Page:Readings in European History Vol 2.djvu/113

 Martin Luther a?id his Revolt against the Church 75 awakening fresh hopes in many hearts ; it is our part to do what we can to aid him and to make good use of the oppor- tunity and of his gracious favor. The Romanists have with great dexterity built themselves about with three walls, which hitherto have protected them against reform ; and thereby is- Christianity fearfully fallen. In the first place, when the temporal power has pressed them hard, they have affirmed and maintained that the tem- poral power has no jurisdiction over them, — that, on the con- trary, the spiritual is above the temporal. Secondly, when it was proposed to admonish them from the Holy Scriptures they said, "It beseems no one but the pope to ifiterpret the Scriptures." And, thirdly, when they were threatened with a council, they invented the idea that no one but the pope can call a council. Thus have they secretly stolen our three rods, that they may go unpunished ; and intrenched themselves safely behind these three walls in order to carry on all the knavery and wickedness that we now see. And whenever they have been compelled to call a council, they have made it of no avail, by binding the princes before- hand with an oath to let them alone. Besides this they have given .the pope full power over the ordering of the council, so that it is all one, whether we have many councils or no councils, for in any case they deceive us with pretenses and false tricks, so grievously do the Romanists tremble for their skirts before a true, free council; and thus they have over- awed kings and princes, so that these believe that they would be offending God if they refused to believe in all their knavish tricks. Now may God help us, and give us one of those trumpets that overthrew the walls of Jericho, so that we may also blow down these walls of straw and paper, and that we may regain possession of our Christian rods for the chastisement of sin, and expose the craft and deceit of the devil ; thus may we amend ourselves by punishment and again obtain God's favor. The " three walls " of the Romanists. Fruitlessness of reform through councils controlled by the pope.