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Chapter 12Erquickstunden.1.12

Vom freudigen Muth der Christen. Gewagt, gewonnen

The False Boldness of the World

The author contrasts the worldly presumption of sinning under the guise of grace with the true Christian discernment of risk.

That is how the world operates. The godless man sins boldly straight on, banking on God's mercy.1 How many a game people play under the little hat of divine grace.2 I won't risk it with them; the gain is bad. Whoever sins while counting on grace sins twice over.✦ Wasn't it enough that he stakes his soul—what right does he have to put God's grace at risk as well? God's grace is not a protector of sins, but their remover.3 Otherwise I join in the praise: nothing ventured, nothing gained.4

The Courage of the Christian Fighter

The believer is called to a holy boldness against the world and the devil, recognizing that the enemy's power is limited and chained by God.

I have no respect for a faint-hearted Christian. Christians must fight, and those who fight must be brave. If you don't dare, you won't win. World, do you want to take a shot at me?5 Press on boldly.6 Müller, Erquickstunden.7 I dare to do it. If there's no gain to hope for, then there's also no loss to fear; you give me nothing, you take nothing from me; you have nothing—what can you give?✦ I have nothing—what can you take from me? Whatever the two of us have belongs to God; He gives it and He takes it from whom He will—blessed be His name!✦ Devil, do you have the heart?8 Come on. Great is your power—mine is still greater. Almighty power outranks power.9 You're a lion, but you're chained.✦ You can roar all you want—you can't devour.✦10 You're a dog, but you're on a chain; you can bark all right, but you can't bite. You travel in hosts, dragging a massive swarm of bees behind you.11 Those who are with me are more numerous than those who are against me (2 Kings 6:16). 6:6.✦12 I'm not afraid of many hundreds of thousands of devils camping all around against me. Ps.✦ 3:7.13 They surround me like bees, but in the name of the Lord, I will cut them down (Psalm 118:12).✦ 118.14

Wisdom and the Familiarity of Death

True wisdom in Christ overcomes the cunning of the enemy and transforms the fear of death into a daily, intimate companion.

You're wicked; what do I care about wickedness when it can't do any harm? Your head is gone; your power is gone.15 Be as wicked as you like; it doesn't matter to me. You are cunning; you rely on your thousand tricks. Wisdom surpasses cunning. Do you know the Man well, in whom the treasures of wisdom are hidden?✦ Colossians✦ 2:3.✦ He has been made my wisdom by God. 1 Cor.✦ 1:30. Death, do you want to be part of this, too? I'll take the risk with you as well—most gladly of all. I know you well; I seat you beside me at the table; I lodge you in my bed; I talk with you when I'm alone; I take my delight with you in my garden.16 I'm well used to dying, because I die every day.✦17 You do me no harm. Are you called bitter?

Death as a Gateway to Life

The believer renames the terrors of death as sweet, welcome, and life-giving, viewing the loss of earthly things as a gain in Christ.

I call you sweet. Are you called terrible? I call you lovely. Are you called no delight?18 I call you my delight. Are you called something to be cast aside?19 I call you welcome. Are you called Death? I call you my life. Are you called 'Spare not'?20 Why then should I ask you to spare me? After all, I'm no better than anyone else. What do you take from me?21 Life? Go ahead and take it. If it has been delightful, then it has been toil and hard work. Ps.✦ 90:10.✦ The body? I thank you that you deliver me from the body of death.✦ What does it matter if you take those who are mine?22 Isn't God more than I am? To venture with you is to gain a great deal. You move us from toil into rest, and from sorrow into joy.23 To die is my gain. Phil.✦

Wrestling with the Father's Heart

The believer finds that God's apparent severity is actually a fatherly mask, leading to a persistent, prayerful wrestling for His blessing.

1:21.✦ Shouldn't that hold true for God as well? Come then—go for it; that is where you gain the most. You do not frighten me, my God; I finally find what I am meant to find—a gracious face beneath the mask, a father's heart beneath the lion's skin.24 You present yourself differently than you are. You bluster and make a racket so that you scare your little children; but if a little tear then falls before you, you step close, lift the child up, take your child in your arms, and kiss it.25 In the end, it turns out to be a blessing.26 I will not let you go unless you bless me. Genesis. 32:26.27

Read the original Latin

Damit hälts die Welt. Der Gottlose sündigt frisch hin, wagts auf Gottes Varmherzigkeit. Wie manches Spiel nimmt man vor unter dem Hütlein göttlicher Gnade. Ich wags nicht mit, der Gewinn ist schlecht. Wer auf Gnad sündigt, der sündigt doppelt. Wars doch genug, daß er seine Seele wagt, was darf er Gottes Gnade mit aufs Spiel setzen? Gottes Gnad ist nicht eine Hegerin, sondern Heberin der Sünden. Sonst lobe ichs mit: gewagt gewonnen.

Von einem verzagten Christen halte ich nichts. Christen müssen kämpfen, Kämpfer müssen muthig sein. Wer nicht wagt, gewinnt nicht. Welt willst du dran? frisch fort, H. Müller, Erquickst. ich wage es. Ist kein Gewinn zu hoffen, so ist auch kein Verlust zu fürchten; du gibst mir nichts, du nimmst mir nichts; du hast nichts, was kannst du geben?

ich hab nichts, was kannst du mir nehmen? Was wir beide haben, ist Gottes; der gibts der nimmts, wem er will; sein Name sei gelobet! Teufel hast du das Herz? komm an. Groß ist deine Macht, meine noch größer. Almacht geht über Macht. Du bist ein Löwe, aber angebunden. Brüllen kannst du wol, nicht verschlingen.

Du bist ein Hund, aber an der Kette; bellen kannst du wol, beißen nicht. Du gehst bei Schaaren, und zeuchst einen großen Bienenschwarm hinter dir her. Derer die mit mir sind, sind doch mehr als die wider mich sind 2 Kön. 6, 6. Ich fürchte mich nicht vor viel hunderttausend Teufeln, die sich umher wider mich Lagern Ps. 3, 7. Sie umgeben mich wie Bienen, aber im Namen des HErrn will ich sie zerhauen Ps. 118.

Du bist böse; was achte ich böse sein, wenn man nicht schaden kann? dein Kopf ist hin, deine Macht ist hin. Sei bös immerhin, was frag ich danach. Du bist listig, verlässest dich auf deine Tausendkünste. Weisheit geht über List. Kennst du den Mann wol, in welchem die Schätze der Weisheit verborgen sind? Col. 2, 3.

Der ist mir von Gott zur Weisheit gemacht 1 Cor. 1, 30. Tod willst du auch dran? ich wags auch mit dir am allerliebsten. Dich kenn ich wol, dich sets ich bei mich an die Tafel, dich herberge ich in meinem Bette; mit dir rede ich, wann ich allein bin; mit dir erlustige ich mich in meinem Garten. Ich bin des Ster bens wol gewohnt, weil ich alle Tage sterbe. Du thust mir nichts. Heißt du bitter?

Ich nenne dich süß. Heißt du schrecklich? Ich nenne dich lieblich. Heißt du keine Lust? Ich nenne dich meine Lust. Heißt du schaff ab? Ich nenne dich willkomm. Heißt du Tod?

Ich nenne dich mein Leben. Heißt du, schone nicht? Warum sollt ich denn bitten, daß du mein schonest? Bin ich doch nicht besser als andre Menschen. Was ninumst du mir? das Leben? nimms immer hin. Wenns köstlich gewesen, so ists Mühe und Arbeit gewesen Ps.

90, 10. Den Leib? Ich danke dir, daß du mich erlösest von dem Leibe des Todes. Was nimmst du den Meinigen? Ist denn Gott nicht mehr als ich bin? Mit dir gewagt, heißt viel gewonnen. Du sesest aus der Mühe in die Kuhe, aus dem Leid in die Freude. Sterben ist mein Gewinn Phil.

1, 21. Sollts denn mit Gott auch gelten? Ei nur dran, da gewinnt man das meiste. Du schreckst mich nicht mein Gott; ich finde doch endlich, was ich finden soll, ein holdselig Angesicht unter der Larve, ein Vaterherz unter der Löwenhaut. Du stellst dich anders als du bist. Du polterst und lärmst, daß du deinen Kindlein ein ' Schrecken einjagst; fällt dann ein Thräulein vor dir nieder, so trittst du zu, hebst es auf, umfassest dein Kind und küssest es. Endlich gehts auf ei nen Segen aus. Ich lasse dich nicht, du segnest mich denn 1 Mos.

32, 26.

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Rom.6.1 — What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?
  2. ↩Job.1.21 — And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.'
  3. ↩Job.1.21 — And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.'
  4. ↩1Pet.5.8;Rev.20.2 — Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Rev.20.2 — And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
  5. ↩1Pet.5.8 — Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
  6. ↩2Kgs.6.16 — And he said, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
  7. ↩Ps.3.6 — I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustains me.
  8. ↩Ps.118.12 — They surrounded me like bees; they were extinguished like a fire of thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
  9. ↩Col.2.3 — in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  10. ↩Col.2.3 — in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  11. ↩Col.2.3 — in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
  12. ↩1Cor.1.30 — But from him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom for us from God—both righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
  13. ↩1Cor.15.31 — I face death every day—I swear it, brothers, by the boasting I have in you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  14. ↩Ps.90.10 — The days of our years in them are seventy years, or if in strength, eighty years; and their pride is toil and trouble, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
  15. ↩Ps.90.10 — The days of our years in them are seventy years, or if in strength, eighty years; and their pride is toil and trouble, for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
  16. ↩Rom.7.24 — Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
  17. ↩Phil.1.21 — For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
  18. ↩Phil.1.21 — For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Source spelling Varmherzigkeit is an older orthographic form of Barmherzigkeit (mercy); rendered as mercy.
  2. 2 ↩Hütlein evokes the shell game (Hütchenspiel): grace is used as cover for risky play, not merely as shelter.
  3. 3 ↩German wordplay: Hegerin (one who tends/shelters) vs. Heberin (one who lifts/takes away). Grace does not harbor sin; it lifts it away.
  4. 4 ↩gewagt gewonnen is the chapter proverb (literally 'risked, won'); rendered with the nearest natural English proverb for the same dare-and-win force.
  5. 5 ↩"dran" is colloquial challenge-speech: will you take me on / have a go. Rendered as a direct taunt to the World, matching the chapter's bold Christian courage.
  6. 6 ↩Source reads "frisch fort, H." Continuous chapter text makes "H." the start of the author citation continued in the next sentence (H. Müller, Erquickst.), not part of the spoken line.
  7. 7 ↩Likely a printed source citation (Heinrich Müller, Erquickstunden), not dialogue. Expanded abbreviated "Erquickst." to the work title for readability; kept the author name.
  8. 8 ↩Early modern 'hast du das Herz?' means 'do you dare / have you the courage?', not a question about possessing a physical heart.
  9. 9 ↩Source spelling 'Almacht' read as early modern 'Allmacht' (omnipotence / almighty power), not a separate lemma.
  10. 10 ↩Early modern 'wol' = 'wohl' ('well enough' / 'to be sure'), not modern 'wohl' as mere hedge.
  11. 11 ↩Early modern 'zeuchst' = ziehst (you draw/drag); 'bei Schaaren' = in troops/hosts (demonic multitudes).
  12. 12 ↩Printed citation continues s3's '2 Kön.' as '6, 6.' Content of s3 aligns with 2 Kings 6:16 (Luther), not 6:6.
  13. 13 ↩Printed citation continues s5's 'Ps.' as '3, 7.' Quoted sense aligns with Psalm 3:6 in Luther numbering.
  14. 14 ↩Printed citation continues s7's 'Ps.' as chapter '118.' only; the quoted line is Psalm 118:12 in Luther.
  15. 15 ↩Early modern German 'hin' means finished/done for/lost; rendered as 'gone' for the defeat-taunt sense.
  16. 16 ↩Early modern 'erlustige ich mich' = delight myself / take pleasure; rendered as 'take my delight' to keep intimate but non-slang register.
  17. 17 ↩Source prints 'Ster bens' as a line-break split of 'Sterbens'; translated as genitive 'des Sterbens' (of dying).
  18. 18 ↩Early modern Lust here means joy/pleasure/delight, not sexual lust; the epithet names Death as joyless or pleasureless.
  19. 19 ↩schaff ab is the imperative of abschaffen (abolish/do away with); Death is addressed under the epithet of the one who puts an end to life, parallel to the later epithet schone nicht ('spare not').
  20. 20 ↩Heißt du, schone nicht? continues the chapter's name-for-Death pattern: Death's harsh repute as one who does not spare. Rendered as a title-name, parallel to earlier Heißt du Tod?
  21. 21 ↩Source reading ninumst is almost certainly a corruption of nimmst (take), confirmed by sense, following das Leben?, and the parallel Was nimmst du den Meinigen? in the next section.
  22. 22 ↩den Meinigen = 'my own' (family, loved ones, those who belong to me). Rendered as a defiant rhetorical concession parallel to the section's other 'what if you take…' turns.
  23. 23 ↩Normalized corrupt reading 'Du sesest ... Kuhe' as 'Du setzest ... Ruhe' (you set/move from toil into rest). Fraktur/OCR confusions: sesest→setzest, Kuhe→Ruhe.
  24. 24 ↩Larve here means a mask/disguise, not a biological larva; holdselig is Luther-era for gracious/lovely countenance.
  25. 25 ↩Normalized reading treats OCR glitch 'ein ' Schrecken' as 'ein Schrecken'. Thräulein = little tear; hebst es auf / umfassest dein Kind taken as lifting and embracing the child after the tear falls.
  26. 26 ↩Normalized reading treats spaced OCR 'ei nen' as 'einen'.
  27. 27 ↩Citation fragment completing the previous section’s “1 Mos.” (Genesis). With neighboring context, the full reference is Genesis 32:26 (Jacob: “I will not let you go unless you bless me”).

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