From the blog, CHRIST IS DEEPER STILL
by Ray Ortlund
September 29, 2014

Martin Luther:

“I often suffer from severe trials and sorrows. At such times I seek the fellowship of men, for the humblest maid has often comforted me. A man doesn’t have control of himself when he is downcast and alone, even if he is well equipped with a knowledge of the Scriptures. It is not for nothing that Christ gathers his church around the Word and the sacraments and is unwilling to let these be hidden in a corner. Away with monks and hermits! These are inventions of Satan because they exist apart from all the godly ordinances and arrangements of God. . . . Accordingly, a solitary life should be avoided as much as possible.”

Martin Luther, quoted in Luther’s Works: Table Talk, edited by Theodore G. Tappert (Philadelphia, 1967), page 268.