To Lazarus Spengler - Martin Luther

TO LAZARUS SPENGLER

Luther explains the device on his seal. July 1530.

Grace and peace! Honoured dear sir and friend — As you wished to know the real meaning of my seal, I shall write my thoughts on my coat-of-arms as indicative of my theology.

The first thing is a cross, black on a red heart, to remind me that the blood of the Crucified One makes the man blessed. Whoever believes this is justified. Now, although it be a black cross and inflicts pain, it does not kill, but rather makes alive. Such a heart is placed on a white rose, to show that faith yields joy, consolation, and peace, and not the peace and joy of the world; and that is why the rose is white and not red. For white is the color of the angels and the spirits. This rose should be placed on a field tinted with the hues of heaven, to signify that the joy and faith of the world to come have already begun to bloom here below, and through hope we are even now in possession of that which is only manifest to the eye of faith. And on such a field there is also a golden ring, to show that the bliss of heaven endures forever, and that its joys and possessions are far above all earthly pleasures, even as gold is the most precious of metals. May Christ, our dear Lord, be with your spirit till it attain to this life. From the wilderness of Coburg.

MARTIN LUTHER . (De Wette.)