The LORD Reigns!

The LORD reigns,

Let the earth rejoice; 

Let the many coastlands be glad!

Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him and burns up His adversaries all around.
His lightnings light up the world; the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, 
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim His righteousness,
and all the peoples see His glory.
All worshipers of images are put to shame,
who make their boast in worthless idols; 
worship Him, all you gods!

Zion hears and is glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of Your judgments, O LORD. 

For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above all gods.

O you who love the LORD, hate evil! 

He preserves the lives of his saints;

He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,

and give thanks to His holy name!

Psalm 97

In Luther's Words...

Instead of sharing Luther’s words in a small status, here is a selection in celebration of Reformation Day.  God used Luther, a fallen human being, to accomplish His purposes, which is comforting to me.

God and the Gospel
“We believe that the very beginning and end of salvation, and the sum of Christianity, consists of faith in Christ, who by His blood alone, and not by any works of ours, has put away sin, and destroyed the power of death.”
“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness, not health, but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it, the process is not yet finished, but it is going on, this is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.” 
“This error of free will is a special doctrine of the Antichrist.”
“Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.”
"He who is well acquainted with the text of Scripture is a distinguished theologian. For a Bible passage or text is of more value than the comments of four authors."

Good Education
“I would advise no one to send his child where the Holy Scriptures are not supreme. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God's word becomes corrupt…. I greatly fear that the universities, unless they teach the Holy Scriptures diligently and impress them on the young students, are wide gates to hell.”

Theology and Music
“I firmly believe, nor am I ashamed to assert, that next to theology no art is equal to music; for it is the only one, except theology, which is able to give a quiet and happy mind. This is manifestly proved by the fact that the devil, the author of depressing care and distressing disturbances, almost flees from the sound of music as he does from the word of theology. This is the reason why the prophets practiced music more than any art and did not put their theology into geometry, into arithmetic, or into astronomy, but into music, intimately uniting theology and music, telling the truth in psalms and songs….I place music next to theology and give it the highest praise.”

On Studying Greek and Hebrew
"Do you inquire what use there is in learning the languages ...?  Do you say, 'We can read the Bible very well in German?'
Without languages we could not have received the gospel. Languages are the scabbard that contains the sword of the Spirit; they are the casket which contains the priceless jewels of antique thought; they are the vessel that holds the wine; and as the gospel says, they are the baskets in which the loaves and fishes are kept to feed the multitude.
If we neglect the literature we shall eventually lose the gospel ... No sooner did men cease to cultivate the languages than Christendom declined, even until it fell under the undisputed dominion of the pope. But no sooner was this torch relighted, than this papal owl fled with a shriek into congenial gloom ... In former times the fathers were frequently mistaken, because they were ignorant of the languages and in our days there are some who, like the Waldenses, do not think the languages of any use; but although their doctrine is good, they have often erred in the real meaning of the sacred text; they are without arms against error, and I fear much that their faith will not remain pure.”

From His Own Life
“I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals.  I have within me a great pope, Self.”
“You should not believe your conscience and your feelings more than the word which the Lord who receives sinners preaches to you.”
“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” 
“Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.”
“I've got so much work to do today, I'd better spend two hours in prayer instead of one.”
“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.”