I asked him [Martin Luther] about a certain man who, when he had a stomachache for several days and as a consequence had pain in his head and was confused in his thoughts, got the notion and was afraid that he was falling into a state of melancholy. He disclosed his anxiety to me and asked that I notify the doctor, whereupon he [Martin Luther] responded with these words: “When the devil can bring this about, it means that imagination has produced the effect. On this account his thoughts ought to be changed. He ought to think about Christ. You should say to him, ‘Christ lives. You have been baptized. God is not a God of sadness, death, etc., but the devil is. Christ is a God of joy, and so the Scriptures often say that we should rejoice, be glad, etc. This is Christ. Because you have a gracious God, he won’t take you by the throat.’

“A Christian should and must be a cheerful person. If he isn’t, the devil is tempting him. (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.95)

“Thus we are like the holy fathers in our faith. The weaker we are than the fathers, the greater the victory Christ obtains for us. We are very inexperienced, very weak, and very proud over against the devil; he has a great advantage over us, for our wisdom, power, and holiness are not so great as our fathers’ were. But our Lord God wants to put an end to the devil’s extreme arrogance…. (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.95)

“DEAR CHRISTIANS, LET US NOW REJOICE” (1523)

If the ballad describing the martyrs’ deaths of Johann Esch and Heinrich Voes was Luther’s first hymn, this ballad of the believer’s justification was most likely his second. With the former it shares a vivid, personal, dramatic style. But while in the martyrs’ hymn two individuals served to illustrate the joy and confidence of faith, here the same theme is depicted in the struggles and victories of every believer. And while the first hymn described a historical event, the second takes its material from Luther’s innermost experiences.

Stanza 1 Dear Christians, let us now rejoice, and dance in joyous measure:  Of what to us our God hath shown, and the sweet wonder he hath done Full dearly hath he wrought us.

Stanza 2: That of good cheer and with one voice We sing in love and pleasure.  Of what to us our God hath shown, and the sweet wonder he hath done Full dearly hath he wrought us.

“ALL PRAISE TO THEE, O JESUS CHRIST” (1523)

The first stanza of this hymn was known long before the Reformation and was frequently sung on Christmas Day as the people’s response to the sequence “Grates nunc omnes.”

Stanza 7 “All this for us did Jesus do, That his great love he might show. Let Christendom rejoice therefore, And give him thanks for evermore. Kyrie.  (Luther’s Works, v. 53, p.216, 239-240)

This evening he [Martin Luther] was very joyful. His conversation, his singing, and his thoughts were about the incarnation of Christ, our Savior. Amid his sighs he said, “Ah, what wretched people we are! To think that we are so cold and slothful in our attitude toward this great joy which, after all, happened for us, this great benefaction which is far, far superior to all other works of creation! And yet how hard it is for us to believe, though the good news was preached and sung for us by angels, who are heavenly theologians and have rejoiced in our behalf! Their song is the most glorious. It contains the whole Christian faith. For the gloria in excelsis is supreme worship. They wish us such worship and they bring it to us in Christ

“Ever since the fall of Adam the world knows neither God nor his creation. It lives altogether outside of the glory of God. Oh, what thoughts man might have had about the fact that God is in all creatures, and so might have reflected on the power and the wisdom of God in even the smallest flowers! Of a truth, who can imagine how God creates, out of the parched soil, such a variety of flowers, such pretty colors, such sweet vernal grass, beyond anything that a painter or apothecary could make! Yet God can bring out of the ground such colors as green, yellow, red, blue, brown. Adam and those around him would have been elevated by all this to the praise of God, and they would have made use of all created things with thanksgiving. Now we enjoy all this to overflowing, yet without understanding, like cattle or other beasts trampling the most beautiful blossoms and lilies underfoot.

 “For this reason the angels here [in the Christmas story] recall fallen men to faith and love, that is, to glory toward God and peace on earth.” (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.326)

On the day of the Nativity [of our Lord] Dr. Martin Luther said many things about this remarkable festival which offers godly people the greatest pleasure and consolation, for the dear angels themselves preach and accompany their preaching with their singing.

“Those are true witnesses to the Messiah who declare, ‘Rejoice, be glad! Here you have the real Prince and a child of heaven and earth!’ They sing the best song: Glory be to God (that is, religion and faith), peace on earth (namely, in civil life), good will (that we feel right and are well pleased). It isn’t known, however, whether the angels were prophesying or expressing a wish, whether these words are to be understood indicatively(as a fact) or optatively(as a wish for us)…. (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.248)

On the festival of the Annunciation of Mary in 1533 he [Martin Luther] said, “When preaching on this day one should stick to the story, so that we may celebrate the incarnation of Christ, rejoice that we were made his brethren, and be glad that he who fills heaven and earth is in the womb of the maiden. Disputations stand in the way of joy because they bring forth doubts, and these produce sorrow, just as if the girl had not rejoiced until she knew that she was promised in marriage and her doubt vanished. Therefore, I hate Erasmus from the bottom of my heart because he calls into question what ought to be our joy. Bernard filled a whole sermon with praise of the Virgin Mary and in so doing forgot to mention what happened; so highly did he and Anselm esteem Mary. But a Christian puts the questions aside and occupies himself with the effects [of the incarnation]. The incarnation, therefore, should be held high. Mary can’t be sufficiently praised as a creature, but that the Creator himself comes to us and becomes our ransom—this is the reason for our rejoicing. I don’t think the story can be told more simply than it was by Luke. Nobody could have invented the word ‘sent.’ ” (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.84)

“Having been taught by experience I can say how you ought to restore your spirit when you suffer from spiritual depression. When you are assailed by gloom, despair, or a troubled conscience you should eat, drink, and talk with others. If you can find help for yourself by thinking of a girl, do so.

“There was a bishop who had a sister in a convent. She was disturbed by various dreams about her brother. She betook herself to her brother and complained to him that she was again and again agitated by bad dreams. He at once prepared a sumptuous dinner and urged his sister to eat and drink. The following day he asked her whether she had been annoyed by dreams during the night. ‘No,’ she responded. ‘I slept well and had no dreams at all.’ ‘Go, then,’ he said. ‘Take care of your body in defiance of Satan, and the bad dreams will stop.’ (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.15)

In short, it does not occur to man that God is Father. If it did, man could not live for a single moment. Accordingly in this infirm flesh we must have faith, for if we were capable of fully believing, heaven would already be here. There is therefore no reason to fear, in so far as the object of fear is concerned, and yet we cannot understand and are compelled on account of the weakness of our flesh to suffer assaults of fear and desperation. Thus the catechism remains lord, and there is nobody who understands it. I am accordingly compelled to pray it every day, even aloud, and whenever I happen to be prevented by the press of duties from observing my hour of prayer, the entire day is bad for me. Prayer helps us very much and gives us a cheerful heart, not on account of any merit in the work, but because we have spoken with God and found everything to be in order. (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.15)

“Well, then, our furious foe has done us much harm. I know that I shall see him and his flaming missiles in the last day. As long as we have pure teaching he will not harm us, but if the teaching is wrong we are done for. But praise be to God, who gave us the Word and also allowed his only Son to die for us! He did not do this in vain. Accordingly we should entertain the hope that we are saints, that we are saved, and that this will be manifest when it is revealed. Since Christ accepted the thief on the cross just as he was and received Paul after all his blasphemies and persecutions, we have no reason to despair. As a matter of fact, all of us must be saved just as the thief and Paul were. Good God, what do you think it means that he has given his only Son? It means that he also offers whatever else he possesses. We have no reason, therefore, to fear his wrath, although we must continue to fear on account of the old Adam, who is still unable to understand this as it ought to be understood. If we had only the first three words of the Creed,³⁹ ‘I believe in God the Father,’ they would still be far beyond our understanding and reason. (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.15)

To be gloomy before God is not pleasing to him, although he would permit us to be depressed before the world. He does not wish me to have a long face in his presence, as he says, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked’ [Ezek. 33:11] and ‘Rejoice in the Lord’ [Phil. 4:4]. He desires not a servant who does not expect good things of him.

“Although I know this, I am of a different mind ten times in the course of a day. But I resist the devil, and often it is with a fart that I chase him away. When he tempts me with silly sins I say, ‘Devil, yesterday I broke wind too. Have you written it down on your list?’ …Thus I remind myself of the forgiveness of sin and of Christ … He often troubles me with trivialities. I don’t notice this when I’m depressed, but when I feel better I recognize it easily.  (Luther’s Works, v. 54, p.15)