I long ago lost the source for this but still want to share it:
It was Luther’s custom to write down Bible verses and other words where he could have them before his eyes in rooms where he studied. Where he waited during the council at Augsburg in 1530 was Ps. 118:17, “I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord.” To the verse Luther had added musical notes for singing. Other psalm verses were also marked on the wall.
Matthaeus Flaccius (1520–1575), who became professor of Hebrew at Wittenberg in 1544, compiled a collection of short sayings and thoughts from the time of Luther’s stay in the Coburg from sources available to him, including correspondence and published these in a six-page pamphlet which still speaks words of life for those who know oppression of one kind or another. It begins:
There are times when, for the sake of God’s word, we must endure the hardship, anguish, and persecution of the cross of Christ. In such times we can rightfully bestir and strengthen ourselves with God’s help in such a way that we can be bold, alert, and cheerful, committing our cause to God’s gracious and fatherly will. Thus St. Paul says, II Timothy 3:12, “All who desire to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted,” and Acts 14:22, “Through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God,” and Philippians 2:12, “Work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”
Our cause rests in the hand of him who distinctly tells us, “No one can snatch them out of my hand,” John 10:28. Furthermore, the gates of hell shall not prevail against my church,” Matthew 16:18. And Isaiah 46:4, “Even to your old age and to gray hairs I will bear you. I will do it, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.”
It would neither be good nor prudent to take matters into our own hands because we could and would easily be defeated. “God is our refuge and strength, a great help in the trouble which besets us.” Sirach 2:10, that wise man, said, “What man who has put his trust in God has ever perished?” And I Maccabees 2:61, None who puts his trust in him will lack strength. Again, Psalm 9:10, “Lord, thou hast not forsaken those who seek thee.”
In any case, it is true that God gave up his own Son for us all, Romans 8:32. If that be true, why do we falter, or worry, or hang our heads? If God gave up his own Son for us all, how could he ever intend to forsake us in less important things?
Truly God is very much stronger and more powerful than the devil, as I John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
If we perish then Christ the Almighty Ruler of the world himself must suffer with us. Even if this cause were to collapse, I would much rather be ruined with Christ than rule with Caesar.
Furthermore, this cause does not depend just on us, but there are many devout Christian people in other lands who make common cause with us and uphold us with heartfelt sighs and Christian prayer.
We possess God’s many encouraging promises and rich assurances. In fact the entire Psalter … such as Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.” And Psalm 22 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be of good cheer; do not despair and wait for the Lord!” Furthermore Christ himself says, John 16:33, “Be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
This cannot be wrong—I am sure of it—that Christ, the Son of God, has overcome the world. Why do we tremble before the world as before a triumphant conqueror… if it be a righteous cause—and as true as God lives and will remain in eternity, it is such—why do we make lies out of God’s many comforting, unchanging, and eternal promises? He bids us be of good cheer and joyful, Psalm 32 :11, “Be glad in the Lord,” and Psalm 145 :18–19, “The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. He fulfils the desire of all who fear him. He hears their cry, and saves them.” And Psalm 91 :14–16, “Because he cleaves to me, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
Thus we are ever firmly assured by God’s word that after this wretched and fleeting existence, in which we are never safe for even one moment, there shall be an eternal and blessed life and kingdom.
If God were to announce all this through an angel we would not cast it lightly to the winds and ignore it, as, unfortunately, we do when it is brought to us by the spoken word. But though we fail to believe it when it is preached, we dare not despise the prophets, Christ himself, or the apostles who preach to us in such rich measure and gently admonish us with words of consolation and encouragement and shower us with such words as, “Be glad in the Lord”; “Be strong and of good courage; do not fear”; “Put your hope in the Lord; pour out your heart before him”; “Give thanks to the Lord”; “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”; “The Lord is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything,” etc.
If we distrust such abundant and divine consolation, we would not believe it even if it were announced by not just one but many angels.
Let us be calmly confident in this cause which has to do with God’s word. Christ, whose cause it is, will staunchly defend and uphold it against the cunning of that vile devil and the tyranny of this wicked and deceitful world …There is no other way—if we desire to possess Christ, to live and to rule with him in eternity, then suffering must first be endured.
Therefore the only thing necessary for us to do is to believe and to pray most confidently in Christ’s name that God will give us strength, since he has erected his kingdom and this is his doing. It is he who without our help, counsel, thought, or effort has brought his kingdom forth and has advanced and preserved it to this day. I have no doubt that he will consummate it without our advice or assistance. Because “I know in whom I believe,” as St. Paul says II Tim. 1:12, I am certain that he will grant me more, do far more abundantly, and help and counsel us beyond all that we ask or think Eph. 3:20. He is called the Lord who can and will help in a wonderful, glorious, and mighty way, particularly when the need is the greatest. We are meant to be human beings, not divine. So let us take comfort in his word and, trusting his promise, call upon him confidently for deliverance in time of distress and he will help.
That is all there is to it; we have no alternative; otherwise, eternal unrest would be our reward. May God save us from that for the sake of his dear Son, our Savior and eternal Priest, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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