Authority is a servant of God. Of itself it cannot keep any public order. It is like
a net in water: The good Lord drives the fish to it. God guides the evildoers to the authority, so that they do not escape … God is a just judge on earth. For this reason, no one escapes who does not do penance, the just punishment by way of the authority. Even if you escape from me, you do not escape the hangman

Luther