sins and receives our admonitions gladly and with thanks. This is the ''wrath" of that com¬ mon Christian love of which Christ says, Mat. 18:15: "If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone," and in Scripture it is called an excellent, godly jealousy.

11:2 says: "I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy."

For a wrath of this nature does not seek your disgrace or disadvantage, but your honor and advantage; it would re¬ gret to see you injure the prospects of your soul's salvation.

23. So we assert that Christ here is not preaching on the office which is God's, nor on love, but on each person's own and individual wrath, proceeding from our heart and will, and directed against the person of our neighbor:— this wrath is to be wholly done away with and be put to death, no matter if the injury and injustice done to us hurts and pains. To illustrate : that John the Baptist was

Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com so shamefully slain, that Christ was nailed to the cross, that the holy martyrs were so cruelly put to death, all this did not pass without the weeping and lamentation of pious hearts; for we do not have, nor should we have, hearts of iron but of flesh, as St. Bernhard says: Dolor est, scd contcmnitur; it is painful, but must be borne and over¬ come.

And there is quite a difference between enduring pain, weeping and lamenting, and seeking revenge, or en¬ tertaining hatred and envy.

24. Now God wants this commandment: Thou shalt not kill, understood to mean so much that no one is to be angry.

For by nature we all are liars, born in natural sin and in blindness, not knowing how to be angry, nor seeing how depraved our nature is, to-wit., that it is not able either to love or be angry aright, since in both it seeks nothing but self and selfish ends.

Since now by nature we are so corrupt, it is forbidden and annulled both to love and be angry as a human being, in which our nature would seek its own ends. On the other hand, divine love that "seeketh not her own" but that of one's neighbor, is enjoined, and an anger that is zealous not for his own but for God's sake, whom it behooves either to punish transgressions against his commandments, or out of a spirit of love, and for the good of our neighbor to help him.

25. The Pharisaical holiness, however, does not act thus; but as it has no love for one's neighbor but only wishes to see self honored and praised and served; so too it cannot but rage and rave against the truly pious persons, and still pretends not to have sinned against the command¬ ment in question. Just as Christ was treated by the Phar¬ isees and high priests, who delivered him to the judge

Pilate to be offered upon the cross, and still they did noli want to be accounted guilty, but to eat the pascal Iamb and remain holy.

26. Hence the Lord strikes a fresh blow at all the Phar¬ isaic holiness and righteousness, denying them every par¬ ticle of grace and the kingdom of heaven and condemning them to hell-fire, as having an unrighteousness doubly

"Whosoever is angry with his brother;" I do not say, He only that slays with his hand, but if you have anger in your heart, then you are already worthy to be condemned by the judgment; for such wrath originates only in man's inborn malice, which seeks either* its own revenge and wantonness, or its own honor and gain. But God does not want you to seek your own honon and right; but let him seek and demand it who should, and to whom he has given authority, namely, the judge and executioner, who are not looking after their own but God's affairs, for otherwise they would not be permitted to exe¬ cute or punish anybody. But see to it, says he, that you personally do not grow angry, but so completely control your anger that, be it in official duty or not, it does not proceed from the heart.

P A R T I I . CONCERNING T H E SIGNS O F A N G E R .

27. The other part of this text, "Whosoever shall say to his brother^ Raca," etc., we hold to mean all kinds of evil demeanor and bad turns done to a neighbor, which are not done by angry words.

Such a man, Christ says, "is in danger of the council;" it has, as yet, not been determined what to do with him, but he has incurred the verdict of guilty; it remains merely to determine the penalty.

This means that such a person cannot enter heaven, but has already merited his condemnation, the only difference be¬ tween him and those in perdition is that he is a little more remote from the final punishment; but nevertheless he also belongs there.

28. The third part is: "Whosoever shall say, Thou fool."

This is also a very common vice, consisting in robbing our neighbor of his honor and reputation, be it done behind his back or to his face, which is called "cotitumeliam" and "conuitium" defaming and reviling. Whoever does this, Christ says, "is in danger of hell-fire;" that is to say, there is no need of debating the question, of citing the culprit, indict¬ ing and sentencing him; he is already convicted and conStill Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com demned, it but remains for the executioner to lead him oil and do his duty.

So God does not want you to avenge yourself out of anger in any form or manner, be it with your heart, with your fist, or with your mouth, and thus do an injury to your neighbor, show him spite, give him unkind words, etc.

29. But I hear you say, Who then can be a preacher or a judge or a plaintiiï, if no one's honor is to be questioned, or be ever called a fool?

Why then preachers, judges, plaintiffs, witnesses, etc., are all to hold their peace. But here, as I have stated, this difference is to be observed.

When I , as a preacher, reprove you publicly from the pul¬ pit, or privately in confession, I do not do so, but God's Word: therefore you are not to complain that I am speak¬ ing against your honor. For a preacher cannot, in keeping with his office, abuse or revile anybody, unless he be a rogue, who mingles his own malice and hatred with his office.

And you cannot say to a judge when performing the functions of his office:

You are speaking against my honor in calling me a thief and a murderer; for God and not the judge, has spoken thus to you. Therefore it will not do to say it is touching your honor, when being re¬ proved or corrected.

True, such words do not promote your honor; however, not man, but God did it; should he not have the right and authority to speak on this subject?

30. But when God through the office has already rendered a verdict, both I and others may speak of that; for anyone may speak of God's public works and judgments; it is then a matter of history, discussed everywhere. Therefore we must nevertheless not enjoin silence on everybody to the extent of forbidding him to say, "This man is a thief or a rogue," after the judge has pronounced him such. For more honor you can neither take from nor give to a man than God has taken or given. Now since God has declared the sentence and published it publicly through the judge or preacher, everyone may with a good conscience speak of it. I recur to this because we are always inclined to go the wrong road.

When preaching, there is always an in• Still Waters Revival Books - All Rights Reserved - www.PuritanDownloads.com clination so to turn and twist everything as not to be bound by the Word of God. Likewise, when with Christ we say that no one should be angry or at variance with his brother or speak evil of him, everybody would like to silence the preacher to the extent that he is not to touch upon or punish public sins and vices.

31. Finally this is the sense of our Gospel lesson: When you, as a man, for personal reasons speak against the honor of your neighbor, feeling elated over his sins, this is wicked and wrong. But when it has come so far that God himself makes anything public, then it will not do for me to praise a public scoundrel, whom God himself has publicly proved to be such; for that would be the same as defending and abetting rascality. So our whole conduct should be guided by this, that we do not contemplate or attempt anything of ourselves; but see what God enjoins, or does through his servants; this then God himself has done and all is good and proper. So it will not do to be silenced in such cases, but to stand on the side of truth and justice, and contribute your influence in upholding and lauding God's judgment, in order to terrify and warn others.

Let this suffice for the present on this Gospel text.

S E V E N T H S U N D A Y A F T E R T R I N I T Y .

This sermon appeared in pamphlet form in seven separate editlons during the year 1523; also in the collections of "Ten Useful

Sermons" of 1523 and of twenty-seven sermons of 1523.

Text. Mark 8:1-9. In those days, when there was again a great multitude, and they had nothing to eat, he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, I have compassion on the multi¬ tude, because they continue tcith me now thr& days, and have nothing to eat: and if I send them away fasting to their home, they will faint on the way; and some of them are come from far. And his disciples answered him, Whence shall one be able to fill these men with bread here in a desert place? And he asked them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven.

And he commandeth the multitude to sit down on the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he brake, and gave to his disciples, to set before them; and they set them before the multitude.

And they had a few small fishes: and having blessed them, he commanded to set these also before tliem.

And they ate, and were filled: and they took up, of broken pieces that remained over, seven baskets.

And they were about four thousand: and he sent them away.

CONCERNING FAITH AND LOVE.

I. CONCEBNING F A I T H .

1. What is the true picture which 3 · Concerning faith in its relation faith must have of Christ. 1. t o eternal possessions.

The picture of fear and grace. b. How this faith is painted 2. Faith In regard to temporal posh e r e I n a visible living form. a. Where this faith is not, there

T h e Power and working of can be no faith in regard to unbelief. 14. spiritual and eternal possesI I . CONCEBNING LOVE, slons. 3-4.

1. How we can learn love from It is rare that you find a the example of Christ. 15-16.

2. This love Is not found among b. The true nature and manner the priests, monks and nuns. 16.

3. God insists upon this love c. This faith harmonizes In no throughout his Word. 17-18.

4. This love should be united with d. How to distinguish this faith falh. 19.