Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1507-1521.djvu/496

 Grace's kind letter* recently written me, and have read all the comfortable contents with joy. As a long time ago I promised your Grace to expound the Magnificat, from which work the unhappy quarrels of many opponents have often driven me, I have undertaken to answer your Grace with this little book, thinking that further delay might make me blush, and that I have no more good excuses for hindering your Grace's young mind, which is inclined to love of Holy Writ, and which by exercise in the same might be inflamed and strengthened, for which I wish you God's grace and aid. This is very needful, for many people's salvation depends on so great a prince; if he himself endeavors, he will be ruled graciously by God ; and on the other hand many people perish if he lets himself go, and is ungraciously ruled by God.

Although all men's hearts are in the hand of God Almighty, yet it was not vainly said of kings and princes alone: The heart of the king is in God's hand, who can turn it where he will.^ By this God puts his fear in the great lords, that they may learn not to think that God does not pay particular attention to them. Other men's acts bring either piety or harm only to themselves or to very few ; but lords are set up only to be harmful or helpful to other people, the greater number according to the magnitude of their dominions. So too the Bible calls pious. God-fearing princes angels' of God, and even gods,* and contrariwise it calls noxious princes lions,* dragons* and wild beasts, which God himself calls one of his four plagues when he enumerates pestilence, famine, war and wild beasts.^

And as the human heart is by nature flesh and blood, and easily presumes of its own accord, therefore, when power, wealth and honor are given it, it has another strong cause to presumption and too sure self-confidence, so that it forgets God and does not esteem its subjects, and as it has power to do evil with impunity, it does it and becomes a beast and does what it pleases, and is by name a lord, but in fact a

'December 20, isao. Enden, iii. aa, 'Pr^rerbs, xxi. i.

'i Samuel, xxix. 9. ^Psalm Ixxxii. 6.

sZephaniah, t. 5. ^Jcremiali, li. 34.

TEzekiel, xir. 13*19.

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