In sum, we should not find enjoyment in happiness, goods, our own counsels, or any other thing; only as God has given them should we use them. One should let God have His way. It is not up to us to prescribe the place, the person, or the manner; if we do, we shall go wrong. This does not mean that happiness is condemned as something evil or vain. What is condemned is human striving and planning, when we ourselves want or try to create happiness without respect to the will of God. But as both come from God, so let us use them. As it is a sin to invite anxiety and sorrow by our own counsels and also a sin to refuse to suffer them when they are imposed on us by God, so it is also to be condemned if we run away from happiness and do not accept it when it is given by God. This is what those sanctimonious killjoys do when they “disfigure their faces” (Matt. 6:16). They seek out places, times, and persons that are gloomy, and they prescribe strict regulations, which is hypocritical and vain. They want us to weep with those who weep, but they themselves refuse to rejoice with those who rejoice (cf. Rom. 12:15). Sorrow, happiness, and all such things, whether external or internal, must not be measured on the basis of places, times, etc.; but as they come from God in His complete freedom, so one should use them in complete freedom. (Luther’s Works, v.15 p.30)

The same thing happens in other areas of life. One seeks pleasure in love but soon experiences bitterness. Augustine also complains in his Confessions that he was tormented horribly in the very midst of his amorous affairs.  Thus when we seize upon pleasure, it is soon covered with bitterness. Therefore, the best thing is to abide in the Word and work of God, to instruct the heart this way in how to be peaceful and content with the things that are present. If the Lord has given one a wife, one should now hold on to her and enjoy her. If you want to exceed these limits and add to this gift which you have in the present, you will get grief and sorrow instead of pleasure. One should therefore simply stick to what the Lord wills and gives. If you want joy and delight, wait to receive it from Him. As He offers it to you, accept it. “Rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15). Do not try to be wise and solemn in the midst of those who are rejoicing, as sanctimonious people do, who dampen the happiness of other people, which God has given. Just be sure to acknowledge that all of this comes to you from God; accept it from His hand and use it as His gift. (Luther’s Works, v.15 p.29-30)

Eccl. 2:1. I said to myself: Come now, I will make a test of pleasure.

It is as though he were saying: “Since anxieties and my own plans cannot achieve anything, I shall refrain from them. I shall turn to the right hand and make a more tranquil life for myself. I shall create ease and tranquility, take delight in good things, let everything happen as it happens and chooses, and live a life of pleasure.” But this, too, was useless and was no more successful than his earlier reliance on human wisdom and anxiety, for God resists this also. Tranquility is not attainable except from the Word and work of God. Experience itself teaches this. Often dinner parties are arranged to create a happy atmosphere, with foods and entertainment intended to make the guests happy. But usually it comes out just the opposite way, and only seldom does a good party result. Either there are gloomy and solemn faces present, or something else upsets all the arrangements, especially when there is such deliberation and planning about how much fun it will be. By contrast, it often happens that someone happens upon a most joyful dinner party by accident, that is, by the gift of God. (Luther’s Works, v.15 p.29)