Page:Luther's correspondence and other contemporary letters 1521-1530.djvu/312

 perjured, and still worse they bring the Divine Word and Gospel to shame and dishonor, a most horrible sin. If God in His wrath really lets them accomplish their purpose, for which He has given them no command nor right, we must suffer it as we do other wickedness, but not acquiesce in it as if they did right.

I hope they will have no success nor staying power, although God at times plagues the world with desperate men as He has done and yet does with the Turks. It is the devil's mock- ery that the peasants give out that they will hurt no one and do no harm. No harm to drive out and kill their masters? If they mean no harm, why do they gather in hordes and de* mand that others surrender to them? To do no harm and yet to take all — ^that is what the devil, too, knows how to do. If we let him do what he likes, forsooth he harms no one.

Their only reason for driving out their lords is pure wick- edness. Look at the government they have set up, the worst that ever was, without order or discipline in it but only pillage. If God wishes to chastise us in His wrath, He can find no fitter instrument than these enemies of His, criminals, robbers, murderers, faithless, perjured peasantSw If it be God's will, let us suffer it and call them lords, as the Scripture calls the devil prince and lord. May God keep all good Christians from honoring and worshiping them as the devil tried to make Christ worship him. Let us withstand them by word and deed as long as ever we can and then die for it in God's name.

They purpose to hurt no one if only we yield to them ; and so we should yield to them, should we? Must we indeed acknowledge as our rulers these faithless, perjured, blasphe- mous robbers, who have no right from God, but only the sup- port of the prince of this world, as he boasts in Matthew, chap- ter four,* that he has dominion and honor over all the world to give it to whom he will? That is true enough when God punishes and does not protect.

This matter concerns me deeply, for the devil wishes to kill me. I see that he is angry that hitherto he has been able to accomplish nothing either by fraud or force; he thinks that if he were only free of me he could do as he liked and

^ Matthew iv, 9.

�� �