Saturday, November 5, 2016
2 Kings 6:17 And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
IT IS BETTER TO TAKE REFUGE IN THE LORD THAN TO TRUST IN PRINCES (Psalm 118:9)
When the Syrian armies besieged Dothan in order to capture Elisha, the Prophet did not need to see the angel armies to know the LORD was protecting him -- but his servant did. Martin Luther, as a called servant of the LORD in the ministry of the Word, knew that despite the very real threat of the armies of those who opposed the Reformation and the Gospel, his security was in the hands of God, not the arms of men. The Reformer sought to open the eyes of Elector Frederick the Wise, his prince and concerned protector, to this in a letter of March 5, 1522.
Elector Frederick had been stunned to hear of Luther's planned return from the Wartburg the first week of March 1522. Wittenberg was in turmoil with troubled people in the churches and violence in the streets. Authorities in other cities were considering armed intervention. To the Prince, the return of Luther right then seemed to be bad timing for him and dangerous for the Reformer. Frederick sent a swift rider with a message for Luther. He urged him to stay in the safety of the Wartburg a little longer.
At the same time, knowing Luther, the Elector sent an escort to meet the Reformer along the way. Luther quickly sent a response to Frederick's letter. He told the Prince he should not feel responsible if any ill should befall him. If Luther was arrested by imperial agents and killed, the Elector was in no way to blame. As for the escort Frederick had arranged, Luther wrote:
"I am going to Wittenberg under a far higher protection than the Elector's. I have no intention of asking Your Electoral Grace for protection. Indeed, I think I shall protect Your Electoral Grace more than you are able to protect me. If I thought Your Electoral Grace could and would protect me, I should not go. The sword ought not and cannot help a matter of this kind. He who believes the most, can protect the most. And since I have the impression that Your Electoral Grace is still quite weak in faith, I can by no means regard Your Electoral Grace as the man to protect and save me."
Martin Luther's faith was not mere words. By the grace of God he lived what he believed. Since Christ had paid with His blood for Luther's greatest need -- right-standing with God -- and had given him eternal life, Luther saw earthly troubles, even his own death, as only temporary difficulties. We have the same Savior and the same Word of promise. May God strengthen us each in faith in Him and in living that faith.
