ever so great," he wrote to him (June 27), "great also is He who has begun and who conducts it;
for it is not our work .... ’Cast thy burthen upon the Lord; the Lord is nigh unto all them that call
upon Him.’ Does He say that to the wind, or does He throw his words before beasts? ... It is your
worldly wisdom that torments you, and not theology. As if you, with your useless cares, could
accomplish any thing! What more can the Devil do than strangle us? I conjure you, who in all other
matters are so ready to fight, to fight against yourself as your greatest enemy." In another letter he
well describes the difference between himself and his friend in regard to cares and temptations. "In
private affairs I am the weaker, you the stronger combatant; but in public affairs it is just the reverse
(if, indeed, any contest can be called private which is waged between me and Satan): for you take
but small account of your life, while you tremble for the public cause; whereas I am easy and
hopeful about the latter, knowing as I do for certain that it is just and true, and the cause of Christ
and God Himself. Hence I am as a careless spectator, and unmindful of these threatening and furious
papists. If we fall, Christ falls with us, the Ruler of the world. I would rather fall with Christ than
stand with the Emperor. Therefore I exhort you, in the name of Christ, not to despise the promises
and the comfort of God, who says, ’Cast all your cares upon the Lord. Be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world.’ I know the weakness of our faith; but all the more let us pray, ’Lord, increase
our faith.’ "
In a remarkable letter to Chancellor Brück (Aug. 5), he expresses his confidence that God
can not and will not forsake the cause of the evangelicals, since it is His own cause. "It is His
doctrine, it is His Word. Therefore it is certain that He will hear our prayers, yea, He has already
prepared His help, for he says, ’Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have
compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee" (Isa. 49:15).
In the same letter he says, "I have lately seen two wonders: the first, when looking out of the window,
I saw the stars of heaven and the whole beautiful vault of God, but no pillars, and yet the heavens
did not collapse, and the vault still stands fast. The second wonder: I saw great thick clouds hanging
over us, so heavy as to be like unto a great lake, but no ground on which they rested; yet they did
not fall on us, but, after greeting us with a gloomy countenance, they passed away, and over them
appeared the luminous rainbow .... Comfort Master Philip and all the rest. May Christ comfort and
sustain our gracious Elector. To Christ be all the praise and thanks forever. Amen."
Urbanus Rhegius, the Reformer of Braunschweig-Lüneburg, on his way from Augsburg to
Celle, called on Luther, for the first and last time, and spent a day with him at Coburg. It was "the
happiest day" of his life, and made a lasting impression on him, which he thus expressed in a letter:
"I judge, no one can hate Luther who knows him. His books reveal his genius; but if you would
see him face to face, and hear him speak on divine things with apostolic spirit, you would say, the
living reality surpasses the fame. Luther is too great to be judged by every wiseacre. I, too, have
written books, but compared with him I am a mere pupil. He is an elect instrument of the Holy
Ghost. He is a theologus for the whole world."
Bucer also paid him a visit at Coburg (Sept. 25), and sought to induce him, if possible, to
a more friendly attitude towards the Zwinglians and Strassburgers. He succeeded at least so far as
to make him hopeful of a future reconciliation. It was the beginning of those union efforts which
resulted in the Wittenburg Concordia, but failed at last. Bucer received the impression from this
visit, that Luther was a man "who truly feared God, and sought sincerely the glory of God."
There can be no doubt about this. Luther feared God, and nothing else. He sought the glory
of Christ, and cared nothing for the riches and pleasures of the world. At Coburg, Luther was in
tuis.
(Tuis.)
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