To the King of Denmark letter 2 - Martin Luther

TO THE KING OF DENMARK

Luther approves of Bishops being driven away. December 2, 1536.

Grace and peace in Christ our Lord, and my poor paternoster, Most Serene High-born Prince, most gracious King! I have received your Majesty’s letter, and am much pleased that you have extirpated the Bishops (who are always persecuting God’s Word and intriguing in worldly matters), and I shall

reply to your Majesty’s epistle to the best of my ability. But I most humbly beg your Majesty to reserve sufficient funds out of the Church property belonging to the Crown for the benefit of the churches and pastors. For if everything be dispersed how are the preachers to be maintained? Perhaps this admonition is not necessary, for doubtless your Majesty will act in a Christian manner; but there are so many among us who wish to grasp everything, and if God had not given us such pious Princes, who conscientiously see to the welfare of their subjects, many churches and parishes would lie waste.

So if Satan should try to wrest some of the Church funds in your lands through his emissaries, may God cause your Majesty to remember the needs of the Church, whose office it is to proclaim the Word of God, through which your subjects, both now and in future, may learn the way to everlasting bliss, and how to escape eternal condemnation, for all this is contained in the Word of God. May Christ, our dear Lord, be with your Majesty now and forever. Amen.

Your Majesty’s obedient servant, MARTIN LUTHER . (De Wette.)