John 8 (li)

What an immense and powerful truth this is for a Christian, who believes. Death, Sin and the Devil all must yield to him. For at this time Eternal Life has already begun. This is what Christ, God's Son is doing, and the Christian believes in His Word. This is why a Christian should alter the last two lines of this little verse: "I don't know my span on this earth, Nor do I know when I'll depart and die, Nor the place whither my soul must fly, Yet I feel only joy, merriment and mirth." They would then become: "For now I do know where I shall go, Why then, oh soul, art thou stricken with grief and woe?" (...). This is just like Moses when he instructed and taught Adam's children how they should pray to God in His psalm: "Teach us, oh Lord, to consider the hour of our death so that we may be truly wise."

The complete Luther - "A Meditation for Each Day of the Year" is available as a biligual (English and German) BREVIARY published by Wartburg Verlag Weimar. It can be purchased in English, world-wide from most internet book shops.