Gerhard and Walther

Man had forsaken God, and allied himself to the devil, God’s bitter enemy; and yet He, who had been thus deserted, with tender concern seeks the deserter, and most gracious begs him to return to Him again. Man had gone away from infinite Goodness itself, and had fallen into infinite depths of evil; but that very infinite Goodness, having paid an infinite price for his redemption, rescues him from those infinite depths of devil. O does not this infinite mercy exceed the highest thought of the finite human mind?—Johann Gerhard, Sacred Meditation XV

Above all, Christians should not be vexed in this evil time. They must not lose confidence in the divine Word when they encounter the travails of this world. They should not lose heart with all the hindrances to their faith.—C. F. W. Walther, God Grant It!, p. 814.