Von Gottes Gnade gegen die gefallenen Sünder
The Lightning of Repentance
God's grace first strikes the sinner with the terror of the law to bring about true repentance.
Friend or enemy, who are you? When you've fallen, you have both of these in God's grace. As you see when lightning strikes a tree or a person: it does two kinds of work. First it tears the tree apart and quickly strikes the person dead; then it turns the dead person's face and the tree's break or cut upward toward itself, toward heaven.1 God's grace works the same way with the sinner: first, it strikes him down with the curse of Moses like a bolt of lightning, declares his damnation, and hands him over to death.2 That is why repentance brings terror, sighing, weeping, and lamenting—so that the heart is practically torn apart by fear and distress, just as the Jews tore their clothes in their great grief. For repentance that continues with peaceful thoughts is hypocrisy. There must be deep seriousness and anguish there—Joel3 2:13. the flesh must be crucified.
Turning Toward Mercy
After the terror of the law, the repentant sinner is drawn to God's mercy and comforted by His promises.
After that, she turns the terrified sinner's face toward herself, heavenward, and draws him in with many comforting promises, so that he comes, beats his breast, and sighs with the tax collector: God, be merciful to me, a sinner!✦✦4 Luke. 18:15.✦5 Before that, it said: Now it says:6 Where can I hide, burdened as I am by so many great sins? Where can I find rescue?✦7 Even if the whole world came, it still wouldn't take my anguish away.8 Jesus, full of grace—at your command and counsel my troubled heart comes to your great goodness; let a little drop of grace flow onto my conscience.
From Judgment Seat to Throne of Grace
The believer finds refuge by appealing from the seat of judgment to the throne of grace.
So God has two seats. One is the judgment seat, shrouded in hell; the other is the throne of grace, lined with a beautiful heaven.9 The lower court is held before the judgment seat, while the higher court is held before the throne of grace.10 I appeal from the lower court to the higher court, from the judgment seat to the throne of grace. If the letter kills, the Spirit gives life; if hell terrifies, heaven comforts. What a kind God we have, who in the midst of wrath still remembers mercy.
Read the original Latin
Freund oder Feind, wer bist du?
Beides hast du an der Gnade Gottes, wenn du gefallen bist. Wie du siehst, wenn der Blitz einen Baum oder Menschen schlägt, daß er zweierlei Werke thut: erstlich zerreißt er den Baum und würgt den Menschen geschwind dahin; darnach kehrt er das Angesicht des todten Menschen und des Baumes Bruch oder Schnitt zu sich gen Hinimel. Also thut die Gnade Gottes beim Sünder: erstlich schlägt sie ihn mit Mosis Fluch als mit einem Bliz darnieder, kündigt ihm an die Verdammnis, und übergibt ihn dem Tod. Daher kommt das Schrecken Seufzen Weinen und Klagen in der Buße, daß das Herz vor Angst und Unmuth gleichsam wird zerrissen, wie die Juden in großem Leid ihre Kleider zerrissen. Denn die Buße, die sich mit friedlichen Gedanken übt, ist Heuchelei. Es muß ein groper Ernst und Wehethun da sein, Joel. 2, 13. , soll das Fleisch gekreuzigt werden.
Darnach kehrt sie des erschrokkenen Sünders Angesicht zu sich gen Himmel, lockt ihn mit vielen tröstlichen Verheißungen an sich, daß er kommt, an die Brust schlägt und mit dem Zöllner seufzt: Gott sei mir Sünder gnädig! Luc. 18, 15. Zuvor hieß es:
Jekt heißt's:
Wo soll ich slichen hin, weil ich beschiveret bin mit viel und großen Sünden; wo soll ich Rettung finden? wenn alle Welt herkäme, mein ' Angst sie nicht wegnähme.
Iesu voller Gnad, auf dein Gebot und Rath kommt mein betrübt Gemüthe zu deiner großen Güte, laß du auf mein Gewissen ein Gnadentröpflein fließen!
Also hat Gott zween Stühle. Der eine heißt Richterstuhl, bedeckt mit der Hölle: der andre Gnadenstuhl, bezogen mit einem schönen Himmel. Vor dem Richterstuhl wird gehalten das Untergericht, vor dem Gnadenstuhl das Oberge richt. Ich appellire vom Untergericht ans Obergericht, vom Richterstuhl an den Gnadenstuhl. Tödtet der Buchstab, so macht der Geist lebendig; schreckt die Hölle, so tröstet der Himmel. Welch einen freundlichen Gott haben wir, der mitten im Zorn an Barmherzigkeit gedenkt.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Luke.18.13 — But the tax collector, standing far off, was not even willing to lift his eyes to heaven, but kept beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner.'
- ↩Luke.18.13 — But the tax collector, standing far off, was not even willing to lift his eyes to heaven, but kept beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner.'
- ↩Luke.18.13 — But the tax collector, standing far off, was not even willing to lift his eyes to heaven, but kept beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner.'
- ↩Matt.11.28 — Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source reading 'Hinimel' treated as 'Himmel' (heaven).
- 2 ↩Source reading 'Bliz' treated as 'Blitz' (lightning).
- 3 ↩Source reading 'groper' treated as 'großer' (great/deep).
- 4 ↩German sie continues die Gnade Gottes (God's grace) from the preceding section; rendered as she to keep that personification.
- 5 ↩Source prints 18, 15 after Luc.; the quoted prayer Gott sei mir Sünder gnädig matches Luke 18:13, not 18:15. Preserved as printed; candidate resolution left to later scripture stage.
- 6 ↩Source surface 'Jekt' is almost certainly a printing/OCR error for 'Jetzt' (now), especially after previous 'Zuvor hieß es:'. Translated as 'Jetzt heißt's:'.
- 7 ↩Early-modern/corrupt forms normalized for sense: 'slichen' read as 'schleichen' (creep/slink away); 'beschiveret' as 'beschweret' (weighed down/burdened). A closely related hymn tradition has 'fliehen' (flee) in the same frame ('Wo soll ich fliehen hin…'); if that is the intended witness, render 'Where am I supposed to flee to…' instead.
- 8 ↩Source has 'mein ' Angst' with a stray mark/apostrophe; read as 'meine Angst' (my anguish/distress).
- 9 ↩Gnadenstuhl is the traditional German for both the biblical mercy seat and the throne of grace (cf. Heb 4:16); throne of grace fits the appeal imagery that follows.
- 10 ↩Normalized source splits Obergericht as 'Oberge richt'; translated as the clear intended compound Obergericht (higher court), confirmed by the next sentence.
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