Martin Luther Quotations

Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave.

To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime.

Faith is permitting ourselves to be seized by the things we do not see.

There is no more lovely, friendly and charming relationship, communion or company than a good marriage.

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.

Beautiful music is the art of the prophets that can calm the agitations of the soul; it is one of the most magnificent and delightful presents God has given us.

I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.

I more fear what is within me than what comes from without.

The reproduction of mankind is a great marvel and mystery. Had God consulted me in the matter, I should have advised him to continue the generation of the species by fashioning them out of clay.

Music is the art of the prophets and the gift of God.

If you young fellows were wise, the devil couldn't do anything to you, but since you aren't wise, you need us who are old.

If he have faith, the believer cannot be restrained. He betrays himself. He breaks out. He confesses and teaches this gospel to the people at the risk of life itself.

To gather with God's people in united adoration of the Father is as necessary to the Christian life as prayer.

People must have righteous principals in the first, and then they will not fail to perform virtuous actions.

You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say

All who call on God in true faith, earnestly from the heart, will certainly be heard, and will receive what they have asked and desired.

Peace is more important than all justice; and peace was not made for the sake of justice, but justice for the sake of peace.

First I shake the whole Apple tree, that the ripest might fall. Then I climb the tree and shake each limb, and then each branch and then each twig, and then I look under each leaf.

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.

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.

Justice is a temporary thing that must at last come to an end; but the conscience is eternal and will never die.

The fewer the words, the better the prayer.

Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that a man would stake his life on it one thousand times. This confidence in God's grace and knowledge of it makes men glad and bold and happy in dealing with God and with all creatures; and this is the work of the Holy Ghost in faith.

If I am not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.

Whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.

I feel much freer now that I am certain the pope is the Antichrist.

For in the true nature of things, if we rightly consider, every green tree is far more glorious than if it were made of gold and silver.

Anyone who is to find Christ must first find the church. How could anyone know where Christ is and what faith is in him unless he knew where his believers are?

The Bible is the cradle wherein Christ is laid.

The will is a beast of burden. If God mounts it, it wishes and goes as God wills; if Satan mounts it, it wishes and goes as Satan wills; Nor can it choose its rider... the riders contend for its possession.

Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.

I shall never be a heretic; I may err in dispute, but I do not wish to decide anything finally; on the other hand, I am not bound by the opinions of men.

Prayer is a strong wall and fortress of the church; it is a goodly Christian weapon.

Everything that is done in the world is done by hope.

When I am angry I can pray well and preach well.

My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary.

The Lord commonly gives riches to foolish people, to whom he gives nothing else.

War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families. Any scourge is preferable to it.

For where God built a church, there the Devil would also build a chapel.

Grant that I may not pray alone with the mouth; help me that I may pray from the depths of my heart.

Be a sinner and sin strongly, but more strongly have faith and rejoice in Christ.

You should not believe your conscience and your feelings more than the word which the Lord who receives sinners preaches to you.

I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.

Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense, and understanding.

The God of this world is riches, pleasure and pride.

If you are not allowed to laugh in heaven, I don't want to go there.

The man who has the will to undergo all labor may win to any good.

Be thou comforted, little dog, Thou too in Resurrection shall have a little golden tail.

We are at fault for not slaying them (the Jews)

I maintain that some Jew wrote it (the Book of James) who probably heard about Christian people but never encountered any

Over and above that we let them get rich on our sweat and blood, while we remain poor and they suck the marrow from our bones

Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in spring-time.

Pray, and let God worry.

The will of man without the grace of God is not free at all, but is the permanent prisoner and bondslave of evil since it cannot turn itself to good.

Whenever I happen to be prevented by the press of duties from observing my hour of prayer, the entire day is bad for me

Even though they grow weary and wear themselves out with child- bearing, it does not matter; let them go on bearing children till they die, that is what they are there for

Everything done in the world is done by hope.

A faithful and good servant is a real godsend; but truly 't is a rare bird in the land

Some (demons) are also in the thick black clouds, which cause hail, lightning and thunder, and poison the air, the pastures and grounds

Superstition, idolatry and hypocrisy have ample wages, but the truth goes begging.

In our sad condition our only consolation is the expectancy of another life. Here below all is incomprehensible.

In the bonds of Death He lay Who for our offense was slain; But the Lord is risen to-day, Christ hath brought us life again, Wherefore let us all rejoice, Singing loud, with cheerful voice, Hallelujah!

God can be found only in suffering and the cross.

I can't keep the sparrows from flying around my head, but I can keep them from making a nest in my hair.

Faith is a living, bold trust in God's grace, so certain of God's favour that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God's grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace.

The Holy Ghost has called me by the gospel and illuminated me with his gifts and sanctified and preserved me in the true faith.

Christians fight best on their knees. Whatever good may be done is done and brought about by prayer.

If I did not see that the Lord kept watch over the ship, I should long since have abandoned the helm. But I see Him! - through the storm, strengthening the tackling, handling the yards, spreading the sails - yes more, commanding the very winds! Should I not be a coward if I abandoned my post? Let Him govern, let Him carry us forward, let Him hasten or delay; we will fear nothing!

Let every man recognize what he is, and be certain that we are all equally priests, that is, we have the same power in the word and in any sacrament whatever.

God may delay, but He always comes.

The devil flees before the sound of music almost as much as before the Word of God.

I did not learn my theology all at once, but had to search constantly deeper and deeper for it. My temptations did that for me, for no one can understand Holy Scripture without practice and temptations...I t is not by reading, writing, or speculation that one becomes a theologian. Nay, rather, it is living, dying, and being damned that makes one a theologian.

To preach Christ is to feed the soul, to justify it, to set it free, and to save it, if it believes the preaching.

The only saving faith is that which casts itself on God for life or death.

If you could understand a single grain of wheat you would die of wonder.

It is a good thing to let prayer be the first business of the morning and the last of the evening.

Religion is not 'doctrinal knowledge,' but wisdom born of personal experience.

It is a tremendously hard thing to pray aright, yea, it is verily the science of all sciences.

God is a blank sheet upon which nothing is found but what you yourself have written.

Take a look at your own heart, and you will soon find out what has stuck to it and where your treasure is. It is easy to determine whether hearing the Word of God, living according to it, and achieving such a life gives you as much enjoyment and calls forth as much diligence from you as does accumulating and saving money and property.

There is no rustic so rude but that, if he dreams or fancies anything, it must be the whisper of the Holy Ghost, and he himself a prophet.

Let us keep to Christ, and cling to Him, and hang on Him, so that no power can remove us.

Hereby we may understand that God, of His special grace, maketh the teachers of the gospel subject to the Cross, and to all kinds of afflicitons, for the salvation of themselves and of the people; for otherwise they could by no means beat down this beast which is called vain-glory.

Being by his faith replaced afresh in paradise and created anew, he (the believer)does not need works for his justification, but that he may not be idle, but that he may exercise his own body and preserve it. His works are to be done freely, with the sole object of pleasing God.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing; Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing: For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate, On earth is not his equal.

Now the church is not wood and stone, but the company of people who believe in Christ.

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the creative light of altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life's persistent and most urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'

Faith does not inquire whether there are good works to be done, but even before asking questions, faith has done the works already.

Over against the devil and his missionaries, the authors of false doctrines and sects, we ought to be like the Apostle, impatient, and rigorously condemnatory, as parents are with the dog that bites their little one, but the weeping child itself they soothe.

Those who lapse from the Gospel to the Law are no better off than those who lapse from grace to idolatry.

If ever the church is to flourish again, one must begin by instructing the young.

Astrology is framed by the devil, to the end people may be scared from entering into the state of matrimony, and from every divine and human office and calling.

I have such hatred of divorce that I prefer bigamy to divorce. Anyway, I think we should see other people.

Prayer is a very precious medicine, one that helps and never fails.

It is as if a wolf devoured a sheep and the sheep were so powerful that it transformed the wolf and turned him into a sheep. So, when we eat Christ's flesh physically and spiritually, the food is so powerful that it transforms us.

Faith is the yes of the heart.

Whatever you love most, that is your god.