Luther's Large Catechism

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1908. Excerpt: ... third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing lovingkindness unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments," Ex 20, 5-6; Deut 5, 9-10. THE APPENDIX TO THE FIRST COMMANDMENT EXPLAINED. 12. Although these words are related to all the commandments, as we shall learn later, yet they are joined to this chief commandment because it is of first importance that a man's head be right. Where the head is right the whole life must be right. Learn also from these words how angry God is with those who trust in aught but himself, and how good and gracious he is to those who, with their whole hearts, trust and believe in him alone. Learn that his anger ceases not until the fourth generation, while his blessings or lovingkindnesses extend to many thousands. Learn all this that you may not live in false security and take your chances as do brutish hearts which imagine that it makes no difference how they live. He is the God who takes vengeance upon all who turn from him, and his anger continues to the fourth generation, until they are utterly exterminated. Hence he insists upon being feared and not despised. 13. God has witnessed to this by all history, as the Scriptures amply show and as daily experience abundantly teaches. In the beginning he completely rooted out all idolatry, and he did it for the sake of both the heathen and the Jews; just so in our day he overthrows all false worship, and finally all who persist in it must perish. There are still found proud, powerful and rich bloats, who defiantly boast of their mammon, unconcerned whether they provoke God to anger or to mirth. They boast as if confident they could easily stand God's wrath; yet they shall not succeed. Before they are aware, they will be wrecked, with everything in which they trusted; as ...