Essay / Theology

Sing Carols: Nothing Can Vex the Devil More

lutherHenry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), somewhere deep in his American epic poem Christus: A Mystery, puts these words in the mouth of Martin Luther (1483-1546):

Nothing can vex the Devil more
Than the name of him whom we adore.
Therefore doth it delight me best
To stand in the choir among the rest,
With the great organ trumpeting
Through its metallic tubes, and sing:
Et verbum caro factum est!
These words the devil cannot endure,
For he knoweth their meaning well!
Him they trouble and repel,
Us they comfort and allure,
And happy it were, if our delight
Were as great as his affright!

Share this essay [social_share/]