October 21, 2021

“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.”  John 17:14-15

Emperor Charles ordered Luther to return home, issuing to him a certificate of “safe-passage.” But shortly after Luther departed from Worms, the papists convinced Charles to immediately issue an edict against him. It is incredible how quickly the emperor was swayed in the opposite direction of his leanings. Our enemy wishes to gain control of all human minds, and, if not rooted and grounded in truth, it can happen very easily to any of us. The emperor’s new proclamation denounced Luther as “Satan himself in the form of a man.” All people were forbidden to help, harbor, give food or drink, or even speak kindly to or about him, either publicly or privately. Any who gave support were to be imprisoned and their property confiscated. His writings were to be destroyed.

This decree had the Romanists jubilant, as they considered this the end of Luther and the end of the Reformation. But the providence of God stood against this apparent victory, as He gave special wisdom to Frederick of Saxony. With the help of some close friends, every movement of Luther had been closely followed—and at just the right turn along the way, Luther was seized, separated from his attendants, and whisked away through the forest to an isolated mountain fortress: Wartburg Castle.

The disappearance of Luther was completely shrouded in mystery. Those friends who had snatched him away did it so very well. The concealment in the friendly security of Wartburg continued for nearly a year . . .

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day. Psalm 91:1-5