The following is an excerpt from Preparing for Death – The Holy Art of Dying by Pastor Martin Moller (1547-1606). You can find an audio version, downloadable pdf, and link to purchase here.
The Doctrine of the Cross
Yes, my soul, the doctrine of the cross is one of the greatest mysteries to which human reason cannot become accustomed. As is the case with other mysteries, it is revealed alone in God’s Word, and man must learn it therein. Thus it happens, dear soul, that the cross comes upon us so severely and we are alarmed by it, as though God has forsaken us or has become our worst enemy.
This is portrayed very well in the two disciples who went from Jerusalem toward Emmaus in sorrow and grief (Luke 24:13ff). The Lord appeared to them in another form, and their eyes were held that they did not know Him.
Behold, my soul, that is the form of the cross in which the Lord often disguises and hides Himself, that He appears as a stranger to His dear children. Nevertheless, His delight is with His believers and He rejoices with them in the habitable part of His earth (Prov. 8:30-31). Yes, at times He deals so harshly with them that they often think that God has forgotten all love and goodness (Isa. 64:12). But in His own time He again permits Himself to be recognized, so that their hearts may be filled with joy.
Therefore, dear soul, learn to prepare yourself rightly for this mystery, and note well the following seven rules of the cross, for then your tribulation will not be half as severe to you.
The First Rule of the Cross: The Cross is Planned
All believers are ordained of God to be cross-bearers of Christ. For St. Paul says thus: For whom God did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Rom. 8:29).
Do you hear, my soul, that you were ordained to a cross and suffering, not only in the womb, but even before the world was formed, in order that you might be conformed and similar to your Lord Jesus? Yes, my soul, you are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone. Do you not wish, then, to suffer with Him? He is the Lord, and you are His disciple. He is the Bridegroom, and you are His bride. He is the Head, and you His member. Why would you want to have things better than He? Look on Him as the Lord of the cross, and notice how all dear saints have followed Him in tribulation. The Lord leads on with the greatest cross of all, and the believers follow after. And every one can bear his yoke in joyful hope, for here they are similar to the Lord Jesus in tribulation; therefore they shall also be conformed to Him in eternal glory (Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 15:49).
Ah Lord, my God, Who hast ordained and prepared me, Thy child, to be a cross-bearer. Give me an understanding heart that I may recognize such wonderful counsel, accept the cross with joy, follow after my Savior, and be conformed to Him here in time and hereafter in eternity. Amen.
The Second Rule of the Cross: It is the Lord’s Will
It is the Lord Christ’s will that His believers should bear His cross after Him. For He says thus: Take My yoke upon you (Matt. 11:29). And again: If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me (Luke 9:23). Yes, my soul, this command does not apply to the unbelievers, but to His saints and believers. For the cross of the Lord is such a precious jewel that the Lord will not entrust it to unbelievers. Yes, it is such a decoration that He will not grant it to any ungodly. Behold Simon of Cyrene! What an honor it was for him to bear His cross after the Lord! What glory will be his on the Last Day!
Ah, my Lord Jesus, Who hast commanded me to bear Thy cross! Give me also an obedient heart, that I may joyfully take Thy yoke upon me and willingly follow Thee in all suffering. Amen.
The Third Rule of the Cross: It is a Schoolhouse
The Lord Christ has three schools of the cross.
First, a chastening school, when He afflicts His own on account of their sins (1 Cor. 11:30-32; Micah 7:9).
Secondly, a testing school, when He exercises their faith, hope and prayer (Ps. 119:71; Isa. 28:26; 26:16).
Thirdly, a martyr school, when He permits them to be persecuted and killed for His Name’s sake (Ps. 43:22; Rom. 8:36).
Hear, my soul, you are also a disciple and student of your Lord. Therefore you can be sure that He will lead you daily in one of these schools.
If He chastises you on account of your sins, as with dear David, then thank Him for His chastening and say: It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes (Ps. 119:71).
If He puts you to the test and leads you in a wonderful way, as with dear Joseph and Job, then remember that He is exercising your faith, arousing your hope and urging you to prayer.
If He does you the honor that you should suffer persecution or death for His Name’s sake, then rejoice in your heart that you are counted worthy to suffer shame for His Name (Acts 5:41).
Lord Jesus Christ, Who wast not ashamed to hang on the cross with mockery and pain! Grant that I may also not be ashamed to stand beneath the cross with the Virgin Mary. If it is Thy will to lead me in a wonderful way, then help me wonderfully to follow Thee, and be prepared even to lay down my life for Thy sake, if this be pleasing to Thee. Amen.
The Fourth Rule of the Cross: A Sign of Love
The cross of the believers is a sign, not of the wrath, but of the love of God. For the Lord says: As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten (Rev. 3:19). And again: The world shall rejoice, and ye shall be sorrowful (John 16:20). Likewise: The time is come that judgment must begin at the House of God (1 Pet. 4:17). And again: I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by My Name (Jer. 25:29).
Do you hear that, my soul? Yes, dear soul: Whoever loves his child makes use of the rod. For where is a father who does not chastise his son? But if you are without chastisement, of which all children of God have tasted, then you are a bastard and not a son (Heb. 12:6-8). Behold your Lord Jesus, the only Son of God. How severe His Father was to Him! How He bruised Him on account of sins that were not His own! (Isa. 53:5).
Help me, Lord Jesus, that I may not be frightened before Thy chastening rod, but rather kiss it as a devout child and evermore thank Thee for Thy chastening. Amen.
The Fifth Rule of the Cross: The Greater the Distress the Closer God
The greater the distress, the closer God is. For the Lord says: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him (Ps. 91:15). O my soul, how hard it is for flesh and blood to believe this! When tribulation comes, we always think that God has forgotten us, that God has given us up to the devil and all misfortune. No, my soul although Satan is your worst enemy and is bent on your misfortune by day and by night, he cannot hurt a single hair on your head without the Lord’s will (Matt. 10:30).
Yes, dear soul, how can God forget us? How can He lie who is Himself Truth? And although He may hide Himself for a brief moment, He will again gather thee with great mercies (Isa. 49:15; 54:7-10). Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous (Ps. 112:4). If God be for me, who can be against me? (Rom. 8:31). What can I lose if I still have my God?
Lord Jesus! Whom have I in Heaven but Thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee. Yes, my flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever (Ps. 73:25-26). Amen.
The Sixth Rule of the Cross: It is for Good
The cross of the children of God always serves for their good and never for their harm.
For St. Paul says: We know that all things work together for good to them that love God (Rom. 8:28). And again: Faithful are the wounds of a friend (Prov. 27:6). Yes, my soul, the cross works for our good in different ways.
It teaches us to recognize sin. As it is written: I will correct thee in measure and will not leave thee altogether unpunished (Jer. 30:11). It also drives us to the Word. For it is written: It shall be a vexation only to understand the report (Word) (Isa. 28:19).
It awakens our faith. As it is written: But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead (2 Cor. 1:9).
It also teaches us to pray rightly. For it is written: Lord, in trouble have they visited Thee, they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon them (Isa. 26:16).
It teaches us to shun sin. As it is written: Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you (John 5:14).
It makes us weary of this life and awakens in us a longing for the Eternal Life. As it is written: Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come (Heb. 13:14).
Yes, my soul, all must work together for good to the believers in such a way, that St. Augustine writes: “Even sin itself serves for their good.” For through Christ we have received more than we had lost through sin.
Lord Jesus Christ! Inscribe this loving comfort in my heart and preserve me, that I may not despair in time of tribulation, but expect only the best things from Thee even unto death. For Thou art wonderful in counsel and excellent in working (Isa. 28:29). Amen.
The Seventh Rule of the Cross: It is Never Too Severe
Patience, prayer, and hope permit no cross to become too severe. For the prophet Jeremiah says: It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord (Lam. 3:26). And David says: Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me (Ps. 50:15). And Sirach says: “Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded?” (Ecclesiasticus 2:10).
Yes, my soul, if a person must bear a burden or load and only takes hold of it properly, then it will not seem half as heavy to him, especially when he has help and relief. Thus patience, prayer and hope are like hands or arms, in order that the believing heart may grasp its tribulation and can proceed well with it.
For patience does everything gladly, with the result that it is not so severe. But prayer forces itself upon God, and surely receives either deliverance or relief. And hope maketh not ashamed (Rom. 5:5), but knows of a certainty that God is faithful and will permit no one to be tempted either too much or too severely (1 Cor. 10:13). Impatience, however, angers God and makes everything hard.
Take the example of your Lord Jesus and learn all of these things from Him (1 Pet. 2:21). Look also at dear Job and learn to say also in your troubles: Though the Lord slay me, yet will I trust in Him (Job 13:15).
Lord Jesus Christ! Grant me at all times a patient heart, that can indeed wait and pray, in order that I may not become impatient in my heart, but be comforted and with full confidence cast all my cares upon Thee and in every moment hope for the best from Thee. Amen.
Wow! That came at the right time, I definatly needed to read that!!!
Ordering the hard copy your new book tomorrow. As always thank you for all that you do for us.
What marvelous logic and exposition. Having read this excerpt, I had to order Preparing for Death and look forward to reading it. You might like “Death, grief, and mourning in contemporary Britain” written in 1965 by Geoffrey Gorer; at the end of that small volume he reprints a 1955 essay called “The Pornography of Death” in which he proposes that in earlier times, pornography was hidden and shameful, while death was public and understood, mourners supported. Now (1955 but more so currently), death is hidden and shameful, while pornography is public and even celebrated. Full disclosure – I am a devout LCMS member, also a practicing forensic pathologist, having performed over 10k autopsies.
This is all wonderful. And a paradox:
God’s unitary eternal Will is , alone 23rd Psalm goodness and mercy .
God rules all things , and he is not the Author of suffering nor does He will it. He allows and measures it to bring about and rule over , in a sin filled world the limitation and diminution of suffering . This work is all illustrated in the 1st article of the small catechism . Pure fatherly goodness and mercy .
And this , in spite of what we confess, in the 7 petitions of the our father , as our complete abject lack , of what we pray to be given as a member of “all the wicked.”
We are to avoid suffering wherever we can for both ourselves and others , but when it comes ? It is the true mark of a christian to bear that suffering patiently . All the while praying a Lamentation and holding God to his 23rd psalm promise of Mercy. Only in Christ .
Amen!+