““I am sure and certain,” said Luther, “when I go up to the pulpit, or to the cathedral, to preach or read, that it is not my word which I speak, but my tongue is the pen of a ready writer, as the Psalmist saith.”
“I answered her, the devil driveth on his servants continually; they are diligent, and take great pains in their false worshipping, but we, indeed, are ice cold therein, and negligent.”
“I do not desire that he should come once more, neither would I that he should send an angel unto me; and although an angel should come and appear before mine eyes from heaven, yet would I not believe him; for I have of my Saviour Christ Jesus bond and seal; that is, I have his Word and Spirit; thereon I do depend, and desire no new revelations.”
“I know, as often as I have earnestly prayed, that I have been richly heard, and have obtained more than I prayed for; indeed, God sometimes deferred, but notwithstanding he came.”
“I know nothing of Jesus Christ, said Luther, but only his name; I neither have heard nor seen him corporeally; yet notwithstanding I have, God be praised, learned so much out of the Scriptures that I am well and thoroughly satisfied; therefore, I desire neither to see nor to hear him corporeally.”
“I, said Luther, did not learn my divinity at one only time, but I was constrained to search deeper and deeper, to which my temptations brought me; for no man, without trials and temptations, can attain to the true understanding of the Holy Scriptures.”
“I, said Luther, esteem those to be the best Preachers which teach the common people and youth most plainly and simply, without subtlety, screwed words, or enlargements.”
“I, said Luther, had cleaving and hanging on my neck the Pope, the Universities, all the deep-learned, and with them the devil himself; these hunted me into the Bible, where I diligently read, and thereby, God be praised, at length I attained to the true understanding of the same.”
“I thought at first that people had sinned ignorantly, and out of human weakness, and not of set purpose and wittingly to endeavour to suppress God’s Word; but it pleased God to lead me on in the mouth of the cannon, like a bar-horse that hath his eyes blinded, and seeth not who runneth upon him.”
“I would willingly that this rule might be observed after my death, namely: Human comfort and Divine comfort are of two sorts: human comfort consisteth in external visible help, which a man may see, hold, and feel; but Divine comfort consisteth only in words and promises, where there is neither seeing, hearing, nor feeling.”
“If, said Luther, the great pains and labour which I take sprang not from love and for the sake of him that died for me, the world could not give me money enough to write only one book, or to translate the Bible.”
“If, said Luther, thou hast been a murderer, an adulterer, or a drunkard, etc., so have I been a blasphemer of God, because for the space of fifteen years together I was a Friar, and have blasphemed God with celebrating that abominable idol the Mass.”
“If the weak in faith should not belong to Christ, where then would the Apostles have been, whom the Lord oftentimes (also after his resurrection, Mark xvi.) reproved because of their unbelief?”
