Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/222

 already too great; too much evil has come to them already; they have acted only for your advantage, because through their raving God's consolation comes to you ; they have done them- selves an injury from which they will hardly, and many of them will never, recover. For what matters it that they have injured you for a time in body and goods? That must have an end. And what matters it that they rejoice for a little while in their tyranny? It will not last long. Look rather at your salvation and their misery. You have a good and quiet conscience and a righteous cause; they have a bad and uncertain conscience and a blind cause, of which they them- selves do not know how unrighteous it is. You have the con- solation of God, out of the Scriptures, in hope; they have the devil's consolation, by revenge, in visible tyranny. If a wish were granted you and you were allowed to choose between their lot and your own, ought you not to flee from theirs as from the devil himself, even though it were a kingdom of heaven that they had, and hasten to choose your own lot, even though it were a hell ? For heaven cannot be glad if the devil reigns there and hell cannot be sad if God reigns there.

Therefore, dear friends, if you would comfort yourselves and revenge yourselves proudly and completely (not only on your persecutors according to the flesh, but rather on the devil, who rides them) treat him thus: Be glad and thank God that you have been counted worthy to hear and learn His Word and suffer for it, and be satisfied with the cer- tainty that your cause is God's Word and your consolation is from God; and lament over your enemies because they have not a good conscience in their own cause, and have only the sad and wretched devil's-consolation that comes from their outrages, their impatience, there vengefulness and their tem- porary tyranny. Believe for certain that with such gladness of spirit, praise and thanksgiving you will hurt their god, the devil, more than if you killed a thousand of your enemies. For he did not bring this to pass in order to comfort them and do you bodily harm, but what he wished to do was to make you sad and sorrowful, as people for whom God has no use. Be all the more glad, therefore, and mock him, so that his attempt may fail and he be angry.

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