“I have oftentimes noted, when women receive the doctrine of the gospel, they are far more fervent in faith, they hold to it more stiff and fast, than men do; as we see in the loving Magdalen, who was more hearty and bold than Peter.” – Martin Luther
William Hazlitt, Esq., trans., The Table Talk or Familiar Discourse of Martin Luther (London: Fleet Street, 1848), 367. Digitized by Google.
When Martin Luther died his close friend, and leader of the Protestant Reformation, Philip Melanchthon, delivered a powerful eulogy. In his tribute, Melanchthon addresses Luther’s well-known brashness and harshness of tone. Indeed, it was no secret that Luther, for all his education, wasn’t one for refinement. In fact, his wife, Katharina, often chided him as being “too raw”. But during a time when preaching the Gospel could mean having your tongue cut out, it seems to me Luther was just the man for the hour.
Here’s Melanchthon giving glory to God alone for the life of a man who, for all his problems, was key to preserving a Gospel of grace for generations to come.
“Some by no means evil-minded persons, however, express a suspicion that Luther manifested too much asperity. I will not affirm the reverse, but only quote the language of Erasmus, “God has sent in this latter age a violent physician on account of the magnitude of the existing disorders,” fulfilling by such a dispensation the divine message to Jeremiah, “Behold I have put My words in thy mouth. See I have this day set thee over the nations, and over the kingdoms, to root out and pull down, and to destroy and throw down, to build and to plant.” Nor does God govern His church according to the counsels of men, nor choose to employ instruments like theirs to promote His purposes. But it is usual for inferior minds to dislike those of a more ardent character.”
Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. – Psalms 115:3 (NIV)
Online Source: On the Death of Luther by Philip Melanchthon
Click here to read some of the things that Luther actually said!
“All heaviness of mind and melancholy come of the devil; especially these thoughts, that God is not gracious unto him: that God will have no mercy upon him. Whosoever thou art, possessed with such heavy thoughts, know for certain, that they are a work of the devil. God sent his Son into the world, not to affright, but to comfort. Therefore be of good courage, and think, that henceforward thou art not the child of a human creature, but of God, through faith in Christ, in whose name thou art baptized; therefore the spear of death cannot enter into thee; he has no right unto thee, much less can he hurt or prejudice thee, for he is everlastingly swallowed up through Christ.”
Luther, Martin (2012-09-21). The Table Talk of Martin Luther (pp. 160-161). Dover Publications. Kindle Edition.
“I have made a covenant with God that he sends me neither visions, dreams, nor even angels. I am well satisfied with the gift of the Holy Scriptures, which give me abundant instruction in all that I need to know both for this life and for that which is to come.”
Martin Luther
Quoted by Steven J. Lawson
Holman Old Testament Commentary: Psalms 76-150, Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006 p234