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Chapter 13Erquickstunden.1.13

Von der rechten Zeit der Buße. Dem Teufel Wein und Gott die Hefen

The Folly of Delayed Repentance

The author challenges the reader's hypocrisy in offering God only the remnants of their life while giving the best years to the world.

Is that right? Giving the sound and whole to the devil, and the limping to God—is that right?1 Giving the healthy to the devil, and the sick to God—is that right? Giving what is freshly blooming to the devil, and what is withered to God—is that right? Giving what is certain to the devil, and what is uncertain to God—is that right? Giving your healthy, blooming youth to the devil, and your limping, stinking, lame, rotten, sick, shriveled old age to God—is that right?2 Do you intend to save your fear of God for your gray years?3 Who knows if you'll even live long enough to see a gray hair on your head!4

The Worth of Your Offering

A stern warning against offering God the dregs of old age after a life spent serving sin.

In old age everything limps and stinks — piety along with it. Don't you know that anyone who offers the Lord something lame or sick, when they have something healthy and sound, is cursed?✦5 Malachi6 1:13.✦ Who is your friend? Whether it's God or the devil, the best belongs to your friend. Who gives you the best? God or the devil? And which is the best? Heaven or hell? How you grumble when God sends you even a small cross—and yet He has been so good to you! If you intend to give, give something good. What lies at the bottom is the least of it and isn't worth much.7 What is God supposed to do with the dregs of your old age? When you're no longer fit to serve sin—when you can't whore, play the rogue, gorge, guzzle, quarrel in court, fight, practice usury, and hoard the way you did in your younger years—that's when you want to start serving God.8 The devil casts you off, and God is supposed to take you back.9

The Urgency of the Present Moment

An exhortation to repent immediately while the door of grace remains open, rather than waiting for an uncertain future.

What are you making of God? A last-resort hireling of Satan.10 Ah, I advise you: don't put off your repentance until you're sick; amend yourself while you can still sin.11 Don't put off becoming devout, and don't wait until death to amend your life, sir. 18:22. Get moving early and set out—you might arrive too late; the gate might close before evening. Buy while there's time, because market day is here. Run while there's time, because the barriers are still open. Ah, who knows how long?

Read the original Latin

Ist das recht? dem Teufel das gerade und Gott_das hinkende, ist das recht? dem Teufel das gesunde und Gott das kranke, ist das recht? dem Teufel das frischblühende und Gott das verwelkte, ist das recht? dem Teufel das gewisse und Gott das ungewisse, ist das recht? dem Teufel deine gesunde blühende Jugend, und Gott dein hinkendes stinkendes lahmes faules krankes verschrumpftes Alter, ist das red; t? Wilst du auf's graue Haar deine Gottesfurcht sparen? wer weiß, ob du den Tag erlebst, daß dir ein granes Haar wächst!

Im Alter hinkt und stinkt alles, Frömmigkeit mit. Weißt du nicht, daß der verslucht ist, der dem HErrn ein lahmes oder krankes opfert, da er ein gesundes und tüchtiges hut? Mal. 1, 13. Wer ist dein Freund? Gott oder der Teufel, dem Freunde gehört das beste. Wer gibt dir das beste? Gott oder der Teufel?

Und welches ist das beste? der Himmel oder die Hölle? Wie murrst du, wenn dir Gott nur ein kleines Kreuz zuschickt, und ist dir doch so gut! Willst du geben, gib was gutes. - Was auf'm Boden liegt, ist das geringste und taugt nicht viel. Was sollt Gott mit den Hefen deines Alters thun? Wenn du untüchtig bist der Sünde zu dienen, kannst nicht mehr huren buben fressen saufen rechten fechten wuchern geizen wie in deinen jungen Jahren, so willst du anfangen Gott zu dienen. Der Teufel verstößt dich, Gott soll dich wieder annehmen.

Was machst du aus Gott? einen Nothknecht des Satans. Ach ich rathe dir: Spare deine Buße nicht, bis du krank bist, sondern besfre dich, weil du noch sündigen kannst. Verzeuch nicht fromm zu werden und harre nicht mit der Besserung deines Lebens bis in den Tod Sir. 18, 22. Spann beizeit an und fahr los, du möchtest zu spät kommen, vielleicht geht das Thor vor Abend zu. Kaufe beizeit weil der Markt tag da ist. Laufe beizeit weil die Schranken offen stehen.

Ach wer weiß, wie lange?

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Mal.1.13 — And you say, 'What a weariness this is!' and you snort at it, says the LORD of Hosts. And you bring what has been stolen, and the lame, and the sick, and you bring the offering. Should I accept this from your hand? says the LORD.
  2. ↩Mal.1.13 — And you say, 'What a weariness this is!' and you snort at it, says the LORD of Hosts. And you bring what has been stolen, and the lame, and the sick, and you bring the offering. Should I accept this from your hand? says the LORD.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩Normalized reading treats 'Gott_das' as 'Gott das' (underscore as a spacing/join artifact).
  2. 2 ↩Source ends 'ist das red; t?' — almost certainly a broken 'ist das recht?' (OCR/line-break corruption).
  3. 3 ↩Early-modern 'Wilst' read as 'Willst'; 'Gottesfurcht' rendered as 'fear of God' (reverent dread, not mere fright).
  4. 4 ↩Source 'granes Haar' read as 'graues Haar' (gray hair).
  5. 5 ↩Normalized early-modern spellings: 'verslucht' → verflucht (cursed); 'hut' → hat (has). Sense follows Malachi's curse on defective sacrifice.
  6. 6 ↩Printed abbreviation for Malachi (Malachias), introducing the verse citation that follows.
  7. 7 ↩Boden here is the cask/vessel bottom in the chapter's wine-and-dregs image (Hefen), not merely a floor: the settled lees are the poorest remainder.
  8. 8 ↩buben is the early-modern verb 'to play the knave/rogue'; the bare asyndetic list is kept as a catalogue of youthful vices. rechten = litigate/go to law; wuchern = lend at usury; geizen = be miserly/hoard.
  9. 9 ↩soll is ironical obligation, not pious wish: once the devil discards the spent sinner, God is expected to take the leftovers.
  10. 10 ↩Nothknecht (Notknecht): early modern term for a servant engaged only in a pinch—a stopgap or emergency hireling. Fits the chapter’s charge that God is used only when the devil has finished with a person.
  11. 11 ↩Normalized reading takes 'besfre' as corrupt for 'beßre/bessere' (amend yourself / better yourself). Temporal force of 'weil' rendered as 'while' in parallel with 'bis du krank bist'.

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