To Philip Melanchthon letter 13 - Martin Luther
TO PHILIP MELANCHTHON
One of those remarkable letters by which Luther tried to cheer his friend. June 27, 1530.
Grace and peace in Christ! In Christ, I say, and not in the world. Amen! As to the Apologia being the cause of your silence, of that I shall speak again, dear Philip. From the bottom of my heart I am inimical to those worrying cares which are taking the very heart out of you and gaining the upper hand. It is not the magnitude of the cause, but the weakness of our faith which is at fault; for things were much worse in John Huss’s days than in ours. And even were the gospel in as great danger now as then, is not He who has begun the good work greater than the work itself, for it is not our affair? Why then make a martyr of yourself? If the cause be not a righteous one, then let us repudiate it; but if it be, why make God a liar in not believing His wonderful promises, when He commands us to be of
good cheer and cast all our care upon Him, for He shall sustain us? “The Lord is nigh unto all them that
call upon Him,” etc. Do you think He throws such words to the winds? It is your philosophy, not your theology, which is such a torment to you, and it torments your friend Joachim in the very same way, just as if by your useless forebodings you could achieve anything. What more can the devil do than slay us? I plead with you, for God’s sake, to fight against yourself, for you are your own greatest enemy, and furnish the devil with weapons against yourself. Christ has died for sin once for all, but for righteousness and truth He will not die, but will live and reign. Why then worry, seeing He is at the helm? He who has been our Father will also be the Father of our children. I pray earnestly for you, but am only sorry that you should court sorrow as eagerly as the leech does blood, thus nullifying my prayers. As for me (whether it proceed from God’s Spirit or from stupidity, my Lord Jesus knows) I do not torment myself about such matters. God can raise the dead, and He can also maintain His cause, although it looks ready to fall; and He can even raise it up again if it has fallen. If we do not lend our assistance towards its maintenance, others will; and if we do not console ourselves with the promises, who then can give us consolation in the world? More of this again, although I may only be carrying water to the sea. May Christ comfort, strengthen, and teach you by His Spirit. If I hear you are still desponding I shall scarcely be able to prevent myself hurrying to you to see how dreadful it is to be in the fangs of the devil, as the Scripture says, “Wilt thou play with him as with a bird ?”
MARTIN LUTHER .