Heavenly Springs

Holding Fast The Doctrines of Grace

O For A Faith That Will Not Shrink

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Margaret Clarkson was a gifted Christian writer who penned hundreds of poems, articles, and hymns. Her name was mentioned in one of the episodes of the “Crisis, Christ, and Confidence” series that I have been sharing here. I was compelled to find out more about her after Dr. Peter Lillback shared a quote which, to me, revealed a woman of strong faith and a high regard for the sovereignty of God.

In the preface to her book, “Grace Grows Best in Winter“, which I have just started, she writes, “This is a book of help for those who must live with a continuing problem of suffering, of whatever kind. It seeks to lead sufferers so to discover and to embrace the character of God that they will be enabled to live triumphantly within the hedge of suffering wherein He has placed them, and from which in His inscrutable sovereignty He has not yet seen fit to release them.” I’ve only just started and had to stop and share this poem. I hope to share more about her, and her work in the near future. 

O for a faith that will not shrink
  Tho pressed by many a foe,
That will not tremble on the brink
  Of any earthly woe; 

That will not murmur nor complain
  Beneath the chast'ning rod,
But in the hour of grief or pain
  Can lean upon its God; 

A faith that shines more bright and clear
  When tempests rage without, 
That, when in danger, knows no fear, 
  In darkness feels no doubt; 

A faith that keeps the narrow way
  Til life's last spark is fled,
And with a pure and heavenly ray
  Lights up a dying bed; 

Lord, give me such a faith as this, 
  And then, whate'er may come, 
I'll taste e'en now the hallowed bliss
  Of an eternal home.

Margaret Clarkson, “Grace Grows Best in Winter”, Grand Rapids, Michigan. WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, page 23.

Katharina Luther: Faith in Christ and Love for Neighbor During the Plague

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In the course of a woman’s life, she will have many mentors. Katie Luther is one of my mine. In fact, she is the primary reason this blog has become largely inactive. Accounts of her industry and productivity challenged me to talk less and do more. Katie’s famous, “I’ve read enough, I’ve heard enough, I know enough. Would to God I lived it” fell on me hard. Luther’s own Morningstar of Wittenberg is the reason I wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning! I’m not ashamed to say it: I wanna be like Katie! 🙂 Katie Luther was a woman who was more concerned with living out the faith than she was talking about it.

With recent global/national events being what they are, I’ve been thinking a lot about her. What would she be doing? What would her priorities be? How would she be expressing her faith? Katie was a busy woman. She oversaw the entire parsonage operation and made the Luther home what it was – a safe house for many. And during the plague, that parsonage was converted into a hospital and at their own risk, the Luther’s cared for the afflicted.  

The nature of today’s epidemic is, thankfully, not as bad as the ones that Katie lived through – at least not yet – however, the call to quietly and humbly submit to God’s providence, to trust in his goodness, and love our neighbor is just as relevant. Of course, most of what we know about her is gathered from her husband’s letters. So, today I’m sharing certain excerpts of those letters that are cited in one of my favorite Katie Luther biographies, “A Reformation Life: Katharina Von Bora” by Rudolf and Marilynn Markwald.

“When the plague hit Wittenburg, the worst part of the disease was the fear it engendered. People ran from each other, as well as from the pestilence. Many fled the city during the epidemic but Katie remained. According to contemporary reports, her deep faith in Christ and her personal courage sustained her. Neither Katie nor Martin were afraid of the plague, and when people fell ill to the epidemic, the Luthers turned Lutherhaus into a hospital. After Sebald Musterer’s wife died and her husband became seriously ill, Kate took their four children, who also were sick, into Lutherhaus. What motivated the Luthers to do this? In “Whether One May Flee from a Deadly Plague,” Luther wrote:

First one has to submit quietly to God, trusting in His love and goodness. Then staying put and not fleeing from the plague or any disaster is to be praised because it is a sign of a strong faith. But a person needs more than milchglauben [infantile faith] for that . . . It is required (1 Corinthians 12:12ff) that everyone take care of his body and not abuse it by being dummkeck [showing off one’s courage] . . . If no one is available to take care of a sick neighbor, he should never be abandoned, and Matthew 25:34ff. teaches that all Christians are linked together so we cannot desert anyone in need but are duty-bound to help him or her in the same way as we would want this person to help us in our exigencies . . . If a city or country has a hospital, that is fine and good. But if not, then people’s residences have to become infirmities, and by God’s grace, each neighbor must become a caregiver and nurse for the suffering ones.

Luther added one more spiritual dimension to his position regarding the plague when he said,

We shall discover that God thereby tests our faith and our love – our faith so we may know how we stand in relationship with God and our love so we may learn just what is our relationship to our neighbor.

In closing, Luther encouraged the faithful with these words:

We must say to the devil, “Get out of my way with your scaring! In defiance of you I will help my sick neighbor knowing that it is pleasing to God and all His angels. Since Christ has shed His blood for me and died for me, how can I not, for His sake, place myself into this small danger of a powerless pestilence?” Say, “Satan, if you frighten me, Christ will give me courage; and if you have poison in your mouth, Christ has more than enough remedies to heal me.

In his 1539 sermon on the same subject, Luther said,

We did not flee . . . I am your preacher and visitor of the sick, and Katie is the nurse, doctor, pharmacist, counselor, etc. God has protected Kate and me and our whole family from two plagues. We have been blessed in this city in good days, why should we leave when suffering strikes.

This was Martin and Katharina Luther’s faithful commitment to serving not only each other but all who were in need.”

Again, the nature of today’s crisis does not rise to the one that Martin and Katie faced. But Katie’s faith in Christ and love for her neighbor are encouraging me today. May they encourage you, too!

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

Markwald, Rudolf K. and Marilynn Morris, A Reformation Life: Katharina Von Bora. Concordia Publishing House, 1919, St. Louis, pages 165-167.

With God, Nothing Shall be Impossible!

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“And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.  And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.  For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” (Luke 1:34-38)

“Questions and doubts will often arise in men’s minds about many subjects in religion. They are the natural result of our fallen estate of soul. Our faith at the best, is very feeble. Our knowledge at its highest, is clouded with much infirmity. And among many antidotes to a doubting, anxious, questioning state of mind — few will be found more useful than that before us now — a thorough conviction of the almighty power of God. With Him who called the world into being and formed it out of nothing — everything is possible. Nothing is too hard for the Lord!

There is no sin too black and too wicked to be pardoned — the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. There is no heart too hard and wicked to be changed — the heart of stone can be made into a heart of flesh. There is no work too hard for a believer to do — we can do all things through Christ strengthening us. There is no trial too hard to be borne — the grace of God is sufficient for us. There is no promise too great to be fulfilled — Christ’s words never pass away — and what He has promised, He is able to perform. There is no difficulty too great for a believer to overcome — if God is for us, then who can be against us? The mountain shall become a plain.

Let principles like these be continually before our minds. The angel’s reply is an invaluable remedy. Faith never rests so calmly and peacefully — as when it lays its head on the pillow of God’s omnipotence!“

JC Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Luke

When Women Receive the Gospel

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Women who ministered 800W

“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.