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Luther'
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on the
first
twenty-two Psalms
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LUTHER'S COMMENTARY
ON THE
FIRST TWENTY-TWO PSALMS
BASED ON DR. HENRY COLE'S TRANSLATION FROM THE ORIGINAL
LATIN. REVISED, ENLARGED, PARTS RETRANSLATED
AND EDITED IN COMPLETE FORM
BY
JOHN NICHOLAS LENKER, D. D.
PROFESSOR OF OLD TESTAMENT EXEGESIS IN TRINITY SEMINARY OF THE UNITED
DANISH EV. LUTHERAN CHURCH, BLAIR, NEBRASKA, AND AUTHOR OF
"LUTHERANS IN ALL LANDS," "DIE LUTHERISCHE KIRCHE
DER WELT," ETC.
"The Old Testament will still be a New Testament
to him, who comes with a fresh desire for information."
—Fuller.
A^OI^. I.
LUTHERANS IN ALL LANDS CO.
SUNBURY, PENNSYLVANIA, U. S. A.
(PRINTED IN MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, U. S. A.)
1903.
Copyright, 1903,
BY
PROF. J. N. I^ENKER, D. D.
INTRODUCTION TO LUTHER'S WORKS
IN ENGLISH
GOD'S BEST GIFT TO US IS A BOOK.
Dear reader, do you realize that the most precious gift of our
heavenly Father to us, his children, is in the form of a book? In
that book God has given us all that we need; outside of it he has
promised us nothing. We are indebted alone to the goodness of
God that we are able to read and that we have something really
good to read. Through his servant Moses, God commanded the
Israelites to preserve the book of the law in the ark of God and
put it under the care of the Levites. It grew until it became our
Bible, which means books or scriptures or writings. The Protest-
ant-Teutonic nations appropriately called it the Word of God or
God's Word, (in German Gotteg Wort; in Scandinavian
Gud's Ord). See Gen. 5:1; Exod. 17:14; 24:7; Num. 5:23; Deut.
17:18; 28:58; Josh. 8:34; 2 Kings 22:8-16; Neh. 8: 1-18; Ecc. 12:12;
Ezek. 2:9; Rev. 5:1-10; 22:7-19.
THE BIBLE IS THE DIVINE LIBRARY.
Really the Bible is not only a book, it is a collection of 66
books, 39 books in the Old and 27 in the New Testament. Moses,
the first divine writer, was also the first librarian of a library of
five books, called the five books of Moses. It was larger than
many think. Thus we see the idea of the library as well as that
of the book is divine in its origin. To these five volumes by Moses,
Joshua and Samuel added others. To the historical department was
added the poetical by David and Solomon, and then followed the
prophetical by Isaiah, Jeremiah and others. Under the new dis-
pensation the word of God continued to be written, collected and
preserved in the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles and Revelation.
God used 40 different holy men during the long period of 1600
years to write this divine book or library. He alone gathered
it, and He alone has preserved it. To His name alone be the praise!
Since the Canon closed, the Holy Spirit has been in the church
working through the Word of God, so that "of making many
books there is no end" is true in our day as it was already in the
time of Solomon.
OUR BIBLE AND THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST.
The late German scholar. Professor Max Mueller, left coming
generations the following beautiful and learned christian testi-
vi LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH.
mony as a precious heritage, when he said: — "In the discharge of
my duties for 40 years as professor of Sanskrit in the University
of Oxford, I have devoted as much time as any man living to
tJie study of the Sacred Books of the East, and I have found
the one key-note — the one diapason, so to speak — of all those
so-called sacred books, whether it be the Veda of the Brahmans,
the Puranas of Siva and Vishnu, the Koran of the Mohammedans,
the Zend-Avesta of the Parsees, the Tripitaka of the Buddhists —
tlie one refrain through all is salvation by works. They all say
that salvation must be purchased, must be bought with a price;
and that the sole price, the sole purchase-money, must be our
own works and deservings. Our own holy Bible, our sacred Book
of the East, is from beginning to end a protest against this doctrine.
"Good works are, indeed, enjoined upon us in that sacred Book
of the East far more strongly than in any other sacred book of
the East; but they are only the outcome of a grateful heart — they
are only a thank-offering, the fruits of our faith. They are never
the ransom money of the true disciples of Christ. Let us not shut
our eyes to what is excellent and true and of good report in these
sacred books, but let us teach Hindus, Buddhists and Mohamme-
dans, that there is only one sacred Book of the East that can
be their main stay in that awful hour when they pass all alone into
the unseen world. It is the sacred Book which contains that
faithful saying, worthy to be received of all men, women and
children — that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners".
THE ISSUE BETWEEN THE ORIENT AND OCCIDENT.
These words of the learned German Professor, who has translat-
ed all the sacred books of the East into English, come from one
who speaks with authority. They certainly put in the clearest
language the fundamental issue between the Orient and the Occi-
dent, yea, the real issue in human history, past and future. We
make an unpardonable blunder if we think that the Church of
Christ will have fulfilled her mission in the Orient when she shall
have destroyed all the idols of wood and stone. The battle is
really not one with dumb material idols nor one of the sword, but it
is a battle of the mind and soul — of books — of one sacred book
of the East against all the other sacred books of the East. The bat-
tle was waged once in the Orient and once in the Occident. In the
Orient the one Book apparently lost and was exterminated from
the East by the cunning of Satan and the depravity of man. It
found a refuge in the West where it was again powerfully attacked
by the same everlasting enemies, but here however the one Book
gained the victory. The arts of Satan and the wisdom of man were
LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH. vii
put to flight, "and Jehovah caused his glorious voice to be heard",
Is. 30:30. To God's Word and God's Spirit be all the praise.
Bui they wrought through human agencies. God chose the battle
field, the soldiers and the leader. The prophet of the West, whom
God raised up for the occasion, was a poor monk who really
"shook the world." His inspired or semi-inspired pen wrote so
well that
LUTHER'S WRITINGS BECAME THE SACRED BOOKS
OF THE WEST.
While reading so much about the sacred books of the East,
the inquiry naturally arises what about the sacred books of the
West, our half of the globe, where we live and labor? Has God
given us no prophet? Has the Holy Spirit been withheld from
one half of God's creation? Have we no talent and can we con-
tribute nothing toward uplifting the race? Against such thoughts
we naturally revolt. However little we may have we want to be
self-conscious of what we have, for "he that is faithful in a very
little is faithful also in much". Luther's writings offer nothing
new, they have made the one Book of the East, The Book of the
West, and restored the true religion of the East to the West.
DANGER OF ORIENTAL LEAVEN SPREADING IN THE
OCCIDENT.
But, alas! the West is in danger of being overwhelmed with
Orientalism through world's fairs, immigration and importation of
oriental ideas and customs, as Is. 2:6 says, it is being "filled with
customs from the East". But all that is not so dangerous as the
fact that the greater part of the so called Christian Church of the
West is to-day dominated by the false teachings of the East. The
whole Grecian or Russian Church, the world-embracing Roman
Catholic Church and some of the Reformed denominations. Thus
it seems the Christian Church may be taken captive into eastern
bondage as the Jewish Church was. While some so called Lutherans
may hold to the false teachings of the East, the Ev. Lutheran
Church with its 70,000,000 adherents in the world enthuses more
on justification by faith alone than on any other doctrine. Since
apostolic times no literature has taught and defended this central
truth of our sacred Book of the East as the writings of Luther,
the greatest Christian prophet of the West. Because of this, and
it cannot be put too strongly, because of this alone, we wish to
do all in our power to develop a world-wide movement to trans-
late, publish, sell, buy, read recommend and teach Luther's writ-
ings not only in English, but in every language.
viii LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH.
THE WRITINGS OF PAUL AND LUTHER.
All agree that Paul is the greatest character in the Christian
Church and that since Paul's time none equals Luther. The one
was a Jew, "instructed according to the strict manner of the law",
the other a Gentile of the Gentiles, born in due time. They agree
perfectly and in their common doctrine alone the two divisions of
the race may be united. Paul's writings are circulated over the
earth in the Bible, and since no writer is more Pauline than
Luther, his writings should follow Paul's everywhere, as the
best commentary on Paul. The race, nation or nationality, that
understands, believes, appropriates their central doctrine the best,
will make the greatest progress in true culture and civilization, as
is seen in the German, Scandinavian and English nations com-
pared with others. The Scandinavians are the most universally
Protestant nation, hence their average in Christian culture and
civilization is the highest. The Catholic elements in the German
and English nations lower their average.
THE WRITINGS OF MOSES, PAUL AND LUTHER.
We may take a broader view and say, as Moses was the greatest
man in the Old Testament and Paul in the New, such is Luther
in modern times. Moses, Paul and Luther form a trinity on the
earth and in history whose unity can never be broken. If in the
providence of God a man is raised up to give a clearer and
stronger defense of the cardinal teachings of Moses and Paul on
sin and grace, then will Luther disappear from this trinity, and
not until then. As Moses and Paul live and bless humanity
through their writings, so Luther will live and bless mankind
through his words, which have been so faithfully handed down to
posterity. The highest recommendation of Luther's writings are
the writings themselves. The best we can do is to call attention
to this fact. It is what he wrote and not what others wrote about
him, that makes him Luther.
LUTHER AND BIBLE SOCIETIES.
While in London one place I especially desired to visit and
that was the large building of the British and Foreign Bible
Society. When we ascended the massive stairs there appeared a
large oil painting, the largest in the building. It stood alone as it
covered nearly the entire wall. It was not a scene from nature
but the full stature of a man. Not of a noted Englishman as one
might suppose, but of a foreigner. We had seen on the continent
many statues and paintings of the German Reformer, but never
did we see a finer painting of him, nor one in a more becoming and
significant place than this painting here at the very entrance to
LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH. ix
the greatest Bible Society in the world. There he stood as we
see him everywhere with a single book in his hands, the holy
Bible, and his eyes and head turned toward heaven in prayer that
its central truths might be faithfully taught and defended. Luther
knew that the Bible, "like a diamond, casts its luster in every
direction; like a torch, the more it is shaken the more it shines;
like a healing herb, the harder it is pressed, the sweeter is its
fragrance". He was really the founder of Bible Societies. The
Roman Catholic Church bitterly opposed them. The pope without
the Bible and Luther with the Bible are going everywhere. The
question is who shall dominate the civilization of the world?
LUTHER'S WRITINGS IN THE REFORMATION OF
FRANCE AND ENGLAND.
Although in the Reformation period the University of Paris
condemned Luther's writings and thus determined the destiny of
France, yet he founded among his own "barbarian" countrymen a
Protestant University System that leads the world in thought and
places the Teuton race far in advance of the Latin. To-day a
Lutheran Faculty of Theology teaches .Luther's writings in the
very University of Paris that condemned them. Likewise in Eng-
land Luther's writings were opposed, even by the king with his
own pen, yet large numbers of "Lutheran books" were imported
into England as early as 1520, and some were early translated into
English, extensively circulated and read with avidity. Before the
English Bible and the Book of Common Prayer were printed
"England was full of Lutheran books". At Oxford University
Lutheranism was so strong in 1521 that cardinal Wolsey was en-
treated to check it. "Societies of those of Lutheran convictions"
were organized at the University of Oxford in 1527 and of Cam-
bridge in 1528. So many books of Luther were coming into Scot-
land that an act of parliament was passed in 1525 prohibiting
vessels to land with books of Luther or his disciples upon pain
of losing their cargo and the sailors themselves being imprisoned.
Thus the English world once welcomed Luther's writings though
opposed and we believe it will do so again.
LUTHER AND THE POPE IN AMERICA.
Why does the British Museum Library, the largest library in the
English world, take such a pride in its Luther literature? Not for
the sake of the Lutheran church, but for Luther's sake and Eng-
land's sake. Because of Luther's relation to all the problems of
England and of humanity. The Reformer has spoken almost on
every subject and there is a growing desire to know just what he
said. Should America fall behind England in its appreciation of the
writings of the hero of the Reformation?
X LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH.
Although the United States has received more from Martin
Luther, the father of modern civil and religious liberty, than from
any other uninspired man, yet the pope of Rome, the strongest
opponent of that liberty, has more influence in America than
Luther. Every public library of our land should be supplied with
his complete works in the original German, the classic language
of Protestantism, and also with his complete works in English,
as many do not read German. Give all Anglo-Saxons an oppor-
tunity to read the greatest Saxon in pure Anglo-Saxon!
The question has often been raised what is the foundation or
center of our modern culture and civilization? Can it be localized?
We answer yes, the Teutons, the Hanseatic Germans and the Viking
Scandinavians in Europe and America dominate it and not the
Latins, and Luther's writings have made the Teutons what they are.
He is the ideal child of the Teutons and their ideal father. They
moulded him before he moulded them. This is saying much, but
not too much, to those who read Luther and not only about him.
Germany, Scandinavia, England and America Germanica owe more
to Luther's writings and those who believe his teachings than to
the writings of all the popes and their followers: Neither the Slavic
nor the Romance nations have a Patriot or a Church Father equal
to the Teutonic, Protestant Luther.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS AND THE WORK OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT.
More might be said as to the relation of Luther's writings to
the teachings of the Bible and to the Teutonic world-culture, but
space will not permit. Just a few words on the relation of those
writings to the work of the Holy Spirit. "And it shall be in the
last days, saith God, I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh".
Acts 2:17. Where and when? In the Reformation. That was
a work of the Holy Spirit through the Word. Nowhere in the
Reformation do we see the work of the Holy Spirit more than
in the writings of the great Gentile prophet of these last days.
They were in part translated into all the languages of Europe
and have ministered to the Protestant leaders of every nation.
Wesley was converted by reading them, they inspired the Mora-
vians in their foreign missions and John Bunyan preferred them
to all books except the Bible. New Christian life came to Germany
under Francke, to Sweden under Rosenius, to Norway under Hauge
and to Denmark under Wilhelm Beck by circulating and reading
Luther's teachings. The Holy Ghost testified of Christ in Luther's
heart and he also bore witness. Do we not dishonor the Holy
Spirit when we do not honor the best christian writings since the
Apostles? If those writings were translated, published, sold.
LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH. xi
bought, recommended and taught in all languages as in the time of
the Reformation, we would see more of the power of the Holy
Spirit in converting sinners and edifying saints in the Occident and
in the Orient. Many see the work of the Holy Spirit only in
their own hearts and lives or in their own congregation and
synod, but not in the whole church and in the whole world of to-day
or of the past through the testimony of his chosen servants, hence
they have little faith and hope for his work in the future. While
Luther was not inspired like Isaiah or John, yet he was inspired
or semi-inspired and we are apt to give too little rather than
too much honor to the Holy Ghost for the heritage of classic
Protestant literature from his pen. We honor Luther most when
we honor him who honored Luther and whom Luther honored,
namely the Holy Spirit. The relation of the work of the Holy
Spirit to the central teaching of the Bible and of Luther's writings
is an interesting and important theme, as is suggested in the ex-
planation of the third article of the Creed in the small catechism.
A WORD IN BEHALF OF LUTHER TO LUTHERANS.
To the 7,200 pastors, 12,000 churches .and 10,000,000 adherents
of the Ev. Lutheran Church in the United States, with their 135
colleges and academies and 160 periodicals, this may seem un-
necessary. As we profess intelligently and conscientiously to bear
the name of this Teuton of the Teutons, the greatest prophet of
the West, let us grasp the full meaning in it. Let us not forget
the rock whence we were hewn! Is it not time that his writings
be given their deserving place? Inspired by what non-Lutherans
have done and will do to translate and circulate Luther in Eng-
lish, will we not do our part, for the sake of our pastors, con-
gregations and schools of the future, all of which will be English?
MORE LUTHERISM IN LUTHERANISM AND PROTEST-
ANTISM.
A careful examination of the bibliography of some 3,000 vol-
umes under the word Luther in the catalog of the British museum
library raises the question what Englishman did more for Eng-
land than Luther, as the Scandinavians and Finns say, what Scan-
dinavian has done more for us than the German Reformer? It is
a high compliment to Luther, if not to Lutherans, that nearly all
those English translations of Luther were made by scholars who
were not Lutherans. There is a difference between Lutherism
and Lutheranism, as there is between Calvinism and Calvinistic-
ism, if I may coin a word from the adjective of the proper noun.
The Germans and Scandinavians are more fortunate in their names;
they say, "Lutherthum" and "Lutherdom" or "Lutherismus". It
is safer to be disciples of Luther than of any disciple of Luther."
xii LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH.
The very word Calvinism suggests at once an appeal direct to
the w^ritings of Calvin, while Lutheranism suggests the teachings
of disciples of Luther, or of Lutherans. In this respect the Re-
formed Church honors her founder more than the Lutheran
Church does her leader, though her boast is that she does not bear
his name.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS THE COMMON HERITAGE OF
PROTESTANTISM AND CHRISTIANITY.
The mere fact the restored apostolic church was called after
his name by his enemies has unjustly made Luther in the eyes of
many a sectarian, narrow personality, when the truth is, no broad-
er or more catholic, apostolic character is found in modern history.
He is greater than any denomination or nationality. Lutheranism,
Protestantism and Christianity in their future struggles will find
next to the Bible their greatest support and defense in the writings
of Luther.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS ARE GROWING MORE POPULAR.
One reason Luther's works have not been issued in English is
that some have thought and advocated that only a few of his works
were worthy of translation. Such persons do not know Luther,
or the needs of our own times. Rome, religious fanaticism, and ig-
norance of the Word of God, should continually hear his voice.
The complete editions of Luther appeared in German as follows:
I, "Wittenberg Edition, 1539 — 1559; 2.Jena, 1555 — 1558; 3, Alten-
burg, 1661 — 1664; 4, Leipsic, 1729 — 1740; Walch, 1740 — 1753; 6, Er-
langen, 1826 — 1857; 7, Kaiser or Weimar, since 1883; 8, St. Louis-
Walch, since 1883. In the i6th century, two editions; in the 17th
one; in the i8th two, but in the 19th century three and they the
best three. Thus Luther is growing more popular in the best
educated nation in the world. He is one prophet who is honored
in his own country. When we think what an influence these eight
editions have had upon the life and the scholarship of the German
people, we realize what the English world has lost by never having
even one set of Luther's works complete. Dr. Cole started in 1823
with limited resources to issue several volumes, which were the means
of bringing a lady in Scotland to a knowledge of the truth, who
furnished the money to Issue other volumes, but in the midst of
his labor this faithful servant of Christ was called to his reward.
If those who are blessed by reading Luther in their vernacular,
contributed toward the issuing of other volumes, as this Scotch
lady did, we would have all of Luther instead of a little part of
him in English, and one complete edition after another would fol-
low as in the German, and this would be an inspiring example to
other nations.
LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH. xiii
LUTHER'S WRITINGS IN LUTHERAN SCHOOLS AND
LIBRARIES.
During three annual visits to nearly all of the 156 Lutheran
educational institutions in America I learned to know their libra-
ries, and the state of things existing there is no honor to the
church nor to the institutions. Only two colleges have library
buildings, the Steensland memorial library of St. Olaf, Northfield,
Minn., and the Zimmerman memorial library, Wittenberg, Spring-
field, Ohio. In not one can all the 30 volumes of Luther's works
in English be found. Many did not know what volumes had been
translated. In a Lutheran college and theological seminary I re-
cently sought in vain for a set of Luther's works in the original,
and was told that there was not a set in the whole synod, and the
synod numbered over 10,000 communicant members. This suggests
the question, should not synods discuss the importance of circu-
lating Luther's writings. Paul wrote to Timothy, "Give heed to
reading," i Tim. 4:13. But what can the English Lutheran Timo-
thies read of their spiritual father? Why build a machine shop
or a work shop without machinery and tools. Let us examine
Luther's writings and take to heart what he said on the library.
Alas! Protestant schools have forgotten that Luther was the most
renowned university professor of his age, and a large proportion
of his writings were addressed to students.
Some pastors and laymen who are loud in their public praise
of the Lutheran church and of Luther, and Sunday school libraries
with hundreds of volumes, possess not a single book written by
Luther, and very little about him. Truly there is no greater need
than more Lutherism in our English Lutheranism. Institutions,
schools and congregations, with charter and constitution pledging
them to teach and defend the doctrines Luther taught and de-
fended, must be exhorted and urged as Lutherans to purchase
Luther's works in the only language thej^ understand, (and then
they often will not). Yet they would not change their name and
constitution under any consideration. They may think they have
found a better way to honor their name and gain the end of their
charter. Their libraries are filled with second and third class liter-
ature, an abundance of trash and hash, at a great outlay of cash,
and yet they do not complain.
THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION OF GERMANY, WITTEN-
BERG AND LUTHER.
Some advocate we cannot be satisfied with translations and need
not go to Germany for scholarship. Even those who are indebted
to German scholarship for nearly all they have talk thus. German
patriotism has become world-wide, and is growing, and as the
xiv LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH.
Kingdom of God on the earth is not among angels, or birds or
cattle, but among human beings, who have formed different na-
tionalities, we may well honor those nationalities whom God has
honored. The Scandinavian countries, whose universities rank
next to the German, and all other European Protestants, have been
going to Germany for their education and theology ever since
the Reformation. This will continue, and as all America is fol-
lowing, it is impossible to turn the current. Where should we
Protestants go, except to our own fatherland, the birthplace, the
battlefield, the historic center and the classic land of Protestant-
ism? What Jerusalem is to the Jew and Rome is to the Catholic,
that the little university village of Wittenberg is to the Protestant
in general and to the Lutheran in particular. Let us honor our
father and mother, even if they be German, and translate more"
faithfully the best they have written or may write. The Protestant
universities of Germany, founded by Luther, are working out
problems that will be a blessing to all mankind, and they promise
to be a great defense of Luther's Bible and Luther's writings in
the coming battles with Orientalism. Luther's writings will in-
terest us more in the mission of Luther's fatherland in the world.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS AND THE SCANDINAVIAN
AMERICANS.
As Luther on the Psalms has never been translated by the
Scandinavians, and as their literature on the Psalter, strange to
say, is rather meager, I take special pleasure, as an English pro-
fessor of theology in a Scandinavian seminary, in making this
permanent contribution to the exegetical and devotional literature
of the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish American Lutherans, who
in their native tongues have no access to this fundamental work
of "the mightiest post-apostolic master in Israel." As work in the
class room was the occasion that Luther's first original publica-
tion on the Psalms appeared, so the duties in the seminary last
year in teaching the exegesis of the Psalms with the help of
Luther and Delitzsch, brought the conviction that agitation must
give place to action. Since none of Luther's works are needed
more for immediate use in the school and the home than his com-
mentary on the Psalter, it therefore appears first in our series,
though I preferred to hold the manuscript for a few improvements.
As the most Germans will read Luther in the original, we must
look to the Scandinavian and English Lutherans for encourage-
ment. Therefore those volumes that are not accessible to the
Scandinavians and Americans will be issued first.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS AND THE ENGLISH LUTHERANS.
Considering their age and strength few of Luther's writings arc
LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH. xv
found in the homes of English Lutherans. Germans and Scandi-
navians willingly become Americanized but they justly protest
against being Anglicized, either in the Episcopal or Non-Corform-
ist direction. How can pastors and members, synods and schools
enthuse over Luther and the Lutheran church and not over Lu-
ther's writings? The real Luther can not be separated from his
writings, as Moses and Paul can not from theirs. In America
the young say our greatest hope is in English, and the old reply
thoughtfully, there is also our greatest danger. That danger grows
less in proportion as both are dominated by Luther's writings.
WHO CAN DEVELOP AN APPETITE TO READ LUTHER?
Our professors, pastors, Sunday school teachers and church
members; our congregations, societies, synods, schools and church
papers. Will it pay for them to do so? Perhaps not in dollars
and cents. But it will pay all concerned in many ways. It is not
enough to translate, publish, and sell the books. The great task
is to develop the appetite to read them. To recommend Luther's
writings to Lutherans is like recommending the Bible to Christ-
ians. It is not a question whether Lutheran homes will have books
or no books, but will their books be Lutheran or un-Lutheran. The
latter will be the inevitable result unless the church bestirs herself.
She should first introduce Luther himself into her homes.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS AND FUTURE REFORMERS.
Again, we should circulate Luther's writings because of their
vital relation to the future development of Protestantism. The
constant danger in Protestantism has always been two false tend-
encies, the one leading to high church ritualism, ceremonialism
and formalism, back to Romanism, and the other leading to ir-
reverent, radical fanaticism and all manner of excesses. There is
no better antidote against either than the writings of the Reformer
of reformers. To the Romanists they were too radical and to the
ultra-reformers too conservative. Therefore the Reformation under
Luther was not only a Reformation of Romanism, but it was a
sound Reformation of all the Reformations before his day, which
contained so many elements of weakness and error that they
themselves needed a reformation.
The many reformations in the East and the West since Luther's
day foreshadow an endless number of coming reformations, sects
and schisms, so that we have occasion to fear these future re-
formers as much as Romanism, because they do not hold firmly to
the central teachings of Moses, Paul and Luther. To the future
reformers in the Orient and the Occident we warmly recommend
the translation and study of the sacred writings of the greatest
Reformer in the Christian Church.
xvi LUTHER'S WORKS IN ENGLISH.
LUTHER'S WRITINGS AND THE SOCIAL PROBLEM.
In the i6th century, European society, being without the teach-
ings of the Bible, was dominated by humanism, a culture derived
from the heathen classics of the Latins and Greeks, and unrest
reigned everywhere, when as Dr. Schafif says, "The Protestant Re-
formation assumed the helm of the liberal tendencies and move-
ments of the reawakened life of the century, directed them into
the channel of Christian life and saved the world from a disastrous
revolution. It was negative and destructive towards error and
positive and constructive towards truth. It was conservative and
progressive." Our unprecedented material prosperity and the
elimination of the Christian element from all popular education
seem to threaten America with a like disastrous revolution, and
until God raises up a better refuge to which to flee, let us hold
firmly to the writings that saved the world from one such disaster.
As the Bible is the only book that will solve the social problem of
the world, the classic writings of Protestantism deserve careful
consideration in the future struggles of humanity.
WHAT WILL THE CIRCULATION OF LUTHER'S WRIT-
INGS ACCOMPLISH?
1st. They will help us to understand our Sacred Book of the
East and thus help us to hear the glorious voice of Jehovah's
grace. About 80 of the 107 volumes of Luther's works were writ-
ten to explain and enforce the teachings of Bible passages.
2d. As they are the best sacred writings of the West they prove
that the best sacred writings of the Orient and Occident agree, and
that they have a common enemy. As the East gave us the Bible,
we should gratefully give it back to the East accompanied with
the best Protestant defense of its teachings.
3d. They will strengthen the Protestant bulwark against Ro-
manism as no other writings can do.
4th. They will help us to appreciate the rich heritage of our
Protestantism, in the Protestant school, family and state.
Sth. They will be a valuable contribution to Homiletics, and
Exegetics, which to-day need Luther as a corrective.
6th. They will be a check to high church ritualism, ceremonial-
ism, and formalism.
7th. They will teach the excesses of the Non-Conformists that
there is a more excellent w^ay.
Sth. They will help to unite all the Teutons of the world and
teach them their true mission among other nations.
gth. They will fortify us against social disasters and lead us
to a sure refuge, if it come as in the Reformation.
PREFACE.
HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT TO TRANSLATE LUTHER
INTO ENGLISH.
In 1881 — 2 while traveling through the European countries to
gather the latest material for "Lutherans In All Lands", an
opportunity was naturally afforded to study an intimately related
subject, "Luther In All Lands". It was found that since the
Reformation some of his writings had been translated in all
civilized languages, that they were gaining in favor and that
no better work could be done than to encourage Lutherans in
all lands to do their utmost to have Luther's writings translated
into all languages. En route to Egypt and Palestine in 1898 — 9.
I made a second tour through the European countries in order
to publish at Leipsic in the Reformer's mother tongue at the
opening of the 20th century a new book, illustrating Luther's ex-
planation of the third article of the Apostles' Creed, entitled "Die
Lutherische Kirche der Welt". In the midst of this work God
gave me the opportunity to examine
LUTHER'S WRITINGS IN THE LARGEST ENGLISH
LIBRARY.
In England I became interested in studying the influence of
Luther's writings among the Non-Conformists, as we are apt to
view the Lutheran movement in England only from the standpoint
of the Episcopal Church. While studying Luther in the British
JMuseum Library of London, the best place in the world to study
him. I was no less surprised than pleased to have handed me a
quarto double column catalog devoted exclusively to the literature
of Martin Luther, about 3,000 volumes in different languages.
This was a part of the catalog of the British Museum Library.
The equal of this Luther literature is not to be found in Germany,
Scandinavia or America. There are prospects, however, of it being
duplicated in some leading libraries in the United States. At once
two of the best theological second-hand book dealers were en-
gaged to purchase all the copies of these rare books possible, and
during the last three years quite a collection has been gathered,
which will be offered for sale. Brethren in America, who saw
some of these works, remarked: — "these books ought to be re-
translated and re-issued. You are known to the church as an
ecumenical Lutheran and you ought to agitate the matter. It
ought to be the work of all synods and nationalities and not of
2 PREFACE.
one or two." As there was nothing I would rather agitate than
this, a beginning was made. But the coldness, indifference and
discouragements were so many and so great, that my judgment
said, it is best to drop the whole matter. However my heart re-
sented this and in the name of God and for the sake of his church,
encouraged by a few from every synod and nationality, this volume
marks the beginning of a movement, the success of which will
largely depend upon the
ADVANCE SUBSCRIBERS,
and what they do in helping to circulate the edition. From Dr.
Henry Cole, the best and most voluminous English translator of
Luther, it is in place to quote the following here, "We want, in
God's great and righteous cause, in our time, a few wealthy and
good Josephs of Arimathea, Matt. 27:57, to supply the poverty
of God's poor, James 2:5, and the covetousness of the world's
rich, Ps. 119:36." May this quotation help to issue Luther's works
in America as it did in England! Often $25,000 to $roo,ooo are
raised for a fine church edifice whose influence is confined to a
small locality. Why can not at least one like sum be raised to trans-
late, publish and circulate over the English world, Luther's works?
Lutheran benevolence can not be directed to a better cause.
OUR TRANSLATIONS OF LUTHER'S WORKS
v/ill be based on the new Kaiser or Weimar critical edition in the
original Latin and German, with reference to the Erlangen, the
Walch and the St. Louis-Walch editions. About one third of
Luther's works were written in Latin and the English translations
will be from the original Latin and not from the German trans-
lation of the Latin. The aim is to produce a complete, faithful,
critical but popular edition, and therefore the best features of the
different German editions will be appropriated. The texts and
numerous passages of Scripture will be quoted from the American
Revised Edition of the Bible of 1901. Instead of giving the varia-
tions of the Latin Vulgate text, from which Luther wrote his La-
tin books, in the original Latin in ( — ), as in the St. Louis-Walch,
a literal English translation of those variations will be given in
( — ). Special care has been taken to compare the proof texts.
The verse and not only the chapter, as in the Erlangen Edition, is
given. In this the St. Louis-Walch Edition was very helpful.
THE MECHANICAL MAKE-UP OF THE VOLUMES.
Much attention has been given to the mechanical execution of
(he volumes, as to size, type, paper and binding, in order to secure
all in uniform binding. Seven of the eight editions of Luther in
German are in large, bulky quarto and folio volumes. The
PREFACE. 3
volumes in the Erlangen edition are more handy but a little small,
therefore we adopted the most popular size of American books.
For convenience, practical use and completeness it will compare
favorably with any German edition.
THE BEST TRANSLATIONS ARE NOT TOO GOOD.
As we cannot have Luther in English after the idiomatic Ger-
man style, we will try to give the complete, pure sense of Luther
in the best, neatest, most elegant and most readable idiomatic
English yet attempted. In order to secure the best results we will
first thoroughly revise and reissue a few of the best of the trans-
lations by Dr. Henry Cole, as they are out of print and scarcely
known in America. Dr. Cole says his design in using the labors
of others "was not to avoid trouble; for it was as much labor to
transscribe, and to modernize the orthography, etc., as it would
have been to retranslate." While Cole's translations are deficient,
yet they are the best, and by retranslating some parts, by adding
the many portions he omitted and by carefully revising his work,
good results will be obtained, though the labor be as great as a
new translation. However even some of Cole's works will be re-
translated.
BETTER HAVE LUTHER IN "POOR ENGLISH" THAN NOT
HAVE HIM AT ALL.
True, it is not easy to translate Luther. However his voice
v.'ould be heard more in the English world to-day had the difficul-
ties in translating him not been exaggerated, and had not the
translations been so severely and unjustly criticized that few have
courage to undertake the task. All such should read what Luther
wrote to the polished Erasmus, when he said, I am a barbarian
and write barbarously, but consider, not how I write, the style,
but whaJ: I write, the thought. We had better have this thought in
I'oor English than not have it at all. To all who want to know
Luther's spirit and teachings, the "poor English" cry will be no
barrier. All the translators of Luther did the best they could
and we are very grateful for their labors. In our stafif of colabor-
ators the aim will be to secure scholars who will not merely trans-
vert words from one language into another, but will trans-convey
the mind and trans-fuse the spirit of Luther into classic English.
Here it is not only necessary to know the languages perfectly from
which and into which you translate, but the translator of the
Reformer must possess his faith and spirit, his religion and wor-
ship. We want Luther and not the translator in English.
4 PREFACE.
ENGLISH SHOULD BE THE FIRST LANGUAGE TO
TRANSLATE LUTHER'S COMPLETE WORKS.
While eight editions of all of Luther's works have appeared in
German, they have never been issued complete except in Ger-
man. More, however, has been translated into English than into
Scandinavian or any other language, which is due to the high
appreciation of Luther in the British empire. As this apprecia-
tion is growing in England and America, and as Calvin has been
translated into English in 52 volumes, why should not the Eng-
lish people be the first to complete a translation of all the volumes
of the greatest Reformer? The late German editions are sold at
high prices, but not too high, considering the work and money
invested, and the discounts are consequently low. Hence in this
respect the first edition in English can not do differently. To ad-
vance subscribers, however, liberal terms will be made according
to the number of copies ordered, afterwards the discounts must
be small unless new editions are called for. The volumes will cost
from $1.50 to $2.50 each retail, neatly printed on good paper and
well bound, sent direct from the bindery to the advance subscrib-
ers, upon receipt of the price when notified the volumes are ready
for delivery.
TOPICAL AND TEXTUAL INDEX OF LUTHER'S WRIT-
INGS IN ENGLIS.
Many years may be required to complete the work and to the
impatient critic it may be said, the volumes will improve as the
work progresses. Therefore we will be thankful for any criticisms
or suggestions mailed to us direct. At present we are in position
to furnish to public and private libraries twenty five volumes of
Luther's works in English, though not all new and of uniform
binding. It is all important to issue a good topical and textual in-
dex to Luther in English, so that not only preachers, but everybody
may readily find what Luther said on any subject or any passage
of scripture. It may not be a Luther concordance but it will be
made as helpful to scholars as possible, like the index of the
Erlanger Edition.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION TO THE
PSALMS
The Name. In Hebrew there is no general name for the
I'sahns. Names of parts were appHed to the whole. Thus
Tephilloth, prayer-spngs or prayers from Psalm ^2 120 ; Tehil-
lim, praise-songs, as the element of divine praise pervades all
the Psalms; Shir, song, denotes the joyful song of praise;
Mizmor, applied to 65 Psalms, means "to adorn to the Lord".
The word Psalm is from the Greek translation of the Old
Testament, from "psallein", to touch or strike a cord, to play,
not to sing, except among those who took its usage from the
Septuagint. Stringed music is the natural accompaniment of
such poetry as proceeds from an immediate gush of feeling.
The Contents, ist. Here we are throughout on the terri-
tory of feeling and on strictly religious territory. 2nd. All
the Psalms are Songs of Israel, appointed to be used in the
services of the sanctuary. 3rd. They are such songs as had
been composed under the special co-operation of the Holy
Spirit. They do not present any new doctrine, they rest upon
the Pentateuch, the historic Word of God, and are "the heart's
echo to the spoken Word of God." Their value consists in that
they give us an insight into the heart of the Old Testament
saints and into the hidden wonders of the true religion. Their
buoyancy and freshness, their simplicity, their consoling and
elevating character, from Moses to Nehemiah, and the fact that
they compose a part of the Word of God, give them a dis-
tinction above our church songs.
Their Threefold Division, ist. Psalms that proceed from
a spirit chiefly moved and actuated by joy, in lively admira-
tion of God and in gratitude for his goodness. 2nd. Psalms
that proceed from a depressed and mournful frame of mind,
variations of the "Lord, have mercy on us," Vvdiich alternates
with the hallelujah in the lives of the saints. 3rd. Psalms that
proceed from a more quiet reflective state of mind, religious,
moral or didactic Psalms, designed to instruct.
6 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.
The History of Psalmodic Poetry. The fact that more than
one half of the Scriptures of the Old Testament are poetical in
their form makes the Old Testament a book of poems. Since
poetry and music are as old as the race, the Bible gives us the
oldest samples, some even before the flood, as follows : Gen.
4:23-24; 9:25-27; 27:27-29; 49:1-27; Ex. 15:1-18; Num.
6:22-26; 10:35-36; 21:14-15, 17-18 and 27-30; Num. 23 and
24 chs. ; Deut. 32 and 33 chs. ; Josh. 10:13; Judges' 5 ch. ; i
Sam. 2 ch. Hence Hebrew poetry was born with the nation
in the age of Moses. No book of the Bible is more rooted
in the Pentateuch than the Psalms. Samuel laid the founda-
tion for the prosperity of Psalmodic poetry by his religious
revival and reformation, and especially by his schools of the
prophets. David's talents were called forth by his cross or
persecution and by his ascension to the throne, when he as-
signed poetry a prominent place in the worship of the sanc-
tuary, and he is considered the author of 80 Psalms.
The Book of Psalms is composed of the following five
books: Ps. 1-41 ; 42-72; 73-89; 90-106; 107-150; which are
the copy and the echo of the five books of the law or the Thora.
Each of the first four books concludes with a doxology, and
the place of the fifth doxology is Ps. 150. The composition
of the Psalter extends over 1,000 years of the national life, and
runs parallel with the Scriptures from the Pentateuch to Ma-
lachi. It was the Hymn Book of the Hebrew Church, and like
the Pentateuch it was used in divine worship.
The Poetic Structure of the Psalms. If we expect to find
our ideas of rhyme and meter in early Hebrew poetry we will
be disappointed. The versification of the poetry of all other
nations is verbal, that of the Hebrews real. In our poetry the
versification depends on the zvords and sound instead of simply
on the thought. In the Hebrew poetry all this is reversed.
The pause in the progress of the thought determines the point
at which the verse or line must end. Hence Hebrew poetry
can easily be translated verse for verse and line for line. The
relation is in the sense^ not in the sound. It is a relation not
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION. 7
of words but of things, called by Lowth parallelism. There
are (i) synonymous, (2) antithetic, and (3) synthetic or con-
structive parallelisms. See Henstenberg and Delitzsch.
I can do no better than add a few testimonials from leading
scholars in the Church as to the value of the Psalter.
"What the heart is in man, that the Psalter is in the Bible."
John Arndt, who explained the Psalms in 450 sermons.
"The Psalter is the first hymn-book of the Church and will
outlive all other hymn-books. It is still the Common Prayer
zind Hymn-Book of the Christian Church, as it was that of the
Jewish Church." Phillip Schafif.
"Not only was it used more than any other part of the
Old Testament, by the writers of the New, but it is, in a spe-
cial sense, the peculiar inheritance of the Christian Church
through all its different branches"; and "if we descend from
churches to individuals, there is no book which has played so
large a part in the history of so many human souls." Stanley.
"In consequence of the Reformation the rose garden of the
Psalter also began to diffuse its odours as in the renewed fresh-
ness of a May morning, and German hymns, born again out of
the Psalter, resounded from the shores of the Baltic to the
foot of the Alps, with all the fervor of a renewed first love.
Rendered into imperishable hymns, the old Psalms passed once
more into the congregational singing of the German as well as
of the Scandinavian Lutheran Church." Delitzsch, the motive
of whose life was to make the Old Testament better known to
the Christians and the New Testament to the Jews.
"In Luther, who began his academical lectures in 15 13 with
the Psalms, there is combined the experimental depth of the
Fathers with the Pauline recognition of the doctrine of free
grace, the knowledge of which was restored by means of him
to the Church. In respect to experimental, mystical, and yet
healthy knowledge of the meaning of Scripture, he is incom-
parable. His exposition of the Psalms, especially of the pe-
nitential Psalms and of Psalm 90, are superior to all previous
8 EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION.
works on the subject, and will always remain a mine of wealth
for future laborers." Delitzsch,
"Melanchton in his preface to certain expositions addressed
to students says: Luther's services in this province (the
Psalms) will be appreciated by all who will diligently compare
them with the ancient expositions, and especially with the best
ones. It is for you especially (students) to recognize Luther's
fidelity and industry, and to make it your endeavor to bring
to the reading of these expositions a pure heart, and to re-
press human opinions and prejudices — in brief that you read
the writings of Christ under the guidance of Christ.
"Where can a pastor find a treasure comparable to these
volumes of Luther in the elucidation of the Divine Psalter?"
Dr. E. J. Wolf.
Luther began his university career by giving lectures on
the writings of David and Paul, the pillars of his theology.
As early as 15 13 his exposition of the seven Penitential Psalms
was published in Latin. His first original work in German,
which appeared in March or April of 1517, was an exposition
of the same Psalms. In 15 16 he wrote a preface to his first
issue of that remarkable book, German Theology. Thus it is
clear that Luther's labors started in leading sinners to Christ
rather than in opposing the Pope. A full knowledge of his
early study in the Psalms gives us a new and a more correct
view of Luther's life, which in many respects resembled Da-
vid's. That study was a fit introduction to the reformatory
Theses, which enjoin true evangelical repentance. Luther him-
self wrote, "there is no book of the whole Bible, in which I
have been so much exercised as in the Psalms." The above is
the best recommendation of his commentary on the Psalms.
In closing I wish to make grateful acknowledgement of
valuable assistance received from E. F. Bartholomew, D. D.,
English Professor in the Swedish Augustana College, Rock
Island, 111. J. N. LENKER.
Sunbury, Pa., Sept. 9, 1902.
LUTHER'S PREFACES.
Preface to the Revised Edition of the German Psalter, A.
D, 1531.
The Psalter has been lauded and loved by many holy
fathers above the other books of the Scripture; and, indeed,
the work itself doth sufficiently praise its author. Neverthe-
less, we also must utter our praise and thanks for it.
In past years there was handed about almost nothing but a
multitude of legends of saints, passionals, lives of saints ; and
the world was so filled with them, that the Psalter lay under the
seat, and in such great darkness, that not one psalm was rightly
imderstood ; nevertheless, it shed abroad such an excellent
precious fragrance that all pious hearts drew devotion and
power even from the unknown words,' and the book was there-
fore dear to them.
For my part, I think that a finer book of lives and legends
of the saints has never appeared in the earth, nor ever can
appear, than the Psalter. For if one were to desire that out of
all the lives, legends, and histories, the best were picked out
and brought together and set forth to the best advantage ; why,
the book thus produced would be just the Psalter we now
have. For here we find, not what one or two saints only have
done, but what the Head himself of all the saints has done,
and what all the saints still do : how they are affected towards
God, towards friends, and towards foes ; how they bear them-
selves and act in every sort of peril and tribulation : — and
all this, besides the divine wholesome doctrines and precepts
of all sorts to be found in it.
Yea, the Psalter ought to be precious and dear, were it
for nothing else but the clear promise it holds forth respecting
Christ's death and resurrection, and its prefiguration of his
kingdom and of the whole estate and system of Christianity;
insomuch that it might well be entitled a Little Bible, wherein
lO LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
everything contained in the entire Bible is beautifully and
briefly comprehended, and compacted into a fine enchiridion
or Hand Manual. It seems to me as if the Holy Ghost had
been pleased to take on himself the trouble of putting together
a short Bible, or book of exemplars, touching the whole of
Christianity or all the saints; in order that they who are un-
able to read the whole Bible, may nevertheless find here almost
the whole sum comprehended in one little book.
But above all, there is this excellent quality and virtue
in the Psalter, that whereas other books prate much about
the deeds of the saints but say very little about their words,
the Psalter is the very paragon of books, yielding a most
sweet fragrance to the reader; since it relates not only the
deeds of the saints (or as editions render it : what Christ and
all the saints have done), but also their words — how they
spake and prayed to God, and do yet speak and pray: inso-
much that the other legends and lives, in comparison with it,
hold forth to us mere dumb saints, whereas the Psalter sets
before us right valiant, living saints.
And verily a dumb man, when you compare him with one
who speaks, is no better than a man half dead. Of all that a
man does, there is nothing more potent or more excellent
than speech; since it is by the faculty of speech that man is
chiefly differenced from other animals, rather than by his form
or his other works. For indeed a block can, by the graver's
art, receive the form of a man ; and a beast can see, hear, smell,
sing, walk, stand, eat, drink, fast, thirst and suffer hunger,
frost and a hard bed every whit as well as a man.
Moreover, it is not the poor every-day words of the saints
that the Psalter expresses, but their very best words, spoken
by them, in deepest earnestness, to God himself, in matters
of utmost moment. Thus it lays open to us not only what
they say about their works, but their very heart and the in-
most treasure of their souls ; so that we can spy the bottom
and spring of their words and works, — that is to say, their
luthek's prefaces. II
heart, — what manner of thoughts they had, how their heart
did bear itself, in every sort of business, peril, and extremity.
This is what neither is done nor can be done by the legends
and lives of the saints, which boast of nothing but their works
and miracles. For I cannot know how a man's heart is af-
fected, although I should see or hear tell of ever so many ex-
cellent works he has done.
And as I had much rather hear a saint speak than behold
his works ; even so would I yet much rather spy his heart
and the treasure in his soul, than hear his words. And this
the Psalter enables us to do most plentifully with respect to
all the saints ; so that we can be certain as to how their hearts
were affected, and what was the tenor of their words, both
towards God and man.
For a human heart is like a ship on a wild sea tossed by
the four winds of heaven. Here it .is smitten with anxiety
and the dread of future destruction ; there it is driven with
dismay and sadness by reason of present evils. Now, there is
a soft breath of hope and presumption of future welfare ; again,
there is a breeze of security and gladness in present posses-
sions.
Now winds like these make a man earnest in his words,
make him open his heart and utter its secrets. For one who
is shut up in fear and necessity will discourse of calamity
very differently than one who swims in gladness ; and one
who swims in gladness will discourse and sing of gladness
very differently than one who is shut up in fear. It does not
come from the heart, as the saying is, when a mourner laughs
and a frolicker weeps ; that is, the bottom of his heart is not
uncovered nor utters itself at all.
What is the Psalter, for the most part, but such earnest
discourse in all manner of such winds ? Where are finer words
of gladness than in the Psalms of Praise and Thanksgiving?
There thou lookest into the hearts of all the saints as into
fair and pleasant gardens, yea, as into the heavens, and seest
12 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
what fine, hearty, pleasant flowers spring up therein, in all
manner of fair gladsome thoughts of God and his benefits.
And again, where wilt thou find deeper, more plaintive, more
sorrowful words of grief than in the Psalms of Complaint?
There thou lookest again into the hearts of all the saints, as
into death, yea, as into hell. How they are filled with dark-
ness and gloom by reason of the wrath of God ! So also, when
they discourse of fear and hope, they use such words, that
no painter could so pourtray, nor any Cicero or orator could
so express the fear or hope.
And, as I said, the best of all is, that these words of theirs
are spoken before God and unto God; which puts double
earnestness and life into the words. For words that are
spoken only before men in such matters, do not come so
mightily from the heart ; are not such burning, living, piercing
words. Hence also it comes to pass that the Psalter is the
Book of all the Saints ; and every one, whatsoever his case
may be, finds therein psalms and words which suit his case
so perfectly, that they might seem to have been set down solely
for his sake ; in such sort that anything better he can neither
make for himself, nor discover, nor desire. One good effect
of which, moreover, is that if a man take pleasure in the words
here set forth and find them suit his case, he is assured he is
in the communion of the saints, and that all the saints fared
just as he fares, for they and he sing all one song together:
particularly, if he can utter them before God even as they did ;
which must be done in faith, for an ungodly man relishes
them not.
Finally, in the Psalter we find such safety and such well-
assured guidance, that in it we can without danger follow all
the saints. For other exemplars and legends of dumb saints
bring forward works which it is impossible to imitate ; and
many more works do they bring forward which it would be
dangerous to imitate, and which commonly engender sects and
parties, seducing and withdrawing men from the communion
LUTHEE S PREFACES. I3
of the saints. But the Psalter protecteth thee from parties
and keepeth thee in the communion of the saints : for it teach-
eth thee how thou mayest, in gladness, and fear, and hope, and
sorrow, cherish the same temper and speak the same words,
as all the saints have cherished and spoken.
To sum up ; wouldest thou see the Holy Christian Church
portrayed in living form and color, as it were in miniature?
Open the Psalter. Thus thou shalt have before thee a fine,
bright, spotless mirror, that will shew thee what kind of thing
Christianity is. Yea, thou shalt therein find thine own self,
and the right "know thyself"; God himself also and all his
creatures.
Let us, therefore, take heed also to thank God for such
unspeakable benefits, and to receive, use and discipline our-
selves in them, to the praise and honour of God, in order that
we bring not upon ourselves wrath by our unthankfulness.
For, formerly, in the time of darkness, what a treasure it
had been esteemed if men had been able rightly to understand
one psalm, and to read or hear it in plain German ; and yet
they were not able. Blessed now are the eyes which see the
things that we see, and the ears which hear the things that
we hear! And yet take heed, — alas we already see, that we
are like the Jews in the wilderness, who said of the manna,
"Our soul loatheth this light bread." It behooves us to mark
what is written in the same place, how they were plagued and
died ; in order that the same may not befall us.
To this end, may the Father of all grace and mercy help us
through Jesus Christ, our Lord : to whom be blessing and
thanks, honour and praise, for this German Psalter, and for
all his innumerable, inexpressible gifts, for evermore; Amen,
Amen 1
14 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Preface to the Edition of the Psalter published at Neuhiirg
on tJie Danube in 1545.
Every Christian who would abound in prayer and piety
ought, in all reason, to make the Psalter his manual ; and,
moreover, it were well if every Christian so used it and were
so expert in it as to have it word for word by heart, and could
have it even in his heart as often as he chanced to be called
to speak or act, that he might be able to draw forth or employ
some sentence out of it by way of a proverb. For indeed the
truth is, that everything that a pious heart can desire to ask in
pra3^er, it finds here psalms and words to match so aptly and
sweetly, that no man — no, nor all the men in the world —
shall be able to devise forms of words so good and devout.
Moreover, the Psalter doth minister such instruction and com-
fort in the act of supplication ; and the Lord's Prayer, that the
one helpeth us finely to understand the other, and the two
together make a pleasant harmony.
Not only, therefore, ought the books of devotion formerly
in use to be forbidden and done away with, being little else
than unchristian lies and abuses, and that even in their best
parts, wherein our Lord's Passion is indeed introduced, not
however for the edification of faith, but only to be shamefully
abused for temporal gain, but care ought to be taken that no
new prayers break in again. For already it looks as if every-
body were beginning to compose Prayers, and Paraphrases
of the Psalter, according to his own devotional feeling, and
were seeking thus to have his work famous and in general
use in the Church and amongst the Christian people; just as
if the Psalter and the Lord's Prayer had been some wretched
trifling thing. If care be not taken to keep within measure,
the Psalter and Lord's Prayer will come to be despised as
before. I admit that some of these new compositions are
good ; but it is to be presumed that the Psalter and Lord's
Prayer are better, yea, the best. One who hath learned to
luthee's prefaces. 15
pray them aright, hath learned to pray well, far above all
prayers, especially since the Psalter has now, by God's grace,
been rendered into intelligible German.
I have heard the story of a godly person to whom the
Lord's Prayer was so dear that he would ever pray it with
tears in his eyes, for deep devotion, A well meaning bishop,
thinking to improve the man's devotion, took from him the
Lord's Prayer, and gave him a multitude of other good pious
prayers ; but thereupon he lost all devotion, and was fain to let
those pious prayers go their ways and resume the Lord's
Prayer. In my opinion, any man who will but make a trial
in earnest of the Psalter and the Lord's Prayer, will very
soon bid the other pious prayers adieu, and say. Ah, they have
not the sap, the strenght, the heart, the fire, that I find in the
Psalter; they are too cold, too hard, for my taste!
Our Blessed Lord, who hath given us the Psalter and
Lord's Prayer and taught us to use them in prayer, grant us
also the Spirit of prayer and of grace, that with gladness and
earnest faith we may pray mightily and without ceasing; for
it is necessary for us to do this. So hath he commanded, and
so will He have it at our hands. To Him be praise, honour,
and thanks, for ever. Amen !
l6 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
LUTHER'S DEDICATION TO THE ELECTOR OF
SAXONY.
JESUS.
Martin Luther, to the most illustrious Prince and Lord,
Frederic, Archmarshal of the Holy Roman Empire, Elector,
Duke of Saxony, Marquis of Meissen, Landgrave of Thu-
ringia, his most gracious Patron, sendeth greeting.
Prudently and rightly do they act who dedicate and in-
scribe their studies and monuments of genius to illustrious
persons ; because in this way they procure for their works
both authority and protection against those aim.s of malignity
which are sure to be levelled at them : for such is the state
of human affairs, that the more excellent things are, the more
they are exposed to envy and to the shafts of the malevolent.
Whence it comes to pass, that laudable literature and all the
productions of genius and erudition, which are without doubt
some of the best things, and things worthy the particular and
serious attention of man, stand not a little in need of their
Mecsenas, their Augustus, and also of their Ulysses, who may
strike their Thyrsites with his ivory sceptre. Some also pro-
cure the sanction of the names of illustrious persons, that they
may thereby immortalize those names, and hand down to the
records of fame the individuals to whom they make their
dedication, with the view that posterity may be led to love their
virtues, and that many may be animated by the examples thus
held before them in such praises.
Others again do it from the motive to express thereby their
thanks, and thus in some degree make a return for benefits
received, and leave behind them a testimony of their gratitude
to those by whom they have been treated with kindness.
LUTHER S DEDICATION. I7
But, most illustrious Prince, neither of these motives an-
swers my design. For, in the first place, I am aware that
none of the productions which proceed from me deserve a
patron ; and so far, it is fortunate that I know my deficiency.
Even if I could produce that which should be worthy of the
sanction of a patron's name, yet I should by no means be
anxious to put it under a patron's protection. Nay, as soon
as I learned from the Holy Scriptures how terror-filled and
perilous a matter it was to preach publicly in the church
of God, and to speak in the midst of those whom you know
will in the last day be your judges, for the present false accu-
sers I fear not thus, and indeed in the presence of God, the
beholder of all things, in the sight of angels, and in the sight
and hearing of all creatures who incline their ears to the word
of God (for it is right to believe that all things honor the
word of God by which they were created, except man and
satan, who have become deaf through ingratitude). For in-
deed I had no greater desire than that I might remain silent,
yea that a sponge might erase all that I had in my poor
foolish way published abroad. For it is a momentous and
awe inspiring matter to render an account unto God for every
idle word. Nor does he now keep me in the ministry of the
Word, but by an overruled obedience to a will above my own,
that is, his divine will; for, as to my own will, it always
shrunk from this ministry, nor is it fully reconciled unto it
to this hour.
In the next place, what fame, what praise, what immortal-
izing of a name, can your most illustrious Highness hope from
me? being yourself a Prince, who not only by all those other
endowments that exalt a Prince, but also by a distinguished
love of learning and learned men, have procured to yourself
that name and glory, that, instead of wanting an Appion to
immortalize your name, you yourself immortalize the name
of an Appion, and of all who attempt to give you celebrity?
Who is there that knows not that Prince Frederic has given
l8 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
an example to all princes, by his patronage and promotion of
literature? Your Wittenberg now devotes itself to the Greek
and the Hebrew with very good results. The arts are taught
with greater success than ever. The true theology of Christ
now triumphs over the vain imaginations and disputations of
men, which have no scope for thought or research. All these
things flourish under your auspices, at your expense, and
under your protection. Oh, that the dignitaries, who ought
themselves to be the foremost in showing forth examples in
these things for the princes of the laity to imitate, would but
imitate the examples that the laity thus shows them ! But,
such is the unhappily fallen state of the ecclesiastical power
and opulence !
Again, why should I attempt to render you gratitude for
the abundant kindness you have heaped upon me, when you
have thrown them upon one who never deserved them. At
your expense has honor, (the doctorate hat) been placed on
my head, which forces me into public life, of which I am
ashamed ; yet I must wear it, as it is desired by those I am
indebted to obey. What cares, attentions, expenses, and in-
deed, perils, did that monstrous production of mine cost your
gracious Highness which owed its birth to the indulgences !
Your whole dominion knows that my prince showed a much
greater concern for me, than I did for myself. In my usual
daring" way I cast the die, being always ready to attempt and
to expect extremities ; for I hoped, upon that occasion, that,
if I should be removed from teaching others, I shouold find
some corner of the world into which I might retire, after I
had left public life, to which I was always averse. But the
persevering endeavors of your gracious Highness prevailed,
and when I was willing to sufifer those things which my
enemies longed to inflict upon me, neither they nor I had our
will.
But still, I am glad that such was the issue of matters,
if it were only on this account, that there is not a Christian
LUTHER S DEDICATION. 1 9
that ought wot to feel a serious grief and concern, that the
impudence of a certain set of fellows proceeds to such a pitch
of audacity in the church of Christ, that they presume to
ensure themselves success in their filthy purposes and lusts
under cover of the venerable name and authority of the church.
The more kind, good, and learned the Pope happens to be,
the greater enormities these monsters promise to themselves,
by effecting them under the cloak of his authority. For, with
what numberless and manifest lies did they profane and defile
the sacred name of Leo X. in this one little point, the indul-
gences, in order to terrify the conscience of one poor brother,
and to establish their own horrible tyrannies? Though it is
not a thing so much to be wondered at, that there should be
found such characters to prostitute the name of the high Pope,
and to abuse it ; for the patriarchs of such fellows, that is, the
false prophets, false apostles, and false christs, did the same ;
who made the holy name of God and of Christ to serve their
lies. Of the holy name of that God and Lord, I say, even
our Lord Jesus Christ; whose are all those things which we
admire in you, most illustrious Prince ; and may he acknowl-
edge, increase, and preserve the same to all eternity. This
prayer I offer up, which is all I can do, as a return for the
favours I have received at your hands.
Hence, the reason why I wished to send forth these pro-
ductions, such as they are, for productions they certainly are,
though I cannot find confidence enough to call them interpre-
tations or commentaries, from a consciousness of my poor
ability betrayed in them, under the sanction of the name of
your most illustrious Highness, was none other, than because
I greatly love you. For I am fully persuaded of the pure and
chaste love which your heart hath for the Holy Scriptures:
and my heart, to use the words of Deborah, "is toward" such
Princes. Judges 5 -.g.
And why should I not here declare in full my thoughts
concerning you, and the cause of this my love for you, that
20 - LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
those who boast themselves in the holy Scriptures may see
how far a hypocrite diliers from a true theologian ? My very
good and reverend father in Christ, John Staupitz, told me
upon a certain occasion, that once while he was staying with
your Highness the conversation turned upon those who preach
publicly to the people; and that, according to the wonderful
penetration of your judgment, you said, 'Those sermons which
are made up of the cunning and traditions of men, are but
frigid things, and too weak and ineffectual to persuade us to
our best interests ; for nothing of that kind can be brought
forth so acute, that may not be subverted and rooted up by
the same cunning. But the Holy Scriptures carry with them
a holy oneness, which sounds in our ears with such force and
majesty, even without any exertion of ours, that, leading cap-
tive and cutting up all the schemes of human cunning, it urges
and compels us to acknowledge "Never man spake like this
man." This is "the finger of God," for "he teaches as one
having authority, and not as the scribes and pharisees." When
Staupitz willingly coincided and expressed his commendation
of these sentiments, he told me that you put forth your hand
and demanded his and said, 'Promise me, I pray thee, that
thou wilt always think so.'
And were not this sentiment and this request such as
would become even a most holy and high Pope ? and the more
so, as it may be clearly perceived, that they were not only
expressed in word, but accompanied with a feeling of heart?
Can we not, then, clearly discern who are the true theologians ?
Let shame, therefore, seize those theologians and lawyers
especially, to whom the Holy Scriptures have become almost
an object of ridicule, and who, tacking to them their infinite
glosses, pestilently torment those, as Jerome says, Avho, in
every thing they say, wish to appeal to the Word of God. As
if Christ had said to Peter, 'command,' or 'lay injunctions on,'
'teach,' and not rather, "feed," my sheep; that is, deliver to
them that which will feed them. Such are fed by the Word
LUTHER S DEDICATION. 21
of God only, and not by the opinions and traditions of men.
And moreover, that nothing so acute can be brought forward,
as you justly observed, which may not be rebutted by the same
human cunning, is abundantly shown us in that miserable
workhouse, in which the disciples of Scotus, Thomas, Alber-
tus, Modernus, and all others who have their peculiar follow-
ers, squander away their time.
I confess, most illustrious Prince, that by this sweet ac-
count of you which I heard, I was wholly captivated, and
constrained to love you. For I know not how it is, but I can-
not help loving all whom I hear to be lovers of the holy
Scriptures, and, on the other hand, hating those who are ob-
stinate and despise them; so that, in each respect, from the
force of my feelings, I am filled with vehemence, and, as cer-
tain of my good friends say of me, am -severe and vain-glorious.
But let them criminate me as they will : they may give me
epithets both good and bad, of the first, second or third kind,
and impose them upon me, but they wil' never take away from
me the grand essentials of theology, nor extinguish my love of
them if Christ but continue to smile upon me. I know what
scholastic theology did for me, I know also how much I owe
to it, and I am glad that I am delivered from it, and give
thanks for my deliverance to Christ the Lord. I have no need
that they should teach me what it is, for I know what it is
already; nor is it of any service for them to endeavor to recon-
cile me unto it, for I vv'ill have nothing to do with it.
Bear, therefore, most illustrious Prince, with my desire
to send forth this little work into the w^orld with the name
of your Highness affixed to it, and consider it as a token of
my love. I now for the second time undertake the Exposi-
tion of the Psalms in your Wittenberg, being requested and
urged to do so by my hearers, who are some of the best men,
and to whom I cannot deny that I am a debtor. But I so
profess to undertake them, as being quite unwilling that any
one should presume to expect that from me, which no one of
22 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the most holy and most learned of the fathers could ever yet
pretend to, — that I should understand and teach the Psalms
in all respects according to their real sense and meaning. It
is enough that some men understand some parts of them. The
Holy Spirit always reserves much to himself in order that he
may keep us learners under him. Many things he only holds
out in order to allure us on; and many things he delivers to
us that they may work effectually in us. And, as Augustine
has truthfully remarked, 'No man ever yet so spoke as to be
understood by all in all things;' which leaves that great truth
the more manifest, that it is the Holy Ghost alone who has
the understanding of all his own words.
Wherefore, it becomes me candidly to confess, that I know
not whether or not mine is, to a certainty, the true meaning
of the Psalms, though I nevertheless hold no doubt, that what
I have delivered is truth. For what Augustine, Jerome, Atha-
nasius, Hilary, Cassiodorus, and others, have said upon the
Psalms, is truth, though it is sometimes very far indeed from
the literal meaning. And thus, this second exposition which
I have undertaken, is very different from my first. And indeed
there is no book in the whole Bible in which I have been so
much exercised as in the Psalms : till at last I came to this
opinion, that no man's interpretation, provided it be a godly
one, should be rejected, unless he that rejects it submit him-
self to the same law of retaliation. One man may fall short
in many things, and another in more. I may see many things
which Augustine did not see. And I am persuaded that others
will see many things which I do not see now.
What course then remains for us to pursue, but that we
mutually assist each other, and pardon those who fail, know-
ing that we are liable to fail ourselves ? For let us not by
any means follow the example of that most detestable and most
vile race of men, who, though they cannot themselves perform
one single thing that deserves not to be exposed, yet, when
they find the least imperfection of a hair's or straw's value
LUTHER S DEDICATION. ; 23
in the productions of another, immediately consider them-
selves worthy of being rewarded with all the triumphs of
Pompey. I know it to be the most impudent height of teme-
rity for any one boldly to profess, that he understands any
one book of the Scriptures fully in all its parts. Nay, who
will presume to maintain that he understands fully and per-
fectly any one single Psalm? Our life is only a beginning
and a going on, and not a consummation. He rises the highest,
who comes the nearest to the Holy Spirit. HI can touch the
moon I am not immediately to imagine that I have touched
the sun also; nor am I to look with disdain upon the lesser-
stars. There are degrees in living and acting, and why not
in understanding also? 2 Cor. 3:18. The apostle says that
we are "changed from glory to glory." And, to open my
design plainly, I write only for the service of those, who know
not these things, but wish to know them : and therefore, it will
be at least a satisfaction to me to reflect that I have hereby en-
gaged myself and my hearers in a better employment of mind,
than if I had been adding new clouds of darkness, and fresh
toads and flies of corruption, to the books of human opinions.
This book of Psalms is, in my opinion, of a different nature
from all the other books. For in the other books we are taught
what we ought to do, both by precept and example. But this
book not only teaches us, but shows us in what way and man-
ner we may do the Word and imitate the examples it contains.
For it is not in our power or strength to fulfill the law of God,
or to imitate Christ : all we can do, is to desire and pray that
we might be able to do the Word, and imitate Christ's example;
and, when we have gained some power so to do, to praise, and
give thanks unto God. What else then is the Psalter but
praying to, and praising God? that is, a book of hymns?
Therefore, the most gracious and blessed Spirit of God,
the Father of his humble scholars, and the teacher of infants,
well knowing that "we know not how to pray as we ought,"
as Paul saith in Rom. 8 :26, in order to help our infirmities,
24 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
like schoolmasters who compose letters or subjects for their
pupils to write home to their parents, has prepared for us in
this book words and sentiments with which we may converse
with our heavenly Father, and pray unto him concerning those
things which he has taught us in the other books are to be done
and imitated ; that man may not want any thing that is neces-
sary unto his eternal salvation. So great are the care of God
over us and his kindness to us ! Who is blessed for ever.
And in him may your most gracious Highness live and prosper
now and for evermore ! Amen !
Wittenberg, March 2.'], 15 19.
COMMENTARY.
ON THE
FIRST TWENTY-TWO PSALMS.
P S A L M I.
V. I. Blessed is the man that ivalketh not in the coun-
sel of the zvicked (ungodly) nor standeth in the zvay of
sinners, nor sittcth in the seat of scoffers (pestilence).
There is a common inquiry among men concerning blessed-
ness : and there is no one who does not wish that it may be
well with him, and does not dread the thought that it should
be ill with him. And yet all who have ever thus inquired have
wandered from the knowledge of true blessedness and they
have wandered the most widely who have inquired with the
greatest diligence, such as the philosophers, the greatest of
whom have placed true blessedness in virtue, or in the works
of virtue ; whereby, having rendered themselves more unhappy
than the rest, they have deprived themselves of the blessings
both of this life and of that which is to come. Whereas, the
common people, though their ideas were the more grossly mad,
by making blessedness to consist in carnal pleasure, enjoyed at
least the good of this life.
This teacher, however, deriving his doctrine from heaven,
and detesting all the devoted endeavors of men, gives this only
true definition of blessedness which is wholly unknown to men
— that he is the "blessed" man who loves the law of God.
It is, indeed, a short definition, but it contains a savour that
is contrary to all human ideas, and especially to human wis-
26 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
dom. First of all let us consider the grammatical significa-
tion of this passage, with respect to the Theology contained
in it.
In the Hebrew, the word "blessed'4s a plural noun, ashre,
bUsscdiicsscs — that is, all blessedness are the portion of that
man who has not gone away, etc. As though it were said,
'all things are well with that man who, etc. Why do you hold
any dispute? Why draw vain conclusions? If a man has
found that pearl of great price, to love the law of God and to
separate from the ungodly, all blessednesses belong to that man,
but if he has not found this jev^^el, he will seek for all blessed-
nesses, but will never find one. For as all things are pure unto
the pure, so all things are lovely unto the loving, all things
good unto the good ; and, universally, such as thou art thy-
self, such is God himself unto thee, though he is not a crea-
ture. He is perverse unto the perverse, and holy unto the
holy. Hence nothing can be good or saving unto him who is
evil ; nothing sweet unto him to whom the law of God is not
sweet.
It is well known that "to walk," and 'to go,' in the scrip-
ture mode of expression are used figuratively, and are of the
same signification, as to have life and conversation. As in
Ps. 15:2, "He that walketh uprightly." And Ps. 101:6, "He
that walketh in a perfect way he shall serve me." And again,
Rom. 8:1, "There is no condemnation to them vAio walk not
after the flesh."
The word "counsel" is without doubt here to be received
as signifying decrees and doctrines, seeing that, no society of
men exists without being formed and preserved by decrees and
laws. David, however, by this term strikes at the pride and
reprobate temerity of the ungodly. First, because they will
not humble themselves so as to walk in the law of the Lord,
but rule themselves by their ov/n counsel. And then, he calls
it their "counsel," because it is their prudence, and the way
that seems to them to be without error. For this is the de-
PSALM I. 2^
struction of the ungodly — their being prudent in their own
eyes and in their own esteem, and clothing their errors in the
garb of prudence and of the right way. For, if they came to
men in the open garb of error, it would not be so distinguishing
a mark of blessedness not to walk with them. But David does
not here say 'in the folly of the ungodly' or 'in the error of
the ungodly.' And, therefore, he admonishes us to guard with
all diligence against the appearance of what is right, that the
devil transformed into an angel of light may not seduce us
by his craftiness. And he contrasts the counsel of the wicked
with the law of the Lord, that we may learn to beware of
wolves in sheep's clothing; who are always ready to give
counsel to all, to teach all, and to offer assistance unto all,
when they are of all men the least qualified so to do.
The "ungodly" man, who in the Hebrew is called rascha,
is by Hilary most rightly defined to be 'he who thinks evilly
concerning God.' For ungodliness is properly the sin of un-
belief, and is committed in the heart. But the term has been
variously translated, and differently at different times. Do
thou, therefore, always understand these two to be contrary
the one to the other, — faith in God and ungodliness ; as also,
the law of God and the counsel of men. For when we speak
of godliness and ungodliness, we do not speak of actions but
of thoughts, that is, of the fountain-spring of actions. Be-
cause he who is rightly taught concerning God, cannot but
dc what is right, and lead a good life. For, if the just man
fall even seven times a day, he shall rise again ; but the un-
godly rush wholly into evil and do not rise again. These,
because they are in a state of unbelief, do not a single good
work, though every thing that they do may have a fair ap-
jcarance, being that shade that covers behemoth. Job 40:22,
whereby they deceive themselves and draw in the simple.
Hence, he is godly who lives by faith, and he who lives in un-
belief is ungodly.
Who "sinners" are we may plainly see, for this is the out-
28 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
ward man of the ungodly ; but the counsel and the ungodly
man that are hidden in the heart we see not. Here therefore,
David is speaking of those works, actions, and ways which ap-
pear outwardly ; and this he calls the "way," because now,
the inward counsel is supposed to have come forth into habit
and practice, as they say, and because the ungodly here com-
mit outwardly the evil which they imagined inwardly. But
this "way," as I have observed, is for the most part of a better
outward show than that even of the godly. For, as to those
grosser sinners, any one might easily beware of them without
this admonition, or at least, might know them.
The term "stood" describes their obstinacy, stifT-necked-
ness, wherein they harden themselves and make their excuses
in words of malice, having become incorrigible in their ungod-
liness, which they consider to be godliness. For, 'to stand,' in
the figurative manner of scripture expression, signifies to be
firm and fixed, as in Rom. 14 4. "To his own master he
standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up, for God is able
to make him stand," Hence, the word 'column' is by the
Hebrews derived from their verb to stand, as is the word
'statue' among the Latins. For this is the very self-excuse
and self-hardening of the ungodly — their appearing to them-
selves to live rightly and to shine in the external show of
works above all others.
With respect to the term "seat," — to sit in the seat means
to teach, to act the part of an intsructor and teacher, as in
Matt. 23 :2. "The scribes sit in Moses' chair." So, to sit on
a throne is to reign or act as king as we frequently find it
expressed in the Books of Kings. So also, to sit on a chair
of state, signifies to act as ruler, and to sit on a tribunal, to
act as a judge.
In respect to "pestilence," — though the translation is not
literal, yet it is very forcible. The word in the Hebrew is 'of
the mockers,' or 'of tlie scornful.' But the scornful arc they
at whom he strikes in the Ps. under the terms 'deceitful,' and
PSALM I. 29
'false tongues;' as being those who under a show of sound
doctrine diffuse the poison of erroneous doctrine. For the
pestilence in the bodies of men is not half so contagious as
that of ungodly doctrine for their souls ; "their word," saith the
apostle, 2 Tim. 2:17, "will eat as doth gangrene." As the
wise are called the health of the w^orld. Wis. 6 :26, so these un-
godly are rightly called the pestilence of the world. And
what mockery can be more pestilential, than to administer
deadly poison unto souls that are thirsting after the purity
of the truth ?
The Psalmist, therefore, according to that usual manner
adopted throughout the church of distinguishing the good life
from the evil by faith and walk, the former distinguishing the
godly from the ungodly, the latter saints from sinners, here
describes these two states, and to them adds a third. For,
after ungodliness has infected a man inwardly in his thoughts,
and outwardly in his life, it would not be able to go farther, did
it not rush forth and draw others along with it into the same
perdition. And therefore, ungodliness is not contented with
being wicked in thought and wicked in life, unless it teach
others ungodliness also. — So far, concerning the grammatical
part.
It is also especially to be observed in scripture — how
wisely it omits to mention the names of sects and persons.
For this Ps. without doubt strikes first at the people of the
Jews; as the apostle saith, Rom. i :i6, "to the Jew first and
also to the Greek." And Rom. 3 riQ. "We know that v/hat
things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the
law." Yet the Psalmist does not say, 'blessed is the Jew,' or
'blessed is that certain person' : nor does he say, 'in the counsel
of the Gentiles, or of these or those certain persons' ; but in
general or absolutely, "blessed is the man ;" and, "the counsel
of the ungodly ;" and, "in the way of sinners ;" and also, "in
the seat of the scornful ;" whoever they may be, for there is
no respect of persons with God.
30 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
And this was highly necessary to be done, in order that
the Word of God, as it is eternal, should apply to all ages
of mankind. For although manners, persons, places, and
customs, may vary in different times, yet both godliness and
ungodliness are the same in all ages. Hence we see, that
the prophets used the same scriptures against the false prophets,
the apostles against the false apostles, and the true teachers
against heretics, though they found not in those scriptures
the names of the prophets, or the apostles, or the teachers,
or their adversaries, but only the godly and the ungodly.
Moreover, if any particular person were mentioned, then
the rest would not believe that the evil which was spoken of
belonged to them ; or, that the good which was spoken of
belonged to them only. Even as the Jews apply to themselves,
all the good that was spoken to the seed of Abraham and
to Israel. At whom, first, this Psalm undoubtedly strikes, as
1 before observed. Hence we also, after the example of the
holy fathers, apply this Ps. to the generation in which we
live ; or rather, we follow it while it leads us thereunto, seeing
that it goes before us arraigning all the ungodly, and is rather
found of us already doing this, than forced by us to do it.
Therefore, saith the Psalmist, "blessed is the man that hath
not walked ;" that is, while there are so many millions of
the ungodly around us, that you may well say with Ps. 12:1,
"help. Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail
from among the children of men." And as Micah 7 :2 also
saith, "the good man is perished out of the earth, and there
is none upright among men." And is he not a blessed man,
and a man truly strong in the faith, Vv^ho, in the midst of so
great a multitude, does not walk in the broad way? who,
moreover, suffers from the same, reproaches and many evils,
and yet, does not so consent unto them as to walk with them ?
and who is not deceived by the most specious counsel of the un-
godly, which might deceive the very elect ?
It is a great thing not to be overcome by riches, pleasures.
PSALM I. 31
and honours : but, to overcome the specious righteousness and
wisdom of the ungodly, which direct their attack most of all
against pure faith, is the greatest of all victories !
But you are to notice that these words are the words of
faith, and that they do not speak of men according to what
they appear to be. For, as I have already observed, no one
would imagine such to be the ungodly. The prophet speaks
in the spirit ; and, spiritually, that is ungodly which the world
considers to be the most godly, because it is devoid of faith,
as it is written in Eccles. 8:10 'I saw the wicked buried, who,
while they lived, had come and gone from the place of the
holy, and were praised in the city as the doers of righteous
works.' And again, Ps. 37 135. 'I have seen the wicked exalted
as a cedar in Lebanon.' These are awful things. Who could
have thought to find ungodliness here, and that so deep?
But listen ! This Psalm does not only strike at the ungodly
and sinners for every man out of Christ is an ungodly man
and a sinner, but chiefly at those who are twofold sinners, —
who, though they are ungodly, do not acknowledge it, but
all the while form to themselves a "counsel" to walk therein,
and to follow after ungodliness. For David does not say,
blessed is the man who does not walk an ungodly man, or,
who does not stand a sinner ; but "in the counsel of the un-
godly," and "in the way of sinners," for such are not contented
with being ungodly, but wish to be accounted righteous and
saints ; thus adding to their ungodliness the outside show
of godliness.
And at whom, think ye, does he strike in this our day?
I will not dare to mention by name any particular persons, lest
I should split upon the implacable rock of some religious ones,
priests or bishops. For such has ever been the nature of un-
godly men, that they will not endure the Word of God, but
will fill the world with martyrs ; and for no other reason, than
that they imagine that they thereby yield obedience unto God ;
and thus, while they seem to contend for godliness, thev are
32 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
all the while most bitterly accusing the truly godly of ungod-
liness.
But know thou, and be well assured, that those are here
pointed out, who shine in ceremonies, rites, and other pompous
shows of godliness, and who measure their godliness by their
garments, meats, times, and places, or, more especially, by
their work and prayers; and more particularly, those who, on
account of their observances, privileges, dignities, powers, and
rights, divide themselves into implacable discords, and are
ready to do and suffer any thing rather than humble them-
selves and yield to each other in mutual charity. And that
tliese are the ungodly pointed at, you may conclude from this.
Such are secure and confident in their lives, and there is no
fear of God before their eyes.
And take this for a universal and infallible criterion, and
as they say, for a certain touchstone, that the peculiar marks
of the ungodly are, not to fear God, to be secure of his mercy,
and to presume in all things ! But on the contrary, of the
godly, like Job, to be afraid of all their works, to have no trust
in their own righteousness, and to account all their holiness
as dung! And therefore, the latter cannot contend for these
things, nor justify nor vindicate themselves, but consider them-
selves deserving the hatred and vengeance of all. Hence, as
I said, we must have the eyes and ears of faith to hear these
words of the Spirit and to understand their meaning, for man
of himself cannot understand them.
Think not, however, that I condemn all holy ceremonies
and good works. It is the false opinion, confidence, and de-
votedness that I call the pestilences ; for it is through these
thmgs, as we see, that men rush forth into sects, strifes, back-
bitings, and infinite enormities of sin ; all which by the veil
of their counsel, and the show of their doctrines, they cover
over with the name of godliness ; whereas, if all their works
were done in humility, they would certainly be good.
PSALM I. 33
Nor standeth in the way of sinners.
After they have violated faith by ungodHness, what can
remain but that their works are evil, and sins ? But now thou
wilt say, can the works of Jews, of heretics, and of the proud,
be evil, when they fast, pray, do good, and accomplish all
those things which no man dares to call evil? I have said
that faith is wanting ! Therefore, all those works are so much
the worse, because they confirm their ungodliness, and cause
them to stand and persevere in their way of sin ; and they are
sins, because they proceed from the ungodliness of their hearts.
And, as saith the wise man. Sir. 34:4. 'what truth will be
spoken by a liar, or what godliness will be done by the un-
godly?'
Christ however has given us excellent instruction on these
points, when he taught us, that men are to be known by their
fruits. And they have two sorts of works : some which he
calls sheep's clothing, which are not their proper fruits, but
feigned according to their counsel and ways. But, when you
touch them and oppose them, then, behold, their proper fruits
burst forth — wrath, clamour, pride, backbiting, evil-speaking,
self-excusing, envy, blasphemy, and the like enormities — nor
can you ever gather other fruits from these thorns, than these
very sharp thorns. And such, as you may see, are our cere-
monial work-mongers.
Nor sifteth in the seat of pestilence (scoffers).
Yet this the Jews do, departing from Christ. Under their
lips is the incurable poison of asps, Ps. 140:4, and their wine
is the gall of dragons, Deut. 32 133, for they must of necessity
teach contrary to Christ. These other heretics follow, under
another name and person indeed, but with the same pestilence
of ungodliness.
And, to come to our own times, they sit in the seat of
pestilence, who fill the church with the opinions of philosophers,
with the traditions of men, and with the counsels of their
3a
34 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
own brain, and oppress miserable consciences, setting aside,
all tbe while, the Word of God, by which alone the soul is
fed, lives, and is preserved. Whence it comes to pass that
men are ignorant of every other righteousness but that which
is obtained by works ; whereas this is ungodliness and sin
in the sight of God. For it is impossible that you can teach
the work of any laws whatever without peril, unless, by the
better doctrine and the better labor, you first teach in Christ.
In the Epistle to the Romans Paul sets forth faith as the
foundation in eleven chapters and then in five chapters the life
springing from it. In five chapters of Galatians he teaches
faith; and in one chapter, the sixth, life. He does the same
in his other Epistles. Christ in the Gospel requires faith only.
V. 2. But his delight (zvill) is in the lazv of Jehovah {the
Lord), and on his law doth he meditate day and night.
The grammatical and theological exposition of this passage :
See that thou distinguish, to tell thee once for all, the "law
of the Lord" as widely and as differently as possible from all
laws of men, and take heed with all diligence, that by con-
fusing all in one chaos, as the teachers of pestilence do, they
do not miserably destroy thee ; while they attempt to make the
traditions of men the law of God, and the law of God the
traditions of men.
Let me give thee examples of this. The law of God is,
"honor thy father and thy mother." Out of this law the
pharisees have made this tradition : 'The gift which is brought
to the alter is better than that which is given to the parents;'
as you read Matt. 15:4. Again: despising God in the true
commandment, they honor him according to another com-
mandment of their own law, thus establishing a law for God.
For the elders had said, 'wash thine hands when thou eatest :'
and not to hear the elders is the same as not hearing God.
Therefore saith Christ in the same chapter, Matth. 15:7-9,
"Ye hypocrites, v/cll did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, this
people honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from
PSALM I. 35
me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching as their doc-
trines the precepts of men."
Thus at this day matters are come to such a pass, that they
boldly affirm, that the voice of the Popes and of the Roman
council alone are to be heard with fear and trembling. When
all the commands of God are at the same time laughed at, yea
held in contempt; and not more so by any set of men than
by those very characters who boast of the to-be-feared voice
of their great council. In a word, they have carried these most
impious superstitions to the extreme, that mass-priests are
everywhere to be found, who imagine that they have sinned
the sin unto death if they have celebrated mass without their
stole or maniple, or any external that is attended to. Or, if
they have made any like mistake or omission in the canonical
form of celebrating mass, it is considered a most awful sin.
But I am ashamed to proceed any farther in the enumeration
of those ridiculous trifles with which the mass-priests and
other religious ones of the same kind terrify their consciences.
Whereas, all the while, if they have been living together in the
sins of lust, wrath, envy, covetousness, and pride, and that
for many years, and have despised God, they feel nothing
of it whatever.
The term "will" here, does not imply any power in man,
nor does it signify that inert habit which our modern theolo-
gians have dragged into their divinity out of Aristotle, to the
subversion of a man's true understanding of the scriptures,
nor, again, does it signify that act which they say is allured
fortJi out of that pozver or habit. No human being under
heaven has such a "will" as is here signified : it must be given
him from above. For since the nature of man is intent on,
and prone to evil, as the divine authority asserts, Gen.6 :5 ;8;2i,
and since the law of God is "holy, righteous, and good," Rom.
7:12; it follows, that the will of man is against the law, hates
the law, and flees from the law. And even if at any time from
the fear of punishment, or from a want to get at what is
36 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
promised, it pretends a love for the law, yet, the natural hatred
of the law still remains within; nor can such a will love the
law freely, for it does not love it because it is good, but be-
cause it seems to promise some advantage.
The "will," therefore, here signified, is that delight of
heart, and that certain pleasure in the law, which does not
look at what the law promises, nor at what it threatens, but
at this only, that " the law is holy, righteous and good." Hence
it is not only a love of the law, but that loving delight in the
law, vv^hich no prosperity nor adversity, nor the world, nor
the prince of it, can either take away or destroy ; for it vic-
toriously bursts its way through poverty, evil report, the cross,
death, and hell, and, in the midst of adversities, shines the
brightest.
And this 'Svill" springs from faith in God through Jesus
Christ. Whereas, that will vv^hich is extorted by the fear of
punishment, is servile and violently forced; and that which is
drawn forth by a desire after the reward, is mercenary and
feigned. But this is a free, spontaneous, and happy will. And
hence it is that the people of Christ are called in the Hebrew
NEDABOTH, that is, 'spontaneous, voluntary, and free.' Ps.
110:3.
From the above it is manifest that this Psalm is to be
understood of Christ only. He is the mark and the goal to
which the man that is "blessed" is to direct all his aims, for
there is no one in this life who does not want something of
t-his "will," on account of the law and will in his members,
which are contrary to it ; as the apostle saith, Rom. 7 :23, which
latter will, according to true theology, is to be crucified, but
which, according to philosophy, is to be accounted a virtue.
To "meditate," as it is generally understood, signifies to
discuss, to dispute, and to exercise in words, as in Ps. 37 :30,
"the mouth of the righteous shall meditate wisdom." Hence
Augustine, in his translation, has "chatter,' a beautiful meta-
phor, as chattering is the employment of birds, so a continual
P?A.LM I. 37
conversing in the law of the Lord, since talking is peculiar to
man, ought to be the employment of man. But I cannot
worthily and fully set forth the gracious meaning and force
of this word, for this 'meditating' consists first in an intent
observing of the words of the law, and then in a comparing
of the different scriptures, which is a certain delightful hunt-
ing, nay, rather a playing with stags in a forest or mountains,
where the Lord furnishes us with the stags and opens to
us their secret coverts, Ps. 29:6. And from this kind of
employment there comes forth at length a man well instructed
in the law of the Lord to speak unto the people.
For instance, "Thou shalt not kill," if you pass it over in
a cursory manner, is a frigid sentence, by which, according to
the sound of letters, you merely understand that the act of
murder is prohibited. But stop and meditate a little. It
is not said, thy hand shall not kill, but thou shalt not kill. And
what art thou? Soul and body, and thou hast many members
and faculties in each, hand, eyes, tongue, mind, will, etc.
When , therefore, thou art forbidden to kill, art thou not there-
by forbidden to kill with thy hand, or thy tongue, or thy will ?
for whichever of these shall kill, it is Thou that killest. There-
fore, we are not to be angry, we are not to wish evil, we are
not to speak evil, we are not to calumniate, we are not to
turn away our face, we are not to despise, we are not to injure,
we are not to wish to injure; but, on the other hand, we are
to love, to bless, to do good. What then is the purport of this
scripture. Thou shalt not kill ? Why this, that thou art not
to be bitter and angry with, but kind and gentle to, thy neighbor.
Therefore, look into what the scriptures teach concerning love,
kindness, suavity, benevolence, goodness, and tenderness ; and
when thou hast collected and compared them all, hast thou not
then well chattered and meditated in tlie law of thy Lord?
With respect to "day and night," whether you understand
them literally or figuratively for assiduosly, or allegorically
for the time of adversity and prosperity, it matters not at all ;
38 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
for the righteous man, even when sleeping, loves and thinks
upon the law of the Lord.
The Psalmist saith then of this man that is "blessed," that
his "will"' will be in the law of the Lord. He will neither look
at, nor love, nor hate any created thing whatever, either good
or evil, but will, by this " will," be entirely raised above all
things that are created. What wonder therefore is it, that such
a man should be blessed, who, being endowed with this heaven-
ly will, has no taste whatever for those things by which the
ignorant judges of blessedness are dashed to and fro.
Moreover, as such an one is by this his will now made
one with the Word of God for love always unites the lover
and the object loved, he must of necessity taste how good,
sweet, and pure the holy and wonderful Word of God is, that
it is the greatest of all good ! But this they cannot taste, who
have their hand or their tongue only in the law, while their
will is immersed in the filth of the things of this world.
For there are many prating ones v/ho talk much about the
law of the Lord, and pretend much about it, but who do not yet
love it. It does not read, blessed is the man whose tongue
is in the law of the Lord, nor whose hand, nor whose mind
and speculations are in it; for by these things men are only
puffed up, and bless themselves, as if they were already saints
and saved.
Moreover, this "will" comprehends the whole life of man.
For if the man has his will, which is the fountain-spring of
his life, and his head, in the law, there is no fear that he will
keep any other member out of it. For wherever love leads,
the whole heart and body follow it And herein observe the
different conversation of the godly and the ungodly — The
ungodly begin their righteousness from without, and then go
on to that which is within They first feign works and then
words, and then they go on to the exercising of thoughts ; and
this is the greatest height to which they attain And here,
they begin to be teachers of others, and whatever they think.
PSALM I. 39
say, or do, they will have to be holy and divine ; yet, after all,
they never attain unto this secret "will." But the godly begin
within from this holy "will," then follows "meditation," and
then the external work, and afterwards, the teaching of others,
as we shall see hereafter.
And in his lazv doth he meditate day and night.
Meditation is not without damnation, unless there be first
the "will ;" but love of itself leads to meditation. This "will" is
to be sought by us from heaven, as I have said, by humble faith
in Christ, when we are brought to despair of all strength in
ourselves. And mark this well. It is the manner and nature
of all lovers to talk freely, to sing, to write, to compose, and
to amuse their thoughts, on their loves, and to hear the same
things. And so also this lover, this n^an that is "blessed," has
his love, the law of the Lord, always in his mouth, always
in his heart, and always, if he can, in his ear. For "he that
is of God heareth God's words," John 8 47. "Thy statutes
have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage," Ps. 1 19 :54.
And again, "I will meditate always in thy statutes," ver. 16.
And thinkest thou that they are blessed men, who turn over
swine's husks, and who talk day and night about natural things,
about the opinions of men, about prebendaries, dignities, and
the power and privileges of churches, and a thousand other
vanities of the same kind ? No ! They are far more miserable
than those who talk about the loves of maidens and the fables
of the poets. For the latter know that they are acting foolish-
ly, and can sometime repent of what they have done. But
the former, thinking that they are all the while acting wisely
and holily, die in their ungodliness ; and too late to repent,
that the laws which they have made have only heaped destruc-
tion and ungodliness on their own heads, because they medi-
tated not on the law of the Lord.
V. 3. And he shall he like a tree (zvood) planted by the
streams of ivater, that bringeth forth (giz'eth) its fruit in its
season.
40 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
I have said that the blessedness of this man is hidden in
the Spirit, in God; so that it cannot be known by faith and
experience. And that this is true thou shalt clearly see. If
thou look at his "will," in which alone his blessedness consists,
it does not stand in his riches, nor in his honors, nor in his
righteousnesses and virtues, nor, in a word, in any good that
can be mentioned excepting this will in the law itself either
in or out of the man. Nay rather, it is found in the midst
of the contraries, in poverty, in contempt, in foolishness, in
all the evils that can be mentioned either within or without
the man So that the man whom the prophet here calls "bless-
ed," is hated by the whole world, and they all judge him to be
the most miserable of mortals And this Isaiah saw in Christ,
the head and pattern of all these blessed ones, and therefore
said, "he was despised, and rejected of men," 53 :3. For the
world and its prince cannot endure that man who desires to
be blessed with this "will," but despises all his blessedness
together. And therefore it is, that David, contemplating the
fewness of such men, breaks out, 'O ! blessed is the man, who,'
etc.
Having thus described the "blessed" man in his own proper
definition, he goes on to set forth the same by a similitude no
Itss beautiful. The definition, indeed, was perfect, represent-
ing him as free from all evil, and filled with all good, which
is what the generality of men call blessedness, but their bless-
edness stands in present things, while this man's blessedness
stands in faith. And so also the similitude proves him to be
free from the same evil, and full of the same good. And since
this "blessed" man that is hidden in faith, could not be set forth
to view clearly by any farther definition, David, as it becomes
all definers to do, sets him forth under the similitude of a
visible thing. And since we know that he is describing a
rigteous man under a figure, we are not to quarrel about terms.
I however believe that it is the palm-tree that is alluded
to in the figurative description, for it is said in another Psalm,
PSALM I. 41
"the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, he shall in-
crease like a cedar of Lebanon," Ps. 92:12. And what is there
briefly alluded to, is here more fully enlarged upon. For the
palm tree loves the rivers of water as Pliny says and drinks
treely all the year round and is always green and brings forth
most sweet fruits. And perhaps this similitude is taken from
those palms on the Jordan near Jericho, which were so much
celebrated, for Jericho is on that account called the "city of
palms ;" and the Jordan is in many other places in the scriptures
spoken of mystically. Hence we have this passage, "A well of
living waters, and flowing streams from Lebanon," Song 4:15-
Here the prophet gives you a rule for understanding the
allegories of trees and rivers which occur in the scriptures.
A tree signifies a man. The good tree signifies a good man,
and the evil tree an evil man, as Christ also teaches us. Math.
7:18. Though I know that Augustine, when he was so hotly
pressed by the Pelagians, that he might not in any way admit
that the children of the faithful were born holy, rather chose
by 'tree' not to understand man, but the will of man. And
this may perhaps be given in his favour, that by the tree here
the spiritual man is set forth, which is indeed the will itself,
or the spirit. But I think we may with no less, if not rather
with more propriety, here understand by "tree" the whole man ;
by the root, the will, and by the branches, the members and
powers. But I will not contend for this.
The Psalmist says it is "planted," wherein he distinguishes
this palm tree from those which grow of their own accord, and
represents it as being made what it is by the care and eultiva-
tion of another, and not becoming so by its own nature; that
is, as being cut oflf from that which grew of its own accord
and by nature, and planted by art as a branch in some other
place. And this is what I said before, that the "will" in the law
of the Lord is found in no man by nature, but brought down
out of heaven by the great planter and cultivator, our heavenly
Father, who transplants us out of Adam into Christ.
42 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
The "rivers of water" certainly signify the rivers of vsrater
of divine grace. For the pahii is said to grow in a soft, sandy,
nitrous, and saline soil, and therefore it always loves rivers.
And so also the "will," which is the root of this tree, being
in this dry unfruitful life, thirsts the more after the rivers
of heavenly waters, the more it finds that there is nothing in
this world that can make it flourish, as Ps. 63:1, saith "my
flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and weary land, where no water
is." And thus, as Isaiah saith, 53 :2, "he grew up before him
as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground." But,
is it not wonderful that a tree should grow in a barren soil,
being nourished by the rivers of water only? Blessed there-
fore is the man, who, the more he feels the barrenness of the
world, the more he thirsts after heavenly waters. Thus, this
tree does not grow by the richness of the earth, nor does the
"blessed" man grow by the luxuries of this world.
Some have inquired why the prophet here saith 'wood',
ligniini, rather than 'a tree,' arborcm, and, shall 'give' his fruit,
rather than shall 'bear' his fruit. The reading in Genesis, is,
that God created 'wood', lignum, not 'the tree,' arborem. And
hence the scripture still preserves the metaphor 'wood' for
'tree'. And the 'giving' of fruit shows that this blessed man
serves not himself, but his neighbors, with that charity which
we see to be commanded in every law of God. For there is no
tree that brings forth fruit for itself, but every tree gives
its fruit unto others. Nay, no creature only except man and
the devil lives to itself, or serves itself. Nor does the sun shine
for itself, nor the water flow for itself, etc.
Thus every creature observes the law of charity, and its
whole substance is in the law of the Lord ; nay, even the differ-
ent members of the human body do not serve themselves. It
is the affection of the mind only that is ungodly, for this not
only will not give every one his own, and will not serve any
one, nor wish well to any one, but, it takes all from all for
itself, and seeks its own profit in all things, even in God him-
PSALM I, 43
self. So that you may truly say, that this is the tree, or thorn,
or brier, which grows of its own accord, cherished by the cul-
tivation of no other hand, nor delighting in the rivers of water ;
and bringing forth nothing but thorns, with which it goads,
tears, and chokes the fruits of all other trees that grow near
it ; and also pulls, plucks, and tears the garments, fleeces, skin,
ilesh, and every thing else of every object that passes by it.
The prophet, therefore, has here set forth the benefit of good
trees, — that, while they injure no one, they profit all, and give
forth their fruits willingly.
In its season.
O golden and admirable word ! by which, is asserted the
liberty of Christian righteousness. The ungodly have their
stated days, stated times, certain works, and certain places, to
which they stick so closely, that if their neighbors were perish-
ing with hunger they could not be torn from them. But this
blessed man, being free at all times, in all places, for every
work, and to every person, will serve you whenever an oppor-
tunity is offered him; whatsoever comes into his hands to do,
he does it. He is neither a Jew, nor a Gentile, nor a Greek,
nor a barbarian, nor of any other particular person. He gives
his fruit in his season, as often as either God or man require
his work.
Therefore, his fruits have no name, and his times have no
name. He does not serve any particular person, nor in any
particular time, place, or work ; but he serves all in all things.
And he is indeed a man of all hours, of all works, of all per-
sons ; and, ?fter tlic likeness of his Father, he is all in all things,
and to all men.
But the ungodly, as it is written Ps. 18:45, (Weimar Ed.
2 Sam. 22 46) 'fall into their own pit, and are taken in their
own net,' and are tormented with the works, times, and places,
which they themselves have chosen, aside from which they
imagine nothing can be done rightly. And thus, being proud
44 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
of their own fruits, they do nothing but attack, judge, and
condemn the fruits of others, being most free and most ready
at all times to censure others; in a word, being just such in
evil doing, as the godly are in well doing. For they also are
men of all hours, calumniating and injuring, not in one way,
nor at one time, nor one person only, but all men in every way
and at all times, just as circumstances throw them in their
way. And even if they should turn this devotedness to what
they may call good, yet they would not any the sooner become
godly.
This I say indeed not because I wish to reject the cere-
monies of the church and of the monasteries, for the first duty
of those, who entered the monasteries, was to learn to be subject
to their superiors, and to undertake nothing of their own will,
but to be ready to serve all in all things. The monasteries
were truly schools to awaken and develope Christian liberty,
as they are still where they have maintained their primitive
spirit. This, I say, was the aim and character of the ceremon-
ies. For what are the works of love and mercy themselves
except a kind of free ceremonies, since they are external and
pertain to the body?
The ceremonies of the old law were likewise most useful
exercises in the true and free divine life. But since they began
to misuse them in a perverted way to the suppression of liberty
and in that they took them as a pretext to extinguish piety,
and instead of liberty, slavery reigns as a tyrant, it has become
necessary to abolish them altogether, as it is now the aim of
the pious pastor to do away with the unnecessary ceremonies,
where they act as snares of the soul and as a barrier to the
free divine life.
Whose leaf also doth not zvither.
He still pursues this most beautiful figure. This "leaf"
signifies the Word and doctrine. We have said that the palm
tree is always green in leaf and flourishing. But it is said,
PSALM I. - 45
Jsaiah i 130, concerning the ungodly, "ye shall be as an oak
whose leaf fadeth." Now compare all these particulars. The
ungodly walk in their own counsel ; the godly man is fixed in
the love of the law, and planted by the rivers of Avater. The
former stand in the way of sinners ; the latter meditates in the
law of the Lord, and gives forth his fruit in his season. The
ungodly sit in the seat of the scornful; the leaf of the latter
never withers.
And note that he describes the fruit before he does the
leaf. And though it is the nature of the palm to put forth its
fruit, not among the leaves like all other trees, but among the
branches, having all its leaves on the top, so that it might
itself seem to produce its fruit before it does its leaves and
we have said that this figure is taken from the palm, yet the
Holy Spirit himself always teaches every faithful preacher in
the church to know that the kingdom of God does not stand in
Vv^ord but in power, i Cor. 4:20. Again, "Jesus beg'an to do,
and to teach," Acts i :i. And again, "Which was a prophet
mighty in deed, and in word," Luke 24:19. And thus, let him
who professes the word of doctrine first put forth the fruits of
life, if he would not have his leaf to wither ; for Christ cursed
the fig tree which bore no fruit. And, as Gregory saith, that
man whose life is despised is condemned by his doctrine; for
he preaches to others, and is himself reprobated. And con-
cerning such Matthew says, 7 :23, that in the day of judgment
they shall hear this sentence, "depart from me, ye workers of
iniquity ;" even though they may have prophesied in the name
of Christ, and done many wonderful works by his Word.
But some one may say, there have been many saints and
martyrs, but neither their fruits nor their leaves are now re-
maining, but all have perished with them ; nor indeed have we
the words of all the apostles. How, then, can this praise be
applicable to all blessed men ?
I answer : — their word was not their own word. "For
it is not ye that speak, saith Christ, but the Spirit of my Father
46 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
that speaketh in you." All the saints were taught by, and
they all taught, the same Word ; as we read, i Cor. 10 :3, 4,
All did eat the same spiritual food, and all did drink the same
spiritual drink." And Ps. 119:89, "Forever, O Lord, thy word
is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations."
Thus it is apparent that this "blessed man" and this fruit-
bearing "tree," signify the whole church, or those who hold
the office of teaching. But there is nothing against its being
understood also as signifying every righteous man, because
he has likewise the same "leaf," for if he does not teach others,
he certainly teaches himself, meditating with his heart in the
law of the Lord, which word remains in him unto eternity, as
it does also in the whole church. And finally, as all the faithful
are one body, although this leaf is peculiar to the member that
teacheth, yet, by communion all things belong to all. For the
word is mine which my tongue preaches, though I may be only
the ear and not the tongue ; and so we may say of the other
members and of the whole body.
And whatsoever he doctli (nwketh) shall prosper.
If he saith this with reference to the tree or palm, he alludes
to the fact that the palm is said to be the only tree which still
grows upwards against every weight and pressure. And they
say that this is seen in beams made of palm trees.
And with respect to the word "doeth," in this passage if
I am not too bold, it does not signify the good works of a
righteous man for these have been sufficiently commended al-
ready under the term 'fruits', but rather, those performances
or productions which we achieve by means of the arts and
sciences. For so, the philosophers refer 'doing,' agere, to wis-
dom, and 'making,' facere, to art. And we may see the same
distinction in the Hebrew tongue according to my bold way
of proceeding. For I find that the verb asa generally signifies
'making', facere, and paal, 'doing', agere. Thus, Ps. 28:5,
"Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the opera-
PSALM I. 47
tion of his hands ;" where "the operation of his hands" signi-
fies the very thing formed. As it is also in another place,
"Israel is the work of my hands." And in Gen. i 7, 16, 25, it
is said, "And God made," etc. And again, Ps. 95 :5, "The sea
is his, and he made it." But the works of God are those which
lie does by his creatures ; and especially, by his word and his
grace, by which he acts upon us and makes us act.
Let therefore this "doing" be considered to signify insti-
tuting, ordaining, distributing by various ecclesiastical mini-
strations, and as the apostles Peter, i Pet. 4:10, and Paul,
I Cor. 12 4 etc., did, acting as stewards of the manifold grace of
God, founding churches, and increasing them ; for thus, the
very faithful are said to be of their fo'rming, their work, and
their workmanship. Hence Paul 'travailed in birth,' for the
Galatians, 4:19, and 'begat' the Corinthians, i Cor. 4:15. And
again, "Are ye not my work in the Lord?" i Cor, 9:1. You
understand therefore that this is the spiritual workmanship of
a blessed man, not a tyrannical exercise of power, nor a pomp-
ous show, for these things even the gentiles can do and show
forth. But the 'doing' of this blessed man is, making many
good and blessed and like himself.
And with regard to this "prospering," take heed that thou
understand not a carnal prosperity. This prosperity is a hidden
prosperity, and lies entirely secret in the spirit ; and therefore
if thou hast not this prosperity that is by faith, thou shouldst
rarher judge thy prosperity to be the greatest adversity. For as
the devil bitterly hates this leaf and the Word of God, so docs
he also those who teach and hear it, and he persecutes such,
aided by all the powers of the world. Therefore, thou hearest
of a miracle, the greatest of all miracles, v/hen thou hearest
that all things prosper which a "blessed" man doeth. For
what is more miraculous than that the faithful should grow
while they are destroyed, should increase while they are di-
minished, should prevail while otliers prevail over them, should
enter while they are expelled, and should conquer while
48 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
they are conquered? For thus the world and its prince are
overcome. Yet hath the Lord wonderfully ordained, that, to
his saint, Ps. 4 4, that should be the height of prosperity which
is the height of misery. This is the prosperity of the wise and
the conversion of men.
But now we see that word of Proverbs i :32, is fulfilled,
"For the careless ease of the simple shall slay them, and the
backsliding of fools shall destroy them." For in the present
state of the church, we have made names and persons, and
have turned the spirit into the flesh ; and therefore what is now
called a good state of the church, is opulence, tyranny, im-
purity, the peace of the flesh, and a pomp more than human.
For the devil has seen, and at length understood, this spiritual
prosperity, and therefore, he has turned himself round, and
attacking us in another way, triumphs in our horrible misery.
And thus, he who was conquered in a time of conflict, now tri-
umphs in a time of peace ; and God for wonderful ends has or-
dained both. Hence, Flilary has wisely and most truly said,
'that it is the nature of the church to increase in adversity, and
decrease in prosperity.' But this wisdom of the cross, and this
new signification of things, are not only unknown to the very
heads themselves of the church, but are considered by them the
most horrible of things. And no wonder, since they have left
the Holy Scriptures, and have devoted themselves to the un-
happy ordinances of men, and to casting up of accounts and
sums of money.
The zvicked (ungodly) arc not so.
In the Hebrew text "not so," "non sic," is not repeated, but
that has little significance. Vv^hen thou hearest the word "un-
godly," remember those things which we have said above con-
cerning ungodliness, lest, like the ungodly, thou shouldst banish
these words from thee as applying to the Jews only, and to
heretics, and I know not what others who are far ofif ; and
lest perhaps laying aside the fear of God, thou shouldst not
PSALM I. I 49
tremble at this word of his. But as he is an ungodly one who
is without the faith of Christ, you should tremble at these
words, lest you also should be found to be one of the ungodly.
For every truly godly man trembles at every word of God ;
as Isaiah saith, 66 :2, "To this man will I look, even to him
that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my
word." And how wilt thou assure thyself that thou hast faith
enough? Remember then, that as much as thou art deficient
in faith, so much hast thou of ungodliness.
It is the way of the ungodly with confident security to ar-
rogate to themselves all those things that are good, and to refer
all that is evil unto others. On the other hand, it is the way
of the godly to believe all that evil of themselves which does
not belong to them, and to refer all good unto others ; nor can
tliey be brought to aspire after the better things without much
suffering of unworthiness, even though they seek those things
not on account of any merit in themselves, but only by a naked
hope in the mercy of God.
Therefore there is no prosperity to the wicked ; they have a
withering leaf, and are not planted by the rivers of water.
But hear in the spirit one who speaks in the spirit. For the
whole scripture declares that the ungodly flourish and prosper,
and we see the same in many of the Psalms ; so that it seem^'
as if one could say of them only, 'Their leaf is green, and all
that they do prospers.' Hence faith is necessary to understand
these things. i '^-^jS:^
But are like the chaff (dust) ivhich the zvind driveth (scat-
ter eth) azvay.
In the Latin translation is added "from the face of the
earth." This does not affect the meaning. The Hebrew word
CAMOTz in this passage signifies 'chaff,' or 'the dust of chaff,'
oi 'the sweepings of a barn floor ;' yet, it is of no moment, for
it is the same thing whether you say dust, or chaff-dust, or
chafif, or ashes ; because the persons here represented are those
50 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
concerning whom Luke saith, 3:17, "Whose fan is in his hand,
thoroughly to cleanse his threshing-floor, and to gather the
wheat into his garner, but the chaff he will burn with un-
quenchable fire." And you need not have the least doubt that
it is this purging, this chaff, and this chaff-dust, that is sig-
nified in the present passage, though strictly and most properly
the word signifies small chaff and pieces of chaff. And Job in
the same way saith, 21 :i8, "They are as stubble before the
wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away."
Observe that he does not only call them chaff, but that
chaff which the wind scattereth away ; he does not wish to sig-
nify the chaff which lies still, but that which is driven about,
scattered and dispersed. And we may understand him first of
the Jews, for these are scattered away in a threefold sense.
First, corporally, by storms ; that is, by the will and indignation
of those men among whom they live, so that we plainly see
with our own eyes that they have no certain dwelling-place,
and are exposed every moment to a wind of this kind that
drives them here and there. Secondly, their minds are driven
about by the wind of various doctrine, by means of their pesti-
lent teachers, because they are not planted in the faith of
Christ, but their minds are scattered in different directions by
uncertain doctrines, while their consciences can find no certainty
or quiet. Thirdly, in the last day they will be scattered by the
eternal storms of the intolerable wrath of God, and will be
driven avv^ay never to have rest, not even for a moment.
And the same things, especially the two last-mentioned
storms, will also await all heretics.
And what else do you think it is in the church but the
storm of the wrath of God, that has scattered us away into so
many and different, such unstable and uncertain, and at the
same time infinite, glosses of lawyers and opinions of theo-
logians? While Christ in the meantime is utterly unknown,
and we are miserably driven and dashed upon so nrany quick-
sands, rocks, and straits of conscience?
PSALM I. 51
Though all the rest of the ungodly have their storms and
hurricanes of pleasures and lusts, of riches, honors, favors,
and the other billows of this world, by which they are most
miserably dashed to and fro, because they despise the one only
rock and solid strength of our heart.
V. 5. Therefore the ivicked (ungodly) shall not stand in
the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation (counsel) of
the righteous.
We have already fully shown who are sinners and ungodly ;
and do thou take heed that thou hear not these words of God
without trembling, as if thou wert sure of being godly and a
saint. This fear itself is godliness ; nay, the very fountain-
spring and beginning of wisdom and godliness.
In the Hebrew it is "arise," not "be raised," and the con-
text does not treat of the resurrection of the dead. For he did
not say: men will not rise in judgment, but the ungodly. The
resurrection of men is different from that of the ungodly.
Therefore in the Apostle's Creed it is better the resurrection
of the flesh than the resurrection of men. The apostle calls it
a resurrection of the dead or of men, in that he holds to two
resurrections, one of the flesh and the other of the spirit.
"Shall not rise" here signifies that the ungodly shall not stand
before God, according to Ps. 5 :5 : "The foolish shall not stand
in thy sight. And Psalm 24 :3, "Who shall ascend into the hill
of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" and this
is said also concerning Christ when he shall rise up in judg-
ment; as is also Ps. 12:5, "Now will I arise, saith the Lord."
Therefore, "shall not rise," signifies that they shall not stand,
shall not serve, shall not minister unto God, as they most con-
fidently presume they shall do.
"Judgment" in this place, by a scriptural figure, signifies
office. Thus, the whole book of Judges is so called from the
Judges or rulers of Israel; as in Psalm 122:5, "For there are
set thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David."
52 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
And so also Psalm no :6, "He shall judge among the heathen,"
that is, he shall be the judge of the heathen. And Ps. 72 4,
"He will judge the poor of the people," that is, he shall rule
them. And again, Ps. 96:13, "He will judge the world with
righteousness, and the peoples with his truth."
The meaning therefore is, the wicked shall never rise to
that state so as to be the judges or rulers of the faithful, nor
even stand in their "counsel," that is, in their congregation;
which means, that they shall never be reckoned either among
the great or the small of the faithful. And, to explain the
whole more plainly, it signifies that the ungodly shall never
so rise in judgment nor in the congregation of the righteous
as to be considered the servants of God.
What ! shall we not then put down these ungodly rulers
and these wicked men, and cast them out from the midst of
us? Or, is that not a congregation of the faithful where un-
godly men rule and where sinners are intermingled? By no
means.
I before observed, that the prophet spoke spiritually, and
must therefore be heard spiritually. For Judas was an apostle,
and yet he was not an apostle. And as John saith, i Epist. 2:19,
"They went out from us, but they were not of us." And thus
the ungodly, while they rule, rule visibly as to their persons,
but in truth do not rule at all. For Zechariah, 11 wy, saith,
"Woe to the worthless (idol) shepherd that leaveth the flock."
Here he calls the same person a "shepherd," which was the
name with which he was honored among men, and also an
"idol," for which he was condemned before God.
In order that we may understand that precedence is not
that which essentially belongs to the faithful, Christ rewards
many of the ungodly in this life with a paltry pittance. Such
men, therefore, are to be borne with, as chaff is among wheat,
until the winnowing day shall come.
And see whether this be not plainly the prophet's meaning.
For, when he had before said "the ungodly are not so," it was
PSALM I. 53
not necessary to repeat the same in another verse; it would
, have been sufficient to have said, 'therefore the ungodly shall
not rise in the judgment, nor in the congregation of the
righteous.' But he has spoken thus, that he may do away
with all outward person, and all the external appearance of
men ; because rich men, powerful men, and what other external
appearance soever there may be, may rise in the judgment, and
be in the congregation of the righteous, seeing that all these
things pertain only to the body. But ungodly men and sinners
never can. Therefore the whole force of the passage lies in
the terms 'ungodly" and "sinners."
For such never have the precedence in reality and in spirit.
The ungodly are never among the faithful, though they carry
so showy an appearance in external life that it may be thought
that none have so much precedence over, and such a place
among, the faithful, as they. And this hypocrisy and external
show of which they are so proud, on which they presume so
much, and by which they deceive so many, are the very things
at which the Psalm strikes. That this is the true meaning of
the verse is shown by the following verse.
V. 6. For Jehovah {the Lord) knozveth the ivay of th^
righteous, hut the zvay of the wicked (ungodly) shall perish.
The Latin could have avoided the use of the two words
"viam" and "iter" and said "the way (via) of the ungodly,"
since the diction is the same and a fine antithesis : "the way of
the righteous" and "the way of the ungodly," and thus as in
Hebrew the same word would have been retained.
So specious, saith David, is the way of the ungodly, that
unto men they may seem to rise in the judgment and to stand
in the congregation. But he who can not be deceived under-
stands their ways and knows that they are ungodly ; and in the
eyes of him they are not at all among the members of his
church. He knows the righteous only, and knows not sinners,
that is, he approves the one, and not the other. Therefore
54 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
what they the least of all expect or believe, their way shall
perish — shall perish, I say, though it go on with such success
as to seem to be eternal. Behold, how he here terrifies us
away from all prosperous appearance, and commends to us
various temptations and adversities. For this "way" of the
righteous all men utterly reprobate, thinking also, that God
knoweth nothing about any such way, because this is the
wisdom of the cross. Therefore, it is God alone that knoweth
the way of the righteous, so hidden is it to the righteous them-
selves. For his right hand leads them on in a wonderful man-
ner, seeing that it is a way, not of sense, nor of reason, but
of faith only, even of that faith that sees in darkness and be-
holds things that are invisible.
When, therefore, we are subject to ungodly shepherds, we
do not obey the ungodly, but men^ for we do not hear or follow
their ungodliness, but we endure the precedence of their per-
sons. Again, when men put down and cast out such, as we
see in Bohemia, is it the ungodly that they put down ? no ! they
put down the persons. For the ungodly who are thus put
down remain ungodly still. It is then only that the ungodly
man is put down when he is led from ungodliness to godliness ;
which is not done by external violence but by love, internally
praying and externally admonishing, where God condescends
to work at the same time.
Whoso is not pleased to understand this passage thus, let
him abide by this interpretation, that the psalmist, in the first
place, directs his words against the ungodly Jews ; for he has
in many other places predicted that these shall be driven from
the church, as shall also heretics and all those who openly de-
clare their ungodliness, for they alienate themselves from the
church and the church alienates and expels them, however
much they may boast that they only are the church and the
people of God.
Finally, the admonition is to be given which the most illus-
trious fathers, especially Athanasius and Augustine, have given,
PSALM I. 55
namely, that our affections and feelings be brought in accord
with, and be attempered to, the feelings described in the Psalms.
For since the Psalter is solely a certain school and place of
exercise for the affections, he harps without results, who does
not harp in the spirit. So that when thou readest, "Blessed is
the man that hath not gone away in the counsel of the ungodly,"
thy feelings and affections ought to move at the same time and
to hate the counsel of the wicked and pray against it, not only
on account of thyself but on account of the whole church
also; and so they should also when thou readest of the "way of
sinners" and their "pestilence" of doctrine. For it is with
this fire, the affection of love, that heretics are to be burnt,
and all who savour of and teach, ungK)dliness. But since we
have despised that fire God has given us over to a reprobate
mind, to become murdering executioners, and to burn heretics
with natural fire, and to be burnt again ourselves in return.
And so also, when thou soundest forth, "But his will is in
the law of the Lord," thou art not here to snore in safety, and
securely bless thyself, as if thou wert already a lover of the
law of God ; but thou art, with all the ardor of the affection
of thy mind, to sigh unto him who alone came to send that fire
upon the earth; nor art thou, as long as thou livest, to think
otherwise of thyself than as one who does not yet love the
law of God, and who greatly needs this "will in the law."
Again, when thou hearest that all things "prosper" for the
righteous man, thou art to desire it for thyself and to sigh for
all those who are placed in any adversity, of what kind soever
it may be; and so, when thou hearest that their leaf doth not
wither and that the pure word of God flourisheth in the church
of Christ, all fables and dreams of men being cast out. And if
thou see any of these things so take place anywhere, thou art
to congratulate, to rejoice and to give thanks unto the divine
goodness. And do not think that thou art thus exhorted to
impossibilities ; only make the attempt, and I know that thou
wilt have to rejoice and be thankful. First, exercise thyself
56 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
in one Psalm, nay in one verse of a Psalm. Thou hast done
much if thou hast learned to make one verse in a day, or even
in a week, a living and breathing word by being felt in thy
affections. And when thou hast attained unto this beginning
all the rest will follow, and there will open unto thee an over-
flowing treasure of knowledge and affection ; only, take heed
that thou be not frightened away from beginning by any weari-
ness or despair. This is truly to harp, or, as the scripture saith
of David, to strike the harp-strings with the fingers. For the
nimble fingers of the harpers which run over the strings and
strike them, represent the affections running over the words
of the Psalms and being moved by them ; and as the strings
do not sound without the fingers, so neither is the Psalm read
or sung unless it touch the affections.
I wished thus to premise these things once in this first
Psalm, that I might not have occasion to repeat the same
through every Psalm. Though I know very well, that if any
one be exercised in this matter, he will of himself find more
in the Psalter than all the commentaries of all commentators
put together can give him. I see that Bernard excelled in this,
and drew all his fund of understanding from it. And I know
that the same way was discovered and made sweet to Augustine
and many others. And so also, we ought to drink out of the
same fountain these waters of life, lest that cutting rebuke
should fall upon us which is found in the prophet Amos, re-
specting 'inventing for themselves instruments of music like
David,' Amos 6 :5. And again, "Take thou away from me the
noise of thy songs ; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols,"
Amos 5 123. For what thinkest thou that all the muttering and
roaring which everywhere fills our churches without either
mind or spirit, appears to be in the sight of God ! nothing but
a swarm of flies making a buzzing noise with their wings.
And if thou addest to all this a belief that such things please
God thou makest the true and living God a laughing stock and
an idle phantom.
PSALM II.
PSALM 11.
V. I. Why do the nations (people) rage, and the peoples
meditate a vain thing?
V. 2. The kings of the earth set themselves (stand up),
and the rulers take counsel together, against Jehovah (the
Lord) and against his anointed, saying.
That this Psahn was written by David, and that it speaks
of Christ, the authority of the primitive church compels us to
conclude ; concerning which Luke writes, Acts 4 :24-28, "They
lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, O Lord,
thou that didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea,
and all that in them is ; who by thy Holy Spirit, by the mouth
of our father David thy servant didst say, 'Why did the Gen-
tiles rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? The kings of
the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gath-
ered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.' "
And the kings of the earth have set themselves in array and
the rulers have taken counsel together, against the Lord and
against his Christ. For, of a truth, in this city Herod and
Pontius Pilate, with the gentiles and the people of Israel, have
taken counsel together against thy holy child Jesus, whom
thou hast anointed ; for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy
counsel determined before to be done, etc'
Therefore the heart is to be established in this sense of
the Psalm, and not to be tossed about by any other wind of
doctrine, Eph. 4:14, because this meaning of it was confirmed
from heaven ; for, as the same Luke saith, "when they had
prayed the place was shaken wherein they were gathered to-
gether" Acts 4:31.
It is quite clear, therefore, that by "the kings" is signified
Herod and Pilate, even though Pilate was not king, for these
two co-operated together to fulfil that which the counsel of
58 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
God had determined before to be done, as the disciples them-
selves here say, that is, to destroy Christ.
It now remains that we clear up the trifling difficulty con-
cerning Pilate. He is either called a king with Herod, or else
called so by a figure of speech most commonly used in the
scriptures, which gives an appellation to the whole people from
the name of a part. Thus, Israel is called the "first-born,"
even though many among them were idolaters. And again,
they are all rebuked when only some of them deserved it. And
so also, the one being king makes both to be kings.
Again, by "rulers" are to be understood the heads of the
priests ; by "heathen," the Roman soldiers under Pilate, who
seized Jesus, scourged him, and crucified him ; and by "people"
we are clearly to understand the common people of the Jews,
or Israel, as the apostles themselves say.
In this passage therefore heathen and people are kept mani-
festly distinct. But I do not dare to affirm, nor do I believe,
that this distinction is maintained in all instances, though the
term heathen is most frequently used in contradistinction to
the Jews, or Israel. For thus, the church of the heathen or
Gentiles, and Paul an apostle of the heathen or Gentiles, is held
in universal authority and use, as distinct from the church
of the Jews, or that which is of the Jews.
And observe how this distinction is kept up, "the heathen
rage," and "the peoples meditate a vain thing," "the kings set
themselves in array," and, "the rulers take counsel together."
The "lieathcn," as irrational beasts raged, for they knew not
what they did. But the "people"' prated and conferred in
their councils speaking iniquity against the Most High, and
surrounded him on every side with words of hatred, as it is
set forth in Psalm 109 :2 etc., saying, "Come, let us kill him,
and the inheritance shall be ours," Hark 12:7. And Caiaphas,
John 1 1 : 49-50, having assembled the people, said, "Ye know
nothing at all : nor do ye take account that it is expedient for
you that one man should die for the people." These vain
PSALM II. 59
addresses to the people, therefore, whereby they so often sought
to destroy Christ, and their fabricated accusations before Pi-
late, are what David here calls Vain meditations.'
For the "kings" decreed, because that is what we are here
to understand from the Hebrew 'stood up,' determined, issued
proclamations, and confirmed these their ragings and medi-
tations by giving their sentence concerning Christ. "And so
Pilate willing to satisfy the people, released Barabbas unto
them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be
crucified," Mark 15:15. And the "rulers" gathered together,
consulted, persuaded the people, and at the same time con-
firmed them in their determination to crucify Jesus ; for "the
chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should rather re-
lease Barabbas unto them," Mark 15:11.
Observe here the tenderness and modesty of the prophetic
mouth, how feelingly, and as it were sympathetically, he speaks
of the fury of these men. For when he might with justice
have called these enraged expressions, "Away with him, crucify
hmi!" John 19:15, and all those other infuriated clamours of
the Jews whereby they accused Christ, frenzy and maddened
violence, he calls them only meditations. And meditation, as
the object we have shown before, Ps. i :2, is a continual prating
or talking with the mouth ; and this is here a meditation in
a bad sense. For as a lover is always spontaneously saying
many things about the object beloved, so the hater is assiduous-
ly prating and saying the worst of things about the object
hated. And there is the same modesty also in the words "rage,"
'stand up," and "take counsel together;" for the act itself was
far more atrocious than the purport of these words would seem
to indicate.
We are hereby taught that we ought not, after the manner
of detractors, to exaggerate the evil conduct of men, but as
much as possible to lessen it ; that we may snow that we do not
feei so much indignation on our own account, as pity on theirs.
6o LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
For the Holy Spirit is kind. He does not glory in the evils
of others, but, in his kindness, pities all. And thus St. Peter
says of Christ, "who when he was reviled, reviled not again;
when he suffered, threatened not ; but committed himself to
him that judgeth righteously." i Epist. 2 123.
David says, "vain things," in which expression he com-
prehends the purport of nearly the whole of the Psalm. For
he wishes to show that Christ, who is set up as king by God
the Father, cannot be hindered nor prevented by all the many
and great resisting counsels, attempts, and furies of Gentiles,
Jews, kings, and rulers ; but all their endeavours are so utterly
spent in vain, that they make themselves a derision, and by their
very resistance further the kingdom of Christ. As if the pro-
phet wished in this Psalm, as an example, to prove that which
he had declared in the first Psalm, 'That all things whatso-
ever he doeth, as far as it is understood with reference to
Christ, shall prosper.'
For to this tend those words of Ps. 48 -.4, 'And in thy maj-
esty ride on prosperously,' etc. And Ps. 118:25, 26, "O Lord,
prosper thou. Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord." For the prosperity of Christ, as I said, Ps. i :3, is
not worldly, nor carnal, but spiritual. For what man is there,
who while Christ was suffering, would not have thought, that
he should ever have been one of the lowest men living, and
that he was the farthest from being king of all. Who would
not have believed, that the meditations of the people were then
hrmly established, and the farthest from being vain, when
they gloried that he was condemned to the curse of the cross
by the authority of God himself, and thought that their medi-
tations were established forever? Matt. 27 42, etc.
So necessary always are faith and hope in the works of
God, not only in the things that are to be borne, but in those
which are to be understood : which are always accomplished
contrary to all human sense and apprehension.
/\nd this also is a word of faith — "As^aiiist the Lord and
PSALM II. 6l
against his Christ ;" for they seemed, Doth to all others and
also to themselves, to be acting for God and for his Christ.
Thus also, at this day and always, the ungodly work against
the glory of God, when they imagine they are working for
the glory of God. And it is thus that God governs the world,
making all its wisdom foolishness. So that they who are :on-
sidered to be acting for the glory of God, are acting to the
blasphemy of him ; and those who are accused of blaspheming
him, are the very persons who are truly contending for his
glory. Thus his way is in a hidden path, in faith, and in
holiness ; but 'the court which is without the temple is not
measured, because it is given to the Gentiles,' saitli John, Rev.
II :2.
David saith, first, "against the Lord," and then, against
his anointed." For all sin first of all ofi:'ends God. Because
he is not only righteousness, but also the love of righteousness ;
and all who love righteousness receive it from him. If it
did not ofifend God, it would not be sin.
But he moreover orders his words thus, that we may learn
for our consolation and exhortation, that we never suffer any
injury, but what offends God first, and more than it does us;
and that such is the care of God our Father over us, that he
feels every injury done to us before we do, and levels a greater
indignation against it. This David holds forth to us, that we
may keep ourselves from all feeling of revenge ; nay, that we
may rather pity those whom we see rushing, on our account,
upon such majesty, unto their own perdition ; while they not
only do not in the least injure us, but merely horribly destroy
themselves. For God saith, "he that toucheth you toucheth
tlie apple of his eye," Zech. 2 :8.
Hence the prophet, sympathetically grieving from his heart,
as it were, at their rashness, first begins in an interrogative
form, asking why they raged? why they made themselves a
derision? why, like fools, they attempted impossibilities. O
that they would be wise and understand ! And then, fn a way
62 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
of exhortation, he admonishes them that they should attempt
soHd things instead of vain, that is, that they should rather
receive instruction and understanding, and be brought to serve
Christ in fear.
Moreover, by the very tenderness of his words, he sufficient-
ly extenuates their vanity and fruitless attempts, saying they
'raged,' 'meditated,' 'stood up,' and 'took counsel together.' As
if he had said, ye may rage but ye cannot destroy ; ye may
meditate, and talk, and prate much, but ye will effect nothing.
Let your kings decree, but it shall not come to pass ; let your
rulers take counsel, but it shall come to naught. What there-
fore is left you but that in vain ye wish to accomplish many
things, that ye attempt mighty things, and try every means,
and at last see nothing accomplished, but every thing turns
out just contrary to your wishes?
Thus God will permit ragings, counsels, and atempts, to
be stirred up by the ungodly against the godly. But all these
are like the swelling waves of the sea, which swell and rush
toward the shore, as if they would utterly overwhelm it ; but,
beiore they reach the shore, they sink into themselves and
vanish, or are dashed on the shore with a vain and empty noise.
For the righteous r-'an, like the shore, being firmly established
in the faith of Christ, confidently contemns all these unavail-
ing threats, and these swellings that will soon sink into naught ;
for he knov/s that Moab is exalted in pride and that his pre-
sumption is greater than his strength, and his indignation than
his power, as Is. i6:6, and Jer. 48 128, etc. teach
And by this cross the ungodly are tortured according to
their deserts, for it is a dreadful torment to wish to hurt all and
to be able to hurt none. And hence, the heathen have said
concerning envy,
Sicilian tyrants never could invent
A torment, like an envy-bitten heart !
And this has so much the more wonderful effect in Christ-
ian matters; because, the ungodly not only are tormented
PSALM II. 63
and cannot hurt any one, but, in the counsel of God, are
compelled by this their nature and their vain contrivances to
promote, more than any thing else does, that which they at-
tempt to hinder ; so that his friends cannot profit a Christian
so much as his enemies do.
V. 3. — Let us break their bonds (bands) asunder, and
east a-cvay their cords (yoke)froni us.
These words ought to be connected with the preceding,
they 'raged,' 'meditated,' 'stood up, etc ;' but the sense may be,
they raged and roared, they meditated this, they decreed this,
they concluded this, — to therefore take their necks from under
the yoke of God and of Christ, to break their bands asunder,
and to say, "we will not that this man reign over us," Luke
19:14; or Job 21:14-15, "Depart from us, for we desire not
the knowledge of thy ways. What is the Almighty that we
should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray
unto him?" For the prophet represents the wicked as thus
speaking.
Some are of one opinion and some of another ; but I follow
this sense of the passage. And therefore, as to the scruple
that stands in the way of many that he here uses the plural
number "their;" that is all to be referred to the Lord and to
his Anointed, who are without doubt two Persons, the sender
and the sent. As if he had said, they rejected both the mes-
senger and the king, and would not receive their counsels.
And that by "bonds" and "yoke" are metaphorically or
allegorically signified the divine commandments, Jeremiah
proves in this passage, "Then I said, surely these are poor ;
they are foolish ; for they know not the way of Jehovah nor
the law of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and
will sneak unto them ; for they know the way of Jehovah, and
the justice of their God: but these, with one accord, have
broken the yoke and burst the bonds." Jer. 5 :4-5. And again,
"For of old time thou hast broken my yoke and burst my
bands," Jer. 2 :20. Though this passage is corrupted ; for in
64 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the Hebrew it is God that speaks in the first person, "For of
old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds :" that
the one bond may be represented as being contrary to the
other, the one yoke to the other, the way of God to the way
of man, and the judgment of God to the judgment of man.
These "bonds" are the commandments of Christ, by which
we are taught how to walk in his way. And this 'yoke' or these
'cords' are his judgments, by which we are prohibited from
doing evil. The former is the justification of the spirit, the
latter the mortification of the flesh. For there are two things
commanded : to depart from the evil, and to do good. The
former of which pertains unto mortifying the desires of the
ilesh, the latter unto doing good works. Nor does it make
any difference if these be transposed, and 'bonds' be received
as signifying the judgments, and 'yoke' as signifying right-
eousness ; for the sense remains the same, and when that is held
firmly, all contention about words is to be despised.
The whole verse then is allegorical. For by breaking is
signified despising and making of none effect, by bonds is signi-
fied commandments, by casting away, not obeying, by disre-
garding, not receiving, and by yoke is signified instruction and
the descipline of mortifying the flesh. But when I say allegor-
ical I do not mean, as our moderns use that term, that another
and a historical sense is so sought in the passage, contrary to
V hat it really means ; but, that its true and proper signification
is expressed in a figurative way.
For always note, that to the perverse all things are per-
verse, as it is written, "with the perverse thou wilt show thy-
self froward," Ps. 18:26. Thus they call the law of Christ,
which is the law of liberty and sweetness, "bands" and a
"yoke," signifying thereby that it is a bondage and state of
labour and difficulty, but, on the other hand they believe their
law, which is in truth a bondage and state of labour , to be
liberty and sweetness. Hence, to the ungodly all things work
together for evil ; and therefore it is said, Jer. 23 :38, "But if
PSALM II. • 65
ye say the burden of Jehovah ; therefore thus saith Jehovah :
Because ye say this word, The burden of Jehovah, and I have
sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of Jehovah.
Therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast
you off : and I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you
and a perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten, etc. !" For
it must of necessity be that he who is pleased with the things
of himself is not pleased with the things of God.
And here again there is need of the eyes of faith, for when
David says these things he does not intend to say that these
ungodly men really meant the Lord and his Anointed when
they said, "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away
their cords from us ;" because, in rejecting Christ, they believed
that they were acting for the glory of God and of his law.
But the prophet who says, "the Lord and his Anointed" is
describing that Lord and his x^nointed as rejected by them
while they were ignorant of what they were doing. Observe
therefore, whether he does not use an allegory throughout the
whole verse, in order to show that they pretended one thing
and did another, and, in their blindness, exhibited a certain
allegory in their conduct, rejecting the Lord and his Anointed
at the very time that they pretended most of all to act for
their glory.
We may conclude, that David made use of the pronoun
"their" in this passage in order that he may both meditate on,
and understand, the Lord and his Anointed within himself, and
also at the same time set forth their open contempt of the
Anointed in not considering him worthy of that name, much
less acknowledging him to be both Lord and Christ.
Thus far, therefore, has the prophet been describing the
attempts of the ungodly in refusing to have liiui appointed
king whom God had already set up ; wherein they plotted not
only against Christ, but much more against the appointment
of God. Which same thing was exemplified in the case of
David and Saul ; for David was anointed king by the divine
66 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
command, hut Saul resisted both God and David in this appoint-
ment with the most determined obstinac3^ And indeed he
raged, meditated many things, decreed niany things, and often
took counsels against him just in the same way. But as all
his presumptive attempts were vain, so were also all those
of the Jews and gentiles against Christ. It now follows ;
V. 4. — ''He that sittcth in the heavens will laugh (at
them) ; the Lord shall have them in derision."
This tautology or repetition of the same thing, which is
frequent in the scriptures, is a sign of the thing being establish-
ed ; according to the authority of the patriarch Joseph, Gen.
41 :32, where, having interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh, he
said, "and for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh, it
is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly
bring it to pass." And therefore, here also, "shall laugh at
them" and "shall have them in derision" are a repetition, to
show that there is not a doubt to be entertained that all these
things will most surely come to pass.
The gracious Spirit does all this for our comfort and con-
solation, that we may not faint under temptation, but lift up
otir heads with the most certain hope, because "he that shall
come will come and will not tarry," Heb. 10:37. Wherefore,
although in all human modes of expression tautology is a de-
fect and deemed superfluous, yet, in the things of God it is
most highly necessary ; because, "hope deferred," as the wise
man saith, "maketh the heart sick," Prov. 13 :i2, that true hope,
I mean, which labors under sufferings and the cross ; for all
delay is tolerable to those who are laboring in the sufferings
of Christ. Therefore, they have need of the all-firm and all-
sure promise of God to support them.
And as, on the one hand, consolation cannot be sufficiently
pressed upon the afflicted from the promises of good things,
so, on the other, terror cannot be sufficiently thundered against
the insensible, the hardened, and the unbelieving, from the
threatenings of evil things. Therefore, in these things there
PSALM II. 67
is need of tautology, that the ungodly may be hurled into terror
by sure and certain denunciations. For as the former have
always too much fear and too little hope and confidence, so
the latter have always too much security and hope without any
fear; as it is written, Ps. 36:1, "There is no fear of God before
their eyes." Hence the latter want the fear of God, but the
former want a hope in his mercy ; that thus, the middle and
right way may be preserved which is thus described, "Jehovah
taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in
his loving kindness," Ps. 147:11.
These things, therefore, are written for our sakes, "that
through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we
might have hope," Rom. 15:4. For wh'at is here written with
reference to Christ is applicable to all Christians, for whoever
sincerely desires to be a Christian, especially if he teaches the
word of Christ, will bear with his Herods, his Pilates, his
rulers, his kings, his people, and his heathen, who rage against
him, meditate vain things, rise up, and take counsel together,
against him. For if these things are not done by men, they
will be done by devils, or at least by men's own consciences,
and certainly in the hour of death ; and then there is need of our
remembering this and the like consolations, "He that dwelleth
in the heavens shall laugh at them ; the Lord shall have them
in derision," and of standing firmly in this hope and being
moved by no circumstances whatever.
And, that the confidence of the afflicted may be the more
firm, he emphatically saith, "shall laugh at them" and 'shall
have them in derision." As if he had said, so certain is it
that they attempt vain things, although those things may appear
to all human sense to be the most firmly established that the
Lord will not deign to resist them as in any great and serious
matter, but, as in a trifling matter and a thing of naught, he
will "laugh at them" and "have them in derision." As it is
written also, Ps. 37:12-13, "The wicked plotteth against the
just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth. The Lord will
Ob LUTHEE ON THE PSALMS.
laugh at him ; for he seeth that his day is coming." And it
goes on to say that our adversaries are not only to be cut down
but to be held in derision.
O what a power of faith is required in all these words !
For who would have thought, while Christ was sufit'ering and
the Jews triumphing, tliat God was laughing at them all the
while! And so also, while we are oppressed, how shall we
believe that God is holding our adversaries in derision, when it
seems to ourselves that we are held in derision both by God
and men?
But, as I have said, this derision is divine. For God made
the Christ-murdering Jews and Gentiles a derision to the whole
world by raising Christ from the dead and making, out of his
despairing kingdom among that one people, a kingdom that
shall flourish eternally over all creatures, thus turning all their
endeavours into an event the directly contrary of what they
expected; so that we can sing, Ps. 113:4, "J^^ovah is high
above all nations, and his glory above the heavens ;" and yet,
that same God was humbled under all the Jews and his ignom-
iny went even under the earth. Therefore, as in the preceding
verses the passion and death of Christ are prophesied, so in this
verse his resurrection is predicted, though by a somewhat ob-
scure allusion.
But what is the intent of these words "He that sitteth in
the heavens ?" It sets forth the quiet and wonderfully hidden
Judge for the raising of our hope. He sitteth in the heaven,
who is concerned for us. He sitteth there in quiet and safety.
Though we are distressed he is not distressed whose care we
are. We are tossed to and fro, but he sits unmoved that the
righteous may not be tossed to and fro for ever. Ps. 55 :23.
But his sitting in heaven is so secret and hidden, that unless
tliou be in heaven thou canst not know and understand it.
Thou art suffering upon earth, in waters, and under all creat-
ures, and the hope of help is denied thee by all and in all things,
until, rising by faith and hope above all these things, thou
PSALM II. 69
mountest up to reach unto him that sitteth in the heavens ; and
then thou also sittest in the heavens, hut in faith and hope.
Here therefore it is, that the anchor of our heart is to be cast
in all tribulations, and in this way all the evils of the world
will not only be made easy to be borne, but will become a
derision.
V. 5. — Then zuill he speak unto them in his zvrath, and
vex them in his sore displeasure;
That which has been said concerning tautology in the pre-
ceding verse holds good also in this. For to the insensible and
haters and despisers of God, enough that is terrible cannot be
said. For that Leviathan, Behemoth, describer in Job 41 :i7-i9,
'esteemeth iron as straw, darts as stubble, and brass as rotten
wood. The arrow cannot make him flee, sling-stones are turned
by him into stubble,' etc. Though this perhaps may not be
considered as tautology.
When then does he "speak to them in his anger?" or what
is his anger? It is then, when he has them in derision. This
we shall see when we inquire from the scriptures what it is
for God to speak in his anger. Jeremiah saith, chap. 18:7, T
will speak suddenly against a nation and against a kingdom,
to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it,' etc.
Therefore, "to speak in anger" is to root up and to destroy ;
and this is what came upon the Jews, who said, "the Romans
will come and take away both our place and our nation. It
is expedient for you that one man should die for the people,
and that the whole nation perish not," John 1 1 148-50. All
these vain meditations the Lord had in derision, until that which
the wicked feared came upon them ; for the Lord rooted up,
pulled down, and destroyed them by the Romans. This "anger"
and "hot displeasure" of God, therefore, are the fury of the
Romans. Hence, Is. 10:5-6, "Ho Assyrian, the rod of mine
anger, the staff in whose hand is mine indignation. I will send
him against a profane, that is, an hypocritical and dissembling
nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a
70 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
charge," etc. Which words, according to my judgment, are
spoken of the Roman army. For when he saith "I will give
him a charge," it is the same as is said in this verse, "shall speak
unto them;" because all things are done by the command and
Word of God, as it is written, ''He spake and it was done,"
etc. Ps, 33 :g.
Wherefore, these words "shall speak" are to be taken ab-
solutely in this way : He shall speak, that is, he shall decree,
command, and ordain by his word ; but it shall be against them,
and not in their favor; and therefore, not in mercy but in
wrath. For he speaks also against the righteous and his own
children, when he commands the cross and death to be brought
upon them, according to that of 2 Sam. 16:10, "Jehovah hath
said unto him, curse David," but in mercy. And if the preposi-
tion 'unto' be changed into 'against,' and the verb 'speak' into
'command,' the text will be more clear, — "Then shall he com-
mand against them in his anger."
Nor will he only pull down and destroy them, he will also
distress them; for he shall consume them outwardly by arms
and inwardly by dread. And indeed he distresses his own
children also and terrifies them with alarming fears ; as was
the case with Christ in the garden. But he distressed the Jews
while they were in the act of being destroyed and slaughtered
by the Romans, with a perpetually foreboding dread. For it is
impossible that the ungodly man, when drawing near unto
death, should not be under unceasing dread and apprehension.
It would have been a light punishment if they had been des-
stroyed only, but their having been destroyed in anger was that
which increased the horror of their calamity ; and, what was
the most awful of all, after having been destroyed and slaught-
ered, they were destined to be punished in wrath and to be
launched through death into eternal horrors.
Behold, therefore, what a catalogue''' of dreadful punish-
*Weimar. catalogium for catalogum.
PSALM II. 71
ments are prepared for the murderers of Christ. First, being
stripped of all their glory, in the pride of which chiefly they
raged against Christ, they are made a derision to God and to
all men, and see themselves surrounded by ignominious shame
on every side, which is no small calamity to proud and envious
men. Secondly, deprived of every thing that could afford them
any help, they are laid waste, rooted out, and destroyed ; so that
they have not, even with respect to their bodies, the least degree
of comfort. And lastly, the sum of all their calamities is that
tribulation and anguish will torture their souls to all eternity.
Thus, they are utterly destroyed in their fame, in their
bodies, and in things eternal ; and there is not one creature, nor
God himself, propitious toward them. Here then, I ask, who
would not pity his enemies ,who would not lament for them,
who would not endure all things for them, and even from them,
when he firmly believed that all these intolerable evils hung over
their heads ? For only observe the order of these evils.
First, they are laughed at and held in derision, while all
their glory is turned into the deepest confusion, which is the
greatest thing they possess. Secondly, they are destroyed and
deprived of all their property and patrimony, which is another
possession. Finally they are terrified with dreadful apprehen-
sions, all hope and confidence of spirit being taken away, which
is their inward and last possession. And these are they who
are made like dust before the wind. And again you see that
the punishment of the wicked is here described as being fear
and horror. For as the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace,
and safety, so, of necessity, hell must be sin, dread, and horror.
V.6, Yet I have set my king upon my holy liill of Zion.
Rev. Ver.
V. 6. — Yet am I set by him as king iipon his holy hill of
Zion (Viilgate).
Here the person is changed, for it is not David now speak-
ing in his own person, but it is Christ that speaks. The Hebrew,
however, rather makes it to be the Person of the Father speak-
']2 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
ing and saying, "Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of
Zion." But I do not think this a matter of so much moment
that there should be any contention or dispute about it, because
each sense is equally good, except that the Hebrew text, by a
figure of speech very usual in the scriptures, rather favors
that reading which gives the authority to the Father, according
to that of Ps. iio:i, "Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at
my right hand," and that of Ps. 89 127, "I also will make him
my first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth," Stapulen-
sis thinks that it may be rendered "But I have anointed my
king," resting upon those words of the believers. Acts 4 127,
where they say, 'Against thy holy Servant Jesus, whom thou
didst anoint were they gathered together.' But those believers
seem to have taken the word "hast anointed," not from the
present verse, but rather from the second, for citing that, they
had said just before 'against his Christ,' ver. 26, which is the
same as saying against his anointed, and which, from a holy
desire to confirm the truth, they repeat in verse 27. As if they
would say, most truly he is Christ, and the Anointed, whom
thou hast anointed, that is, whom thou has made Christ.
According to my poor way of judging, I think that "my
holy," if the Hebrew did not counsel us to couple it with Zion,
does not inappropriately apply to Christ ; so that the sense may
be, "I have set my king upon my hill of Zion," not an indiffer-
ent person, but him who is my "holy one" anointed of me by
the "Holy One of God," and, the Holy One of Israel, as in Ps.
x6:io, "Neither wilt thou sufifer thine Holy One to see corrup-
tion." And Ps. 89 :i8, "For our shield belongeth unto Jehovah ;
and our king to the Holy One of Israel." But the Hebrew,
as I have said, has it "my holy mountain."
The meaning of the passage therefore is. They have gather-
ed themselves together against me and my King, and would not
that he should reign over them. But my counsel shall stand
and I will perform all my pleasure. Who is able to stand be-
fore me ? They have killed him, but I have set him up as King !
PSALM 11. l^' I 73
They have withdrawn themselves from under him, but I have
placed my holy hill of Zion and all the kingdoms of the earth
in subjection to him! Thus, they are laughed at and held in
derision, and openly shown to have meditated vain things !
This verse strikes at the general doctrine of pride and arro-
gance, than which nothing more insolently prevails at this time
in the church of Christ. For Paul thus applies this text, Heb.
5 :4-5, "And no man taketh the honor unto himself but when
he is called of God even as was Aaron." So Christ also glorified
not himself to be made a high-priest, but he that spake unto
him, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." And
again, Ps. iio:i, "Sit thou on my right hand." And this is
wiiat nearly the whole of this present Psalm inculcates ; which
describes all the things of Christ as ordained of the Father,
and not arrogantly assumed or courted by Christ. Whereas,
our decrees have now for many years scarcely been employed
about any thing else but dignity, power, privileges, and a great
and stinking filth of ambition, without any appointing or or-
daining from God.
The church of Christ is called "Mount Zion," because it
was there begun and instituted by the sending of the Holy
Ghost. And although it is confined to no particular place, yet
it was necessary that it should have a beginning from some
certain place. And from thence it was spread throughout all
the earth, that the words of Christ, John 4 :2, might be ful-
filled, "The hour cometh when ye shall neither in this moun-
tain nor yet at Jerusalem worship the Father." Thus new,
the church has every place and yet no place.
And, under the influence and teaching of the Holy Spirit,
such a modesty was preserved by the Jerusalem church, that
it never contended with other churches for precedence and
dignity, as the Roman and Constantinopolitan churches did,
in a long and scandalous warfare; whereas, if precedency be
considered, this church ought to have been preferred by all
right to every other, both because Christ was its high priest and
74 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
appointed King by God the Father, and because the true church
rose there, from which all other churches sprung, which is the
mother of all others, and in which all the apostles and desciples,
the elders as it were, were born. But God would not permit
her to arrogate to herself any supremacy, that he might show
us how he reprobated such arrogance, and how he forbade such
to be assumed by any church whatever, even by his own to
whom it was due.
This I say not that I would condemn the supreme dominion
(monarchiam) of the Romish church, but because I detest that
it should ride with force and oppression and that it should usurp
its authority by virtue of the command of God, when it is
established by the mutual agreement of the believer and by
the bond of love, so that it is a dominion not of a commanding
force but of serving love. This arrogance I reject, the thing
itself I commend. Gold is not evil but avarice is. The flesh
is not evil but. the lust of the flesh is. And here has Christ
rendered vigilant resistance since he never suffered that the
churches of the orient should be subject to this church of the
Occident.
Therefore the church is called Mount Zion by the figure
of speech most common in the scriptures, synecdoche, which
speaks of the containing for the contained, as, the city of Jeru-
salem for the people of that city. Nor is it so called on that
account only, but also as conveying an allegory in its name,
nature, and form.
The naine Zion signifies 'a distant view' (spcculam), a
watch tower or observatory. And the church is called 'a distant
view' (specula), not only because it views God and heavenly
things by faith, that is, afar off, being wise unto the things that
are above, not unto those that are on the earth ; but also, because
there are within her true viewers, or seers, and watchmen in
the spirit, whose office it is to take charge of the people under
them, and to watch against the snares of enemies and sins ; and
such are called, in the Greek, bishops {episcopoi), that is, spy-
PSALM II. 75
ers or seers ; and you may for the same reason give them, from
the Hebrew, the appellation of Zionians or Zioners.
The nature of Zion is that it is a mountain. So also is
the church before God lofty in spiritual height, on account of
the greatness of her virtues, gifts, graces, acts, etc. wherein
God has highly exalted her above all the power, wisdom, and
righteousness of men; according to Is. 2:2 and Mic. 4:1, "And
it shall come to pass in the latter days, that the mountain of
Jehovah's house shall be established on the top of the moun-
tains, and shall be exalted above the hills." All this I am ob-
liged to interpret again and again on account of those carnal
dreamers, who are always twisting the words of God to favour
worldly pomp. But the church is exajted above all the power
and height of the world, not in riches and influence, but in faith,
hope, love, and all those virtues that despise the riches and
power of the world. For though the church is now exalted
in all this worldly wealth and power, i-t does not properly be-
long to it, but is a certain strange Leviathan that has intruded;
and therefore, it has in the same proportion decreased in the
wisdom of the word of God, in holiness of life, and in the virtue
of works, etc. ; for these are the true hills and mountains of the
church of Christ, in which the world cannot rival her, and in
which she has ever surpassed the world if she who does such
things may be called the church, for it is certain that the true
church of Christ ever remains the same.
Again, the form of Mount Zion was this. It rose into
a summit on the south and had the city of Jerusalem on its
declivity on the north side, the city itself being situated on the
side of the hill. Thus Ps. 48 :2, "Beautiful in elevation, the joy
of the whole earth, is Mount Zion, on the sides of the north,
the city of the great King."
Thus the declivity and acclivity may signify the internal
warfare of the people of Christ between the flesh and the spirit :
the flesh tendeth downward to the north, the spirit upward to
the south. Or, it may represent those two kinds of life, the
76 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
working and the viewing. The one tends downward to an em-
ployment in temporal concerns for the benefit of others ; the
other ascends upwards unto heavenly things, and is always on
the hill of view, where the bishops or seers are, who excel in
the word and in life, and who drav/ others unto them. In the
midst of whom stands Mount Moriah, the Mount of the temple,
and that is Christ, both God and Man, who embraces both these
lives, and decrees in the midst of both ; even as Mount Moriah,
situated in the midst of Jerusalem under Mount Zion, repre-
sents in a figure.
For this Mount Moriah, that is, the Mount of Vision, is that
on which Abraham offered up his son and on which afterward
Solomon built the temple. And thus also, we are offered up
on Christ like Isaac, and are built up by the true Solomon a
temple of God. For Christ is our Mount Moriah ; because God
sees no one, and acknowledges no one, who is not offered up
and built up on this place, that is, on Christ, and in Christ, for
the eyes of God are on this place only. And therefore, he is
called the Mountain on which God will look for ever, Gen.
22:14. Whereas, the heretics and the proud raise to them-
selves other mountains of vision, or rather, of no vision, while
they wish by their righteousness and works to merit the respect
of God.
And this mountain is called "holy," not from that figurative
holiness of the law and external consecrations, for these things
are spoken in the spirit. And therefore, not being content with
saying "holy mountain," God adds "my." As if he had said,
the mountain which is holy from my holiness ; not that holi-
ness by which the stones, wood, and coals are sanctified, but
by which the mind and body are sanctified through the unction
of the grace of the Spirit and purified day by day through faith,
hope and love. For that is "holy" which is separated from
every profane use and dedicated to sacred and divine uses only.
This separation is made ceremonially and literally by high-
PSALM II. 'J'J
priests who are men, but which, in truth and in spirit, is
wrought by the Holy Ghost being shed abroad in our hearts.
By all these things God manifestly distinguishes the king-
dom of Christ from every other kingdom. For it is concerning
this king only that he says, "I have set," or '*! am set." And,
as the person speaking is the invisible, spiritual God, it shows
that the appointer of this king is a spiritual appointer, for God
appoints all other kings not by himself as here, but apoints men
by the instrumentality of men, the visible by the instrumentality
of the visible. Therefore, the kingdom of Christ is not of this
world, but in spirit and in truth. And he says also "my king,
not a king of men, or whom men have appointed. Wherefore,
Christ is a king in spirit and before God,
And moreover, although he is set upon the hill of Zion,
yet to "hill of Zion" there is added "my holy," or "his holy,"
that the kingdom of Christ may be understood to be the people
indeed of Zion, but that people who are made "holy" by a
spiritual holiness.
Here you again see, that the church of Christ does not
consist in the power, nor in the wisdom, nor in the dignity of
the world. Though there are some who pratingly affirm, that
outside of this new monarchy there is no Christian. Whereas
the power of such a monarchy has nothing whatever to do with
spiritual holiness.
V. 7. — / ivlll tell of the (declaring Jiis) decree, Jehovah
(the Lord) said unto me, Thou art my son, this day Jiave I
begotten thee.
The Hebrew in this passage begins this seventh verse thus,
"I will declare the decree : Jehovah said unto me," all which
agrees, and, according to my judgment, is intended to let us
know porticularly what "decree" it is, of which he would here
be understood as speaking, and which he says he will declare.
It is that which he immediately adds, "Jehovah hath said unto
me, thou art my Son," etc. This, saith he, I have given unto
me as a decree, and unto this I am appointed King, that I might
78 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
declare unto all that I am the Son of God : for I ought to glori-
fy my Father. And this is the scope of the whole gospel, that
Christ is the Son of God. As in Matt. 16:15-16, "Who say ye
that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God." And upon this rock the
church is built.
Hence Paul saith, i Cor. i 124, 'But we preach Christ, the
power of God, and the wisdom of God.' And Christ himself
throughout the whole Gospel of John does nothing else than
manifest himself to be the Son of God, always speaking of
God as his Father. And this was what was brought against
him at his crucifixion as a capital crime. For Christ came to
plant and establish that faith w^hereby men believe him to be
the Son of God. And this faith is the fulfilment of all laws, the
righteousness that endureth for ever, the work of praising God,
the mortification of the flesh, the quickening of the Spirit, the
victory over the world, the victory over the flesh, and the vic-
tory over hell! as he himself saith, Matt. 16:18, "The gates of
hell shall not prevail against it." And so also John 8 124, "Ex-
cept ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." And
again, John 6:47, "He that believeth hath eternal life."*)
Hence, the epistles of the apostles are full of the doctrine of
faith, because that doctrine is eternal life, as John saith, chap.
3:36, "He that believeth on the Son, hath eternal life: but
he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him." And again, chap. 12:49-50, Christ
saiih, "For I spake not from myself; but the Father that sent
me, he hath given me a commandment, what I should say and
vvhat I should speak. And I know that his commandment is
life eternal," etc. It is fully manifest, therefore, that he de-
clared the commandment of God, that is, faith in himself as the
Son of God unto the salvation of all who should receive him
and believe on his name, etc. John i :i2.
*) St. Louis Walch gives John 11:26, "Whosoever liveth and
believeth on me shall never die."
PSALM II. 79
But you will say, if this was the design of the holy Spirit,
why did he not make use of plainer words, in this manner, 'I
will declare the command of God, that I am his Son, and that
this day he has begotten me,' etc. I answer : The Holy Spirit
is ever like himself. For thus, Christ, throughout the Gospel
of John, whenever he is speaking of his own divinity, always
observes to bring in the authority of the Father, and to refer
unto the Father all that he himself is. "I speak not from my-
self," John 14:10, "My teaching is not mine," John 7:16, "The
Father abiding in me doeth his works," John 14:10. Together
Vv'ith many other scriptures of the same kind.
Thus also here, when he says that he will declare, by the
decree of the Father, that he is the Son of God, he first intro-
duces the Father as speaking unto him, in order that we may
hear more the Father in the Son speaking of the Son, than
the Son speaking of himself. So that the sense is, T will de-
clare the decree of God, that I am the Son of God. But I will
not do this by my own authority, lest I should seem to boast
of myself. Nay, I will rather declare unto you what the
Father has said of me, that ye may hear him speaking of me,
who commanded me to declare that which he said unto me;
that thus ye may believe me concerning myself upon his author-
ity.
And observe also this change of the persons. At one time
• L is the Fathers words ; at another, the words of the Son, de-
claring the words of the Father concerning himself, which
is a holy and sacred diversity, commending unto us the nature
and equality of the Godhead in a more holy manner than
I, from my impurity and unvvorthiness, dare to set forth
any farther. In a word this Psalm is one of the most im-
portant Psalms of the whole Psalter. This is sufficiently proved
upon the authority of the apostle Paul, who, when speaking
of the divine generation, says, Heb. i :5, "Unto which of the
angels said he at any time, thou art my Son, this day have I
begotten thee?"
8o LUTPIER ON THE PSALMS.
Now every one will observe for himself that the words
of the Father express an only begotten Son. 'He said unto
me only, not unto many, Thou art my holy Son.' Distinguish-
ing most certainly by such remarkable and particular words
this one especial Son from all others, concerning which, Ps.
89:6 saith, ''Who among the sons of God is like unto Jehovah?
As if he had said, there are many sons of God but only One
among them who is God. And who is like unto him? And
again, 'I have begotten thee,' 'I only,' 'thee only,' etc.
And how discerningly and worthily have all the holy fathers
interpreted this passage, "This day have I begotten thee ?" that
is, in eternity. For that is an eternal generation which is born,
and will be born, without end. And to be a Son, is to be born
of a Father. But Christ neither began to be born, nor will
ever cease to be born, but is ever being born in a present nativ-
ity. He is rightly said therefore to be begotten "to-day," that
is, being always begotten. For "to-day" implies neither a ves-
lerday nor a to-morrow, but always a present time, a to-day.
As is is said, John 8 .-58, "Before Abraham was I am."
Where are ye now, ye miserable, proud mortals, who am-
bitiously seek, or hold the place of this king in the church ? who
declare not the command of God, nor preach Jesus Christ the
Sen of God crucified for the salvation of them that believe, but
amass riches, wallow in luxuries, and revel in a pompous show
of all things ? This Son of God who is appointed King does not
seek his own, but declares the decree of God, and receives his
kingdom, not for himself, but for the salvation of others, to
the glory of God the Father.
But this one office of the Word, which is the great duty of
bishops, is the one duty that is above all others omitted. And,
!t there be others who teach in their stead, they teach not the
"command" of God, not Christ, but their own fables, or, at
best, only the laws and traditions of men. Therefore, believe
not that the church, the holy mountain of God is there where
Christ does not teach Christ in all purity. For it is a word of
PSALM II. Ol
important weight when Christ says, "I will declare the com-
mand "of God," not the command, counsel, and histories of
men. And "I" myself will declare it. For if Christ does not
speak in us, we shall never declare the command of God of
ourselves. He saith 'I will be in thy mouth,' Ex. 4:12, and,
"C>pen thy mouth wide, and I will fill it," Ps. 81 :io.
Our translation of this passage, therefore, does not in the
least differ from the Hebrew in sense. And though a diversity
in the reading will sometimes make a little difference in the
sense, yet if the same truth be held firmly the diversity in the
reading will do no harm ; therefore I wish not to be contentious.
This verse distinguishes the kind of doctrine taught in the
New Testament from that which was taught in the Old. In
tlie Old the law was taught, which work'eth wrath, Rom. 4:15,
and increases sin ; but now, faith, which worketh the re-
r.iission of sins and fulfilleth all righteousness. In the former
tlierefore was the manlawgiver and servant, Moses : in the lat-
ter the God-lawgiver, Christ, the Lord of all. The former made
men to be the servants of sin : the latter makes them free in
righteousness.
Not that the law is not taught now also, for Christ saith.
Matt. 13:52, that a scribe well instructed in the kingdom of
heaven brings forth things new and old ; but grace is the pecul-
"iar preaching under the New Testament, and the works of the
law under the Old. And as there is no one in this life in
v/hom all the fulness of the New Testament is accomplished,
so no one can be found, in w^iom there is not some part of the
Old Testament remaining. For this life is a certain passage
and transition out of the law into grace, out of sin into right-
euosness, and out of Moses into Christ ; but the consummation
will be after the resurrection that is to come.
V. 8. — Ask of me, and I ivill give thcc the nations (heath
en) for thine inheritanee, and the uttermost parts of the eartJi
for t/iy possession.
And this also belonsrs to the "decree" which Christ received
82 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
of the Father, who commanded him to declare it. The Lord
said unto me, and the Lord commanded me to ask of him the
heathen for my inheritance. And this command 1 will declare,
that ye may know and believe that I am appointed, not only
king over Mount Zion, his holy mountain, that is, over the
people of Israel, but also the heir and Lord of all things ; that
he who shall hear this command of the Father from me and
shall believe it may come unto the Father and be saved.
Here again, you see that the kingdom of Christ was not
assumed by him in arrogance, but confirmed unto him by the
authority and command of the Father. Hence the ambitious
are here so far from having any example or precedent set them,
that their vice is rebuked even by the authority of divine exam-
ple. Nor is this considered a sufficient reproof to their mon-
strous conduct, for Christ the Lord of all acts and does nothing
in the church without the command of God. But these wretch-
ed worms of men try and dare all things in their own rashness
in a church that is not their own.
. What is the reason, that, on being set as king upon Mount
Ziovi, he is not commanded to ask the kingdom of Mount Zion ?
and that the inheritance of the heathen is promised him, yet
not without his asking for it, nay, being commanded to ask
for it? Perhaps, it is because the blessing and kingdom of
Christ were promised to Israel in Abraham, but mercy was"
extended to the Gentiles without a promise. As in Rom. 1 5 :
8-9, "For I say that Christ hath been made a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the
premises given unto the fathers : and that the Gentiles might
glorify God for his mercy, etc." Thus, the truth was con-
firmed unto the Jews and the promises fulfilled unto them, but
mercy unto the Gentiles was freely and gratuitously imparted.
And hence mercy and truth are most frequently coupled to-
gether in the prophets. Though it was of gratuitous mercy
also that God condescended to make the promise.
Therefore, Zion is given to Christ for a kingdom, but the
PSALM II, 83
Gentiles are given to him for an inheritance upon his asking
for them as a gift, as being those to whom the promise was
not made. Thus Is. 66:19-20. "And they shall declare my
glory among the Gentiles. And they shall bring all your
brethren out of all nations for an offering unto the Lord."
Hence Israel is the kingdom and we Gentiles are the gift, like
the dowry of the daughter of Pharaoh, which Pharaoh king
of Egypt gave unto her.
In a word, when Christ is set as king upon Zion, he uses,
the plainest declarations of it, which at once show that such is
the case; but when he is declared to be the heir, he is first
commanded to ask, and it is promised unto him as that which
siiall be hereafter. All which things we see fulfilled in the
Acts of the Apostles ; for the disciples did not preach the Word
unto any but the Jews, until Paul being called from heaven
was sent unto the Gentiles. Christ, therefore, being now upon
earth, appointed king upon Mount Zion, asks for the Gentiles,
and when he reigns in heaven, he receives the Gntiles which
v/ere then promised unto him. Again, the words "of me" are
not spoken without a particular meaning. They are to show
that this kingdom and this inheritance of the Gentiles are con-
ferred on Christ, not by men, nor in any human way, but by
God, that is, spiritually.
And this is one of those passages against which they rashly
fight, who deny that any are Christians, except those who are
under the Pope of Rome. For such endeavor to make God
the Father a liar; because, he subjected the uttermost parts of
th.e earth unto Christ, whereas, they hold that all Europe is
not yet put under him. What ! can there be no Christians there
because the Turk or the Scythian reigns there temporally?
How then did there exist Christians at Rome under Nero and
Domitian ? What ! are there no bishops there because they do
not buy bishops' robes ? Are there no priests there because
they do not pay annats ? What if it be found, that those are the
more truly bishops wlio are the most free from opulence, pomp,
84 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and pride and teach the word of God and oversee the people
cf Christ? For Paul certainly describes bishops, Acts 20:28,
as those who take heed unto the flock and feed the church of
God. "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock
in which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God." And though he is here speaking to the elders
as Jerome plainly collects from the text, and has shown from
the words, 'take heed,' which are, in the original, of a kindred
signification, yet cannot the ruling of the church and the taking
heed unto the flock be done by the ministry of the Word and
prayer only without all that noise and tumult of the bishops
which prevail at present everywhere?
Let us therefore, lest we should contract the inheritance of
Christ, not accuse the word of this psalm of a lie, either on
account of the perfidy of the Turks, or on account of any other
ni'dtitude of erroneous men. Otherwise, who even among us
shall know who are Christians in truth? Do not wicked men
abound among us also, while good men are few ? The author-
ity of the Word is greater than all our capacity. How much
greater, then, is it than all our suspicion and the phantom of
external appearance?
Augustine thinks that there is a tautology here, that is, that
the inheritance of the Gentiles and the possession of the utter-
most parts of the earth are the same, which tautology, as I
have before said, is a sign of the thing being established by
God, that our faith may rest upon it the more securely, namely,
that there are Christians also in other parts of the world,
where other apostles have preached, however much wickedness
may there prevail.
V. 9. — TJioii slialt break (rule) tJicm zvith a rod of iron,
and tJiou shalt dash (break) them in pieces like a potter's rcssel.
Here again the vain dreams of the flesh are to be removed
out of the way that no one might imagine that the kingdom of
Christ is either founded or preserved by iron or arms ; because
it is written, that he delighteth not in chariots, nor in horses.
PSALM II. 85
nor in the legs of a man, Ps. 20:7; 147:10. And the apostle
saith, 2 Cor. 10:4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal." And the Turks, whom at this day we never seek to
conquer by any other means than by the sword, we ought to
conquer by increasing the number of Christians among them.
Why do we not attack with the sword also the wicked
among ourselves, especially the great ones of the people? But
God forbid. The kingdom of Christ consists in righteousness,
truth, and peace. By these it was obtained, and by the same
it Vv'ill be preserved. And hence when he said above that he
was appointed king, he recommended no other office whatever
besides that of the Word, saying, "I will declare the decree of
God ;" not, I will ride fine horses, I will lay waste cities, I will
seek the treasures of the world; but, I will do this one thing,
— declare those things which God hath commanded, that is,
that Christ is God and Man, which Paul, Rom. 1:1, calls the
gospel, saying, "Separated unto the gospel of God, which he
had promised afore, concerning his Son Jesus Christ, etc."
You see, therefore, that the whole of this verse is allegori-
cal; and not without cause, for it signifies a certain allegory
which really takes place in fact and life. For as the word of
Christ is the word of salvation and peace, not in the flesh, but
in the spirit, it of necessity follows, that it subdues and drives
out the safety, peace, life, and ease of the flesh. And where
it does this, it appears unto the flesh harder and more unfeeling
than iron itself. For wherever the carnal man is savingly
touched by the Word of God, one thing is felt, and another is
wrought, namely, that of i Sam. 2 16-7, "Jehovah killeth and
maketh alive ; he bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up.
tie bringeth low, he also lifteth up."
This allegorical work of God is beautifully described by
Is. 28:21, "That he may do his work, his strange work, and
bring to pass his act, his strange act." As if he had said,
though God is the God of life and salvation and these are his
proper works ; yet, in order to accomplish these, he kills and
86 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
destroys, that he may thereby come unto his proper work. For
]-ie kills our will, that he may establish his own in us. He
mortifies the flesh and its desires, that he may implant the
Spirit and his desires.
And this is the same thing as that which he said above
without allegory, "Declaring the command of God." For the
Spirit receives the Word of God as a most sweet command-
ment, and it is then that the holy mount Zion becomes his king-
dom, the heathen his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth his possession. But the flesh militates against the
command, or Word of God, with the greatest indignation, and
will not acknowledge it, because it is utterly and in all things
contrary to it. And therefore, it receives the word as a rod,
and as iron that breaks it in pieces. And this is the allegory
completed, both in the signification of this verse, and in the ex-
emplification of it in fact and experience.
"Thou shalt rule them," is, in Hebrew, throeim, which
Jerome translates, "Thou shalt feed them." But John Reuch-
Hu in his Rudiments gives us many significations of this word,
namely, 'to feed,' 'to rule,' 'to consume,' 'to afilict,' and 'to
shake,*) or break and bruise in pieces.' And this last significa-
tion, as far as I am capable of judging, is the most applicable to
the present passage. First, because a "rod of iron," as every
one knows, is more fit for bruising and breaking in pieces, than
for ruling or feeding. And secondly, had ruling been signified,
it would have been sufficient to have said "rod" only. And, for
feeding, neither iron nor a rod is rightely adapted. For what
can a 'rod of iron' do but bruise and break in pieces ? according
to that of Daniel 2 40. "For as much as iron breaketh in pieces
and subdueth all things ;" so also shall this break and bruise all
things in pieces. Add to this, that this kind of tautology beauti-
fully agrees with the meaning of the passage, because, it now
follows, "thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel ;"
^) "Amicus cogitatio in the Basel and Weimar editions.
PSALM II. 87
.^o that this ruHng and this dashing in pieces signify the same
thing.
Each of these expressions signifies the humbling of the
proud by the Word of God, because, he breaks and dashes in
pieces when he terrifies and humbles. The apostle says, Rom,
I "iS, that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. Thus
those who were converted by the word of Peter and were
pricked in their hearts said, 'men, brethren, what shall we do?'
xA.cts 2 :37. And this is what is called in other places of the
scripture 'rebukes,' the 'moving of the world,' the 'shaking of
the earth,' etc. But ]\Iic. 4:13, the most beautifully of all
saith, "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion : for I will make
thy horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass ; and thou shalt
boat in pieces many peoples : and I will devote their gain unto
Jehovah, that is, the people themselves, as a spoil taken from
the devil, and their substance unto the Lord of the whole earth."
Behold, then, what it is to rule them with a rod of iron : name-
ly, to break in pieces many people with a horn of iron as the
prophet here saith.
This "rod," therefore, is the sacred, holy Gospel of Christ,
for this is the sceptre of his kingdom ; as in Ps. 45 :6, "A sceptre
of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom." Amd Ps. 110:2, "Je-
hovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion."
And also Is. 1 1 4, "And he shall smite the earth with the rod
of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the
wicked." And what is the rod of the mouth of Christ but
tiie Word of God, which breaks in pieces the earth, that is, those
that follow after earthly things? And what is the breath of
his mouth but the same word of his breath, with which he
slays the wicked that they might die unto ungodliness and
live unto godliness? This is the rod whose top, in the hand of
Joseph, Jacob adored. Gen. 47:31.* Heb. 11:21, This is the
*) In all editions Gen. 47, Weimar Edition, in the margin, Gen.
49:22 etc. is not correct.
88 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
rod the top of which the blessed Esther touched, Esther 5 .2.
It is called a "rod" metaphorically or rather allegorically.
First, because it is slender and easy to be carried, so that
it may be borne in the hand, for the yoke of Christ is easy
and his burden is light. Matt. 11 :30. But the hands of Moses
are heavy, so that they were supported by stones put under
him by Aaron and Hur, Exod. 17:12, which signifies as Peter
explains it, Acts 15 :io the intolerable yoke of the law. Where-
as, on the contrary, the hands of Christ are laid even on infants
and on the sick throughout the Gospel, that they may be healed
and saved thereby.
Moses, moreover, has two great and heavy stone tables,
and the Levites also used of old to bear many and heavy vessels
belonging to the tabernacle, as we read Num. 4:31 ; and these
Moses calls their "burdens," and many and heavy burdens they
certainly are, considered in themselves ; but they are no burdens
at all, or at least but very light, when we look at the tyrannizing
laws and rites of the present day. For we at this day bear, not
tables and vessels, but whole woods and rocks, and such heavy
bands of popes, that the whole world together can scarcely
endure them. And all this is come upon us justly, because we
have cast away from us the "rod" of Christ. And therefore,
that has happened unto us which is written. Is. 8:6-7, 'Foras-
much as this people have refused the waters of Shiloah that
go softly : now therefore behold tlie I-ord bringeth upon them
the waters of the river, strong and many.'
Secondly, because it is straight. For the gospel and the
law of the Spirit lead unto life by a straight, direct, and short
wa\. Whereas, the law of the letter, by long and winding
j).'itlis of figures and works, and, as it were, by a most tedious
desert journey, scarcely brings us after all even into the plains
of Moab, and never leads us into the land of Canaan, but with
Moses it fails.
Thirdly, because the law of Christ is open and revealed, as
a "rod" is carried without a case or sheath ; but the law of
PSALM II. 89
Aloses and the tal3lcs were covered and carried in an ark, and
so also, every lav/ and every work of the law, without Christ,
is but a shadow and a sign of hidden righteousness, and not
the true righteousness itself ; for that is revealed by the law of
Christ, as it is set forth, Rom. i :i7, In the gospel is revealed
a righteousness of God from faith unto faith.'
Jt is called "of iron."
First, as I said, on account of the flesh, to which the law
of Christ is most galling, though to the spirit it is most sweet.
For it lays on all the desires of the flesh the cross and death,
and imposes on us poverty, humility, and patience. These are
the three horns of the cross. For poverty breaks in pieces the
lust of the eyes and avarice; humility, the pride of life and
ambition ; and patience, the lust of the flesh and pleasure. Hence
Is. 27 :i, calls it a great and strong sword, "In that day Jehovah
with his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan
tlie swift serpent."
Secondly, because it is of inflexible and invincible rectitude,
or as the blessed Augustine here thinks of inflexible righteous-
ness. For however much many have tried to twist and bend
the Word of God to their own interpretations and lusts, yet it
has ever remained of invincible rectitude, proving all those to
be liars who have attempted to wrest and pervert it. For it
is not of reed, like the staff of Egypt, 2 Kings 18:21, and Is.
36*6, "Whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand and
pierce it." The reed is the doctrine of men, which is shaken
by every wind of opinion. But this voice of one crying in the
wilderness, as it is not covered with soft clothing, so neither is
it, like the reed, empty or shaken with the wind, but full, solid,
and of iron. And as to some men attributing to the scriptures
a nose of wax, and saying that it is a reed that is moveable and
to be shaken, that all proceeds from the doings of those, who
abr.se the Holy Word of God to their own vain and unstable
opinions and glosses, making the Word of God to suit all, and
so to suit no one.
go LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Thirdly, as iron conquers and breaks in pieces all things, as
Daniel 2 40 says, so, the Word of Christ breaks great things
in pieces, that is, humbles the proud ; it straightens the crooked,
that is, chatises the undisciplined ; it bends the straight, that
is, bends down the proud ; it smooths the rough, that is, cools
the passionate ; it lengthens the short, that is, comforts the weak
and helpless ; it shortens the long, that is, terrifies the presump-
tuous ; it widens the narrow, that is, makes the tenacious bounti-
ful ; it contracts the wide, that is, makes the prodigal frugal ;
it sharpens the blunt, that is, instructs the ignorant ; it blunts
the sharp, that is, makes the wise fools ; it keeps off rust, that
is, drives out acidity. In a word, it changes every thing that
is vicious and deformed into that which is pleasing unto God,
as the apostle saith, 2 Tim. 3:16-17, "Every scripture inspired
of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correc-
tion, for instruction which is in righteousness : that the man of
God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good
work."
Like a potter's vessel.
David here mingles a similitude with the allegory, to illus-
trate his meaning the more clearly. So the apostle, 2 Cor. 4:7,
uscf 'earthen vessels' in an allegorical way to signify the body,
or rather the man in the body. He says, "We have this treas-
ure, in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the
power may be of God, and not from ourselves." And these also
are the earthen pitchers of Gideon, which being dashed to pieces
and broken at the sound of the trumpets, burn and shine, and
rout and pursue the discomfited Midianites. That is, the bodies
of the martyrs and saints, being dashed to pieces by various
crosses and sufferings, instruct the world by their examples of
love and truth, and put the ungodly to flight, together with all
their ungodliness. And so, according to the figure, while the
flesh or the carnal man is broken in pieces by the Word of the
cross and the rod of iron, the confused multitude of sins and
lusts are dispersed from before the face of the Christian vir-
PSALM II. 91
tues, and before the face of that grace which exalts the man.
Rut we are in this passage to attend to the simihtude, not to
the thing itself. For Christ does not shake and dash his
people in pieces and tear their bodies limb from limb, just as
earthen vessels, when broken, are scattered into many small
pieces. But this material dashing in pieces is an emblem of
the spiritual dashing in pieces, that is, though the members of
the body are not thus broken in pieces, yet they are dashed in
pieces with respect to their evil lusts and actions.
The tongue does not speak those things which please the
flesh, the ear does not hear calumny and detraction, the hand
does not take that v^diich is another's, nor meddle with those
things which are unlawful, and, in a word, the body of sin,
which before used all the members according to its own lusts,
being on a sudden, by the Word of God, deprived of the
members now scattered and disturbed by that Word, exhibits
a certain happy Babylon ; while, as the apostle saith, Rom. 6:19,
the members which were yielded up to be servants to un-
cleanness unto iniquity, are now yielded up to servants to right-
eousness unto holiness. And so also in the gospel, Luke 1 1 :22,
that "stronger than he," not only takes away the armour, but
divides the spoils. For the Hebrew word, thenaphzem^ signi-
fies, according to Reuchlin, 'thou shalt scatter,' 'thou shalt dis-
sipate,' 'thou shalt disperse.'
Therefore all Christians are "this potter's vessel." First,
because, as a potter's vessel is most easily broken, so tender
men, not rendered obstinate by the hardening nature of unbe-
lief, easily believe the Word of God and neither resist nor con-
tradict it ; whereas, those who are of a hardened mind rush
on into evil, as it is said, Prov. 28:12, and shall without doubt
be overturned like the mountains, and broken in pieces like the
rocks, according to that which Elijah saw, i Kings 19 :ii.
Secondly, because, when an earthen vessel is broken in
pieces it becomes utterly unfit for its former use. So that you
mav see Is. 30:14 fulfilled, "There shall not be found among
92 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the pieces thereof a sherd wherewith to take fire from the
hearth, or to dip up water out of the cistern." for the prophet
is there speaking of the breaking of a potter's vessel with a
powerful dashing in pieces, which agrees with the present verse
ahuost word for word ; for the ungodly man, being thus con-
verted and turned unto Christ, is rendered quite useless for his
former manner of life, saying with the apostle, "The world
has been crucified unto me and I unto the world." Gal. 6:14.
V. 10. — Nozv therefore he wise: O ye kings; be instructed^
ye judges of the earth.
The Latin translator has in explanation of the word, "those
who judge the earth" instead of "judges of the earth." With-
out explaining the word he said "kings," not those who rule.
This is of little importance.
Having given a description of the kingdom of Christ, he
now subjoins a faithful, holy, and wise exhortation ; trying
all things and plying every means to bring all, especially the
greater ones, into subjection unto Christ.
But how bold and, as we are accustomed to say in our
limes, how seditious and offensive is this most daring prophet,
who lifts up his mouth into the clouds, and to heaven dares
• J attack, not the lowest of mankind and the common people,
but the loftiest personages, yea, kings themselves, and to in-
struct them, who, being inflated with both their title and their
office to instruct the people, and also, from their habits and
opinion of dignity, are most unprepared to endure such indig-
nity to be put upon them ; considering all others fools, and
ignorant, and standing in need of being taught and instructed
themselves.
]t is easy indeed to make tlie ignorant common people, who
are accustomed to be under discipline, attend to what you say.
But to bring down kings, judges of the earth, masters, rulers,
teachers, and popes, to a level v/ith the common people, and
not only so, but to bring them down to the rank of pupils, after
such a long habit of ruling and teaching; yea more, to pass
PSALM II. 93
over the common people in silence, and seek out them only
for pupils to be instructed — these things, I say, who can
bear to do ? Who will not here, like John the Baptist, tremble
to touch the head of Christ ? Yet he is to be touched and to be
baptized in the water of Jordan, as descending to the humble,
that all righteousness may be fulfilled, Matt. 3:15; and thus,
he who is the highest in majesty, humbles himself beneath the
lowest, and he who is lowest, trembles at the humility of his
high majesty.
But the benign and blessed Spirit knows that the entire
welfare of the common people depends upon their right subjec-
tion to those in authority and therefore he admonishes first
tl\ese in a friendly and fatherly manner, that they follow not
their own inclination but that they be more docile to be taught,
since they direct not their own affairs, but those of their sub-
jects, and because when they fall into error they bring all their
people with them into misfortune, as is said in Matt.. I5-I4»
"And if the blind guide the blind, both shall fall into a pit."
But not only because of this reason does he admonish them,
but also because he knows, as I have said, that those v/ho are
puffed up yith their power and office have always in their
mouths that of John 9 134, "Dost thou teach us ?" And that
of Jer. 18:18, 'For the law shall not perish from the priest,
nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet."
And therefore, being puffed up v/ith this inflated and false
confidence, they resisted the true prophets, just in the same
way as, at this day, all those prating flatterers about the popes,
resist every appearance of the truth, because they cannot once
imagine, as they pretend, that the head of so high a personage
can err, etc. The church cannot err they cry. The pope cannot
err. The council cannot err, etc.
Those, however, under the Old Testament were more strict-
ly bound to obey the bishop ,pontHicum, than we Christians
are. For then, they were bound to hear the Levitical priests
under penalty of death. But, in our day, we are all priests and
94 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
that word of 15.54:13, is fulfilled, "And all thy children shall
be taught of Jehovah," and that also of Jer. 31 :34, "And they
shall teach no more every man his neighbor and every man
his brother, saying, Know Jehovah : for they shall all know
me from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith
Jehovah ;" and Paul has plainly given us commandment, i Cor.
14:30, "But if a revelation be made to another sitting by, let
the first keep silence." Since this is the case under the New
Testament, all superiors are so to be heard that every lovv^est
hearer be left free to judge what the higher person advances
in those things which pertain unto faith, as far as the law of
God will allow, which is a much greater liberty than was
allowed the prophets in their resisting the elders of Israel,
Deut. 17:8-12. For in the synagogue, Avhere the priesthood
had to do only with external ceremonies, an error in the priests
was not attended with peril. But in the church, where it is
a matter of the spirit and of faith, it is of the utmost moment
unto all to observe whether or not the priest be in error; be-
cause, God is wont to reveal unto the lowest what he does
not deign to reveal unto the highest, that his church may stand
firm in humility in which alone it subsists.
And mark the force of the adverb "now." "Now," saith
the prophet, that Christ is appointed king of all. At this time
there are two things that will hinder you in coming to the
knowledge of the things that are right.
First, it is that Christ, who was crucified by you, who died
and was condemned, and even accursed, according to the law
of Moses, by the will and authority of God, that is now pro-
claimed Lord of all lords. It will be the most difficult thing
possible to acknowledge him King who died such a desperate
and ignominious death. For sense strongly resists such, a faith,
reason abhors it, experience denies it, and there is no example
to support it. This is the height of foolishness to the Gentiles
and a stumbling-block to the Jews, unless ye raise your minds
far above all the external appearance of these things.
PSx\LM II. 95
Secondly, this King so reigns as to teach that all things
which you have hoped for from the law are to be despised and
all things which you have feared are to be loved. He sets
before you the cross and death. He admonishes you to think
little of every thing human that appears either good or evil,
in order to transport you into far different and better things
v/hich neither the eye has seen, nor the ear heard, nor has it
ever entered into the heart of man to conceive. Ye must die
if ye would live under this King ; and the cross, the hatred of
the whole world, poverty, ignominy, hunger, thirst, and, in a
word, all the evils of this world, are to be endured, and cannot
be avoided. For this King is one who was himself made a
fool unto the world and died ; and he also bruises all his with
a rod of iron and dashes them in piece§ like a potter's vessel.
How then shall this King be endured by him who depends
on sense, measures every thing by reason, and stands at the
door of his tent, and will not look at the face of Moses? So
necessary are instruction and understanding in order to rise
above all these things, and, despising things that are seen, to
be carried up to things that are not seen, being made wise,
not unto the things that are on earth, but unto the things that
are above, where Christ is, etc.
Wlierefore, the expression "be wise," is, in the Hebrew,
ASCiLU, which, being put absolutely, signifies 'make wise,' that
is as Jerome explains it, yourselves or others, that is, so do,
so strive, that ye may be wise, may be wise unto spiritual and
heavenly things. In the same way also, Ps. 32 -.g speaks, "Be
ye not as the horse or as the mule, which have no understand-
ing," And this understanding is not that concerning which
philosophers dispute, but is faith itself, which, in times both of
prosperity and of adversity, is able to see those things which
are not seen.
Therefore, not fully describing those things which they
are to understand, he says, absolutely, "be wise," that is, take
heed that ye be wise, take heed that ye be in the faith. For
96 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
those things which faith understands are not to be described
either in name or form. For the prosperity or adversity of
present things utterly subverts every man Vvdio does not, by
faith, understand the things which are not seen. And this
imderstanding comes of faith, according to that scripture, 'If
ye will not believe, neither shall ye understand.' This is that
entering into the cloud, Ex. 20:21, in which is swallovk^ed up
every thing that sense, reason, or the mind or understanding
of man can comprehend. For faith unites the soul to the invis-
ible, ineffable, unnamable, unimaginable, eternal Word of God,
and at the same time separates it from all things visible. And
this is the cross, and the nature of the things of God, where it
is necessary to preach this understanding.
Augustine receives "be instructed, ye judges of the earth"
as spoken tautologically. And these words also are put ab-
solutely, the same as the preceding "be wise;" and the mean-
ing is, be separated from all ignorant and carnal affections
and opinions, and all senses and sensible things, that ye think
not as children concerning Christ and his kingdom. For the
natural man understandeth not the things of God, i Cor. 2:14.
However, it seems to me, that this 'instruction' signifies a turn-
ing of the heart from all perishing things, just as understanding
signifies the conversion of the mind, and the apprehending of
eternal things. The former of which is wrought by the cross
in the mortification of the flesh : the latter by faith in the
renevv^ing of the spirit.
That "earth" signifies figuratively the men on the earth is
too well known to need any exposition, excepting that August-
ine seems rather inclined to understand it to signify figuratively
the body.
V. II. — Serve Jehovah {the Lord) zcith fear, and rejoice
(before him) zvifh trembling.
A wonderful expression this, and in our eyes absurd. For
fear works hatred and a fleeing from the object feared, not serv-
ing of it ; and trembling militates directly against rejoicing.
PSALM II. 97
David in another Psalm speaks antithetically, wherein we
are commanded to "serve the Lord with gladness," Ps. 100:2.
What shall we understand, therefore, by these things? Let
us hear the apostle Paul, as an intermediate teacher, settle
the matter, who says, i Cor. i :2i, "For seeing that in the wis-
dom of God the world through its wisdom knew not God, it
was God's good pleasure through the foolishness of the preach-
ing to save them that believe." As if he had said, we must
be made wise by becoming fools. Thus, in peace and prosperity
we do not, as we ought, acknowledge God nor praise him. As
in security we do not serve God with gladness, it is pleasing
to him that we serve him in fear with gladness, and rejoice in
fear.
And in a word, as the world perverts all the things of God,
so does God pervert all the things of the world. The whole
creation was given to lift up and illuminate man, but he uses it
to blind and pervert himself ; and therefore God uses the whole
creation to blind and pervert man. This is the cross of Christ
and that foolishness of preaching whereby he saves them that
believe, for the reasoners, the disputers of this world, the wise,
the understanding, are oflended at, and destroyed by these
things.
The meaning therefore of this passage is this : Since
Christ the Lord rules with his rod of iron and breaks in pieces
the old man with the word of the cross, and that by the will
and according to the commandment of the Father, who has
put all things in subjection to him, it behooves you to acknow-
ledge yourselves subject unto him, and subject unto him in
fear, that ye may patiently and humbly bear his cross, fear-
ing lest, by becoming unwilling to bear his hand and counsel,
ye should prove to be reprobates, like those sons of Ephraim,
mentioned in Ps. 78 :g, "The children of Ephraim, being
armed and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle."
And this ye will assuredly do if ye confess that you never
suffered unmerited punishment, but that you had deserved
98 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
much. For the proud, who seem to themselves to deserve good
things only, are secure and are not Hke Job, 'afraid of all their
sorrows,' 9 :28. Therefore in the time of temptation they
stand not but, like the house of the foolish man, mentioned
in Matt. 7 -.26, etc. which was built upon the sand, they fall
with a terrible destruction and become worse and worse. Hence
this fear in a man's whole life and in all his works is a great
part of the cross, nay, nearly the whole of the cross.
But farther, we are, with the Apostle Paul, Rom. 5 :3, 'to
glory in tribulations also,' and to rejoice in them with trem-
bling. From all this we conclude that there are two kinds
of serving and rejoicing in God.
First, a serving in security and a rejoicing in the Lord
without fear : these are peculiar to hypocrites, who are se-
cure, who please themselves, and who appear to themselves
to be not unuseful servants and to have great merit on their
side, concerning whom it is said, Ps. 10:5, "Thy judgments
are far above out of his sight;" and also afterwards, Ps. 36:1,
"There is no fear of God before his eyes." These at all times
do righteousness without judgment and permit not Christ to
be the judge and to be feared by all, in whose sight no man
living is justified. Ps. 143 .2.
Secondly, a serving in fear and a rejoicing with trembling:
these are peculiar to the righteous who do righteousness and
judgment at all times, and always rightly attemper both; never
being without judgments, on the one hand, by which they are
terrified and brought to despair of themselves and of all their
own works, nor without that righteousness, on the other, on
which they rest and in which they rejoice in the mercy of
God. It is the office of their whole life to accuse themselves
in all things, and in all things to justify and praise God. And
thus they fulfil that word of Prov. 28:14, "Happy in the man
that feareth alway :" and also that of Phil. 4 -.4, "Rejoice in
the Lord alway." Thus, between the upper and nether mill-
stone, Deut. 24 :6, they are broken in pieces and humbled, and,
PSALM II. 99
the husk being thus broken off, they come forth the pure
wheat of Christ.
And the emphatic force of the expression "serve Jehovah"
I leave to your meditation : he does not say serve yourself, nor
your own belly, nor your gold, nor, finally, your own right-
eousness, power, or wisdom, nor, in a word, any thing what-
ever that is your own or created; for all these things are a
kind of idolatry. Therefore rejoice "in him," not in your-
selves, nor in any creature, but in Jehovah alone. And this
thou doest when thou arrogatest to thyself nothing good what-
ever in any thing of thins own, so as to trust and glory therein,
but ascribest every thing unto God, and praisest, blessest, and
lovest him in all things : ascribing unio thyself at the same
time all evil, and fearing and trembling on account of it,
and having no confidence whatever therein, even as Job i :2i,
said, with respect both to his prosperity and adversity, "Je-
hovah gave, and Jehovah hath taken away, blessed be the
name of Jehovah."
How difficult all these things are thou wilt see if thou con-
sider each time. For in adversity it is a hard matter not to
faint, not to complain, not to become impatient, and, from
the fear of evil, not to do things, and to leave them undone,
contrary to the commands of God ; and thus by the fear of
God, to overcome the fear of the creature, not to yield to
the senses and to sensible objects, but to cleave close unto
the Word of the Lord even unto death. For by these things
it is proved whether we serve God or not, or whether the will
of God is feared more than the violence of any creature.
Though, indeed, the trembling before God is more in peril
in prosperity than the fear of God is in adversity. Because,
in prosperity we rejoice in security, for it is difficult to fear,
much more to tremble, when everything goes as we wish.
Consequently, according to my judgment, David has very
appropriately connected trembling with rejoicing, and fear
with serving; because, serving implies the labor of adversity,'
lOO LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
but rejoicing the ease of prosperity, and fear was to be recom-
mended in the former, that he might declare trembhng to be
necessary in the latter. As if he had said, there is more to
be feared where fear is not, and the more pleasantly all things
go the more anxiously ought we to fear ; and consequently,
we ought to tremble when at any time we exult and rejoice
more than usual.
V. 12, — Kiss the son (lay hold on discipline), lest he (the
Lord) be angry, and ye perish in the (right) zvay.
In the Hebrew the words 'Lord' and 'right' are not found,
though that does no harm to the sense. But the translation
"lay hold on discipline" is rejected by almost all. For in the
Hebrew it is nascu bar, which Jerome has rendered in the
Hebrew Psalter 'Adore purely ;' because bar signifies also
'pure' and 'elect.' And the same author in his short commen-
tary has these words, 'In the Hebrew it is read nascu bar:
which may be rendered 'Adore the Son.' For bar signifies
also a son. Hence we have in the Gospel Simon bar Jonah,
Simon the son of John. And bar Ptolemeus, the son of Pto-
lemy. And again Barnabas, the son of a prophet, and the like.
Burgensis and Lyra render the passage thus, 'kiss the
Son.' But we no where find that bar signifies 'discipline.'
And by 'kiss' they consider to be signified 'do homage.' So
that the sense should be 'kiss the Son,' that is, hold the King
and Lord, Christ, in reverence with humility.
But let us try to harmonize all these renderings. First,
a kiss is a sign of reverence and adoration and a way in which
v/e kiss and adore sacred and divine things, as when, humbly
prostrating ourselves, we kiss the feet and footsteps of any
person in the same way as Mary Magdalene kissed Christ ; and
therefore, according to this, Jerome has rendered the passage
'adore purely.'
Secondly, it is a sign of acknowledgment and of a profes-
sion of fidelity, as when in doing homage, we are accustomed
to kiss the hand, acknowledging thereby that he whom we
PSALM II. lOI
kiss is our Lord. Thirdly, it is a mark of the most perfect
friendship and affection, as when we kiss the eyes or face of
any one, concerning which the apostle commands us, Rom. i6:
1 6, "Salute one another with an holy kiss." And we read
that it was with such a kiss as this that Christ was used to
receive his returning disciples. Luke 7 45 ; Matt. 26 :49. And,
as those who kissed each other thus were accustomed to clasp
and embrace each other, therefore, our translation has "lay hold
on discipline."
But since David says absolutely 'kiss the Son,' not saying
any thing about his feet, nor his hands, nor his face, it is just
that we should take this kissing in its full latitude, that is, by
kissing his feet, we adore Christ as the Son of God and true
God, by kissing his hand we receive him as our lawful Lord
and our eternal helper and Saviour, by kissing his eyes or face,
we embrace him as our most beloved Brother and Friend and
the Bridegroom of our souls. Concerning these three kisses,
see Bernard, at the beginning of the Song of Solomon. So
that the sense is "kiss the Son," that is, worship Christ who is
God with the greatest reverence, be subject unto Christ with
the deepest humility, and cleave unto the Bridegroom Christ
with the strongest love. Behold, here are love and fear, with
humility between to keep both in their proper places. And
this is the most perfect service and worship of God.
With respect to the other word bar, which has been trans-
lated 'son,' 'pure,' and 'discipline,' let us bring these renderings
in such harmony that faith in Christ is our right discipline.
Therefore he who believes in Christ, that is, kisses the Son,
truly lays hold on discipline, carrying the cross of Christ in
himself, as we read in the Gal. 6 :i4, 17, For he does not kiss
nor lay hold of Christ according to the flesh, but in the spirit;
and that he does, when he lovingly undertakes his cross and
sufferings, which are the things by which we are disciplined,
Heb. 12:7, etc. Therefore our translation, though by no
I02 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS,
means correct with regard to the hteral meaning of the Hebrew,
is yet most agreeable to truth and experience.
Moreover, 'to adore purely' touches upon that which is
written, i Kings 19:18, concerning the adoration of Baal. "Yet
will I leaye me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which
have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not
kissed him (kissing his hand)." In which passage to make
a cursory observation, kissing his hand is not in the original,
but the same verb nasca is there used, which is found in this
passage and which we now are showing signifies 'to kiss,' and
which, with reference to Baal, signifies to adore him; though
it was in all probability some Hebrew interpreter that added
the gloss "kissing his hand" that he might express the mode
of adoration used, and afterwards that gloss was by some ig-
norant author introduced into the vulgate text.
According to this sense of the passage. Job also speaks,
31:27, 28, "And my mouth hath kissed my hand. This also
were an iniquity to be punished by the judges ; for I should
have denied the God that is above." By which scriptural
trope is signified, as Gregory interprets it, a man that trusts
in his own works and glories in a righteousness not received
from Christ but gotten by his own works and performances.
For such a man as this adores and kisses his hand with his
mouth, because, he praises himself in himelf, and pleases him-
self with himself, but his soul does not praise God and rejoice
in him ; and therefore, it is the greatest of iniquities and denying
of the Most High, because such an one ascribes to himself
that which belongs to God, setting up himself for an idol Baal,
adoring himself, and making himself the author of all the
good that he enjoys. For Baal signifies an 'author,' or a 'lord.'
Thus, Is. 2:8, "They worship the work of their own hands,
that which their own fingers have made." But this is the
most impure of all adorations. Therefore to kiss Christ, to
acknowledge Christ as a Saviour, and to kiss his hand, — this
is truly and purely to adore the true and pure Christ, — this
PSALM II. 103
is to adore the Son. And John saith, ''If therefore the Son
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed," 8 :36.
We conclude therefore that the prophets meaning is that
men should serve Christ in fear, acknowledging themselves to
be sinners, ever accusing themselves, and justifying only God
in Christ. But as men may run against Christ, and pretend
that they have kept the law, are righteous, have not sinned,
and have no need of Christ for righteousness : therefore,
opposing this wicked presumption, David saith, do not think
that ye are righteous ; away with such an idolatrous imagina-
tion ; make not yourselves equal unto God ; trust not in your
own righteousness. Yea, kiss the Son, embrace the Son, and
his hand, his righteousness, and his salvation shall save you.
But if ye do not this he will grow "angry" with your right-
eousness, and ye shall "perish from the way," or 'Ye shall
perish together with your way,' for in the Hebrew it is some-
what obscurely expressed vethobedu deeecii, that is, literally,
'and ye shall perish, the way ;' which seems to me to be put
eliptically, for 'ye shall perish with your way,' according to
that of Ps. I :6, "but the way of the ungodly shall perish."
For I do not see with due deference to the opinions of others,
how tlicy can perish from the right way, who were never in
the right way. But they may be terrified to their destruction,
who, pleasing themselves with their own way as being the
right way, do not acknowledge Christ the true "way."
For (lulien) his wrath zvill soon he kindled (is kindled but
a little). Blessed are all they that take refuge (trust) in him.
This passage in the Hebrew belongs to that which pre-
cedes. The order of the whole is thus. Kiss the Son, lest he be
angry, and ye perish in the way ; for his wrath will soon be
kindled. Blessed are all they that take refuge in him.
The meaning therefore is, make haste and dday not to
adore Christ, lest ye perish in his anger. And do not deceive
yourselves as supposing that he is far from you ; but know
that his wrath is kindled in a moment, and that he may come
I04 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
upon yon when you little expect him, according to Matt. 24 48,
50, "But and if that wicked servant shall say in his heart,
my Lord delayeth his coming. The Lord of that servant shall
come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour
that he is not aware of." And so also Prov. i \2'j. 'When
your calamity shall come suddenly,' etc. And, i Thess. 5 :2, 3,
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
cometh as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them." Ter-
rible therefore is this threatening, because, if the wrath of
God thus suddenly overtake a man there will be none to deliver.
Finally David concludes his Psalm with a most beautiful
remark. This, saith he, is the blessing of all blessings —
"Blessed are all they that trust in him." For he therefore
suffered, he therefore rose again, he was therefore appointed
King, he therefore received the inheritance of all things, that
he might save all that trust in him.
And this trust alone it is that justifies without the works
of the law, as the apostle teaches in his Epistles to the Romans,
3 :28, and to the Galatians, 2 :i6. But it is a very hard matter
to hold fast this trust in the midst of so many resisting ad-
versities and so many alluring prosperities. 'Blessed are they,
therefore, who shall not be offended in him,' Matt. 1 1 :6.
This is a work of divine grace, and not of human power.
Thus the Holy and Gracious Spirit does not threaten to
all eternity, but to all eternity comforts those who are terri-
fied and alarmed. If, saith he, ye fear anger, do not despair,
but trust; and "Blessed are all they that trust in him," for
he therefore terrifies them that he might bring them to trust
in him. Amen.
P S A L M I I I.
A PSALM OF DAVID WHEN HE FLED FROM THE FACE
OF HIS SON ABSALOM.
Why this Psahn is placed before others, which in the order
of history were written long before it, is a matter of no con-
sequence with me : for I have never yet found any exact order
for the Psalms. Thus the history of the fifty first Psalm con-
cerning the wife of Uriah, was without doubt before the
history of this Psalm : and the histories of many other Psalms
were before it.
With respect to the design and meaning of this Psalm, it
is not my intention to bring forward the opinions and interpre-
tations of all ; and yet, out of such a variety I cannot come to
a fixed determination in my mind which to choose. I am no
friend at all of allegories ; especially when I am searching after
that legitimate, proper, and genuine sense, which may put an
end to contention, and strengthen the instruction of faith.
But, that the meaning of this Psalm is not historical, i«
manifest from many particulars, which militate against its
being so understood. First of all, there is this which the
blessed Augustine has remarked; that the words 'T laid me
down to sleep and took my rest" seem to be the words of
Christ rising from the dead. And then, that there is at the
end the blessing of God pronounced upon the people, which
manifestly belongs to the whole church. Hence, the blessed
Augustine interprets the Psalm in a threefold Vv^ay : first, con-
cerning Christ the head ; secondly, concerning the whole Christ,
that is, Christ and his church, the head and the body; and
thirdly, figuratively concerning any private Christian.
I will let each have his own interpretation. I, in the mean
time, will interpret it concerning Christ, being moved so to
I06 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
do by the same argument that moved Augustine — that the
fifth verse does not seem appropriately to apply to any other
than Christ. First, because 'lying down' and 'sleeping' signify
in this place altogether a natural death, not a natural sleep.
This may be concluded, because then follows, "rose again."
Whereas if David had spoken concerning the sleep of the
body, he would have said 'and awoke;' though this does not
favor so forcibly the interpretation of which we are speaking,
if the Hebrew word be closely examined. But again, what
new thing would he advance by declaring that he laid him
dovv^n and slept ? Why did he not say also that he walked, ate,
drank, labored, or was in need, or mention particularly some
other work of the body? Moreover, it seems an absurdity
under so great a tribulation to boast of nothing else than the
sleep of the body, for that tribulation would rather force him
to a privation from sleep and be in peril and distress, especially
since those two expressions, "I laid me down," and "I slept,"
signify the quiet repose of one lying down in his place, which
is not the state of one who falls asleep from exhaustion through
sorrow.
But this consideration makes the more forcibly for us,
that he therefore glories in his rising up again, because it
was the Lord that sustained him, who raised him up while
sleeping and did not leave him in sleep. How can such a
glorying agree, and what new kind of religion can make it
agree, with any particular sleep of the body? In that case
would it not apply to the daily sleep also and especially when
this sustaining of God indicates at the same time an utterly
forsaken state in the person sleeping? Which is not the case
in bodily sleep ; for then the person sleeping may be pro-
tected even by men being his guards, but this sustaining being
altogether of God implies not a sleep but a heavy conflict.
Lastly, the word hekizothi itself favors such an inter-
pretation ; which, being here put absolutely and transitively,
signifies 'I caused to arise or awake.' As if he had said, 'I
PSALM III. 107
caused myself to awake, I roused myself.' Which certainly
more aptly agrees with the resurrection of Christ than with
the sleep of the body, both because those who are accustomed
to be aroused and awaked and because it is no wonderful mat-
ter, nor a matter worthy of so important a declaration, for
any one to awake of himself, since that is what takes place
every day. But this matter, being introduced by the Spirit
as something new and singular, is certainly different from all
that which attends common sleeping and waking.
Since then these things are so, it follows of necessity that
where the title of the Psalm indicates something historical we
are not always necessarily to conclude, that the subject of it is
to be understood historically, but that the history was the
occasion or event wherein and whereby* the prophets were to
be instructed by the intuition of the Spirit in things that were
come.
Let the meaning therefore of the title of this Psalm be,
'A Psalm, a song of David, revealed unto him, or discovered
unto him by the Holy Spirit when he fled from the face of
his son Absalom,' that is, upon the occasion of that history
and circumstance. For it is not likely that the Psalm was
composed by him at the very time of that history and his
flight from his son, because he was at that time in a state of
the greatest inquietude from anxiety and gloomy apprehen-
sion. Whereas, the Holy Spirit requires a lucid and quiet
instrument, and it is not under the temptation, but after the
temptation, that the man at length perceives and knows the
tilings which have been done unto him. It is most probable,
therefore, that this Psalm was composed long after the histori-
cal event, when, in cjuiet meditation, he understood the myster-
ies contained in that event.
It is moreover to be observed that in all these titles, the
word David is in the dative case, which, in these instances,
is equal to an accusative with the preposition ad; and according
to the same mode of expression it is said in the other prophets,
I08 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the Word of the Lord came unto this person or unto that,
Jer, I \2, or was m the hand of this person or that, Is. 20 :2.
And it is peculiar to this prophet to call the Word of God a
Psalm, or a song, or instruction, and to adorn it with various
other titles, as we shall see hereafter, and then, by putting
his own name, David, in the dative case, to signify thereby
that the revelation of that. same Word was made unto him.
Thus does the Holy Spirit commend unto us this peculiar
prophet and the peculiar prophesies of this book.
But it will be necessary also to be well acquainted with
the history contained in 2 Sam. 15:14, and to understand its
sacred mysteries.
In the first place, Absalom represents figuratively the peo-
ple of the Jews both in his actions and in his name. In his
name, because Absalom is, by interpretation, 'the father of
peace,' which is a name that seems to promise something bless-
ed, if all the other attending circumstances did not compel us
to understand it as representing, in a bad sense, that peace
which the world gives, that is, a hatred of the cross of Christ.
For that people hated in an especial manner the cross and
the evils of this world, because the good things of this world
and the peace of this life had been promised to them in the
law. Hence their cry of "Peace, peace," Jer. 6:14: whereas,
there was no peace, because they neither kept the law nor were
able to do it, and therefore, the apostle calls them "enemies
of the cross of Christ," Phil. 3 :i8.
In the next place, Absalom represents that people in his
actions; because he is said, 2 Sam. 14:25, etc. to have been
the most beautiful man in all Israel, and that there was no
blemish in him from the sole of his foot even imto his head ;
that his hair was of such an unheard-of thickness, that it was
cut every year and sold, and weighed two hundred shekels
after the king's weight; and it is also said that it was sold
to the women, who used it to ornament their heads.
Thus is represented that synagogue which shone conspicu-
PSALM III. 109
ously above all other peoples of the earth, which was the glory
of our fathers and pre-eminently distinguished for its worship
of the one true God, its gift of a knowledge of the law, and
of the prophets, and many other things described, Rom. 3:2;
9 4 etc. And then, the very thick hair represents the splendid
order of priests and Levites at the head and in the highest place
of the synagogue, abounding in, overflowing with, and boasting
of their riches and luxuries, concerning whom, Is. 3:17, 24
says, 'And the Lord will make bald the head of the daughters
of Zion : and instead of hair there shall be baldness :' that
is, instead of their splendid priesthood. And again, Ps. 68:21,
"But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy
scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his wickedness."
Absalom's hanging suspended from an oak by his hair
between heaven and earth, to be killed in that situation, signi-
fies, that the priests hung by their carnal opinions, and were
not impressed by, nor understand either the heavenly or the
earthly things of the law. And the hair being shorn and sold
to women signifies that those priests being separated in spirit
from the head of the synagogue, gave themselves up wholly to
their own lusts and pleasures. And yet pleasures are no orna-
ment to any one, though they serve as an ornament and allure-
ment unto many, so that many rulers are addicted to, and
sold under pleasures.
More directly to the point. Absalom aimed at the kingdom
and the inheritance against his father David, and drove him
from the city, using the counsel of Ahithophel, who afterwards
hanged himself in his own house. So did the people of Israel
against Christ, Luke 20 :i4. They said, 'This is the heir, come
let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours." Mark 12:7.
And so, John 11:48, "If we let him thus alone all men will
believe on him." And they used for this end the counsel and
help of Judas, who, in the same manner as Ahithophel did,
armed himself with bands of men and coadjutors. And he
also, like Ahithophel, descending into the house of his own
no LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
conscience, and being filled with despair, hanged himself. For
the name Ahithophel signifies, 'Brother of folly ; and this is
what David alluded to, 2 Sam. 15:30, when he said, "O Lord,
I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness."
As if he had said, make him appear thereby to be a fool and
an infatuated man indeed.
And David's going out bare-footed and with his head cov-
ered, 2 Sam. 15 :30, signifies Christ's being led out to Golgotha,
who also literally went out bare-footed and having his head
covered with a crown of thorns and with blood. But, allegori-
cally, the head signified the divinity hidden under infirmity,
and the bare feet, the humanity left alone to itself.
The returning into the city after the slaying of Absalom is
the resurrection of Christ from the dead and his victory over
the people of the synagogue. For it was then that they were
smitten upon the cheek-bone and their teeth broken in pieces,
as this same psalm sings, for they could no more devour
Christ, because he died no more, Rom. 6 19, and death had
no more dominion over him. David saith, therefore, in this
Psalm,
V. I. — Jehovah, hoiv arc mine adversaries increased!
{Lord, zvhy are they increased that trouble me?) Many are
they that rise up against me.
The scope of this psalm is nearly th^ same as that of the
preceding, and the subject similar. For the psalmist begins
here also, by complaining of the vain presumption of the
adversaries of Christ, and concludes with a triumphant con-
solation, saying, "For thou hast smitten," etc. v. 8 ; and, "Sal-
vation belongeth unto the Lord," etc. v. 9. But he here treats
of the matter more briefly, and of the patience of the sufferer
more fully.
For there are three things that most severely try a suf-
ferer, his solitude, impotency, and despair; which the three
opposite things of the adversaries increase and strengthen,
their multitude, power, and confidence.
PSALM III. Ill
He refers to his own solitude and the multitude of his
enemies, when he says, "O Lord, why are they increased that
trouble me?" For if it were otherwise, and he were not soli-
tary and left alone, how could he suffer? How could he be
tried, how could he be touched, if he were supported with a
greater or even an equal number of defenders contending for
him? as the devil saw in the case of Job and said, "Doth Job
fear God for naught? Hast thou not made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every
side?" I .'9, lo.
He refers to his own impotency and the power of his ene-
mies when he says, "Many are they that rise up against me."
For he would not have suffered even though left alone, if he
had not been weak and helpless himsGlf, and oppressed with
more powerful enemies. For thus, Samson, though alone,
could suffer no hurt from the Philistines whom he destroyed
so often. Wherefore it is to be observed as a general rule,
that his suffering is nothing who has the means of returning
the injury he receives and of revenging it, and who has the
power of resisting so as to prevent himself from being op-
pressed. For the two things that concur to make a suft'erer are
an inability either to revenge or to resist.
But it is more terrible to rise up against a person, than
simply to distress him. Even as it is more terrible to be help-
less than to be alone, and more terrible for the enemy to be
powerful and invincible than for them to be many. Therefore
he saith, they "rise up against me" as in Ps. 2, they are excited,
strengthened, and banded together against me, they are too
strong for me, they by strength prevail over me, and I, being
too weak for them, totter, fall, and am laid utterly prostrate.
For this their superior might and his own bereft state are
signified by the words "rise up against me." As it was ex-
pressed also in the former psalm, "The kings of the earth stood
up," for that signifies the same power. But that which follows,
most strongly and extremely enforces these two points.
112 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
V. 2. — Many there are that say of my soul, there is no
help for him in (his) God. Selah.
Christ certainly heard these words while hanging on the
cross, "He trusteth on God; let him deliver him now, if he
desireth him," Matt. 27 :43 ; according to that which was fore-
told, Ps. 22 :7-8, "All they that see me, laugh me to scorn :
they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, he trusted
on Jehovah that he would deliver him : let him rescue him,
seeing he delighteth in him." For certainly this boasting
confidence, this laughing to scorn, this derision, this insult-
ing mockery, which are the triumphal song and lauding en-
comium of the adversaries over an enemy when vanquished
and brought to utter despair, are the most bitter and extreme
of all tribulations. For to have fallen and entirely yielded to
many and powerful enemies, is then the most dreadful when
the hope of rising again, though in God himself, is denied ; as it
is written, Ps. 41 15, 8, "Mine enemies speak evil against me,"
saying, "And now that he lieth he shall rise up no more." And
we know that Christ was in this state of despair, not that he
himself despaired, but he was despaired of by all, even by his
own disciples, that is, he was considered in their hearts as dead,
and they had no hope of his rising again, as it is written, Ps,
69:20, "I looked for some to take pity, but there was none."
Nay, for consolation they had nothing but desperation with
the most bitter derision, which is diabolical.
In the Hebrew the expression is simply "in God," without
the pronoun his, which seems to me to give clearness and force
to the expression. As if he had said, they say of me, that
I am not only deserted and oppressed by all creatures, but
that even God, who is present with all things, preserves all
things, and protects all things, forsakes me as the only thing
out of the whole universe that lie does not preserve. Which
kind of temptation Job seems to have tasted when he says,
"Why hast thou set me as a mark for thee," 7 :20. For there
is no temptation, no not of the whole world together, nor of
PSALM III. 113
all hell combined in one, equal to that in which God stands
contrary to a man ; which temptation Jeremiah prays against,
17:17, "Be not a terror unto me; thou art my refuge in- the
day of evil:" and concerning which also the sixth psalm, v. i,
following saith, "O Lord, rebuke me not in thine anger ;" and
we find the same petitions through the v/hole Psalter. This
temptation is wholly unsupportable, and is truly hell itself,
as it is said in Ps. 6:5, "For in death there is no remembrance
of thee," etc. In a word, if you have never experienced it,
you can. never form any idea of it whatever.
Observe also the modesty, yea, the peculiar state of mind
of him who is under this temptation. He says, interrogatively,
"Why are they increased ?" wherein he desires to prove himself
innocent, and to show that he suffered undeservedly. Yet
he does not dare to accuse them and to address them with the
appellation of unrighteous and sinners, but using an ambiguous
expression he says, "why are they increased that trouble me?"
But at the conclusion, after his victory, he firmly and with
confidence calls them sinners and ungodly, saying, 'Tliou hast
smitten all those that are mine enemies without a cause, as
our text has it : thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.'
For while he is under the hand of these implacably raging
ones, he alone is the sinner, and all others are righteous ; and
while they are all, according to the will of God, fighting to-
gether against him, nothing is heard but this unutterable
groan, in which, being imperceptibly aided by the spirit, he
inquires and says, "why do so many of them rise up against
me, one person?" But David himself in this part of his history,
laboring under the same feelings, says, 2 Sam. 15:26, "But
if he say thus, I have no delight in thee ; behold here am I, let
him do to me as seemeth good unto him." O great self-denial,
to choose a God even when contrary to him ! etc.
At the end of this verse we have the Hebrew word
SELAH, which, as it will often occur, we will now consider
once for all.
114 LUTHEU ON THE PSALMS.
Concerning the Hebrew zvord ''selah/'
It is not at this day clearly known what this word signifies,
or what its true meaning is. The seventy translators have
rendered it by the Greek word diapsahna, which the sainted
Augustine interprets, a pause, an interruption or discontinua-
tion of the psalmody, as, on the contrary, he interprets sump
saluia, a making or continuation of the psalmody. He ob-
serves also, that wherever diapsahna or sela is put, a change
of the subject or of the persons is signified. And with him
Cassidorus agrees.
The blessed Jerome to Marcella, adducing many authori-
ties from Origen, thinks that the v/ord m.ore truly signifies a
connection of the preceding things in the Psalm with those
that succeed, or, certainly, that those things which are said
are eternal. Hence Aquila, a most diligent expounder of the
Hebrew words, has translated it, 'ever,' or 'for ever.'
Burgensis on the eighty-third Psalm says that it has no
signification at all, but is only a supplement to the music, and
refers to nothing but the music to which it is joined. He
denies that it has any such signification as 'for ever,' that
therefore it is found no v/here but in the Psalms, because they
are canticles, and sung or uttered to music, and that it is
found in one canticle of Habakkuk, and once in that canticle,
in this passage, "And the Holy One from mount Paran."
Habak. 3 13 .
Burgensis is closely followed by a more recent writer,
Stapulensis, who thinks that selah v/as of the same signi-
fication with the Hebrews, as the vowels, evo\'ae, are with
us in our ecclesiastical responses, which are the signature to
a pause or final tone, and signify, "For ever and ever. Amen ;"
but they are not sung with the response, though they are joined
to it in the music.
John Reuchlin in his Hebrew Rudiments brings forward
two opinions. The one, that of Jonathan the Chaldean, who,
he says, translated selah, 'in the power of ages.' To which
PSALM III. 115
translation, Rabbi Eleazar added, 'that to whatever portion
of the holy scripture Selah is, added, that scripture will have
no end, either in this world or in that which is to come.' The
other opinion is that of Abraham Ben Esdras, who thinks that
SELAH is of the same signification as 'verily' or 'truly ;' and he
says that this interpretation was received by the Hebrews, and
that in their opinion also it has no meaning, except that it is
joined to the music, as Burgensis has also observed.
Such a diversity of opinions, therefore, causes me to con-
fess that I know not which of them comes the nearest to the
truth. But the arguments which move me to dissent from all
that they have advanced are these.
First, the examples taken from the Psalms and from Hab-
akkuk do not agree together. For the selah which is found
in the latter, though it favors the opinion of Augustine, yet it
is against Jerome, because it is the subject that is changed,
not the person ; nor are the things which precede and those
which follow connected by it. And yet, this same instance is
against them both, because, it is sometimes placed at the end
of the Psalms and sometimes repeated in the midst of the
words of the same person in the same continued exhortation,
as may be seen in the third and fourth Psalms, for at the end
of the third Psalm it is said, "Thy blessing is upon thy people,
Selah :" and, in the fourth Psalm it is said, "Commune with
your own heart upon your bed ; Selah. Offer the sacrifice of
righteousness." Here is a continued exhortation of the same
person to the same persons, and yet selah is found in the mid-
dle of it, which is against Augustine, and that it is found at the
end of the preceding Psalm is against Jerome.
If the opinion of each be defended in any manner, either
with respect to Selah signifying a connection or a distinction
of subjects or persons, even then no reason can be given why
it should not equally be put in all the Psalms where there is
either a connection or distinction of subjects or persons ; for
it might in many instances be put with greater propriety for
Il6 LUTHEE ON THE PSALMS.
that purpose, than where it is now found, as is obvious to
every observant reader.
But that it does not signify 'for ever,' as Burgensis rightly
thinks, is evidently proved even by the verse now before us,
which saith, "there is no help for him in his god. Selah." For
who, I pray, would be so mad as to assert that Christ, or any
righteous man, could be in eternal tribulation without any
salvation of God? for Ps. 8:5, saith that it was 'for a little
time,' and short, as we shall hereafter see. And in Ps. 83 :8,
it is said, "Assur is also joined with them : they have holpen
the children of Lot. Selah." Did then Assur help the children
of Lot for ever? In a word Selah, received in that sense,
will accord with very few verses indeed. For when it is said,
Ps. 4:2, "And seek after lying," and, v. 4, "Be filled with
compunction on your beds. Selah." does it signify that the
sons of men shall be filled with compunction and shall seek
after leasing 'for ever?'
The remaining opinion, therefore, is that of Burgensis,
which I neither approve nor disapprove, though it may be said
against him, why should this appendage of music be affixed to
these, and not to other passages also ?
I, in the mean time, will stand by the septuagint trans-
lators, who in many instances seem to have had a certain
divine discernment, though they frequently departed from the
literal propriety of the original words. As for instance, how
clearly and appropriately did they render that passage, Ps. 2:12,
"Lay hold on discipline," which is in Hebrev/, though some-
what obscurely expressed, "Kiss the Son?" For truly, to
embrace Jesus Christ is to embrace discipline and the cross,
and, as Paul is wont to say, 'to have fellowhip with Christ
in his sufferings.' For otherwise, many may confess that they
know Christ, while in works they deny him. But, not he that
talks about Christ, but he that lives according to Christ cruci-
fied, shall be saved. And to live according to Christ cruci-
fied, is to be crucified ; as Paul says. Gal. 2 :20, "I am crucified
PSALM III.
117
with Christ: nevertheless I Hve: yet not I but Christ Hveth
in me." Thus also with respect to their diapsalnias what
they meant to convey by it as to grammatical signification I
know not ; I shall divine its mystical meaning.
And they seem after their manner to intimate a mystery
when they made bold to interpret it 'a. division,' 'a pause,' or
'a resting ;' which Selah, in the Hebrew, does not signify, nor
were they a little moved by the consideration of the certainty,
that no one letter, point, or iota, is written in the scriptures in
vain. Matt. 5:18.
According to my bold way, therefore, I imagine this 'pause'
to signify a certain particular affection of the heart, which
the person feels while singing or meditating on the Psalms,
under the movings of the Spirit, which afifection of mind, as it
is not in our own power, cannot be commanded by us in every
psalm nor in every verse, but only as the Holy Spirit shall move
us. Therefore, the word Selah is introduced confusedly and
altogether without discernable order, to show, that the motion
of the Spirit is secret, unknown to us, and by no means possi-
ble to be foreseen by us; and that, wherever it comes, it re-
quires us to omit the words of the psalms, that the mind may
be in a pausing and quiet frame, and in a state for receiving
the illumination or feeling conveyed to us. Thus, in this
verse, where that singular temptation of the spirit is spoken
of, under which an angry God is sustained, and not the creature
only, the prophet is moved to contemplate and dwell upon
it with a deep affection of the mind.
Such is my opinion, without any prejudice against the
judgment of others. And let this suffice concerning the word
SELAII.
V. 3. — But thou, O Jchoi'ah, art a shield about mc {my
helper) ; my glory, and the lifter up of my head.
David here contrasts three things with three; helper, with
many troubling ; glory, with many rising up ; and the lifter up
of the head, with the blaspheming and insulting.
Il8 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Therefore, the person here represented is indeed alone in
the estimation of men, and even according to his own feeHngs ;
but in the sight of God, and in a spiritual view, he is by no
means alone, but protected with the greatest abundance of
help, as Christ saith, John 16:32, "Behold, the hour cometh
when ye shall leave me alone : and yet I am not alone, because
the Father is with me.'
Hence such an one is weak and oppressed according to
outward appearance and in the sight of men, but before God
and in the spirit he is most strong; and therefore he glories
in the power of God with all confidence, like the apostle, 2
Cor. 12:10, 9, 'When I am weak then am I strong: most
gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power
of Christ may rest upon me.' And Ps. 68:9, 'Thou didst
confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.
Thus according to man and the views of the unwise, such a
person is in despair, and there is no salvation left for him in
God. But in the "secret place of thunder" he is heard and
lifted up, according to Ps. 81 :7, "Thou calledst in trouble
and I delivered thee, I answered thee in the secret place of
thunder." And truly it is in the "secret place" of thunder,
for this thunder-storm of tribulation so hides the knowledge
of our being heard and of salvation, that any thing but salva-
tion appears in view; and not a hearing God, but an angry
God only is felt.
He who has understood and experienced these things will
also know well how foolishly and rashly many teach, that
man by nature can love God above all things; but there is
no man, left to his own nature, who does not dread death
and the punishments that follow death, being unable to en-
dure the hell and the wrath of God let in upon him. And
God cannot be above all things, unless all these things be
overcome by the love of God.
Hence the words contained in this verse are not the words
of nature, but of grace; not of free-will, but of the spirit of
PSALM III. 119
Strong faith, which, even though seeing God, as in the darkness
of the storm of death and hell, a deserting God, acknowledges
him a sustaining God ; when seeing him as a persecuting
God, acknowledges him a helping God ; when seeing him as a
condemner, acknowledges him a Saviour. Thus this faith does
not judge of things as they seem, or are felt, like a horse and
a mule which have no understanding, Ps. 32 :g, but it under-
stands things which are not seen, for "hope that is seen is
not hope; for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for?"
Rom. 8 :24.
Of the same import with the present passage is that also
which is written, Ps. 54:3, 'For strangers, (behold here are
many ,and strangers, that is, ungodly and advarsaries), are
risen up against me that is, against me deserted and alone,
and violent men have sought after my soul. Behold there
are strong ones, and they prevail against the one that is weak :
they have not set God before them." As if he had said, they
do not believe that God is with me, but that I am in despair,
and therefore they imagine that I am hated by God himself.
Likewise Ps. 86:14, "O God, the proud are risen against
me, and a company of violent men have sought after my
soul ; and have not set thee before them." That is, I am
left alone and am helpless, and they are multiplied and op-
press me; I am impotent and distressed, and they are power-
ful, and rise and stand up against me. I am in despair, and
they say there is no help for me in God ; and they are confident
and glory in their victory over me.
Hence we see that the life of a righteous man in this world,
after the example of Christ, is made up of these three parts
of the cross, solitude, impotency, and despair; that he may
thus be a proper object to find in God, a helper, a glorifier and
a lifter-up of his head. Thus Joshua with the children of
Israel, feigned a flight in the war against the people of Ai,
8 :5-i4, and by that very means destroyed them utterly. And
thus the children of Ijenjan.iin were slain by the children of
120 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Israel, Judges 20 :32-35, in the same manner, for the latter
feigned a flight, and, returning afterwards, slew the former
almost completely. For the cross and suffering are most en-
snaring, and are most destroying flights to the world, and
the devil, the world, and the flesh are not overcome by any
powers more effectually than these, for here, by the wonderful
counsel of God, while they conquer, they are conquered.
It is clear, however, that "glory" in this passage is to be
received as signifying 'glorying,' or 'the thing gloried in,'
according to a figure of speech used in the scriptures, whereby
it is said, Jer. 17:17, "Thou art my refuge in the day of evil,"
and also, Ps. 22 :g, "Thou didst make me trust when I was
upon my mother's breasts," and again, Ps. 142 15, "I said,
Thou art my refuge," tliat is, thou art that concerning which,
and in which, I hope. Thus my God is my mercy, thus the
Lord is my light and my salvation, etc.
In the same manner that it is said here, thou art "my
glory," that is, that in which I glory. So that the sense is, they
trust in their own glory, and glory in the multitude of their
riches, Ps. 49:7, (Vulgate), and their glory is their strength;
but I do not glory in my strength, and yet I am not confounded
in the impoten.cy v/hich I suffer; but I glory in thy strength,
and thy power is my glory, according to Ps. 89:17, "For thou
art the glory of their strength, and also Jer. 9:23, 24, "Let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man
glory in his might ; let not the rich man glory in his riches : but
let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he hath understanding
and knoweth me," etc. And so again, i Cor. 1:31, "He that
glorieth let him glory in the Lord.'
Now if any one should wish to enter farther into gram-
matical particulars, — that cabod in this passage signifies,
properly, that which the Greeks express by dosa, glory, and the
Latins by gloria, glory ; and that therefore, it is a different
thing from glorying, which the Greeks are considered to ex-
press by koiicluDiia, and the Hebrew by pheer or tiprera;
PSALM III. 121
— if the passage, I say, be so received, it will not even then
be properly understood, for it will then make God to be the
'glory' of the righteous man, in the same way as Paul, i Cor.
11:7, calls man "the glory of God," and woman "the glory
of man." Because, God is glorified, honored, and praised in
his saints whom he has redeemed ; and on the other hand, they
also are glorified on whom God has condescended to bestow
so great a benefit, while they confess concerning themselves
that they were holpen, not by their own strength, but by the
power of God.
But there is to me very little difference in these two words,
especially with respect to the present passage, except that
'glory' being unconnected with the feelings of the person
glorified, signifies the good opinion of others concerning him,
and his fame and renown ; but 'glorying' signifies the afifection
of mind in the person glorifying, and his confidence in God.
Let each one adopt that acceptation of the passage which
pleases him most, because, in the spirit and before God, there
can neither be glory without glorifying, nor glorifying without
glory. For in order to glory and happily boast in God, thy
opinion of thyself as to what thou art in the sight of God,
must be good, and thou must feel and firmly believe it to be so ;
and then, God being thy glory, and known and believed to be
so, makes thee rejoice and glory in God. For who may not
glory, exult, and, despising all things else, unspeakably re-
joice, who knows and believes that his opinion of himself, as
to what he is in the sight of God, is good? that is, that God
thinks well of him, is well pleased with him, is willing to
help him, will fight for him, and will give him favor in the
sight of all.
But again, it is not enough that thy opinion of thy self as to
what thou art in the sight of God, be good ; that is, tliat thou
art loved by him, praised by him, and well pleasing to him,
that is, that thou art in his glory, unless thou art and believe
this. And be assured that, when thou knowest and believest
122 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
this, glorying and joy of conscience cannot by any means be
wanting. Whence it is certain that it must of necessity be,
that the glorifying of God and the glorying of the righteous
must go together; as we find it in Ps. 106:47, "That we may
glory in thy praise;" so that God is both the glory and the
glorying of the righteous, their 'glory' is in God, and the
'glorying' is in their own conscience. For the 'glory' is our
good opinion concerning another but the 'glorying' is our
rejoicing and confidence in that object of our glory.
You see therefore, what great faith and confidence are
manifested in these words. Although, saith he, many rise up
against me, imagine evil against me, and think the worst of
things concerning me, yet I know that I shall not be con-
founded. The Lord is my glory, and I firmly trust that his
thoughts concerning me are most favorable, and I glory in
this my persuasion.
"The lifter up of my head." Though I know that this
"head" is received by some as signifying Christ himself, and
also the mind itself of Christ, yet this acceptation seems to
be figurative. Therefore, according to my bold way, I rather
think that it should be received as signifying more simply, and
by a figure of speech most common in the scriptures, 'glori-
fication.' So that the plain meaning of the whole passage
should be, "The lifter up of my head," that is, he has lifted
me up and set me on high, according to 2 Kings 25 :27f. "Evil
Merodach, king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign,
did lift up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, out of prison ;
and he spake kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne
of the kings that were with him in Babylon." Here it is clear
that 'lifting up the head' signifies to exalt the whole man,
and to place him in a state of glory and in a kingdom. And
so Christ, who was represented in a figure by Jehoiachin, king
of Judah, when he had died and descended into hell, and it was
now said of him that all was despair, and that there was no
hope for him in God, was soon after raised up by the right
PSALM III. 123
hand of God from the depths of the earth above the heavens,
and above all powers, and was made King of kings, and Lord
of lords! Thus it is said in the same manner, Ps. 110:7, "^^
will drink of the brook in the way, therefore will he lift up the
head," that is, shall be exalted above all.
And as 'to lift up the head,' in the scriptures, signifies a
kingdom and power, so also, with no dissimilar figure of
speech, to lift up the hand signifies to prevail and to be power-
ful in working, as in Is. 49 :22, ''Behold, I will lift up mine
hand to the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples ; and
they shall bring thy sons in their bosom," etc. And so also Ps.
74 :3, 'Lift up thy hand against their pride.' And in the same
manner, 'to lift up the feet' signifies 'to go quickly,' as we
have it. Gen. 29:1, where we read, "Then Jacob went on his
journey," which is in the Hebrew 'and Jacob lifted up his feet.'
And we are accustomed in the German language also, by a
figure of expression, to exhort those whom we would have to
go quickly, by saying 'Lift up your feet.'
I have dwelt upon these particulars somewhat at length,
because, a great part of the knowledge of what is written lies
in the figures of speech ; and especially in the Holy Scriptures,
which have their peculiar idioms, an ignorance of which, some-
times raises great clouds where there is the clearest day. To
have the 'head lifted up,' therefore, is to be exalted to the
station of a king, and to be glorified.
Continually would I inculcate and bring to remembrance
that these are the words of faith, hope, and love ; whereby
we are instructed in Christ, that we faint not in every strait,
for all these things, as the apostle saith, Rom. 15 14, 'are written
for our instruction and consolation, that we through patience
might have hope.' For it is a hard matter and a work requir-
ing the power of divine grace to believe in God as the lifter
up of our head and our crowner in the midst of death and
hell. For this exaltation is a thing hidden, and that which is
seen, is only despair, and no help in God.
Therefore we are here taught 'to believe in hope against
124 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
hope,' which wisdom of the cross is in this day deeply hidden
in a profound mystery. For there is no other way into heaven,
than this cross of Christ. Therefore we must take heed that
the active hfe with its works, and the speculative with its
speculations, do not delude us : they are each very pleasing
and quiet, and are on that account the more perilous, until
they be disturbed and tempered by the cross. The cross is
the safest of all things. Blessed is he who understands !
V. 4. — / cry (cried) unto Jehovah with my voice, and he
answercth {heard) me out of his holy hill. Selah.
In Hebrew the verbs are future as Jerome translates them,
T will cry. and 'he shall hear,' and this pleases me better than
the perfect tense, for they are the words of one triumphing
in and praising and glorifying God, and giving thanks unto
him who sustained, preserved, and lifted him up, according as
he had hoped in the preceding verse. For it is usual with
those that triumph and rejoice to speak of those things which
they have done and suffered and to sing a song of praise unto
their helper and deliverer, as in Ps. 66:16, "Come, and hear, all
ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for
my soul. I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was ex-
tolled with my tongue." Also Ps. 81 :i, "Sing aloud unto
God our strength." Again, Ex. 15:1, "I will sing unto Jeho-
vah, for he hath triumphed gloriously." And so here, being
filled with an overflowing sense of gratitude and joy, he sings
of his being heard, of his having slept and risen again, of
his enemies being smitten, and of the teeth of the ungodly
being broken.
This it is which causes the change ; for he who hitherto had
been addressing God in the second person, changes on a sudden
his address to others concerning God, in the third person,
saying, "and he heard me," not 'and thou heardest me;' and
also "I cried unto the Lord," not 'I cried unto thee,' for he
wants to make all know what benefits God has heaped upon
him, which is peculiar to a grateful mind.
However that expression of the Hebrew in the future, 'I
PSALM III. 125
will cry,' and, 'he shall hear me,' carries greater force with
it than 'I cried,' in the perfect; though the future does not
exclude the perfect, but very forcibly includes it. And that
I may set forth the mind of the speaker if I can, his feelings
seem to be something like this. 'I, who have now experienced
how good and sweet the Lord is, how far he is from forsak-
ing and despising those who cry unto him, how faithfully he
sustains, preserves, and lifts up all who call upon him, I who
have experienced these things, will so carry myself tov/ards
him henceforth, that I will flee unto him only with the greatest
confidence. I will not be afraid of many hundreds of thousands
of people ; for I am prepared to hope in him, even though many
more and greater things are to be borne than those which I
have borne already; as Job 13:15 saith, "Though he slay me,
yet will I trust in him." This is that God in whom all may
confidently trust, and concerning whom they may be assured
no one has any reason to despair. O unhappy they, who,
when broken with either the multitude or the magnitude of
evils, do not understand how powerfully, how wonderfully,
and how gloriously this God saves those that cry unto him !'
That such were his feelings is manifest from what follows,
'T will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people." And
again, "Salvation is of the Lord." And so also with the same
feelings he says, Ps. 34:1, 'T will bless the Lord at all times."
As if he had said, 'Fool that I have been ! for hitherto I have
blessed the Lord at one time only, that is, in the time of pros-
perity and quiet, for I did not know how powerful he was
in the time of adversity also ; therefore, from this time for-
ward I will bless him in the time of evil also.' For there are
some who will praise God at the time when all things go well,
according to that word, 'He will praise thee when thou doest
good unto him.' Ps. 49 :i8. But in the time of temptation they
so draw back, that they will flee unto any thing rather than
unto God. In a word, they cannot even cry unto him, much
less praise and bless him.
But we are here taught that in the time of the cross we
126 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
ought to sing forth that of Ps. i8 :3, "I will call upon Jehovah,
who is v/orthy to be praised ; so shall I be saved from mine
enemies :" that God may then be precious unto thee and be
lOved by thee, when he seems to be the most displeasing and
the most worthy of being hated. This is the love of God that
is pure and solid. And this is what Is. saith, 48 -.g, "For my
praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off." For the
heart is bound and restrained with this praise in the midst
of the waters and storms of temptation, that it fall not away
from the love of God. But all these things are the operations
of the Holy Spirit, and not of nature ; they all were perfectly
accomplished in Christ, and are wrought and exemplified in
all who are Christ's.
As to the words "my voice," Augustine, and after him
Cassidorus, think they are not to be understood as meaning
the corporeal voice, but 'the voice of the heart,' that is, the
voice of the heart that is truly pure; and they are led to this
interpretation of the v/ords by the pronoun "my," because,
that is not the man's real voice, which is interrupted by im-
pure thoughts when in prayer. I think this is the true meaning
of the passage. And yet I do not consider that the corporeal
voice is excluded, because, when the feelings are powerful,
the voice cannot contain itself, but will burst forth into words
and expressions. For even Christ, when on the cross, cried
out with the natural voice, and has taught us also to cry out
in our straits, so that we may thus cry unto God with all our
powers, both inward and outward.
He says, "From his holy hill." I find this "hill" to be
variously understood. Some understand Christ here as speak-
ing concerning himself, others concerning his most high divin-
ity, and others give the passage different acceptations. I am
best pleased by understanding it to signify the "hill" of his
most high divinity ; only, you are to observe I speak in my
bold way that this "hill" has no name. For in the second
Psalm he spoke of the "holy hill of Zion," upon which he was
set as King; and therefore the "hill" v/as there to have a name,
PSALM III. 127
because he could not rule upon it without its being known by
name . But this "hill" from which he is heard, is unnameable
and has neither form nor name.
And I conceive that by this we are all taus^ht that in the
time of temptation we ought to hope for the divine help from
above ; but that the time, manner, and nature of the help are
unknown to us ; that so, there may be room for faith and hope,
which always rest upon those things that are neither seen nor
heard, and that never entered into the heart of man. Thus,
the eye of faith looks toward the inner darkness and blackness
of the hill and sees nolhin.g; except that it is fixedly directed
upwards, expecting help will come unto it from thence. It
looks up on high and from on high expects a helper, but what
this on high is or what help it shall get it knows not. For
although Christ knew all things, yet he was in all things tempt-
ed as we are; so that he himself, in a certain sense, and in
respect to his humanity, had this hill unknown to him and
incomoprchensible during the hour of his passion ; for he
speaks of this same thing also in another place, Ps. 22 :3, "But
thou dwellcst in thy holy place," that is, in thy hidden and
unapproachable secrecy. For as God is ineffable, incompre-
hensible, and inaccessible, so are his will and his help also,
especially in the time of desertion.
But what this "holy liill" of God is no words can express,
nor can any one come to the least apprehension of it but he who
is brought to experience it by faith, and to prove it for himself
in the times of temptation. It is the same as if he had said,
'He heard froni his holy lull, which is the common rendering;
he heard me in an ineffable, incomprehensible manner, and
in a manner that I never thought of. I know that I was heard
from above, but how, I know not. He saved me from above
and received me from on high, as we shall hereafter hear him
speak, but what this 'above' and this 'on high' is, I know not.'
It is the same when God leaves us and does not hear us ;
for we know not whither the Spirit goes, nor whence he
comes, though we hear his voice when he speaks to us ; as
128 . LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Christ saith John 3 :8, and Job 9:11, "Lo, he goeth by me, and
I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not."
Christ says, "so is every one that is born of the spirit." He
departeth when the Spirit departcth, that is, he is left alone
when the Spirit leaves him ; and he cometh when the Spirit
cometh, that is, he is heard when the Spirit heareth ; and yet
he knoweth neither the one nor the other, nor hov/ it is wrought
upon him.
This is what is contained in the word "holy," which, as I
have already shown, signifies separate and secret and, in a
word, that v/hich can be touched neither by sense nor by the
powers of the natural mind ; and into which whoever is taken,
is taken into the invisible God, and is perfectly purified, separ-
ated, and sanctified. But this is hard to be received by, and
unbearable to, human nature, unless the Spirit of the Lord
move upon these waters and brood over the darkness of this
abyss until the light shine.
Hence the folly lies here, that man endures not the coun-
sel of God, but wants to be helped at the time and in the way
that he himself chooses and that pleases him ; whereby he makes
out of the unmoveable hill of God a hill that has a name, and
profanes the holy hill of God by touching it with his own
thoughts as much as lies in his power. Ex. 19:12. For such
an one is like the horse or the mule : he endures the Lord as
long as he feels and understands him, but will not follow him
beyond the limits of his own understanding, because, he does
not live by faith, but by his own reason. This is proved by
examples contained in all the histories both of the Old and
New Testaments, as the Apostle has shown us in Heb. 11; in
which examples we find that God always saves his saints that
thev know nothing of the way, manner, and time of the sal-
vation. Salvation comes to all from on high and from above,
unlooked-for and unexpected.
Hence, it is very well said, "from his holy hill;" that is,
from his most high divinity. But all do not understand what
they say when they speak of this most high divinity. For
PSALM III. 129
to be heard by the most high divinity is, as I have said, to be
heard in an unheard-of, unthought-of manner ; so that nothing
was less thought of than this help from, and this being heard
by the divine. For it is faith and hope that speak in this
passage ; or it is concerning faith and hope being heard that
the history speaks. When faith and hope are heard, they feel
nothing and experience nothing and understand nothing of the
being heard, because these are things that appear not.
This is what the word selah itself, at the end of this
passage, particularly intimates, viz. a deep subject and feeling
which require a pause, and which ought not to be passed light-
ly over ; so hard and diflicult a thing is jt to expect, and wait
for, salvation from the "holy hill' of God. The foolish man
does not understand these deep thoughts of God ; as is said
in Ps. 92 :6. Therefore, God reprobates the thoughts of the
people and the counsels of princes, Ps. 33:10; for "Jehovah
knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity," Ps. 94:11.
Nay, in these depths the faithful man is constrained to cry out,
"All men are liars," Ps. 116:11. So necessary is it in these
deep things, that all human understanding should be slain and
brought into captivity unto God.
V. 5. — / laid me dozvn and slept ; I azvakcd ; for Jcliorah
snstaineth me.
The words, "I laid me down" signify, in the Hebrew, the
posture of the person lying down or sleeping ; but, "and slept"
signifies the sleep itself. So that the sense is, I lay down, I
slept ; whereby he signifies, that he lay down and that he rested
in the tomb and was dead ; of which resting much mention is
made in many parts of the scriptures. Thus, Gen. 49 '.g, "He
stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness ; who shall
rouse him up?" And Ps. 4:8, "I will both lay me down in
peace, and sleep." In which passages, we find the very same
two verbs which are found in this verse, though they are not
translated by the same words ; so that, by the former you are
to understand the resting, and by the latter the sleeping.
This is that rest mentioned in Ps. 16:9, "My flesh also shall
130 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
rest in hope." And Is. 11:10, 'And his sepulchre shall be
glorious' for it is thus that Jerome translates it, but the Septua-
gint has faithfully translated it 'And his rest shall be honor,'
or, as the Hebrew has it, 'And his resting place shall be glory.'
As if he had said, while the glory of all other kings is ended
by death, and their glory, as the apostle saith, ends in con-
fusion ; the glory of this King, on the contrary, begins in death,
and by death all his confusion is at an end. And so it is with
all who are Christ's, according to Ps. 116:15, "Precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of his saints ;" because their
life is ignominious in the sight of men. But I have only hinted
at these things by the way. We now return to this "rest."
This is that "rest" which was signified by the Sabbath of
old, which means rest, and which is signified also by our holi-
days, on which days, figuratively and spiritually considered,
Christ causes us to be dead to, and to rest from all our works,
that is, our sins and to keep holiday, that we may live unto
God only, and no longer work ourselves, but let God work and
reign in us. Hence it is that it was so positively and rigor-
ously commanded of old, that no servile work should be done
on the Sabbath, but that it should be a day holy unto the Lord.
Concerning this Augustine, commenting on Genesis, says that
it is to be understood as referring to our works which are
always sins. Wherefore, nothing but the works of our master,
free works, principal v/orks, yea, divine works only, are to be
done, now that Christ has procured a Sabbath for us, or has
swallowed up and done away with all our works by his Sabbath
and rest.
And to this refers also the circumstance of Christ's lying
the whole Sabbath-day in the sepulchre; which was done that
the circumstance itself, the time, and the figure, may all concur
to show forth the same thing, and commend to us this all-sacred
rest. And a horrible thing it is for a man to be busily em-
ployed during this time of grace and holy rest in his own works
and to be found totally destitute of divine works. Like the
Jews, to wliom the words in Ex. 20 :8 were spoken, "Remember
PSALM III. 131
that thou keep holy the Sabbath-day;" who, understanding
nothing about it, still continue in their own works, and by their
very keeping holy the Sabbath-day most awfully desecrate it.
But these remarks we have made mystically.
We now return to Christ. Christ, by the words of this
verse, signifies his death and burial, as we have shown at
the beginning of this Psalm. For it is not to be supposed
that he would have spoken so importantly concerning mere
natural rest and sleep ; especially since that which precedes
and that which follows compel us to understand him as speak-
ing of a deep conflict and a glorious victory over his enemies.
By all these things he stirs us up and animates us to faith
in God, and commends unto us the power and grace of God ;
that he is able to raise us up from the dead, an example of
which he sets before us, and proclaims it unto us as wrought
in himself. For there is no one thing that more deeply affects
and afiflicts us poor miserable men, than the terror and dread
of that death to which we are condemned in our first parent
Adam. Nor is there any news that we can hear more joyfully
than to hear that this curse is changed, and, what is greater
still, overcome, and that death is not only conquered but also
made the servant and helper unto a better life than that which
we had before.
Therefore by the death and rcssurection of Christ a greater
consolation is brought in and proclaimed to us than any other
that can be proclaimed unto the human race : namely, that
death, the evil incident to all, is so overcome, so put under
the feet of them that believe, that it is compelled to work to-
gether for the enjoyment of that very life which it seems to
put an end to and swallow up. Who therefore may not here
sing? Who may not rejoice with Christ? Surely this power
of Christ which is so full of joyful tidings ought to be uttered
forth, not with weeping lips and simple expressions only,
but in a Psalm and song of praise, as triumphal praises are
wont to be sung, in order that we may be the more animated
to a contempt of this life and to a love of death; for music
132 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
itself has a certain peculiar effect in rousing and enlivening
our spirits. Thus Elijah had a minstrel, 2 Kings 3:15, and
Moses prepared trumpets for war, Numb. 10:9; and hence,
the Spirit makes use of music also in things so salutary and
necessary, because it is a hard matter to leave life behind and
long for death ; and therefore he would have this exhortation
in the manner of a song that he might the more easily move us,
and might show us that it is a way in which we may be the
easiest moved.
This is shown farther in his use of gentle words, and such
as tend wonderfully to lessen the horror of death. He says,
*T laid me down and slept." He does not say, I died and
was buried; for death and the tomb had lost both their name
and their power. And now death is not death but a sleep ; and
the tomb not a tomb, but a bed and resting place. This was
the reason why the words of this prophecy were put some-
what obscurely and doubtfully, that it might by that means
render death most lovely in our eyes, or rather most con-
temptible, as being that state from which, as from the sweet
rest of sleep, and undoubted arising and awaking are promised.
For who is not most sure of an awaking and arising, who lies
down to rest in a sweet sleep, where death does not prevent?
This person, however, does not say that he died, but that he
laid him down to sleep and that therefore he awaked. And
moreover, as sleep is useful and necessary for a better renewal
of the powers of the body, as Ambrose says in his hymn, and
as sleep relieves the weary limbs ; so is death also equally useful
and ordained for attaining a better life, Ps. 4:8, "In peace
will I both lay me down and sleep ; for thou, Jehovah, alone
makest me dwell in safety."
Therefore in considering death we are not so much to con-
sider death itself as that most certain life and resurrection
which are sure to those who are in Christ ; that those words of
John 8:51, might be fulfilled, "If a man keep my word, he
shall never see death." But how is it that he shall never see it?
Shall he not feel it? Shall he not die? No! He shall only
PSALM III. 133
see sleep, for having the eyes of his faith fixed upon the resur-
rection, he so glides through death that he does not even see
death, for death, as I have said, is to him no death at all.
Hence John 1 1 125 says, "He that believeth on me, though
he die, yet shall he live."
All these things are begun in baptism and are consummated
at the end of life. For, as the apostle saith, Rom. 6:4, "We
were buried therefore with him through baptism into death ;"
which passage, as I understand it, does not refer to the spirit-
ual death of sin only, but unto corporal death also; because
sin does not die wholly until the body is extinct, or as Paul
expresses it, until this body of sin is .destroyed. Wherefore
in baptism we are immediately begun to be prepared for death,
that we may by death be brought the more quickly unto life.
Augustine here asks why David saith, in the future, "For
the Lord shall sustain me?" for it is thus that the Hebrew
has it, though our translation has rendered it by the perfect,
"sustained." And although it is true that in the prophets
the perfects are mingled with the futures, and thereby two
things are signified : That the things prophesied of were
future as to their events, but past and already accomplished
as to the clear knowledge of the prophets ; yet, this is perhaps
put in the future for our consolation and exhortation, when
it saith that the Lord not only sustained Christ our head, but
will sustain also all his members that follow him. So that
we are to imderstand him as speaking in his own person and
in the persons of us all, both for himself and for us also.
This Hebrew word, yismecheni, which Jerome renders
'raise me up,' and in other places 'sustaineth,' has a peculiar
force and energy which the Latin does not express and which
Reuchlin renders, 'shall put his hand on me,' 'shall approach,'
'shall draw near unto me ;' which is the sense that it conveys,
that he who dies, is not left of God, but is supported under-
neath as it were by the hand of God extended and put upon him,
that he might not fall into the deep, but rather be delivered
out of it, and raised up ; whereby the dying man and the manner
134 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
of his being sustained by God are descriptively set forth. For
he that dies seems to perish, and as it were to be swallowed
up in an abyss, but the hand of God drawing near to him from
above, preserves him from perishing, so that instead of sink-
ing, he is rather lifted up into life; thus he perishes and falls
indeed as to himself, but is preserved and rises in God.
V. 6. — / zvill not he afraid of ten thousands of the people
that have set themselves against me round about. Arise, O
Jehovah; save me, O my God.
This third verse of the present song of triumph is of the
same nature as those that precede and those that follow, that
is, it sets forth and commends to us that proud but holy affec-
tion of mind that despises adversity. For we have said that
these things are spoken in the person of one, who rejoicing in,
and being grateful to God his deliverer, praises and pro-
claims his power and grace, i Pet .2 19 ; in which he is so con-
firmed and established by having experienced them in adversity,
that he resolves to fear no evil whatever hereafter, but to rest
safely in the protection of God, now known and experienced.
And although after Christ rose from the dead, neither tribula-
tion, nor death, nor surrounding thousands of the people, could
have any farther effect upon him; yet the affection of mind
and feelings, no doubt reigned and triumphed in him exactly
as the prophet foretold they would. And all this was not on
account of Christ only, who needed no such things, but for
our sakes ; who, although we may have overcome some tempta-
tions, have still many more to overcome. Therefore we have
need of exhortation that, having once tasted the grace of a
helping God, we may be encouraged and confirmed to the
enduring of much greater things, being most sweetly com-
forted by the example of Christ . And this is the reason,
according to my views, why the prophet so often varies the
tenses of his verbs, speaking sometimes in the perfect, as, "I
cried unto the Lord with my voice and he heard me," and also,
"I laid me down and slept ; I awaked ;" and sometimes in the
future, "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people,"
PSALM III. 135
and sometimes again in the present, "Arise, O Lord ; save me,"
and then again in the perfect, "Thou hast smitten all mine
enemies upon the cheek-bone," etc. Although he says all these
things in the person of the suffering Christ, yet he at the same
time shows us, in the example of Christ, that these same
things are accomplished and are to be accomplished in us.
Thus also, in John 12 127, Christ says at the hour of his
passion, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour : but for this cause came I
unto this hour." Here we would briefly observe that we ought
to make ourselves well acquainted with this manner of speech
peculiar to the scriptures and know that in the Prophets and
in the Psalms many things are said together and at the same
time, as to the order of the words, which are accomplished at
different times ; and some things spoken of first, as to order,
which are accomplished at a later time. As we have it here in
the person of Christ, where "Arise, O Lord; save me" refers
to his passion ; while that which precedes, "I cried unto the
Lord with my voice and he heard me," and "I awaked," refer
to the circumstances after his passion. But they are to be
understood, as I observed, as spoken for the benefit of his
members, out of a heart glorying on account of past triumphs,
expecting with courage future temptations, and arming and
fortifying itself with a confidence in the power of God.
Moreover it is too well known to need any explanation,
that such expressions as "Arise" are not addressed to God
as supposing him to be asleep or lying down, but, as Augustine
remarks on this passage, that is attributed unto God which
he does in us. So that he arises when he causes us to arise ; just
as he is said so to speak in the Prophets, when he causes them
to speak ; as the apostle saith, 2 Cor. 13 13, "Do ye seek a proof
of Christ speaking in me?" Or, he is then said to arise and
awake when he shows us, by a present influence wrought on
our minds, that he is then with us, which is a mode of speech
more common than the former, and by which things in the
scriptures are said to be done by God, when they are either
136 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS,
felt or known by us to be done; as in Gen. 22:12, "For now I
know that thou fearest God," and also, Luke 7:47, where
Christ first said to Peter concerning Mary, "Her sins which
are many are forgiven her," but afterwards, revealing the same
to the woman herself, said, "Thy sins are forgiven." There-
fore, though there is no time when God does not help, yet
he is nevertheless called upon to help, nay, he first gives us the
power and helps us to call upon him and lest we should faint,
he helps us to continue calling upon him until he sends us the
help needed.
This verse, however, seems to be opposed to the first two ;
so that he says against the multitude of those that trouble him,
"I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people," and
against the power of those that rose up against him, "Arise,
O Lord," and against those who taunted him as being in des-
pair, "Save me, O my God." Or rather, this verse is set
against the multitude of those that troubled him; and the
following, against the power of those that rose up against
him, where he says, "For thou hast smitten all mine enemies
upon the cheek-bone," and the last against those who told
him he was in despair, saying, there is no help for him in
God, for in that last verse he says, "Salvation belongeth unto
Jehovah ; thy blessing be upon thy people."
The force of the whole lies in these words, "I will not be
afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves
against me round about." As if he had said, from the deep
sense that he had of his strong trust in God, "I will not be
afraid though, not only any great one among the people, nor
any whole people, but even though many thousands of the
people rose up against me; and I will add, even though they
should so surround me alone and deserted, as to hedge me in
entirely and to leave me no way of escape : — even then I will
not fear, nay, I will rest secure, not in my own strength, but
because thou, O Jehovah, wilt arise, etc. Thus, I say, does the
Holy Spirit every where graciously invite us to a great and
full exercise of faith and hope in God.
PSALM III. 137
V. 7. — For thou hast smitten all mine enemies {all those
zvho are viine enemies zvithout cause) ; thou hast broken the
teeth of the zvicked {ungodly).
The perfect is here put for the future, if it be understood of
the person of Christ before his passion : but if it be understood
of him after his resurrection, it is a continuation of his song
of praise and thanksgiving unto God for our exhortation, as
we have before observed.
Instead of 'without cause" Jerome has translated from the
Hebrew "cheek-bone," thus, "Thou hast smitten mine enemies
upon the cheek-bone." And with this rightly agrees that which
follows, "Thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly." And
hence, it seems to be a repetition of the same thing.
The order, however, is T will not be afraid of thousands,
nor shall my followers fear any multitude, how ever wicked
and powerful they may be : for I now know by experience,
how thou art wont to smite and to consume my adversaries, by
raising me from the dead, so that they can no longer devour me,
and by comforting my believing ones by the spirit so that they
cannot hurt them.'
This smiting may be understood as referring to the destruc-
tion of the people of the Jews by Titus and Vespasian. For
although they are still open-mouthed, and maliciously inveterate
against Christ and his Christians, yet they are so smitten and
disabled that they cannot devour one of them ; as it is written,
Ps. 58 :6, "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth : break
out the great teeth of the young lions, O Jehovah."
He uses this metaphor of 'cheek-bones' and 'teeth' to repres-
ent cutting words, detractions, calumnies, and other injuries of
the same kind, by which the innocent are oppressed ; according
to Prov. 30:14, "There is a generation whose teeth are as
swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from
ofif the earth, and the needy from among men." It was by these
that Christ was devoured, when before Pilate, he was con-
demned to the cross by the voices and accusations of his ene-
mies. Hence the apostle saith, Gal. 5:15, "But if ye bite and
138 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
devour one another, lake heed that ye be not consumed one of
another." This metaphor of 'teeth' and 'jaw bones' is to be
found in niany other piaces in the scriptures, and it is of itself
sufficiently illustrative of its own meaning.
On the other hand, the spouse of Christ has teeth also, as in
Cant. 4 :2 ; 6 :6, "Thy teeth are like a flock of ewes that are
newly shorn, which are come up from the washing," that is,
the reproofs by whicJi the church wounds and convinces sinners
and by which she coiu'crts them when thus wounded, and in-
corporates them with herself, are like shorn sheep mild, and re-
prove with out fui-y or heated zeal; they are shorn, because
they are devoid of all care about the things of this world, not
seeking gain and the wool of the sheep. For even the apostles
themselves could not preach the Word and serve tables, as it
is written. Acts 6 .2. Reference to this is made at another place.
These teeth are, figuratively, that jaw bone which Samson
took up and slew with it a thousand men. Judges 15 :i5. And
hence, in the more gracious application of the metaphor God
smites and bruises the teeth of the wicked in mercy, when by his
grace in their conversion he turns them from malice to kind-
ness and from being accusers and revilers of the just to be-
coming their favorers and applauders. Thus, he broke those
most powerful teeth of that terrible, devouring wolf, St. Paul,
and made him an apostle and the devourer of all nations unto
this very day. And ii is in this sense of the metaphor that
Is. 2 4, saith, "And they shall beat their swords into plough-
shares, and their spear: into pruning-hooks." As if he had
said, they shall change their noxious tongues into wholesome
ones that shall nourish the men of the earth ; so that they shall
become plough-shares for reproving, and pruning-hooks for
gathering people unto Christ.
These teeth may likewise be understood allegorically, ac-
cording to Augustine, for the rulers and leaders of sinners ;
by whose authority men are cut off from the society of those
who live rightly, and are incorporated with those who live
wickedly. In direct opposition to these are the leaders of the
PSALM III. 139
righteous, as priests, who by their example and by the good
Word of God move men to beheve, to be separated from the
world, and to pass over among the members of the church.
And to this agrees tha*^, which Cant, chapters 4 and 6 says con-
cerning the teeth. But any one may pursue the applications
of these allegories taken from teeth still farther; therefore I
shall say no more about them here.
This Psalm, however, will not be inappropriately used to
comfort poor weak consciences, if it be taken figuratively, and
by oppressors and teeth we understand those most tormenting
assaults of sins and tHe consciousness of an ill-spent life. For
here the heart of the sinner is in real distress and is solitary,
helpless, and in despair. And if he does 'not accustom himself
to lift his eyes upward against the assault of his sins and to
call upon God against the accusations of his conscience, there
is much to be feared, lest evil and malicious spirits, who for
this purpose walk about in darkness and thirst for the destruc-
tion of souls, should swallow him up in distress and despera-
tion, Ps. 91 :6.
Therefore, the heart must be most firmly fortified, and be
enabled to say with Ghrist, whether it be against sin, persecut-
ing the conscience, or against those things that hinder our sal-
vation, the heart, I say, must be enabled to glory with Christ,
saying :
V. 8. Salvation belongcth unto Jehovah {is of the Lord) :
thy blessing be upon thy people. Selah.
A most beautiful conclusion is this, and as it were the sum
of all the previously mentioned affections of the heart. The
sense is, it is the Lord alone that saves and blesses; and even
though the whole mass of all evils should be gathered to-
gether in one against a man, still it is the Lord who saves :
salvation and blessing are in his hand. What then shall I fear?
What shall I not promise myself? When I know that no one
can be destroyed, no one reviled, without the permission of
God, even though all should rise up to curse and to destroy;
140 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and that no one of tlu-ni can be blessed and saved without the
permission of God, however much they may bless and strive
to save themselves. And, as Gregory Nazianzen says, '\\'here
God gives, envy can avail nothing; and where God does not
give, labor can avail nothing.'
In the same way also Paul saith, Rom. 8:31, "If God be
for us, who can be against us?" So also, on the contrary, if
God be against them, who can be for them? Why? Because
salvation is of the Lord, and not of them, nor of us, for "vain
is the help of man,'' Ps. 60:13. And hence, we have it written
in Rev. 7:12, "Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanks-
giving, and honor, and power ,and might, be unto our God for
ever and ever." And so again, verse 10, 'Salvation unto our
God, and unto the Lamb.' And Ps. 109:28, "Let them curse,
but bless thou," And again, Mai. 2 :2, "I will curse your
blessings," and bless your cursings .
Therefore the blessed Christ and every Christian soul in
the midst of tribulations, say it matters not that they curse
and destroy me ; it is not theirs, but God's alone to serve and
bless. Nor is it of any avail that they in imagination save
themselves by their onn powers and bless each other ; salvation
and blessing are not or them, but of the Lord, and if he does
not save and bless them they may seem indeed to be blessed and
saved for an hour, but they shall in the end be cursed and
destroyed. On the other hand, when he saves and blesses us,
they may indeed apptar for an hour to curse and destroy us,
but we are in truth saved and blessed. This is taught by Ps.
146:3, "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man,
in whom there is no l:clp."
In order to encourage this consolation and confidence, it
was of old forbidde.i in the law 0/ Moses that one man should
bless another. For Cio 1 said, Num. 6 :23, "On this wise ye shall
bless the children of Israel: saying unto them, "The Lord
bless thee," etc. etc., and "I will bless them." O wholesome
and necessary precept !
And why thinkest thou, was it that God would not have
PSALM III. 141
any man blessed by another? Why, because he had those
things m his mind which were afterwards written, Matt. 5:11,
"Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute
you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my
sake." Because men are dealt with, as is described in Ps. 10:3,
(Vulgate) 'For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and
the wicked blesseth himself,' and the just man on the contrary
is despised and cursed; therefore the Lord most justly and
piously saith, "I will bless them ;" and this is what the present
verse repeats as it were in confirmation, "Thy blessing be upon
thy people."
This verse, therefore, is to be read so that the emphasis and
stress be laid with an elevation of tone on the genitive "Lord,"
and the pronoun "th\ ;" so that by the antithesis we may be
brought to experience that feeling of soul full of the sweetest
confidence, which laughs as it were at the evil attempts of our
adversaries and looks with contempt upon the confidence in
which they boast, saymg unto itself, "Salvation belongeth unto
Jehovah : and thy blessing be upon thy people." In which way
we may learn to contemn the curse of men, and not to seek after
their blessing; since we know, that it is of God alone to save
and to bless. And it is in this same way that Isaiah taunts those
described, 41 :2'i„ "Do good, or do evil," if ye can. As if he
had said, ye can neither injure us nor profit us.
First observe that he puts the salvation before the blessing;
and that is the right order, because a blessing in the holy
Scriptures implies a gomg on and a multiplying, according to
Gen. I :28, "And G<nl blessed them, and said, be fruitful and
multiply;" which cannot take place unless he that is blessed
be saved from perishing. And David aptly opposes these two
things to the first two verses ; that is, the salvation of the Lord,
to them that trouble and rise up, for these destroy by cursing
and saying, "There is no help for him in God ;" but blessing
is of the Lord. And thik cursing and tauntin.g of theirs is most
terrible to be borne.
For when the wicked have nothing more that they can do
142 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
to the righteous whom they have destroyed, the one thing
remaining for them is, to cahimniate, curse, and blaspheme
them, as was shown us in the example of Christ upon the
cross ; whereby they strive to destroy their good report both
before God and before men. They aim at destroying before
men by defaming them; and before God, by attacking their
faith and trust of conscience, that they may not be able to
glory in God ; and thai thus they may be confused on both
sides.
At the same time is touched upon here, that terrible tempta-
tion of blasphemy, by which a man is urged on by devils to
desperation, and to think that the curse of God is upon him :
and thus he accounts God as an enemy, as long as he can feel
nothing of good coniing from God; and this is to blaspheme
God, for we are commanded to hope for, and promise to our-
selves, all good things fiom him ; and are required by the first
commandment to v.'orship him with faith, hope, and love :
and in Wisdom, i :i, ii is written, "Think of the Lord with a
good heart, and in simplicity of heart seek him."
And perhaps this is the reason why he so often changes
the person. For when he had said in the third person, "Sal-
vation belongeth unro Jehovah," thereby commending, as it
were ,God unto others, he directly after changes it to the second
person, saying, "Thy blessing." For as the temptation above
mentioned takes us mcst of all from God, and makes us shun
him as a curser, and seek another to bless, when there is no
other to bless ; he admonishes us to turn then most of all unto
God, when we the most turn from him by the temptation. And
this feeling of the heart, because it is very remarkable and
powerful, is not in vain marked with the word "Selah ;" con-
cerning which we have said sufficient.
Thus have we expounded this whole Psalm concerning
Christ, but if this interpretation does not please any, there will
be no difficulty in uncle i standing it concerning David, as being
a type of the same suffering and of the same feelings of mind;
which are all exemplified in Christ and in every Christian,
PSALM III. 143
except that the ;itt]i verse will give us some little trouble in
such an exposition. We will therefore leave others to pursue
it farther and better, Vv'hile we only briefly set it forth thus : —
y. 1-2. "Jehovah, how are mine adversaries increased!"
That is, Absalom, Apithophel, and the whole people, as in 2
Sam. 15, "Many are they that rise up against me."
"Many there are that say of my soul, there is no help for
him in God!" This above all others did Shimei, 2 Sam: 16:7
cursing David and saying, "Begone, begone, thou man of blood,
and base fellow :" and he cast stones at David and said, verse
8, "Jehovah hath returned upon thee, -etc. Behold thou art
taken in thine own mischief."
V. 3. "But thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me, my
glory, and the lifter up of my head." For David said in 2 Sam.
16:11, etc., "Let him alone, and let him curse, for Jehovah hath
bidden him . It may be that Jehovah will look on the wrong
done unto me, and that Jehovah will requite me good for his
cursing of me this day." By which words he showed that
he did not yet despai'% but firmly trusted in God, whose com-
mand and will he acknowledged and justified.
V. 4. "I cry unto Jehovah with my voice, and he answereth
me from his holy hill." This David did when he said, "O
Jehovah, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into
foolishness," 2 Sam. 15:31. And perhaps he did the same
at other times which are not recorded. For, as I have said,
it is not in the tribulation, but after the tribulation, that we
are to suppose the Psalm was written.
O strong faith ! which can speak unto an angry God, call
unto him when persecuting you, flee unto him when driving
you back, praise him as your helper, your glory, and the lifter
up of your head, when you feel him deserting, confounding,
and oppressing you ! This is a memorable example of Christian
faith indeed! He says, "I go whither I may," 2 Sam. 15:20.
As if he had said, T know not whither I am going:' and this
is to believe and to commit one's self into that darkness where
144 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
you are utterly ignoiant what will become of you, and yet
have a good hope for the best and doubt not that you are heard.
V. 5. "I laid n.'e down and slept; I awaked; for Jehovah
sustaineth me." — Which, according to my bold way, I would
understand in this manner. David might say, 'I was in a
state that I despaired of my life, of my glory, and of my all.
I was like unto one dead and descending into the pit, as to all
external appearance in the sight of men ; nor was there any
thing left alive in n\t but faith, and it appeared to me that if
I should be again re-instated in my kingdom, it would be
nothing less than as -if I were raised from the grave and from
the sleep of death.' For into this state of things, and down
to these gates of hell, ii is that the Lord is wont to bring those
whose faith he desigjis to try ; and indeed, the man that is put
into this state differs I'ttle from one dead.
Or if this do not please, let the interpretation be this, 'I was
overwhelmed with this tribulation. And, as those who are sunk
into a deep sleep know not that they are alive, and are like unto
men dead ; so I, from the exceeding greatness of my affliction,
and from being put to the very extremity of my faith, had no
enjoyment whatever of this external life, and was almost dead;
after which manner it is said concerning Jacob, Gen. 45 127, etc.,
that, when he heard that his son Joseph was reigning in Egypt,
he was as one awaking from a deep sleep, and did not believe
them ; that is, because he had been in such utter despair con-
cerning Joseph ; but that, when he saw the wagons and all the
things that Joseph had sent, his "spirit revived."
Thus David also says, that he revived and arose from the
deep sleep of his hear*-, and as it were from death. For as I
have confessed, I cannot understand it concerning natural sleep
and rest. But David himself also says, 2 Sam. 19:22, when
he returned, "Do not I know that I am this day king over
Israel?" wherein he plainly shows his former feelings of despair
concerning the kingdom, as to all present appearances.
V. 6. "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people
that have set themselves against me round about." "Arise,
PSALM III. 145
O Jehovah ; save me, O my God." This is what he said upon
his being recalled, 'I shall no more fear evil if thou be with
me, Ps. 22i '.4. Do thou only arise and save me, as thou didst
lately, and be my God ; then I will fear nothing.'
V. 7. "For thou hast smitten all mine eneniies upon the
cheek-bone ; thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked." For the
people and Absalom were slain, and there was a great slaughter
that day of seventy thousand men, 2 Sam. 18 7 . And thus were
all who devoured and afflicted him smitten and slain.
V. 8. "Salvation belongcth luito Jehovah ; thy blessing be
upon thy people. Selah." As if he had said, 'Although Shimei
with his followers gnashed their malicious teeth at me, saying
"There is no help for him in God," etc, yet, it is of God alone
to bless and save, to whom alone be glory for ever and ever.
Amen.'
PSALM IV.
A PSALM OF DAVID, ON THE ORGANS, FOR VICTORY.
This Psalm is, according to my views, very obscure; and
there is no other so variously expounded, which diversity is a
proof of the real scope of it not being yet fully understood.
Let us first cons^'der the title, as we shall frequently have
the same hereafter. Lamnazeaii, was, before the translation
of Jerome, rendered by the ancients 'to the end,' which they
all unanimously interpreted to signify Christ, whom the apostle
calls "the end of the law,' Rom. 10:4, saying, "Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Which "end" they interpret two ways, — that Christ is the
end and sum intended by the law ; and that he himself put an
end to the law, so that we are no longer indebted to it. But
what these things have to do with the title of the Psalm, I do
not see ; it is only violently taking from one place, and adding
to another. For all the Psalms which have this title do not
speak of Christ, except it be in this way : that it is by the grace
of God only we speak of any work, and that we have nothing
either great or small without Christ. But in this way every
Psalm ought to have ihc same inscription.
Jerome therefore has translated it 'for the conqueror:' and
then was introduced, 'for victory,' because Lyra from Rabbi
Tal, supposed that it should be understood in this way that
the Levite singers, contending in alternate choirs, should strive
to excel each other. But this he said, perhaps, measuring that
divine melody of David, instituted for the praising of God,
according to the custom of those bawling men in our cathedrals,
who are called choristers. But to whom such men sing I
am sure I know not ; I can only hear the beams and stones
roar with their noise. And then, comparing this with the inter-
pretation 'to the end,' which some have given, he says, that the
PSALM IV, 147
'end' meant was the victory that is, of the noise in singing,
which the choir -nought after in singing this Psahn. Such
hiclicrous things as these will men teach in a matter so serious !
We read, i Chron. 15 :i6, that David appointed three kinds
of singers : one to sirg to the nablis, that is psalter; another
to sing to harps, or as the interpreters variously render it, the
lyres ; and another to sound on cymbals ; and to these, for a
time, were added the trumpet and the cornet. And the third
kind of singing there mentioned, verse 21, is the singing on
harps upon Lenazeah, which they have rendered by 'victory,'
that is, 'a song of victory.' And hence perhaps it is, that
Lamnazeah is translated 'for victory,' because the Psalm
that bears this title is a signal song of victory.
But here I confess my ignorance. For if these things be so,
I know not why all the other Psalms are not entitled 'for
victory,' which contain a subject matter equally, if not more,
applicable to that title than this Psalm and others like it. And
then again, there will be a difference of opinion about what
victory it is that is sung in the Psalm ; because, some Psalms
celebrate the victory of Christ, others the victory of any Christ-
ian placed in the midst of suffering and temptation.
John Reuchlin, in Iiis Septena, translates it 'for invitation;'
because, he will have it that Psalms of that kind are certain
incitements to awaken and encourage the spirit of man. And
to this rendering the root of the word admirably agrees. For,
as he says, naza signifies 'he was instant,' 'he stirred up,' 'he
forced,' 'he urged,' as in Ezra 3 :g, "To have the oversight of
the workmen in ihe house of God," and, verse 8, to have the
oversight of the work of the house of Jehovah," or "To set for-
ward the work of the Lord." And moreover, the content of
the Psalm does not at all disagree with this interpretation;
for this Psalm, according to my judgment, is merely exhorta-
tive to the work of the Lord, that is, to the enduring of the
cross and death. But whether this acceptation of the title will
uniformly and univei sally apply to all these Psalms, that I
leave to the consideration and judgment of the reader.
148 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
I willingly receive this Psalm as being both a song of vic-
tory and an invitation ; because, all triumphal songs of this
kind are wont to rouse and animate the spirit to war in a won-
derful manner; and ylso do the Psalms wonderfully animate
the faithful of Christ both to the battles and the trophies of
the cross. And thus, I can reconcile all things, making the
title to signify, 'to --.'iotory,' 'to the conqueror,' 'for an invita-
tion.' In a word this seems to be the true meaning of the
title, because the whole Psalms tend to this, — that, being
animated by their incitements of the spirit, we may conquer
and gain the great object over all our enemies and sins, that
nothing may be left us but the triumph of glory.
By "organs," we are undoubtedly to understand that a
general kind is put for a particular; that is, that we are to
receive it as signifying harps, because it is said, i Chron. 15 :2i,
that the songs of victory should be sung to harps. For organ,
in this passage, is a noun which, in the Hebrew, signifies any
kind of musical instrument.
But concerning the effect of music and the praises of it,
I shall say nothing here, for they have been abundantly treated
by others ; except that it here appears that the use of music
was of old held sacred and applied to divine things, but in the
lapse of time it has, like every thing else, been abused to the
service of luxury and lust. It was by music that the evil spirit
was made to depart from Saul, i Sam. 16:23. ^"d by the
same a spirit of prophecy was communicated to Elisha, 2 Kings
3: 15-
This most obscure Psalm, as I have already observed, is
variously expounded. Augustine believes that they either are
the words of Christ after his resurrection, or of a member of
his church who is possessed of faith and hope. Of Lyra and
Burgensis I shall say nothing, the former of whom interpreted
it in a way that made against the Saulites, the latter against
idolatries. Jerome thinks it is to be understood of Christ only.
All and each of these interpretations and acceptations are out
of my way. I shall follow my own spirit and abound in my
PSALM IV. 149
own acceptation of the Psalm, but without any prejudice
against the judgment of another.
I have thought that this Psahn is a general exhortation to
the people of God ; especially to those, who being ignorant of
the works and ways of God, hate the wisdom of the cross.
Among whom the Jews, the children of Israel, have been and
still are the first, and they should be the most experienced in
this. For. as the apostle saith, Rom. 3:19, "We know that
what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to them that are
under the law." Wherefore, David being himself experiment-
ally taught by one, or rather by many of his temptations,
teaches them, from his own example, what they should do and
how they ought to conduct themselves under every tribulation.
And thus, according to its title, the Psalm will be an exhorta-
tion to victory ; which the words of the Psalm themselves show,
whereby he commends himself to them as their teacher, saying,
*0 ye sons of men,' 'know,' 'be ye angry,' 'offer sacrifices,' 'put
your trust,' etc.
V. I. Anszver me zvhcn I call, O God of my righteousness.
Rev. vcr.
Y, I, — When I called, the God of my righteousness heard
me.
At the beginning he instructs the tender and querulous,
teaching them that they are not to run any where else, but
to call upon God in all the tribulations that may come upon
them, of whatever kind they may be. As often, saith he, as
I called, and I called as often as I was in tribulation, as he
saith, Ps. 120:1, "In my distress I cried unto the Lord," so
often the Lord heard me ; so merciful is the Lord and so ready
to pity those that call upon him. Why, therefore, do ye tender
and fearful ones fill all things with complaints? Ye seek con-
solation in vain by fleeing unto man, and ye know not, nor
seek after this only remedy of fleeing unto God.
Observe here the divine art of the teacher and his incom-
parable oratory. In one and the same introduction he accom-
plishes three things. First, turning to the children of men,
150 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and feeling a concern for them in brotherly love, he teaches
them all to what they should flee when in trouble; and this
ho does from his own example, and with a most modest glory-
ing. I, says he, was wont to do that myself which I now re-
commend to you. Secondly, that he may render them docile
and obedient to him, he commends to them the divine mercy.
He says, "And he heard me ;" as if he had said, I am per-
suaded that he will also hear you most mercifully, if ye do
but take courage and call upon him. Thirdly, and this is the
principal thing, like a most able orator, he begins with grati-
tude and praise, which is, in the things both of God and men,
the most effectual way of producing a willing mind. For
thus, we are commanded also to begin the Lord's Prayer with
"Our Father," repeating and comprehending in those words
and their all-sweet corresponding feelings, all the kindnesses
of God.
The reason why he addresses his words to the sons of
men, which he ought to address unto God, is this ; he did not
wish to leave them to come before God alone and empty, and
therefore, he is desirious of gaining their good will, and being
concerned for the salvation of his brethren, he instructs the
weak. For directly afterwards, in what follows, he addresses
his words unto God only, saying, "Thou hast enlarged me;"
wherein he now brings with him into the presence of God those
to whom he had spoken just before, that they not only may
sec what God did for him in his former troubles and tribula-
tions, but may behold also an example of the manner in which
he is v/ont to flee unto God in every present tribulation ; and
thus he most sweetly instructs and comforts both by word
and by example.
Now with respect to the words, "O God of my righteous-
ness," they may be also expressed without peril thus, "O God
my righteousness." For though I do not deny that the words
signify and imply that righteousness is of God, and that it is
God alone that justifies; yet, that prophet appears to me to
touch upon the main point of the question or complaint before
PSALM IV. 151
him, namely, that complaint which the weaker ones are accus-
tomed to make, that they consider themselves to have heen in-
jured by their adversaries, and that, therefore, they may with
justice show indignation and be angry. These, therefore, the
prophet does not attack with severity, but, as I said, tenderly
admonishes them that they are to forget their own righteous-
ness and are to commit it, together with their whole cause,
unto God who judgeth righteously ; and to arrogate no more
of righteousness to themselves than shall seem good unto God,
as Peter saith concerning Christ, i Pet. 2 123, "who, when he
was reviled, reviled not again ; whea he suffered he threatened
not ; but committed himself unto him that judgeth righteously,"
that is, he committed the matter unto God, who judgeth right-
eously. And thus David here saith, whenever I suffer injuries,
1 call upon the God of my righteousness, being willing and
rcc'dy to take for righteousness that which he shall adjudge.
And therefore, I know nothing of any righteousness of my
ov/n ; I know nothing but God only and his holy will.
Is not this then a most excellent way of consoling the
weak, not indeed to condemn their cause, nor yet to justify it,
but to take it out of their hands and to commit it unto God;
and thus to put both them and their cause into his hands, that
they may consider that to be righteousness which God may
think proper, and thus patiently submit to the will of God?
This interpretation of the passage I more willingly follow,
because "my righteousness," according to the mode of ex-
pression used in the scriptures, signifies more particularly a
man's own cause than that grace which justified, for that is
more usually called the righteousness of God; as in Rom. 1:17,
"Therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto
faith." And again, Ps. 31:1, "Deliver me in thy righteousness"
not in mine. Whereas, in the other case it is said. Gen. 30 133,
"So shall my righteousness answer for me hereafter." And
again, Ps. 7 :8, "Judge me, O Jehovah, according to my right-
eousness, and to mine integrity that is in me." For this is
the righteousness between man and man ; which also God
152 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
jnclgeth, though it sufficeth not for any one before God. There-
fore does David rightly call men away from a trust in their
own righteousness, and transfer it over into the hand of God,
lest perhaps they should be found deserving to suffer much
greater things before God, however just they may be before
men.
Indeed this is a most useful doctrine, though it is always
neglected by men. For if this doctrine were held and acted
out, there would not be so many courts, causes, laws, strifes,
and contentions. All men have upon their tongues' ends jus-
tice ! justice ! — right ! right ! — but there are few who commit
their justice or righteousness unto God according to the exam-
ple and the word here set before us. Hence, the whole world
is in a tumult for justice and right, and contends for it by
wars, commotions, bloodshed, and innumerable enormities of
sins and evils ; and indeed, things are so that justice becomes
almost the only cause of all injustice. For error has so blinded
men that they immediately think that to be righteousness or
justice before God also, which they may have learned from
the dissertations, opinions, and decrees of men, to be justice.
Concerning this, much more might be said and ought to be
said, if we had not now another object before us.
Thou hast set me at large (enlarged unto me) wlien I
zvas in distress.
This is a repetition ; for to be heard and to be enlarged are
the same thing; as we find it also in Ps. 118:5, "Out of my
distress I called upon Jehovah : Jehovah answered me and set
me in a large place."
This, "thou hast enlarged unto me," or this 'enlarging,'
is a Hebraism and a mataphor or a metonymy peculiar to the
scriptures, which we without a figure call 'a comforting,' as
on the contrary we call sorrow and affliction 'a straitening.'
For as the heart and all the senses are contracted while they
flee from, and are in dread of sorrow, and as, when evil presses
on every side, there is a straitening and a total contraction into
a confined space ; so, the same senses are enlarged and dilated
PSALM IV. 153
when the evil is taken away, and good and pleasant things are
again brought to us. And indeed, how very descriptively are
the natures of distress and joy set forth by that expression ?
For we see how the forehead and the whole countenance are
contracted by care and trouble, and dilated by joy and gladness.
Hence it is said concerning the wicked in the Psalms, 'They
sivall be afraid out of their close places.' Hence also the
apostle, Rom. 2 :g, joins "tribulation" and "anguish" together,
that is, evil and the attempted escape from evil, but from
which evil there is no escape.
It appears as if the expression 'ought to be, "Thou hast
erilarged me," rather than "Thou hast enlarged unto me."
But it is a peculiar idiom of the Hebrew verbs to stand absol-
uiely and to include, elliptically, an accusative case of the noun,
or to admit of being resolved into a verbal noun. As here,
"Thou hast enlarged unto me," that is, 'thou hast made an
enlargement unto me,' 'thou hast been my enlarger;' that is,
thou hast given me consolation whenever I have called upon
thee in my distresses.
Thus a willingness of mind is produced and the weaker
ones are instructed. Nay, if thou wilt, thou mayest under-
stand this verse to be the argument of the whole Psalm, for the
psalmist proposes to instruct the weak to call upon God, to
commit their cause into the hand of God, to praise the justice
of God, and to seek consolation no where else, but to expect
certain consolation from God, with all the great fruits thereof;
and this he teaches them most effectually by his own example,
but yet so, that he joins himself as a companion with them,
and makes their case one v/ith his own.
Haz'c vicrcy upon mc, and hear my prayer.
I confess, saith he, that thou hast heard me when I called
upon thee; for which, I not only give thee thanks, but rest
confidently assured, that, as sufferings will hereafter always
abound in us, so thou wilt always hear them that call upon
thee; under which confidence, being now again sunk into dis-
154 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
tress, I again call upon thee that thou woulclst again hear
me.
As these words form in the Hebrew the latter part of the
first verse, I would, according to my judgment, understand the
whole of this verse as being a certain form prescribed to the
weaker ones, showing them the way in which they should
proceed when in tribulation from the injustice of others. I
would understand the last clause of it to be a piece of fore-
tasted food, as it were, whereby the prophet would teach them
?.s children, and would have them use those words whenever
they approach God to call upon him ; namely these, "Have
mercy upon me, and hearken unto my prayer ;" that they may
first implore the mercy of God upon themselves and for their
sins, on account of which, perhaps, they have deserved far
worse things than those they now suffer, and that thus they
might first forget all revenge and commit their cause into the
hand of God, and then beg to be heard; for, "The just man
first accuseth himself," Prov. 18:17, And, 'He that pleaseth
God pitieth first his own soul,' Sir. 30 :24. Therefore, the
person first implores grace for himself, and then prays to be
delivered from punishment. But this I do not assert positively
to be the meaning of the passage.
But be it so, that this is a new tribulation and a new calling
upon God; yet, as I said, we may thereby be instructed, that
we are not to be so much concerned about the punishment as
about the sin ; and that we are first of all to obtain the mercy
of God, lest perhaps after the perverse manner of fools, we
should forget our own fault which merited the punishment and
look only at the fault of others, which was designed to work
our punishment, thus leaving the beam in our own eye and
setting about to cast the mote out of our brother's eye. Where-
as, he who is in distress is first of all to pray for mercy on
the cause of the distress, which is sin, not to pray against the
distress itself. Therefore God must first have mercy, and then
hear those on whom he has mercy.
Thus you see that the Psalms were written by the Holy
PSALM IV. * 155
Spirit to this end, that they may administer consolation to those
who are under tribulation. Hence, what have they to do with
the Psalms who have nothing to do with tribulation? And
those who are less willing to suffer tribulation at this day, than
these who are employed in the Psalms day and night, or rather,
v/ho ought to be employed in them ? Does not, therefore, Amos
6 :5 apply unto such, where it speaks of certain characters in-
venting unto themselves instruments of music like David? For
how shall they harp, who fill the world with bloodshed for the
obtaining of their riches, privileges, and rites, not being content
with their own thundering decrees? Hence, at this day, the
I'salter is used for nothing else but for the noise of chantings
and mutterings, which is a use most unworthy of it and yet it
is perpetual.
V. 2. — 0 ye sons of men, hozv long shall my glory he
turned into dishonor (hozv long zvill ye be of a heavy heart) ?
Why do ye love vanity, and seek after falsehood (lying) f
Selah.
Jerome translates the passage thus : "O ye sons of man,
how far, my renowned ones, will ye shamefully love vanity
and seek after lying?" This holy man certainly touches upon
the force of the Hebrew words, for this verse says nothing
whatever about the heart, and therefore it is clear that our
translator, whoever he was, was in error and read B for K;
and, what is more, divided one word into two, reading, instead
of LiCHLiMMA^ which signifies 'into shame,' leb lamma, which
signifies 'heart, why.' And therefore, that which Jerome has
tianslated, as from one word, 'shamefully,' our translator has
rendered, as from two words, 'heart, why :' and what is in the
Hebrew CHEr.ODi, which our translator has rendered "heavy,"
Jerome has rendered 'my renowned ones,' or 'my glorious
ones,' for 'glory,' in the Hebrew, is expressed nearly by the
same word as 'heaviness.'
Nor has the Hebrew "sons of men," but sons isch, that is,
'sons of the hero;' just as it is said, Ps. i :i, "Blessed is the
man," or "Blessed man." For he is not here speaking of the
156 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
sons of Adam, so as to mean the generation according to the
flesh : he does not seem to address the sons of the flesh, nor
to be speaking as to the sons of the flesh ; but, he seems to be
as a master, a preceptor, or one of some greater authority,
addressing his minors and sons.
First of ah I will pour out my spirit upon the passage, and
then we will see to all the rest. I, therefore, translate the verse
tl:us : "O ye sons of the man, how long will ye turn my glory
into shame, love vanity, and seek after lying ? Selah." Hence,
these seem to be the words of the prophet spoken in the person
of God the Father, or of Christ, who is speaking first of all
to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, as the apostle is accus-
tomed to speak. So that the sense is, O ye sons of Israel, how
long shall my name be polluted among you? How long shall
my glory be exposed to shame by you, while, leaving me who
am the truth and the life, ye love vanity and seek after lying?
And how this is done let us now see,
I have said that this Psalm is an exhortation unto those
who, being destitute of faith, are offended and cast down in
mind at the cross and at the injuries which they receive, which
is the evil of unbelief and the sin of spiritual idolatry ; and it
is of such sins that the children of Israel were accused in the
wilderness; as it is written, Ps. 78:8, "A stubborn and re-
bellious generation, a generation that set not their heart aright,
and whose spirit was not steadfast with God." Here, it is the
sin of the heart that is evidently meant, which was distrust,
ignorance of the cross, and no understanding in the way of
God, for the same is taught in Ps. 106:13: "They waited not
for his counsel ;" of which sin they are accused throughout the
Old Testament.
And it is from this sin that the various external forms oi
idolatry at present arise, diversified according to the infinitely
various inclinations of men, some worshipping this god, and
some that ; and every one transferring the glory due to God
unto the creature, unto that creature from which he has pros-
pect or hope of obtaining the consolation he requires.
PSALM IV. 157
Now since the glory and worship of God consist in a sin-
cere faith, firm hope, and perfect love towards him, it of nec-
essity follows, that he who neither trusts nor believes in God,
nor loves him, but comforts himself in some creature or other,
turns the glory of God into shame, and seeks that name and
work in some creature which he ought to seek in God. And
this is what all do, who in the time of temptation draw back,
for it is ofsuch in particular that he is here speaking.
Hence it is, that the world, from its beginning to the present
has been full of idolatry. Although they have not at all times
adored the similitudes of creatures, yet they have the same
things in their hearts, which are the head and fountain of all
idolatries. But this is, as I have said, to trust in things and
creatures, and to be pleased and delighted with them, which de-
light, pleasure, and trust, are due to God alone. This is infidel-
ity and distrust, and from these come contempt and hatred of
God.
Thus, Ps. 106:20, "They changed their glory for the like-
ness of an ox that eateth grass ;" in which verse, is beautifully
described the power of idolatry. The Psalmist calls the glory
of God "their glory," because the glory of God, that is, the
true faith and worship of God, was with them only ; by which
glory of God it was, that they had glory both before God and
men. Hence it is said, i Sam. 4:21, "The glory is departed
from Israel." And Rom. i 123, "They changed the glory of
of the incorruptible God for the likenesse of an image of
corruptible man." For what is the changing of the glory of
God, but the changing of the worship of God ? For the wor-
ship of God is nothing else than the glory of God in a very
short compendium. The glory of God is nothing else than
believing in him, hoping in him, and loving him. Because, he
who believes in him, holds him as true, and thereby ascribes
truth unto him ; and he who hopes in him, holds him as pow-
erful, wise, and good, and as a God by whom he can be holpen
and saved, and thereby ascribes unto him a power that can
do all things, a wisdom that knows all things, and a goodness
158 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
that is willing to afford all help. TRis is to make God the true
God and to hold him as such. Then, by and by, there is
kindled a love in him, who thus from his heart willingly de-
lights himself in such a God, and has such an all-precious view
and opinion of him.
Whereas, he that does not believe in God makes him a
liar ; he that does not hope in him makes him impotent, ignor-
ant, and unwilling to help ; which are horrible things, and from
these will of necessity follow a contempt of God, and then fol-
lows a going over to the creature. For the human heart must
have something to love and something to believe and trust in :
it will either trust in riches, or favor, or its own strength, or
in something else of the same kind, or in some absurd opinion
concerning the true or a false God that may be published to the
world. If by the permission of God a man should be left to
find any comfort therein he v/ill go after it with his whole
heart and affections; and thus, the power, the goodness, and
all things which belong to the glory of God, are turned into
shame and given unto that to which they are not due.
Thus also. Is. 42 :8, "My glory I will not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images." He gives indeed all good
things even unto his enemies, but glory he reserves to himself
only; for all good things that are sought after or received,
cannot be ascribed unto any but God alone, whose goodness
and true divinity are hereby declared. Matt. 19:17; John 17:3.
If we understand these things thus, I think the verse is
easily explained, and it shows that those who are ignorant of
the cross and destitute of faith, when they once begin to fight
against the glory of God, soon afterwards pollute and prostitute
it and flee unto any thing else rather than unto God for help
and seek counsel, assistance, and salvation, not from him whose
alone they are, but from his creatures whose they are not; be-
cause, they do not believe the last verse of the preceding Psalm
— "Salvation belongeth unto Jehovah, and thy blessing be
upon thy people."
Let us now see the peculiar force and experimental con-
PSALM IV. 159
tents of this verse. First, as it is a powerful and close ex-
hortation, he addresses those to whom he speaks with the most
worthy appellation, "O ye sons of the man." By which "man"
whether we understand Israel or Christ, it is one and the same
thing. Though I should rather understand Abraham, because
I receive the Psalm as addressed, first, to the Jews, for Abra-
ham is called "the father of many nations ;" and it is said, not
in this passage only, but in Is. 51 :i-2, also, with a like ex-
hortation, "Look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and
to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged. Look unto Abra-
ham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you ; for when he
was but one I called him, and blessed him, and made him
many." As if he had said, attend, not to the manner of your
being born from him carnally, but unto my having called him,
and to his being justified, not by the flesh, but by faith in me.
And this is what ye ought to be and to do also, if ye would be
his children, as it is said, John 8:39, "If ye were Abraham's
children, ye would do the works of Abraham."
Hence, as he is not here setting Abraham before them as
their father according to the flesh, but is advising them to be-
come his spiritual children, he says, "O ye sons of the man,"
rather than, "O ye sons of men," And though they are a
bastard and spurious offspring before God, and boast of Abra-
ham according to the flesh, being destitute of faith ; yet he
condescends to put the honor upon them, that he might the
more gently and effectually make them such as he calls them :
just in the same way as Paul addresses the Galatians as the
churches. Gal. i :2, when they were at the same time seduced
and fallen from the faith of the church. Nevertheless, David
by a side blow strikes at their degenerate mind, because though
they are the sons of so great a hero, they do any thing but
show themselves to be such.
Then there is that inquiry, "How long?" which carries
with it a wonderful force, because, it at the same time com-
mends to us the astonishing sweetness of the long-sufifering of
God and also pities their long and perilous neglect of their
l60 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
salvation. As though he had said, since ye are, or rather ought
to be the sons of so great a man, in whom alone ye make your
boast ; how long, at the awful peril of your salvation, and by
the abtise of the long-suffering of God, will ye show yourselves
to be such as ye now are? How long will ye so degenerate, as
to be the sons of so great a man in name only? And this ye
do while ye neither believe nor hope in God, in whom he be-
lieved. Nay, ye turn this glory of confidence in me into your
own confusion and shame, and mine also ; for ye know not
ill the time of adversity, that there is no refuge to flee unto but
myself. For, as I have said in Is. 46 4, "I have made, and I
will bear: yea I will carry, and will deliver you." Why does
another enjoy my glory, who cannot fulfil it? Why is not that
glory given unto me, who alone am able to do all those things,
and am willing to do them, and to whom alone all the glory is
clue? You see therefore how sweet and yet how forcible, this
expostulation is.
Again, this carries with it a powerful weight, — his asking
liow k is that his glory is turned into shame? not any glory,
but his own proper glory? At the very hearing of which,
every godly mind ought to tremble. For it is a horrible thing
to hear that the glory of God is turned into shame and his
praise into blasphemy, w^hich glory every creature strives to
venerate with all its powers, Ps. 19:2.
And he himself makes this of so much moment that he
uses an elliptical mode of expression, omitting the z'c/b by an
aposiopesis, or silence, saying, "How long my glory into
shame?" that is, will ye change, or turn, etc., as Paul saith,
Rom. I :23, "And changed the glory of the incorruptible God,"
etc. For by this aposiopesis, or silence, he intimates that this
crime is so great that it is too awful to be named, from the
horror of the wickedness implied in it. For he would say, the
sin would have been much less if ye had abused any of the
creatures and turned them into shame, and had brought the
glory of my works into contempt. But, not only to refuse to
give me the glory, but even to take it from me wilfully, to turn
PSALM IV. l6l
it into shame, this is a wickedness at which the very heavens
themselves may tremble, which the ears cannot endure to hear
and which the tongue fears to utter. Behold with what power
of words our God urges us to believe in him, unto our salvation.
Now it will be easy to reconcile the other translations with
my own, though they do not so expressivel give the true sense
of the passage, "O ye sons of men," etc. As if ye would say,
ye are indeed the sons of men, rather than the sons of the man
whom ye ought to represent ; but ye savor of the flesh of him
and of your fathers, rather than of thejr faith. But "how long
v.'ill ye be of a heavy heart ?" How long will ye be unbelieving
in heart and rush backwards under the weight of unbelief, rest-
ing in a trust in created things, and giving unto creatures that
glory which ye ought to ascribe unto me? This we have al-
ready fully set forth.
Thus also that rendering of Jerome, "O ye sons of the man,
how long will ye shamefully love vanity, and seek after lying?"
As if he had said, this is to the shame both of my glory and
of yours, that, forsaking all trust in mc, ye love something else
rather than me, who alone am the truth, etc.
In a beautiful order David says first that "vanity" is loved,
and then that "lying" is sought after. For there is first of
all the aflfection of the mind itself, or the love, or will, or de-
sire; which, if it be perverse and wicked, immediately begets
wicked, false and lying opinions. For on these two, the will
and the opinion, turns the whole life of every man, as it is set
forth in the first Psalm. Hence it is that, contrary to what
Moses teaches, Deut. 12:8, "Every man doeth that which
seemeth right in his own eyes." This desire, this counsel of
the wicked, and these vain thoughts of man, the Holy Spirit
here reproves, calling them all lies ; and we see through all
the scriptures the same that we find throughout the Psalter.
Therefore the love of vanity turns away the affections, which
being turned away, the mind is at once infected with false
opinions ; and thus as it has a wrong love of things it forms a
wrong judgment of them, and while the man is walking in his
l62 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
own blinded mind throug-h malice he imagines that he is
walking in the truth, in wisdom, and in the light, though he
is only walking in error and his own lies.
Every word in this passage has its peculiar force. The
whole book of Ecclesiastes defines fully that "vanity" is what-
ever is not God. If the salvation which a man seeks be vain,
how much more shall every thing else be vain? That truly
is vanity, when a man, ignorant of the cross and of grace,
seeks salvation and help, not in God, but in something else ;
for he can find neither salvation nor any other good in any
thing but in God : all things else are vexation of spirit and an
allurement and tickling enticement unto consolation, rather
than consolation itself; and an enticement unto salvation and
good, rather than salvation and good in reality.
Further, to have vanity is not the greatest of evils, for
every man is vanity, Ps. 39 :6 ; and there is nothing new under
the sun, Ecc. i :8 ; and though it be an evil, it is bearable. For
there is no one saint that does not hope, trust, desire, fear, love,
and hate, more or less, in a way and manner that he ought not.
But this body of sin and death, these laws of sin, these vani-
ties, he ought to hate, not to love nor to take pleasure in them.
To use the comfort and help of a creature is not sin nor
wrong; but to love them and rest in them alone, and from a
love of them, not to trust in God is a sin of ungodliness.
Again a lie is a less sin and evil than to seek lying; for
any one may embrace vanity instead of truth, but to seek it
is sin and ungodliness. For as all men are liars, Ps. 116:11, our
seeking is to be, not how we may obey and direct our lives
according to our own opinions, our own judgment, or, as they
say, the dictates of our own reason ; but our great seeking and
endeavoring are to be, how we may be kept from obeying
these, and how we may be led and guided by the dictates and
will of God.
Hence, nothing more pestilential and destructive can be
taught a Christian man than moral philosophy and the decrees
PSALM IV. 163
of men, if they be so set before him as to make him believe
that he can walk in and by them so as to please God. For by
such instruction it will come to pass, that relying on this wis-
dom, he will judge, condemn, and persecute whatever he sees
is against him, and will thereby reject the cross of Christ and
utterly despise the way of God; which is in its best and most
prosperous state when we are living without our own guid-
ance and wisdom and are following, as through a desert and
wilderness, Christ in a pillar of fire. For this is loving, not
"vanity," but that which is solid and substantial, and seeking
not lies but the truth. But all these things are better felt by
experience in the time of suffering and adversity than they
can possibly be described in v/ords, or imagined by the heart;
for there must, as we have said, be an experience of these
things to understand the words of God : these things must
not only be spoken of and known, but be experienced in the
life and felt. Hence David saith, Ps. 116:11, "I said in my
haste, all men are liars." Why does he call them liars? Be-
cause, being in the extremity of suffering and living by faith
alone in God and being stripped of all confidence in created
things in which he sees all men immersed and overwhelmed, he
with certainty pronounces all their affections and thoughts
to be vain, and all their counsels and pursuits to be lies, be-
cause they are destitute of faith in God. If they are without
faith in God, then they are without the Word of God; and if
they are without the Word of God, then they are without the
truth. Thus all things are vain and lies which are without
faith; for faith is truth on account of the Word of truth in
which it believes and to which it cleaves by believing.
Thus then we have the true sense and meaning of this
verse, that all are ungodly idolaters and polluters of the glory
of God, who under any tribulation draw back from faith, hope,
and love, to a confidence and comfort in created things, and
protect and direct themselves by those means.
Concerning the small word "Selah" we have already said
164 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
enough. It seems to be put here for the purpose of denoting
a particular feehng of the mind. And truly it is wonderful
above all things that the whole human race is so immersed and
implicated in depraved affections and opinions, that men love
vanity and seek after lying; and so awfully so that the matter,
from the greatness and extent of it, cannot be sufficiently set
before us and impressed upon our minds.
V. 3. But knozv that Jehovah hath set apart for himself
him that is godly (made his saint to he a zvonder) : Jehovah
zvill hear zvhen J call unto him.
A most wholesome instruction ! For the reason the sons
of men dread the cross which is the way of truth and of that
which is substantial, and rather choose to seek after vanity and
lying and trust in created things, is this, — they are in ig-
norance of God, as the apostle saith, i Cor. 15:34, "For some
have no knowledge of God" ; they know not, I say, what God
is doing, what he intends, nor what his thoughts are, when
he tries us by tribulations; for they judge like a horse or a
mule, according to that which is before their eyes and is seen
and felt. In such cases nothing appears to view but shame,
want, death, and all those things which are shown us in the
sufferings of Christ. And if thou view those things only,
do not acknowledge the divine will in them, and endure and
praise that will, thou must of necessity be offended at the cross
and flee to thine own counsel and wisdom ; and thus at once
become an idolater and give unto the creature that glory which
is due unto God alone.
When Christ, John 16:3, showed the reason the Jews
should persecute the apostles, and turn them out of the syna-
gogue, he said, "These things will they do, because they have
not known the Father nor me." But how was it that they
did not know, vdio had held such great contentions with Christ
about God ? To know Christ is to know the cross and to un-
derstand God in the midst of the crucifixion of the flesh ; this
is the design of God, this is the wiR of God, yea, this is God.
PSALM IV. 165
Therefore their hating and persecuting the cross and the word
of the cross, as being contrary to their affections and opini-
ons, which were vanity and Hes, are the cause of their not
knowing God, or of their not knowing the will of God, which
is the same.
Thus also, when he said, John 6:53, "Except ye eat the
flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have not life
in yourselves :" it was to them "a hard saying," and many of
his disciples being offended from that time forward walked
no more with him. Why was it "a. hard saying?" Because
to eat the flesh of Christ and to drink his blood is to be in-
corporated into Christ by faith, and to have fellowship with
him in his sufferings. But this depraved human affection and
the heart that is corrupted by perverse opinions abhor above
all things.
To this David alludes when he says, Fear not; nor think
that ye are perishing, if your own affections and senses are
destroyed, and if all that ye suffer seems contrary to your
own opinions. But be ye wise and know the Lord and under-
stand his will and turn away your eyes that they behold not
vanity, for the Lord *is wonderful in his saints. His work
upon them is one thing in appearance, but quite a different
thing in reality. He seems to kill but in reality makes alive;
he wounds, but in reality heals ; he confounds, but at that very
time in reality glorifies ; he brings down to the grave, but at
that very time rather brings up from the grave. All his works
are thus, concerning which we have said much in the fore-
going.
What then is more wonderful than this divine will? It
dwelleth indeed on high, and yet hath respect unto lowly
things. It makes men fools that they may become wise; it
makes them weak that they may become strong. But it is the
former of these works that appears and is felt : thou wilt
never arrive at the understanding of the latter unless thou
have faith. Thus Peter saith that the prophets foretold first
l66 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.,
the sufferings of Christ, and then the glories that should fol-
low, I Pet. I :ii.
Therefore we stand in need of admonition and exhorta-
tion that we may be raised up to knowing and acknowledging
God in such cases. David saith, "Know that he hath made his
saint to be a wonder." As though he had said, why are ye
thus tossed to and fro? Why seek ye comfort and counsel
from this quarter and from that? Why do ye love this and
that consolation ? Vain are all such things. They are not
only vain, so as not to be able to afford you any help ; but
they are lies also and miserably deceive you. "Know ye," and
be assured, hear ye and believe, that it is an immutably fixed
decree, that whoever will be a saint of God, whoever will ob-
tain his grace and be acceptable and well pleasing unto him,
must so suffer that God shall be wonderful in him ! Thus
wonderful he cannot be, if the counsel or consolation of your-
self or of any other creature can help you. For all such things,
which are not above and beyond your own ability and compre-
hension are not wonderful at all. But when ye shall be
brought to despair in yourselves and in every other created
thing, and shall commit and commend your cause to the will
of God only, then, behold, your righteousness shall break forth
as the light, and then shall God bring forth your judgment
as the noon-day, Ps. 37 :6, in a manner and at a time wholly un-
thought of either by yourselves or any other creature.
The word "saint" in this passage is in the Hebrew, hasid;
because he is properly a saint who has obtained mercy, and
who, as we term it, is justified by grace. We are to receive the
expression here as distributive and as containing a definite
number for an indefinite. "Know ye that the Lord hath made
his saint wonderful," that is, his saints. Which is the same
as if he had said, know ye that the Lord wonderfully works
in, and rules the man, whom he justifies and makes a partaker
of grace. From this learn that whoever will please God must,
as I said, know what this good, and acceptable, and perfect
PSALM IV. 167
counsel and will of the Lord are? For Paul saith, Rom. 12:2,
that this "will" never can be proved, unless ye be "transformed
by the renewing of your mind ;" whereby God always destroys
our own affections and our own opinion.
"Jehovah will hear me," etc. Here again he teaches the
weak both by word and by example. For he might have re-
ferred this to the saint, who he before Said was made a wonder,
and have said, Jehovah will hear him when he calls unto him.
Or, he might have made the former part of the verse accord
with the latter, and have said, know ye that the Lord hath
made me a wonder. But as I said, 'these sudden changes of
the persons set forth the wonderful varieties and changes in
the feelings and affections ; we are therefore to consider the
person of the prophet accordingly and see how concerned he
is for the sons of men in all this variety, addressing the saints
at one time as in a body collected together, at another as
mingled among sinners, that he might thereby gain all. He
saith, "Jehovah hath made his saint a wonder :" and, he would
add, if this will not move you, I tell you that "Jehovah will
hear me," who also am one of the saints, that is, one of those
who have obtained his grace.
Behold the Psalmist's affection and state of mind. He per-
suades the sons of men to endure the hand of God ; but as that
is done in faith, he cannot show what nor how it is, for God, as
I said, is not visible. Therefore he does the utmost that he
can do and all that lies within his power : he promises them
the help of God. As if he had said, I can do this and this is the
only thing that I have power to do for your consolation : I can
with confidence promise you that you will be heard. Therefore
trust with firmness, love not vanity, nor turn the glory of God
into shame; but wait in expectation and take comfort from
this my example, for I am most fully persuaded that the Lord
will hear me, not in this hour only but as often as I shall call
upon him.
Thus we see the godly concern of a spiritual mind for the
i68 Luther on the psalms.
brethren. David does not dare to boast of himself; but on ac-
count of the need and necessity of his brother, he is compelled
to bring forth himself as an example, as the apostle Paul also
does in many places : thus, "Be ye imitators of me, even as I
also am of Christ," i Cor. ii:i. Again, "We wronged no
man," 2 Cor. 7 :2. But it was to avoid this boasting as much
as possible, as it seems, that David spoke of the "saint" in the
former part of the verse in the third person, that he might
not in vain-glory boast that he was one with whom the Lord
dealt wonderfully ; and of which in the latter part he did omit
to speak; for to speak of calling upon God is not any great
incitement to boasting, but rather a proof of affliction.
The good Spirit therefore teaches us, that in our being made
wonderful, that is, in our tribulation, we should do nothing
else than endure our wonder-maker, the Lord, and call upon
him ; and not flee from sufferings nor seek after lies nor after
those things which seem unto vis to be right and good ; for
such things are alluring shadows, the most destructive of all.
V. 4. — Stand in azve, (be ye angry), and sin not ■.commune
until your ozvn heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
(zuhich things ye speak in your hearts : and be filled with com
punction on your beds).
The Hebrew according to the authority of Jerome is, "Be
ye angry, and sin not : speak in your own hearts upon your
beds, and be silent." Whence it is manifest that the relative
pronoun 'which' and the conjunction 'and' are in our trans-
lation redundant ; and the words 'be filled with compunction'
also have forced our translators into a sense that is not agree-
able to the original text. Therefore let us first consider the
Hebrew of the passage.
The prophet in the third verse called back the sons of men
from vanity and lies ; that is, from corrupt affections and false
opinions, and therefore, as they might then say, what shall
we next do? What shall we strive after next? Are we thus
to leave all things? He answers them in this fourth verse by
PSALM IV. 169
telling them, that they should trust in the Lord and rest upon
his mercy and know, tliat those things which they should suffer
from the injurious, would under the operation of God tend,
not to their destruction, but to their salvation, though in a
way altogether wonderful.
If they complainingly ask again, but who is there that can
avoid being moved and becoming angry? Who is there that
can help murmuring and accursing those who injure them ? He
kindly replies, "Be ye angry," but not so as to "sin" in being
angry. I know that the motions of anger are not in your own
power ; but take heed that ye consent hot to them. Thus Paul
saith. Gal. 5:16, "Walk by the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil
the lust of the flesh." And Rom. 6:12, "Let not sin therefore
reign in your mortal bodies, that ye should obey the lusts
thereof." Again, Rom. 13 :i4, "Make not provision for the
flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
All these scriptures tend to show us that there are evil
desires as well of lust as of anger in us, but that we are to
take heed that they reign not, that is, that we "obey" them not,
as Paul saith. Thus he complains, Rom. 7:19, "The good
which I would, I do not : but the evil which I would not,
that I practice." Again, verse 25, "So then I of myself with
the mind indeed serve the law of God ; but with the flesh the
law of sin." How was all this? Because he wished to be
free from evil desires, but could not ; and to have pure desires
only, but could not. As he says again, Gal. 5:17, "For the
flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ;
for these are contrary the one to tlie other ; that ye may not do
the things that ye would."
It is manifest therefore that the words here, "Be ye angry,"
arc not words of command or of exhortation to anger, as
being proper and as being a something different from sin ;
but words of permission or of concession in the case of anger,
though evil, when any injury is received; on account of the
inevitable and invincible infirmity of the flesh. Thus August-
f^O LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
ine says on this verse, "Be ye angry and sin not," means that,
although the motion of anger should rise in the mind, which
now on account of the punishment of sin is not in our power;
yet, let not the mind and will, which are regenerate within
according to God, consent unto it ; that with the mind we may
serve the law of God, though with our flesh we still serve the
law of sin.' Thus Augustine speaks excellently and beauti-
fully.
The sense therefore is plain. "Be ye angry, and sin not;"
that is, forasmuch as ye complain that ye cannot help being
moved, being hurt, being angry, being put into a tremor, for
the Hebrew word bears all these significations, under so great
an evil as an injury received ; well ! your heavenly Father knows
this your infirmity : be ye moved and angry ; only proceed not
so far as to think, say, do, or allow, any evil against your
own soul, and thus sin against God, yourselves, and your
neighbor.
This sense I the more willingly embrace, because the spirit
of Paul, which I desire always to follow, has the same thing,
Eph, 4:26, where he saith, "Be ye angry, and sin not." That
he does not speak of anger here as proper or good, which would
be making it different from sin, is manifest from what follows,
"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath ;" which he cer-
tainly says as considering anger to be evil. And indeed it
was this passage of Paul that gave me the occasion for ex-
pounding this Psalm as applying to the injuries and complaints
of the weak, who are to be restrained by a godly exhorta-
tion and by exciting confidence in God. It is to the same end
that Paul uses and applies this verse of the Psalm, as is mani-
fest to every one.
But here that question concerning the first motions, as they
term them, will put forth its head, and will ask, where ends
the venial sin, and where begins the mortal sin ? The apostle
indeed gives the setting of the sun as a limit, when he says,
"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath." But this, again,
PSALM IV. 171
they call into question, whether we are by this to understand
the visible sun, which we see setting at a certain hour, or the
spiritual sun, Christ, which they think may, as to the human
senses, set in a moment.
For my part, I always avoid mystical interpretations of the
scriptures, where there is no cogent necessity for so doing,
and advise others to do the same, because they are very peril-
ous. I cannot suffer myself to understand by Paul's "sun" any
other than the visible, though I do not condemn the other
opinion.
Moreover, I know that there is no temerity more perilous
than the wishing to make a distinction between venial and mor-
tal sin, especially in the hour of the commotion of the flesh and
of temptation : between those sins, I say, which are com-
mitted by the motions of the raging mind ; for either lust, or
indignation, or some other motion, is wont to prevail in a
man, not for one hour only but sometimes for many hours
together, and in such a manner that he cannot be certain
whether he consents or not. Nay, very often, God so ordaining
it, the feeling of the motion of the good and pure mind is
so very low and involuntary and so hidden, that the man fears,
nay, almost believes, that he has consented. By this remedy
the divine mercy is wont to keep all its beloved ones, whom he
has adorned with conspicuous gifts above others in humility,
lest, being puffed up with them, they should be exalted in
pride above others, and perish.
Therefore, the doctrine and rule of the apostle appears
to me most safe and most wise, that every man should at
least return to himself at night; and, if he have conceived
any anger, should lay it aside before he goes to sleep, and be
reconciled to his brother. For no other time more proper
can be appointed for this purpose, than the setting of the sun,
and the end of the day, when all business and all works and
labor, etc. are finished, and when the mind is now more quiet
and in a proper state to lay aside this and every other feeling of
ty2 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
malice, whether there has been a consenting unto it or not.
For who can understand his errors? And in every work we
are to fear the strict judgment of God.
Now follows, "Commune with your ov/n heart upon your
bed, and be still." It is manifest that 'upon your bed,' 'into
your bed,' and 'in your bed,' all signify the same thing; for
in the Hebrew the words imply motion to a place; the same
figure of speech Christ uses, Matt. 6:6, "But thou, when
thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut
the door," etc.
Now I must follow a most unskilful master, as we are
accustomed to say, that is, my own self; for I have never seen
this Hebrew text explained to my liking by any one, and as
far as I can I will follow my own spirit.
It is the custom of those who suffer injury to burst out,
make a clamor, and fill all ears with complaints ; which is the
reason the apostle, Eph. 4:31, enumerates "clamor" among the
effects of anger, saying, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and
anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you," etc.
Therefore the prophet, with a design to prevent the sons of
men from thus breaking out, as he had permitted them to be
angry in the first motion of their mind, and yet not so as
to sin, now teaches them, that they should make no tumult at
all, but commune and talk with their own hearts upon their
beds. Thereby he expressively shows them what they should
do to prevent themselves from sinning when moved with anger,
namely, that they should commune with themselves, and be
silent ; which I do not understand otherwise than according
to that of the prophet Is. 30:15, "In quietness and in confidence
shall be your strength." For the silence here spoken of is
not that which is kept by the mouth, but that patience and rest
which are the opposite of tumult ; as it is expressed in Ps. 37 -.y,
"Rest in Jehovah and wait patiently for him." And Ps. 65:1,
"Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion." Again, Is. 41 :i,
PSALM IV. 173
"Keep silence before me, O islands : and let the people renew
■ their strength."
But finally, to be silent, according to the figurative mode
of the scriptural expression, is of the same signification as to
lay aside one's impetuosity, to mitigate one's fury, to bridle
one's mind; which we Germans in our vernacular express by
saying to those whom we would restrain when angry, 'Still,
still, halt in!' Hence tomb is in the Hebrew expressed by
DUMA, from this true and real silence; because, there a man
ceases from every thing and remains wholly in silence. There-
fore Isaiah said, 30:12, "Ye trust in oppression and perverse-
ness;" for the mind of those who are angry and offended, is
irritated to oppression and perverseness : whereby it presumes
that it shall obtain revenge and prevail. But restraining this
irritated state of mind he saith, "In returning and rest ye shall
be saved ;" for you will overcome, not by making a tumult, but
by remaining still. Then follows, "and in quietness and con-
fidence shall be your strength ;" that is, if ye keep silent and
remain still, bridle your impetuosity, abstain from tumult, and
not seek revenge, but wait for my hand, and leave all revenge
unto me, and deliver your cause into my hand, behold then
ye shall be strong and shall overcome ; for I will fight for you,
but ye shall be still.
Thus Moses saith, Ex. 14:14, "Jehovah will fight for you,
but ye shall hold your peace." What mean these words, "Ye
shall hold your peace?" They mean, ye shall be still, ye shall
do nothing in the matter, but shall act just as if it did not at
all concern you. This being in peace and still therefore is
nothing else than exercising a quiet patience ; which is a figure
of speech most common in the holy scriptures.
Hence Isaiah, in the above passage, when they would not
listen to the admonition and exhortation to keep silence, adds,
30:16, "But ye said, no, for we will flee upon horses, and we
will ride upon the swift." And what is this, but declaring to
defend themselves by tumult, and not to wait to become strong
174 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and be saved by quietness and confidence. Hence follows in
the same passage, verses i6, 17, "Therefore shall ye flee: and
therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand
shall flee at the threat of one ; at the threat of five shall ye flee :
till ye be left as a beacon upon the top of a mountain, and as
an ensign on a hill." From these words I think it is quite clear,
what it is to be silent and still, and w^hat it is to make a tumult.
The one is to remain in patience and quietness : the other,
to be moved and to put every thing else in commotion, and,
as we say, to confound heaven and earth. The former is the
silence which this verse teaches.
The meaning of the passage is therefore, "Commune with
your own heart upon your bed ;" that is, as we say, ponder,
deliberate, be not precipitate, nor immediately bring forth that
which your anger may suggest. First consult with yourselves,
"for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God,"
James i :20. As a heathen writer has also written, 'Let nothing
be done or said in anger.' Gregory also said, Tt is better to
avoid anger by silence, than to overcome it by reply.'
Now let us look at the words more particularly. First, we
have "Commune, or speak, with your own heart;" that is, let
them meditate well with themselves and not obey the motions
of their anger, which is precipitant, and which always has its
words upon the tongue and not in the heart ; according to
Sirach, 21 :26, "The heart of fools is in their mouth : but the
mouth of the wise is in their heart." A beautiful and excellent
antithesis ! And the same admonition is given In the present
verse, that we should turn our mouth to our heart, and not
immediately utter forth what the temptation may suggest. For
to have our heart in our mouth, is to speak imprudently ; which
persons in a passion generally do. But to have our mouth
in our heart, is to speak prudently; which those do who are
still and quiet.
Therefore we may use the same antithesis here, and say,
to speak in our hearts and to think in our mouths, if I may
PSALM IV. 175
SO say, are opposites; the one being a mark of wise men; the
other, of fools.
But that they may the more conveniently commune with,
or speak to, their hearts, he adds that they should do this upon
their "beds ;" that is, that they should seek solitude and avoid
all the irritation of a crowd. For when the body and all ex-
ternal tumults are reduced to quiet the mind may be the more
easily stilled, so as to be in a state to commune and meditate
with itself. But as avoiding the crowd and seeking solitude are
useful in this temptation, so are tliey perilous in many other
temptations. These things have I spok(!n according to my own
mind, without prejudice against any other expositor.
Now, how shall I make our received translation to accord
with the Hebrew? It is necessary to understand some other
verb, as Augustine teaches, who disposes of our translation
thus, "Which things, or the things which, ye say in your
hearts." Here understand, says Augustine, the verb 'say;'
thus, "The things which ye say, say in your hearts." This
may be made to accord with my rendering thus : seeing that,
when angry, ye are prompted to say whatever comes first upon
your tongue, do not precipitately utter abroad what ye wish to
say, but speak it in your hearts, that is, speak wisely what
ye desire to speak. For according to this figure of speech,
Christ said to Judas, John 13:27, "What thou doest, do quick-
ly," that is, what thou desirest to do, or what thou hast already
proposed to do. So here the things which ye say, that is, what
ye wish to say, say in your hearts. What, from your impatience
of anger, ye wish to say foolishly, take care to meditate in
your hearts, that ye may speak prudently.
Lastly how shall I reconcile, "And be filled with compunc-
tion on your beds." What concord can there be between 'sil-
ence' and 'compunction?' In my opinioin there may be this
concord ; that, by returning to his heart, the angry man feels
a compunction and is dissatisfied with himself that he has been
thus moved to anger ; and therefore by the silence referred to.
176 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
he comes by the shortest way to the force of compunction.
Hence v/hile he communes or talks with his heart, especially
when on his bed, or sitting alone, he sees how foolish his
comniotion and impatience of anger were, which if he had
follov.-ed he would have basely fallen. And thus, being changed
by his compunction, he refrains from the tumult to which he
was moved, and now remains still and in silence, the flame of
revenge being not a little extinguished. Whoever can give a
better exposition of the passage, let him communicate it without
envy. This is the best I can produce.
I have already sufficiently shown Vv^hat "Selah" at the end
of this verse signifies. It is a signal gift of grace for that
man, who has been provoked to anger and impatience by in-
jury and the like temptation, to exercise the feelings here re-
quired, to refrain his tongue, and to withdraw himself aside
into secret, and remain silent. For it is to this end that Paul,
as I said, handles this Psalm, Eph. 4 -.2,2, where he says at the
end, ver. 32, "And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you."
V. 5. — Offer the sacriiice of righteousness, and put your
trust in Jehovah (hope in the Lord).
An admirable doctrine ! And what is this sacrifice ? Who
can ofifer unto God righteousness, when we ought rather to
ask of God for all our sacrifices? David here distinguishes,
in a few words, the sacrifice of righteousness from all the
sacrifices of cattle and of all other things. For these two
sacrifices are directly opposed to each other. The sacrifice of
righteousness makes men righteous : the sacrifice of things
makes them sinners. In the latter we seem to give something
unto God, and to work a righteousness : in the former we only
express our desire to receive of God, and to confess our sins.
Hence it comes to pass that the sacrifice of things, while it
puffs us up with self-righteousness and works, renders us im-
patient of injuries, making us appear to ourselves to be persons
of much and great merit ; and it inflames us the more unto
PSALM IV. 177
revenge, because we then, as it were, stand up in defense of
our own righteousness.
The sacrifice of righteousness therefore is to justify and
praise God and to confess ourselves sinners and worthy of all
those things which we suffer, and causes us to exclaim with
Ps. 119:137, "Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, and upright are
thy judgments." As is described also by a most beautiful ex-
ample in the third chapter of Daniel and in The Song of the
Three Holy Children, i :8-9, which is the continuation of the
third chapter of Daniel in the Apocrypha of the Old Testament ;
"Wherefore all that thou hast brought upon us, and every thing
that thou hast done to us, thou hast done in true judgment:
and thou didst deliver us into the hands of lawless enemies."
Again immediately following, verses 16, 17, "Nevertheless,
in a contrite heart and humble spirit let us be accepted. Like
as in the burnt-ofiferings of rams and bullocks, and like as in
ten thousands of fat lambs : so let our sacrifice be in thy sight
diis day, and grant that we may wholly go after thee: for
they shall not be confounded that put their trust in thee." And
Baruch 1:15 teacheth the Babylonian captives the same thing,
"And ye shall say, to the Lord our God belongeth righteous-
ness, but unto us the confusion of faces, as it is come to pass
this day unto them of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jeru-
salem."
But this sacrifice must be offered out of a true heart and
mouth, and with a true work : out of a heart truly acknowledg-
ing its sin, out of a mouth confessing unfeignedly, and with
a work that willingly beareth the punishments which are in-
flicted. For there are many who say with their mouths that
they are sinners, but do not feel the same in theii hearts, and
evince it in their works. Which they manifestly show by their
being unwilling to be called and accounted sinners by others,
and to suffer injuries. But if thou art a sinner why dost thou
flee from the punishments? And if thou dost not appear to
thyself to deserve the name of sinner, why dost thou call thy-
178 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
self one? The glory of the righteous is that they have "honor
and peace" laid up for them; but the things that are laid to
sinners are "tribulation and anguish," Rom. 2:9-10.
Those therefore who ascribe unto God righteousness, and
unto themselves sin, with a true heart, these are they who sacri-
fice those two sacrifices of righteousness commended in the
scriptures. The one of v/hich may be called the morning
sacrifice, concerning v/hich Ps. 50:23 saith, "Whoso ofiereth
the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me; and to him that
ordereth his way aright will I show the salvation of God."
The other is the evening sacrifice, concerning which Ps. 51 :i7.
saith, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." And
perhaps this is what the verse before us signifies, which in the
Hebrew has 'sacrifices' in the plural number, "Sacrifice the
sacrifices of righteousness ;" so that it includes both sacrifices.
In every temptation and under every injury therefore we
are not to arrogate righteousness to ourselves and hold
it fast, but to take it utterly from ourselves and ascribe it unto
God; and they v/ho do not this, are immersed in self-excuses,
accusations of their adversaries, self-justifications, and all kinds
of judgings, detractings, strivings, quarrelings, contendings,
brawlings, and those other works of the flesh which the apostle
enumerates, Gal. 5 :20. And it comes to pass that by mutual
bitings, such are consumed, not only in spirit, all love being lost,
but not un frequently in body also, by mutual slaughters and
by possessions spent in litigations.
But you will say perhaps if Christians used always these
sacrifices of righteousness, what would become of ordinances
and laws? But we are taught these sacrifices to this end, that
we might have no need of ordinances and laws. Thus the King
of Babylon acted lawlessly in leading the children of Israel
captive, as Three Holy Ciiildren i :9, says, "And thou didst
deliver us into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful for-
sakers of God, and to an unjust king, and the most wicked in
PSALM IV. 179
all the world." And yet King Zedekiah and those who were
left in Jerusalem, by resisting righteousness and expostulating
with God, offended him much more. Whereas those who, lay-
ing aside all boasting in their own righteousness, committed
themselves unto God, greatly pleased him. So that the latter
were preserved, honored, and multiplied in Babylon in the
midst of enemies ; while the former at Jerusalem in the midst
of friends perished, were confounded, and decreased. Because
the latter of the captivity sacrificed the sacrifices of righteous-
ness without cattle or any such things ; but the former offered
the sacrifices of cattle and of created things without righteous-
ness, because they wished to be righteous in themselves, and
did not acknowledge their sins ; whereas, those of the captivity
did acknowledge their sins and ascribed righteousness unto
God.
From this we understand, all that chaos and dark abyss of
forensic causes and Roman arts, together with the whole mass
of books, waxen tables, morals, uses, ordinances, and all such
judicial righteousnesses, are matters totally foreign to a Christ-
ian man and have nothing to do with that holy life of the
church which is in sincerity ; and are only tolerated for the
safety of the weak, that they may not do worse things in their
desire of revenging themselves, and may not be overcome by
the power of impatience. But at the present day, Rome and
the episcopal senate devote themselves so wholly to this judicial
righteousness, that they not only imagine that righteousness
rules there, but for the sake of increasing this kind of right-
eousness, they even procure strife by strife ; yea, they call to
themselves the quarrels and contentions out of every corner
of the whole world ; so that there never was a senate- house of
any Emperor, either gentile or profane, filled with such a con-
fusion of affairs and causes, and those the most profane ; and
yet, which may perhaps excite wonder, the whole is about sacred
and divine things most basely bought, redeemed, sold, re-sold,
taken by force, and squandered.
l80 lUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Those lawyers call the Roman senate, at this day, the fount-
ain of justice and righteousness ; whereas it ought more proper-
ly to be called a deluge of iniquity, for it is from there that the
destruction and the oblivion of those sacrifices of righteous-
ness and of the knowledge of Christ proceed, which have
spread themselves with such force and violence throughout the
whole world. In a word, Rome at this day far more nearly
resembles the kingdom of hell than the kingdom of heaven.
But perhaps some will say, be it so that we give up all right-
eousness and confess that we are sinners, and condemn our-
selves to all the deserts of sinners : what then ? Are we to
perish and die in our sins ? Does not God hate sinners ? Into
what peril dost thou draw us by this thy doctrine? David
answers you thus : be of good cheer : only hope in God. For
thus the companions of Daniel did, as is recorded in the third
chapter of Daniel and in the apocryphal Song of the Three Holy
Children i :6, "For we have sinned, and committed iniquity."
But afterwards, being raised to hope, they say, ver. 17, "For
they shall not be confounded that put their trust in thee." Upon
this I spoke referring to Is. 30:15, "In quietness and con-
fidence shall be )^our strength." That is, we are not to avenge
ourselves as if we were righteous, but are to suffer in silence
without tumult ; confessing our sins, committing our cause
into the hand of God, and expecting his mercy with believing
confidence. For he that shall com.e will come, and will execute
judgment in favor of them that suffer injury, and will avenge
the poor; and thus, God will make his strength perfect in our
weakness. For if our confidence in our own righteousness be
not taken away, and if we do not confess ourselves sinners and
worthy of any and every evil, salvation and hope can have
no place in us ; for God will have respect only unto the humble.
V. 6. — Many there are that say, who zvill sJiozv us any
good? Jehovah, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon
us.
This verse among us is divided : the first part of it being
PSALM IV. l8l
joined to the former verse, and the last part to the following
verse. The Hebrew, according to the translation of Jerome,
is, "There be many that say, who will show us any good?
Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us." But
I think the verse should be rendered and punctuated thus,
"Many say, who will show unto us any good sign upon us?
Lord, the light of thy countenance."
David however turns his words unto God in a way of
complaint, but with admirable reverence and modesty, lament-
ing on account of the unbelieving, and those that will not be
persuaded ; such as were the stiff-necked Jews more especially,
because they could not believe those who rightly advised them,
unless, as Christ says, they should see signs and wonders, John
4 :48. Thus the apostle saith, i Cor. i :22, "That Jews ask for
signs, and Greeks seek after wisdom." Hence it comes to pass
that they are always offended at the Word of the cross and the
doctrine of faith. And this is what David here says : that
when he had advised them to cast away all their own righteous-
ness, and to hope in God, and expect all good from him, he
offended those who would not believe him, and who would not
be prevailed upon to hope, unless they saw some good sign by
which they may be assured concerning the future good which
they were commanded to hope for. They say, "Who will show
us any good sign upon us." Who will assure us that these
good things will come unto us? By what sign is it manifest
that we shall receive those things? As if they had said, all
things appear quite the contrary ; and the worst signs of things
seem to be upon us on all sides. Men of this kind are every
where numerous, who tempt the Lord with this unbelief, like
the children of Israel in the wilderness.
And from this same source you may trace a whole sea of
superstitions and of the most foolish desires even among
Christians, if the wind does not blow just to please them, if
their crops seem to be in danger, even if their leg pains them,
or if they are visited, or fear they shall be visited, with any
l82 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
temporal inconvenience or loss. For in all these cases, how
anxious are we to know, by means of some good sign, that
these things will not come upon us, or that we shall be delivered
from them if they should come. We run here and there to
magicians, to diviners, yea, to devils also ; and the devices and
ways are innumerable, by which we endeavor to avoid this one
thing, hoping in God, or at least, that we might not be com-
pelled to hope in him without some good and certain sign.
The miser hopes in God, but it is only whilst his purse
keeps filling, and his barn continues to be stored with corn;
the strong man hopes in him also, but it is only so long as his
strength is sound; the powerful and ambitious man hopes in
him, but it is only so long as the authority of his name and
his power prevail : because, by these good signs they seem
to themselves to be sure that they have God propitious unto
them, but if any one of these things should fail, their hope
fails with it, unless some other or greater sign shows itself
for their support.
Thus it is also in spiritual things, in the remission of sins,
and the peace of conscience; wherein, not a few prepare to
themselves a security, not by faith, nor by hope, but by a
confidence in their own works, or by what others think of
them. And indeed, in every temptation, these seek for them-
selves a good sign as something whereon to rest their hope;
without which, they will not hope at all, and therefore, they
do not hope in God, because they do not hope purely, for, "hope
that is seen, is not hope," Rom. 8 :24.
The Psalmist might have spoken of all these, mentioning
them by their names ; such as temptors of God, unbelieving,
sons of distrust, infidels, and stiff-necked rebels. But, not men-
tioning their names, he sets forth their 7i'ork only, and that in
tlie most simple and modest words, "There are many that say,
who will show us any good," leaving the judgment of their work
unto God and to those with whom it ought to be left; because,
PSALM IV. 183
with a godly affection he rather pities them and grieves for
their state, than bitterly accuses them.
Hence David condemns the error of such, and shows that
there is not that good sign upon us to be looked for which
they seek after, and that God is not propitious unto those on
whom he abundantly bestows such things. Nay, because such
things are the worst and the most fallacious signs, he brings
forward a much better and surer sign, namely this, "The light
of thy countenance, O Lord." As if he had said, to know
no sign but to rest in God by faith and hope only is the best
sign. 'For whosoever trusteth in him shall not be confounded ;'
as it is said in Daniel 3. Three Holy Children, 1:17. They
are fully satisfied concerning all good things, who, without any
sign whatever, firmly believe in God ; without which faith, no
works, no signs, no miracles, can make a man certain.
And faith is most rightly called 'the light of God's counten-
?nce,' because it is the illumination of our mind inspired from
on high, and a certain ray of the divinity conveyed into our
heart, by which, every one is saved and directed, who is saved.
As it is described in Ps. 32:8, 'T will instruct thee and teach
thee in the way which thou shalt go : I will guide thee with
mine eye." And Ps. 44 :3, "For they gat not the land in pos-
session by their own sword, neither did their own arm save
them : but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy
countenance." Again, Ps. 89 :i5, "They walk, O Jehovah, in the
light of thy countenance." Hence David exults, Ps. 27 :i,
"Jehovah is my light and my salvation."
This was prefigured in the "pillar of fire" and in the
"cloud," by which the children of Israel were ruled and led
through the desert. For, just in the same way, it is by faith
alone that we are led through ways that we know not and in
paths wherein there is no help of man to be found, that is,
through sufferings and tribulations. And as, in the former
case, the pillar of fire was with them and w^ent before their
face ; so here, faith has God present. So that the illumination
184 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
of the heart proceeds, as it were, from the countenance of the
present God ; and hence it is most rightly and properly called,
the light of the countenance of God ; that is, an acknowledgment
of, and confidence in, a present God. For he that does not
know, and does not feel, that God is present with him, does
not yet believe and has not yet the light of God's countenance.
It matters not therefore whether the light of the counte-
nance of God be understood actively, as that by which, being
present with us, he illuminates us by lighting up faith in us ;
or passively, as signifying the light of the faith itself, by which
we believe with confidence and feel his countenance and pres-
ence. For, in the Holy Scriptures, as is well known, face or
countenance, signifies presence. And therefore, an illuminat-
ing God and an illuminated heart are one and the same thing;
as are also, God seen by us and God present.
This is the meaning of the name Israel, by which Jacob
was called when he had seen the Lord face to face. For by
his face he saw the face of God ; that is, God was made present
with him by faith, being, as it were, brought before his face ;
and he, on the other hand, beheld God present with him, and
ready to help him, and, as it were, brought before his face.
And hence, Israel is said to be "led" of God ; that is, he was
one that was ruled of God alone, or led by him in a right way.
And this is done by means of faith ; and therefore, Israel is
the same as faithful, or believer, except that Israel sets forth
the power and measure of faith with wonderful propriety.
Therefore, "Blessed is the man, as David saith, Ps. 94:12,
whom thou chastenest, O Jehovah, and teachest out of thy
law." For by Jer. 18:17, he threatens the Jews 'that he will
show them the back and not the face ;" that is, that he will
leave them in unbelief and ignorance of God.
We see, therefore, what a good sign is upon us : or, we
see who will show us good, namely, faith. Faith, I say, be-
cause it is the light which shows us the presence and the coun-
tenance itself of God; that is, it shows us all good even God
PSALM IV. 185
himself, while it brings him before our face and works in us
a confidence in him. Thus no man can of himself teach another
these things.
And now it will be easy to make the other interpretations
harmonize with this.
The common reading is very near to this sense, — "O Lord,
the light of thy countenance is sealed upon us." The charac-
ters of whom we first spoke seek after a God that will show
them some good, desiring rather to see those things visibly be-
fore them, than to believe that they shall have them. But,
the believing characters of whom I spoke last, do not desire
that this sign should be shown them, but glory, that the light
of the countenance of God, that is, the knowledge of, and con-
fidence in, a present God, is sealed and impressed upon them,
as we may plainly understand from the words of the verse.
And with respect to the rendering of Jerome, "There are
many that say, who will show us any good : Jehovah, lift
thou up the light of thy countenance upon us :" This is the
same sense, only given in the form of a petition. For God does
lift up the light of his countenance upon us, when he lifts us
up by that light. For faith is a light above all our faculties
and powers. And hence, this lifting up is nothing else than
pouring out upon us that light of faith which is in itself
most high, whereby we are lifted up. And hence also it may
be said to be 'fixed' or "sealed," because it is enclosed and
incomprehensible to us, and yet comprehending us and leading
us captive into an obedience unto it.
Hence it is certain, that this verse cannot be understood
concerning natural reason as being the great director ; according
to the opinion of many, who say, 'that the first principles of
morals spring from themselves ;' for all such things are specu-
lative and false. Faith is the first principle of all good works,
and this is so hidden and unknown, that all reason utterly
shrinks from it. Reason, when at the summit of its power and
perfection, can only say, "Who will show us any good?" For
l86 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
we find that "many" say this, that is, all who are led and
guided by reason.
V. 7. — Tliou hast put gladness in my heart. More than
they have zvhen their grain and their nczv zvine are increased.
(They are midtiplied by the fruit of their corn, and wine,
and oil) .
The former part of this verse is, with us, joined to the
verse preceding; which, with the one that follows it, makes,
in the Hebrew, one verse ; and which Jerome has rendered thus,
"Thou hast put gladness in my heart, from the time that their
corn, and wine, and oil increased."
According to my judgment, this verse draws the line of
distinction between the believing and the unbelieving; that
the God of the one is the true God, but the God of the other
is their belly. For faith in God, or the light of the countenance
of God, gladdens the heart, and diffuses throughout the in-
ward man a solid and true joy, while it produces a peace on
account of sins forgiven, and gives the man a sure confidence in
God even in the midst of sufferings ; for there can be no joy,
no peace, except in a pure conscience. Hence Paul, Gal. 5 •.22,
enumerates "joy" among the fruits of the Spirit. And David
says above, ver. i, "Thou hast enlarged me when I was in dis-
tress." And hence it comes to pass, that as the sufferings of
Christ abound in us, so does the consolation of Christ abound
in us also, through that faith whereby we rest in him ; as Paul
saith, 2 Cor. i -,3, "Blessed be the God and father of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and God of all comfort ;
who comforteth us in all our affliction." For who can but
rejoice, and even exult over all the evils of the world and of
hell itself, saying, with Paul, Rom. 8:31, "If God is for us,
who is against us?" if he believe that God is with him and
for him? But, when will he ever believe firmly that God is
for him, vmless, from being proved by various temptations, and
having had his faith exercised, he has thereby learned that
God is for him?
PSALM IV. 187
It cannot be therefore but that the man must rejoice with
his whole heart, who has the light of the countenance of God.
For such an one, because he is righteous ; and because he re-
joices, he fears no one and exultingly triumphs over all things,
even over death and hell, being certain that he has the approv-
ing presence of his God. And hence, after "O Lord, the light
of thy countenance," follows, "Thou hast put gladness in my
heart," As we have it also in Ps. 68:3, "But let the righteous
be glad; let them exult before God : yea, let them rejoice with
gladness."
But what shall we say, on the contrary, concerning the un-
believing? Have they ever any joy and gladness of heart?
No! For there is no peace to the wicked, nor any joy to the
ungodly, as Is. saith, 48 :22. Because Paul saith, 2 Cor. i 17,
"As ye are partakers of the sufferings, so also are ye of the com-
fort." But these never have been partakers of the sufferings,
and therefore, shall not be partakers of the consolation. And
it is said also, Prov. 14:10, "The heart knoweth its own bitter-
ness and a stranger doth not intermeddle with its joy." But
what joy have these? Why, they have that which they sought
after. "So I let them go after the stubbornness of their heart,"
saith the Lord, Ps. 81 :i2. And in Ps. 78, we read that God
satisfied their desires when they tempted him by asking food
for their lusts, and He rained down flesh upon them as dust ;
where follow, verses 30, 31, "Their food was yet in their
mouths, when the anger of God went up against them ;" which
the apostle also repeats, Eph. 5 :6, calling such 'the sons of
disobedience, upon whom the wrath of God cometh.'
God giveth unto these, instead of rejoicing of heart, the
vile gratifications of the belly; because they only ask, "Who
will show us any good." Savoring of nothing but present and
sensual things, and not having the light of the countenance of
God. And therefore David here saith, 'that their corn, and
wine, and oil are increased,' as they wished; thus describing
their misery in mild words and leaving us to judge how great
l88 LUTHER OISI THE PSALMS.
that misery must be, by contrasting it with the joy which he
felt and with his enjoyments which were all directly contrary.
For what good has that man who has not God ? What joy
can he have whose heart does not rejoice in God? What de-
light can he know whose conscience is ever in a state of alarm ?
for such an one always feels that God is against him.
These words of David therefore display in him a most re-
markable humble mind and yet contain a most powerful com-
parison. The righteous have a rejoicing of heart in God. But
what have the unbelievers? An abundance, says he, of tem-
poral things and nothing more. O miserable pittance! O
worthless inheritance, the just desert of unbelief! For what
else is fit for swine but deceiving and empty husks, the refuse
and outside coverings of what is really good ! Thus, they have
the good which they wished to have shown unto them. They
have that good, for the sake of which they are willing to be
without the light of the countenance of God. They have those
rewards given unto them which were given unto the sons of
the concubines of Abraham, but they are separated from the
liaie heir, Isaac, to whom the whole inheritance is given. And
as the two are separated and distinct in desert, so are they in
fruit and reward. The unbelieving wanted visible good things,
and they have them : the believing desired invisible good
things, and they have them in the joy of their heart. And thus,
as he had shown in the preceding verse what the workmen
were, so now, in the present verse, he shows what fruits fol-
lowed their works ; how different they are from, yea, how con-
trary to each other.
You may see here, therefore, in what sovereign contempt he
held all the pomp and all the possessions of this world, from
the comparison which he draws between them and the good
things which he enjoyed; and from his showing that such are
the things which are given to unbelievers.
Now it is easy to harmonize the different translations. For
there is no difference whether one says as the Vulgate, they are
PSALM IV. 189
multiplied by their gram and wine, that is, they are become
rich, great and strong, expanded by their temporal and earthly
possessions, or as Jerome, your grain and wine are increased,
as every grammarian knows. For it is a short description of
their prosperity as Job, in the 21 chapter and the 144 Ps. verse
II, etc. set forth more in details.
But that the Prophet does not speak here of the holy sacra-
ment of the Lord's Supper, Augustine proves in that it is espec-
ially mentioned, your grain, your wine, not without specifying
more definitely grain and wine, since it is evident that he by
this pronoun your, speaks of many who say, "Who can show
us, what is good?" For it has reference to the godless and
the unbelievers, who have nothing to do with the Lord's Sup-
per, since they are swine and dogs, which can never be satis-
fied, as Is. 56:11 says. Therefore is would be wrong if he
broke the chain of thought and introduced foreign matter under
a similar name when he had not previously mentioned it.
Therefore it occurs that in Hebrew and in Augustine it is,
from the time a tempore, while in the Vulgate we have of the
fruit, a fnictu, since a fructu has frequently given occasion
among us to understand it referring to the Lord's .Supper, the
text in Hebrew gives just as much occasion that it speaks of
their grain, which they have "from time," that is, that he speaks
of temporal things. "From time" he says, we have what we
have, that which time provides to give according to temporal
necessities and luxuries. This seems to say to me that from
the eternal presence of God they have nothing, but that they
have their possessions from time.
According to our sense, a fructu can be so understood that
they were so enriched by the variety and superabundance of
their grain and wine, as if he would say, may their temporalities
prosper and bear fruit. This again is in the way of understand-
ing it in a becoming manner of the Lord's Supper, since the
believers in Christ are not multiplied by the fruit of the Lord's
Supper, but they themselves are the manifold fruits and re-
IQO LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
suits of the Lord's Supper, so that according to this meaning
much more should be said : by their grain and wine the fruits
are multiplied.
But this is also the sign of an oblique accusation, since it
stands your grain, your wine, namely in that the prophet sharp-
ly attacks the evil of the cupidity of the unbelievers, as if he
would say : that is their characteristic nature, for they seek
these things, they love them, only these possesions do they know
how to enjoy.
It is only of minor importance that in the Hebrew "their oil"
is not mentioned after "their wine" as in the Vulgate, for it is
of no significance whether it is added or not. It is certain
that by this figure of speech in the scriptures a superabundance
of temporalities is meant, as Gen. 27 :37, "With grain and wine
and oil (Vulgate) have I sustained him," and then follows :
"What then shall I do for thee my son." Yet I suspect that was
through the permission of the Spirit introduced by the fluent
translator, so that those who would read, might be reminded
that nothing but temporal gifts should be understood, since oil
does not permit the least reference to the Lord's Supper.
By this however I will not detract from the interpretation
of those, who understand it to refer to the sacrament. Each
may advocate his own meaning if only faith and peace remain
undisturbed. It is not our task to confute the labors of others,
but as far as possible to come to the right understanding. The
good is not cast away, when we praise the better or the very
good more than the good.
V. 8, 9. In peace will I both lay me dozvn and sleep; for
thou, Jehovah, alone makest me divell in safety. Rev. ver.
V. 8, 9. — / zvill together lay me dozvn in peace to sleep, and
take my rest. For thou, O Lord, hast singularly established
me in liope.
These two verses are, in the Hebrew, only one : and Jer-
ome has translated them, "In peace together will I lay me down
PSALM IV. 191
to rest, and sleep ; because thou, O Lord, hast made me in an
especial manner to dwell in safety."
The two expressions, "I will lay me down to sleep" and 'T
will rest," have been abundantly discoursed on in the preceding
Psalm, verse 6, where we have shown, that by them is signified
natural death and burial. Though I know that Augustine in-
terprets them, figuratively, in a different way, as signifying the
oblivion of temporal things ; yet he himself confesses that such
an oblivion cannot be attained unto in this life.
The words 'in id ipsum' in the Vulgate have the same signi-
fication as the verb simul, 'together,' 'with Jerome and they
imply concord and unity; as in Ps. 133:1, "Behold how good,
and how pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell in unity, in unum,"
that is, 'together in unity.'
The sense therefore, is, being, O Lord, satisfied and assured,
from the light of thy countenance, that thou art with me and
for me, I am full of joy. I shall therefore die in peace and
willingly leave this life ; because as in Ps. 23 4, "Though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil ; for thou art with me."
Hence according to my judgment 'laying one's self down
to rest together,' and 'sleeping together,' are of the same signi-
fication as we now use those terms ; and they convey that mean-
ing, that would be conveyed by the Latin words condormire
and correquiesccre; and 1 think, that by those expressions David
declares his persuasion that he should sleep with his fathers.
For the same expressions are frequently made use of in the
books of Kings, "David slept with his fathers," i Kings 2 :io.
Again, in the Books of Moses, "I am to be gathered unto my
people," Gen. 49 :29, And again Moses, "Thou also shalt be
gathered unto thy people," Num. 27:13. Aaron shall be gath-
ered unto his people," Num. 20 •.24. And many more like pas-
sages.
Faith therefore after it has been exercised by various suf-
ferings and temptations, moves us to look upon death as a sleep
192 L.UTHER ON THE PSALMS.
ill peace; which to the unbeHeving is a terrible and intolerable
vexation. For what else do you imagine David intends by this
his great glorying in death, and commendation of it, than that
he may not only give an example in himself of the way in
which we may come to a sweet and quiet death, but that he may
leave it also to every one to judge how terrible the death of the
unbelieving must be, and how full of unrest, dread and horror,
in whose death there is no lying down to rest and sleeping, but
according to the Psalmist, "Evil shall hunt the violent man to
overthrow him." Ps. 140:11. Again, 'The death of the wicked
is terrible.' And again, "Bloody and deceitful men shall not
live out half their days," Ps. 55 123. "When they shall say,
peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them,"
1 Thess. 5 13. Therefore he terrifies them in the most mild
and quiet way by showing them their awful death, while he
commends his own death, which would be most happy ; because
he rather chooses to move them in a sweet way by his own ex-
ample than to urge them to the life of the cross and of faith ;
to effect which, he sets before their eyes that glorious death
which is the fruit of such a life.
For thou, O Lord, hast singularly established mc in hope.
This is taken from Deut. 33 -.28, and is frequently repeated
throughout the scriptures. Let us therefore come to the foun-
tain-head of it. Moses saith, Deut. 33 :i2, "The beloved of the
Lord shall dwell in safety." And in verse 28, "Israel shall
dwell in safety and alone." And Jer. 32 :37, "I will cause them
to dwell safely." It is consequently plain that Moses said
safely and alone, "eoniid enter et solus" where David uses here
singularly in hope, "singulariter in spe," in that the same words
are used in both places and in the same sense. Since therefore
the translator of the Vulgate added the conjunction "and" in
Deut. 33 :28, which is not in the text, so it ought to have been
inserted in this verse also, "singularly and in hope." For it
occurs frequently in the Bible that the conjunction is omitted,
which must be supplied by the translator, as Josh. 10:13, sun,
PSALM IV, 193
moon stood still" instead of sun and moon. So also here :
safely and singularly, or safely and alone, that is in a special
and secure state, as if David wished to say : Verily that thou
hast fulfilled in me, since thou hast caused me to dwell singu-
larly and safely, which thou didst promise in Moses, where thou
saidst, "Israel shall dwell in safety and alone."
David, therefore, concludes his psalm with this general and
authentic truth of Moses : and thereby excellently shows, in
oppsition to the carnal opinion of the Jews, what Moses really
meant by those words, and also applies them to his own pur-
pose. For as Moses said, Israel should dwell in safety and
alone; and as Israel is most beautifully set forth in this Psalm,
for he is represented as seeing, like Jacob, God face to face,
and as having the light of his countenance, that is, believing
in God ; therefore, David rightly saith that the promise and
all the full salvation given to Israel belong to him, and that he
is made to "dwell in safety and alone." Jacob also declares that
he had the same confidence when he says, "My life is preserv-
ed" or saved, Gen. 32 :t,o. What else was this, but his dwel-
ling in safety in a singular manner, being satisfied concerning
the salvation of his soul ? For his soul was safe, but only in
hope and confidence. Tliis security and all-certain hope of sal-
vation, therefore, is that very spiritual safety, and spiritual
dwelling alone ; that is, a dwelling in God himself, which is
the salvation of the soul.
The prophet therefore fears not death, but says with con-
fidence that he shall sleep in peace with his fathers ; because
he is satisfied and fully assured of his salvation. Here we trace
David's reading and meditation in the writings of Moses, in
which he exercised himself, and from which he drew this spir-
itual understanding, having been taught it, and established in
it, by various temptations.
But what is this 'dwelling alone," or 'being established
singularly?' for to dwell in hope, or confidently, seems to be
plainly understood. According to my bold way of thinking,
194 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
it seems to be the same as dwelling at liberty and in security ;
so that solitude is a state of liberty, according to Ps. 88 4-5, "I
am as a man that hath no help, cast off among the dead, like
the slain that lie in the grave ;" that is, alone and secure. More
to the point is Judges 18 :/. 'The five men saw the people that
were therein, how they dwelt in security, no one putting them to
shame, being of great wealth and far from the Sidonians, and
having no dealings with any man.' Here it is manifest that
their solitude was their security, for they had shunned and
separated themselves from all men to the end that they might
live in security. In this state they could not have lived, if they
had mingled among men. So now they who wish to live se-
curely and quietly, seek a sequestered and solitary place ; from
which desire it is that monks, that is, solitary ones, have their
rise ; who in order to dwell in security and to avoid those dan-
gers of the world that are among men, seek places of solitude.
Therefore 'singularly' and 'securely' mean the same thing;
except hat 'singularly' expresses the peculiar nature of security,
that is, a being removed to a solitary place out of the way of
danger. But if all these things be not done in the spirit, they
will only make men monks and hypocrites, who only avoid
external dangers.
David however is here speaking of spiritual security, which
is so great that a man may be safe in the midst of the perils of
the world, of death, and of hell, and yet be filled with no more
fear than if he were dwelling alone ; and indeed such an one is
roore alone in the greater number of perils and evils in which
he is involved. This is the powerful grace of faith, and the
effect of a good conscience toward God.
Now see whether Jerome did not truly feel this security in
the verse before us, when he translates it, "Because thou, O
Lord, hast made me in an especial manner to dwell in safety."
But to sum up the whole, 'to dwell singularly in hope," is
for a man to be satisfied and confidently secure concerning his
salvation in and by the mercy of God. In the enjoyment of
PSALM IV. 195
which experience, he may wait for death as that which will be
to him a most grateful sleep. These things, I say, faith pro-
duces, exercised and tried by sufferings, these are the "peace-
able fruits," as Paul saith to the Hebrews, which it yields.
Wherefore those doctors of theology, as they are called, are
to be utterly detested and condemned, who teach us to remain
in doubt and uncertainty as to whether we are in the grace and
favor of God or not ; and also, whether God be our God, and
we his people. To establish this their doctrine, they invent
their distinctions and force them upon us; saying that the
sacraments and ordinances do work in us a certain effect of
grace, as to the authority and power of God ; but that, with
respect to the person receiving, they work doubt ; and they say
that this doubting is a godly feeling. O pestilent fellows ! For
if this be true, and if every Christian ought to doubt in this
godly manner, as they call it, then that article of the Creed,,
T believe in the Holy Church, and in the communion of saints,'
falls to the ground ; because, according to them, I ought not
to assert that 1 am a saint, nor art thou to make sucli an as-
sertion, nor any other Christian ; and therefore we are all to
remain in doubt whether we have a God for us or not, and
whether or not the whole Church will perish.
But away with all such most absurd and most impious
heresies ! Let every one take heed that he be not by any means
in doubt whether or not God be for him, that is, whether or
not he has God for his Father, his Saviour, and the giver of all
good things, that he may dwell securely alone and in hope, and
that he may not be in a continual state of fluctuating uncer-
tainty "like the troubled sea ;" which Isaiah saith is the state
of the wicked, 57 :20. For if thou believest concerning the
saints, that they are safely secure and confident, why shouldest
thou not believe the same concerning thyself, if thou desirest to
be like them, and if thou hast received the same baptism, the
same faith, the same Christ, and the same all things?
Nay, thou pestilent teacher, thou most impiously believest
196 "LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
one thing concerning the saints, and another thing concerning
thyself, if thou impiously teachest them to doubt as thou thyself
doubtest. For thou art either wicked in teaching that doubt-
ing is a godly feeling, or else thou art wicked in believing that
to be sure and certain which thou commandest us to doubt, for
faith cannot rest upon that which is knowai to be uncertain.
Indeed, I never could have believed, that these impious fables
and these most pestilent opinions had ever crept into the Church
of Christ, even secretly, had I not both read and heard those,
who were considered to be great theologians , assert these
things as being most sure articles of faith, and establish and de-
fend them, and consider the contrary catholic doctrine to be
heretical. So great are the darkness and blindness of the
heads of the church, and so great is the wrath of God upon
us ! But more of this elsewhere, and addressed to others.
P S A L M V.
TO victory: for the inheritances: a psalm of david.
What is meant by 'to victory' has been set forth in the pre-
ceding Psahn, once for all.
Concerning these "inheritances," I read a great deal, but I
read nothing that satisfies my dull comprehension. As to what
Lyra and his followers understand here, I can neither under-
stand nor receive. I will say what I think upon the subject.
It is certain that this Psalm does not treat of sufferings and
tribulations, for the person that harps does not say one word
about them. The whole Psalm is a complaint concerning the
ungodly, the unjust, and the wicked. The scope of the Psalm
therefore, according to my judgment is this; — the prophet is
praying against hypocrites, deceitful workers, and false pro-
phets, who seduce and deceive the people of God and the heri-
tage of Christ, by their human traditions, whom Christ calls,
Matt. 7:15, John 10:12, "ravening wolves," and the apostle
Titus I :io, "vain talkers and deceivers."
And that we may come to our own times, as in the preced-
ing Psalm David inveighed against a mere profession and
abuse of justice; so in this Psalm he attacks the godless teach-
ing and the misuse of theology. Because that is the most
destructive of all persecutions which rages under the cover of
truth and godliness, for such always professes the name of
God; and because it is that which most of all destroys the
heritages of God ; therefore it is, that the Psalmist is under
such powerful emotions, prays with so many different petitions,
accuses the ungodly with so many names, and so burns with
zeal, that he can say of himself what he said in Psalm 69:9,
"The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."
198 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Neither Christ himself, nor Peter, nor Paul, burned with
zeal, nor showed their indignation against any thing so much
as against these heady soul-deceivers and these reward-seekers,
against whom all the prophets set themselves. We shall there-
fore find that this Psalm is directed against all false prophets,
hypocrites, heretics, superstitious persons, and the whole gene-
ration of those who devour the people of God by an adultera-
tion of his Word and by a false show of works.
Rightly therefore is the title 'for the inheritances,' or, 'to
the inheritances,' given to this Psalm; because its design is to
preserve the people of God in safety for their rightful Lord.
For the people of God are the Lord's heritage, Ps. 33:12.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, the people whom
he hath shosen for his own inheritance ;" and Ps. 47 4, "He
chooseth our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob whom he
loved." This is the same we have in Psalm 2 :8, "I will give
thee the heathen for thine inheritance." The same is found in
many other places.
But is is said 'inheritances' in the plural number, whereas,
the inheritance of Christ is but one. This is because it must
of necessity be that the one inheritance of Christ must be di-
vided into many parts and places, on account of the great mul-
titude which no one pastor could rule and teach. Therefore
as there must be many pastors and stewards in the one inheri-
tance of God, so there must be many inheritances which are
intrusted to them; whence it comes to pass, that many de-
ceivers and scatterers of the same will rise up in different
places.
The tender concern of the Psalmist is shown by his calling
the people of God an inheritance rather than a church, a people,
or an assembly; because he thereby excites greater envy in
those who aim to scatter it and produces a more gracious feel-
ing in himself and other pastors like him. For if an inheritance
is that which every one loves and is most zealously anxious
about, how much more so must it be with God. Hence he
PSALM V. ^99
Hence
saith Ex 19:5, "Ye shall be mine own possession." Hence
at David saith in this Psah. v. 10 'for they have rebelled
'''"the metaphor contained in the title 'for the inheri-
tances ' at once shows the scope of the whole Psalm. For
inheritances must be cultivated, tilled, and worked, m order
hat they may be fruitful and improved. For that reascn.
they will have many snares and hindrances thrown m their
way, and will meet with many enemies and destroyers. There-
fore the people of God will need their laborers, thar teachers,
and their rulers, by the industry of ^hom the -bentance is
cultivated for God and wrought upon and prepared by h.s
Word; while it is also, on the other hand land waste and
destroyed by wicked teachers. Hence this Psalm is entitled,
'for the inheritances' and their cultivators.
We may add this Psalm is not only to be understood of the
church of Christ in general, but also of every part of the people
of God in every age, all of whom ever have the.r seducers
and persecutors, so that the Psalm in general, agreeably to its
title is 'for the inheritances.'
kor should I make any objection, nay I would rather
coincide with him, if any one should wish by 'inheritances to
understand the two opposite classes of men; that is those
who depend upon their own strength and those who depend
upon the grace of God, for this all comes to the point before
mentioned. . , ,.
V. I. Gwe ear to my zvords, 0 Jehovah, consider my medi
tation (cry).
V. 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry {prayei), m)
King, and my God; for unto thee do I pray. . . . • • • • • • •
This is the way in which the Hebrew divides these two
verses though our common translation joins the last clause of
the second verse to the beginning of the third, making it begin
thus "For unto thee, O Lord," etc. The rendering by Je-
rome differs very little from this our received translation, ex-
20O LUTHEE ON THE PSALMS.
cept that for "my cry" he has 'my roaring,' and Lyra has 'my
meditation,' and for "the voice of my prayer" he has 'the voice
of my cry,'
Here also I must venture my opinion concerning the mean-
ing of the Psahn. As I said above, this Psalm especially
strikes at self-justifiers and wicked teachers, the aim of all is
one and the same, to feed their own pride. For the blessed
Virgin describes such when she says, "He hath scattered the
proud in the imagination of their hearts," Luke 1:51. Be-
cause all wicked doctrines derive their origin from pride, and
therefore Augustine in many places calls pride the mother of
all heresies, for it is humility alone that teaches rightly.
Hence Prov. 1 1 :2, "When pride cometh, then cometh shame ;
but with the lowly is wisdom." The proud man must be con-
tumelious and contentious; he must judge and condemn all
others, as we see it evidenced by the Pharisee in the Gospel
in his conduct towards that poor humbled sinner, the publican,
Lukt 18; and also those in the house of Simon the leper, in
thei conduct towards the woman who was a sinner, Luke
18:11; 7:39.
TJie prophet therefore is intent upon inveighing against the
hypocrites of his time, who, being puffed up in a wonderful
manner with their own righteousness and works, thought
nothing at all of the enormous sins of envy, pride, avarice, and
the like, nor believed that they had any need of the grace of
God, walking securely in their own way without any fear of
God ; and this is what all proud men of this kind always do,
always have done, and always will do.
David begins the Psalm humbly with prayer, seeking tiic
grace of God, and thereby he plainly and powerfully, at the
very outset, condemns their pride. For it is as if he had
said, these ungodly characters are full, are holy are righteous,
are whole ; and therefore they want no physician, nor do they
seek, O Lord, thy grace to be justified thereby. But I, a poor
needy creature, full of every sin and brought to despair of
PSALM V. 201
myself and all my works and powers, can do nothing but pray
unto thee and implore thy grace and mercy.
Here is given a beautifully marked difference between the
law and faith, or between the letter and the Spirit. This Au-
gustine in his work upon the difference between the letter and
the Spirit, sets forth thus : 'The law of works saith to the .n.. i,
do what I command ; but the law of faith saith unto God, give
what thou commandest.' Again, saith he, 'what the law of
works commands with threatening, that the law of faith (ob-
tains by believing.' Hence the people of the law "tlicoloi^i
justitiarii" , say, I have done so and so, and they boast in pride
as if they were justified by the works of the law; but the
people of faith say, I pray that I may be enabled to do it.
The former trusting in works do not seek the mercy of God :
the latter accounting all their righteousness as dung, Phil. 3 :8,
breathe after the mercy of God only. Hence the apostle saith
of the former, Rom. 10 13, "For being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did
not subject themselves unto the righteousness of God." There-
fore the letter always puffeth up and killeth ; but the Spirit
humbleth and giveth life. "God resisteth the proud, but giveth
grace to the humble," James 4 :6, i Pet. 5 15.
Again he that prays in this threefold petition, must pray
with a deeply moved soul. He assigns no other reason for his
praying thus, than his confidence that he should both pray and
be heard; "O, Jehovah, in the morning shalt thou hear my
voice," verse 3. Why, David, wilt thou pray in the morn-
ing? and why shalt thou be heard? "For thou art not a God
that hath pleasure in wickedness," v. 4. And what is the
meaning of this? Why, that God loveth humble supplicators
for his mercy, but hateth the proud that presume upon their
own righteousness.
Behold, saith he, for this reason will I pray, because I
know that this pleases thee, that thou desirest this, and that
thou hast commanded this, that man should acknowledge him-
202 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
self a sinner and that his whole life should be nothing else
than a state of praying for, desiring, groaning after, and
sighing after thy mercy; even as Luke i8:i, records the pre-
cept, "That they ought always to pray and not to faint." Ps.
105 4 says, "Seek his face evermore." But this, saith David,
these ungodly presumers never do; or perhaps they may oc-
casionally do it for a moment, or rather may pretend to do it,
though they are all the while in reality full and satisfied ; and
therefore thou, O Lord, hatest them, seeing that they neither
acknowledge their own things nor thine.
Now observe the order and force of the v/ords, "my cry,"
"the voice of my prayer," "give ear," "consider," "hearken."
These expressions all evince the urgency and energy of David's
feelings and petitions. First we have, "Give ear;" that is,
hear me. But it is of little service for the words to be heard
unless the 'cry,' or the roaring, or the meditation, be 'con-
sidered.' As if he had said in a common way of expression,
I speak with deep anxiety and concern but with a failing utter-
ance ; and I cannot express myself, nor make myself under-
stood as I wish. Do thou therefore understand from my feel-
ings more than I am able to express in words. Therefore I
add my "cry," that what I cannot express in words for thee
to hear I may by my cry signify to thine understanding.
When thou hast understood me, then, O Lord, "Hearken unto
the voice of my prayer" and despise not what thou hast thus
heard and understood.
We are not however to imagine that hearing, understand-
ing, and hearkening, are all different acts in God, in the same
way as they are in us ; but that our feelings towards God are to
be thus varied and increased, that is, that we are first to desire
to be heard, then, that our prayers which are heard may be
understood, and then that, being understood, they may be
hearkened unto, that is, not disregarded.
The exordium of this prayer of David consists of these
three parts, whereby he desires that God would be favorably
PSALM V. 203
inclined toward him, would fully understand him, and would
regard his petitions, because his requests are worthy of God's
attention, easy for him to grant, and to his honor to accom-
plish, and also most necessary for himself.
"My King and my God," continues he. Herein he plainly
strikes at the ungodly work-righteous persons, who act with-
out any king and without any God, being sufficient of them-
selves. This is one of the passages in which the scope of this
Psalm is touched upon. For to have a King and a God is
for a man to presume nothing in himself but to yield himself
up to be governed and ruled by God,' to become altogether
tractable, and to ascribe unto God every thing that has been
received, or that shall be received. This is what those self-
righteous ones never do, or at least they only do it feignedly,
because they ascribe not a little to themselves. Nay, in fact,
as they do not ascribe all things unto God, they ascribe noth-
ing, for he that ascribes any thing unto himself, ascribes unto
himself all the glory of it also ; and they who ascribe the glory
unto themselves ascribe all unto themselves and nothing unto
God, because he must have all the glory, or he can have none,
for he never divides his glory, nor has any partner therein,
as he saith. Is. 48:11, "My glory I will not give to another."
Such men therefore do certainly reign, but not by God; they
are their own kings and their own idols.
"For unto thee do I pray." Here he confesses his poverty
and has nothing, except the hope that as he prays he shall
receive, as not being a worker but one who prays.
Here again in these two particulars we have the whole sum
of our Christian life set forth : I mean, in our having a King
and a God. God rules us as King when he takes us away from
ourselves and leads us unto himself. He acts as our God, when
he receives us as we are coming unto him and fills us with
himself, that is, with all good. The former state is the cross,
the manifestation, the transition, or our being led out of the
world and out of our sins, or, in a word, the mortification of
204 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
our flesh. The latter is our being received, or our accepta-
tion or glorification.
Hence Augustine says upon this passage, that the scrip-
tures generally call the Son, rather than the Father, King.
For Christ, by his twofold nature, has accomplished both the
above-mentioned things for us. By the kingdom or the rule
or the dominion of his humanity, or as the apostle calls it,
of his "flesh," which is carried on in the kingdom of faith, he
renders us deformed and crucifies us, making us, from having
been securely satisfied proud gods, miserable and wretched
sinners. For as, in our old Adam, we proudly ascend in self-
opinion, so as to imagine ourselves to be like God himself;
therefore he descends into our likeness, that he may bring us
back to the true knowledge of ourselves. All this is done by
his incarnation, that is, in the kingdom of faith in which the
cross of Christ rules, which casts down all that divinity that
we perversely aspired to in our imaginations and brings back
the true sense of our humanity and of the contemptible in-
firmity of our flesh which we had as perversely left behind.
But by the dominion, or in the kingdom of his divinity and
glory, he will make us like unto his glorious body, where we
shall be like him ; and then we shall be no more sinners, no
more weak, but shall ourselves be kings, the sons of God, and
as the angels that are in heaven ; then shall we say "my God"
in real possession, which now we say only in hope.
Hence, it is not without due propriety that he says, "my
King," before he says, "my God;" for so Thomas the apostle
also, John 20:28, saith, "My Lord and my God;" because,
Christ must first be apprehended as Man before he is ap-
prehended as God ; and the cross of his humanity must be
sought after and known before we can know the glory of his
divinity ; and when we have laid hold of Christ as Man, that will
soon bring with it the knowledge of him as God.
All these things are hard to be received by the flesh, for
that would rather have Christ to be God only than Man also,
PSALM V. 205
because it is more ready to seek after the glory than the cross,
but to seek glory by the cross is what it abhors. Thus Moses
fled from before the serpent into which his rod had been
turned, but when he touched it and took it by the tail he be-
came glorious in miracles and was made a god to Pharaoh. Ex.
4:3-4; 7:1-
V. 3. O JcliovaJi, ill f/ic morning slialt ilion hear my voice;
in the morning zvill I order my prayer unto thee and zvill keep
zvatch (stand before t]iee,and zvill look up).
I must here labor a little before I enter into the sanctuary of
this verse and come at the full understanding of it. I know
two things. The one is ,that "morning" in the scriptures sig-
nifies mystically the time of grace; because, when Christ the
sun of righteousness graciously arises upon a man he illumi-
nates him, and does so as often as he vouchsafes those visita-
tions. The other thing is, that to the time of "morning," liter-
ally understood, are devoted, for the most part, sacred and
divine works, such as praying and teaching; whereby also the
mystical morning is figuratively represented.
Hence it is 'that the Lord looked upon the hosts of the
Egyptians in the morning watch and destroyed them.' Ex 14 :24.
Hence also it is written, Ps. 46:5, "The Lord shall help her,
and that right early." And Ps. 63 7, "I will meditate on thee
in the night watches." But concerning wncked and ungodly
teachers he saith, Ps. 127:2, "It is vain for you to rise up early
to eat the bread of toil."
And the prophet Micah, 2:1, says still more clearly on this
point, "Woe to them that devise unprofitableness, in the He-
brew AVEN, that is 'iniquity,' and work evil upon their beds !
V\'hen the morning is light they practice it, because it is in the
power of their hand." This they did, when, as the prophet
Isaiah says, 10:1, they taught the people false laws and false
interpretations of the laws which they themselves invented,
whereby they devoured the people both body and soul ; whence
their throat is rightly called "an open sepulchre," Ps. 5 :io.
206 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Agreeably to this it is said in the same place, Micah 2 :2, im-
mediately afterwards, "And they covet fields, and seize them ;
and houses and take them away : and they oppress a man and
his house, even a man and his heritage." God saith by Amos,
4:4, "And bring your sacrifices every morning." From all
this it is manifest that of old the morning was the time de-
voted to sacrifices and self-justifications, to teaching and read-
ing, in a word, to divine things, according to the custom which
is still preserved in the church at this day.
Setting aside therefore the mystical meaning of the word
"morning," I shall interpret it according to the temporal sense
as well as I can, not knowing whether I shall be positively
right. The morning as we have said is always devoted to them
rightly. The prophet therefore seenTs to me to separate him-
self, together with all the inheritances of God, if not in place
and time, yet certainly in affection and desire, both from all
ungodly teachers and hearers and also from all ungodly work-
ers. For he attacks both in the present passage, and thereby
shows that though there must be a meeting together with them
in the same place and at the same morning time, for divine
purposes, and to hear the law of God.
But they corrupt the law of God by their traditions, or at
least do not rightly teach it, and impiously live and act under
the appearance of what is holy and good, and yet at the same
time teach their own fables, that they may thereby grow fat,
which they are continually accused of doing by all the pro-
phets, and which we hear and see done everywhere throughout
our churches, by those who will say anything in the church
and that he may be favored to hear God himself; not the word
shows that while they act and proceed thus his prayers and
desires shall be that he may be accounted worthy of being heard
of man only, but the Word of God.
For all the other characters do as it is said of them. Is.
30:9-11, "For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children
and in their sermons for a little of the most filthy lucre. David
PSALM V. 207
that will not hear the law of Jehovah ; which say to the seers,
see not ; and to the prophets, prophesy not unto us right things ;
speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits, get you out of
the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of
Israel to cease from before us." And these characters Paul also
describes in his Epistle to Timothy, saying, "And they will
turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside unto
fables," 2 Tim. 4 •.4.
The sense of the verse therefore is, woe is me that I must
dwell among a people who will not hear the truth and who
abhor the Word of the cross, but will heap to themselves
teachers having itching ears. As Is, 6 :5 saith, "I dwell in the
midst of a people of unclean lips," on account of their impious
doctrines. I assemble with them in the morning to hear thee,
but behold, I hear not thee, but men only. They teach their
own ways and the works of men. Therefore do thou, O my
King and my God, hear me in the mornings ; because at those
times I do not stand before them, but before thee, nor do I
direct my thoughts towards them, but the mouth of my heart is
opened unto thee ; it is before thee I stand, it is unto thee that
I offer myself, that thou wouldst instruct me that I may see
and understand, according to that Word, "And they shall all
be taught of God," John 6:45.
Hence you see that all the burning zeal of this prophet was
roused by his seeing the people of God and the inheritances of
Christ seduced and destroyed by those that taught what was
corrupt. Indeed all places are full of false teachers and vainly-
prating deceivers of souls ; which, as it is the most destructive
of all evils, so it the most heavily afflicts the godly mind.
For what sight can be more distressing, what spectacle more
miserable, than to see a wolf go through a flock of innocent
sheep, so tearing and devouring them as not to leave one of
them alive! It is thus that a wicked and impious teacher
rages among the simple sheep of Christ; for it is of this that
Paul warns with tears, Acts 20:29, saying, "For I know that
208 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you,
not sparing the flock."
In thus setting forth the sense of this verse and the feelings
of the prophet we almost repeat our exposition of the two verses
preceding; for we ought rightly to understand here that these
are the motions of an overflowing heart, under which the pro-
phet grieves at the multitude of these teachers, of whom we
shall hear him speak miore fully presently, when he beholds
their iniquity, and under which he calls upon his King and his
God with such repeated petitions against these tyrants of the
law and against these idols that take the teacher's chair. This
sense of the passage more aptly agrees with the scope of the
Psalm than that mystical interpretation of the word "morning,"
though the latter does not differ widely from the same point.
This third verse also aptly accords with the former inter-
pretation, because he desires to be taught the Word and work
of God, and not those of men ; and it rightly agrees with the
verses preceding, "Give ear unto my words, O Jehovah ; con-
sider my meditation ; hearken unto the voice of my cry, my
King and my God, for unto thee do I pray." And for what
dost thou pray, David ? For that which is a gift above all
things necessary, that thou wouldst restrain these wicked teach-
ers, who occupy the morning time and the place in teaching
ungodly doctrines and that thou wouldst hear me in that for
which I pray unto thee at that time. For what dost thou pray
at that time? That I may stand before thcc and be thy hearer,
that I may be instructed by thine own teaching and be enlight-
ened by thine own illumination, and that I may not be deceived
together with those who have itching ears ; for thou art my
King who rules me and my God who preserves me. Thus the
prayer is directed absolutely against all corrupt doctrines and
works.
He says, *My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord ;
in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee. In that which
1 pray, do thou hearken unto me. I pray for all the true teach-
PSALM V. 209
ers and hearers of the Word which are accustomed to be held
forth at that time.' There is not a more vehement prayer in
all the Psalms than this one, nor one that contains so many
earnest repetitions; and there is not one more necessary and
wholesome for all of us at this day, nor ever has been, nor ever
will be.
Let therefore the godly Christian's first and great concern
be to pray unto God most earnestly, according to the example
given in this Psalm, for all the inheritances of God, that his
Word may flourish among his people ; for it is by the Word
only that the people of God live, are fed and are preserved, as
Christ saith. Matt. 4 4, "Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
For while the Word of God flourishes all things flourish and
go well in the church. What is the reason that at this day the
church has not only withered av/ay into luxury and pomp, but
is almost wholly destroyed ? What, but because the Word of
God is disregarded and the laws of men and the artful inven-
tions of Rome are taught?
Jerome translates the words according to their native energy
thus, "O Lord, in the morning shalt tliou hear my voice : in the
morning v/ill I be prepared for thee, and will meditate." And
does not this word "prepared" aptly agree with the sense
above mentioned ? For what else is it to be prepared for God,
than to become teachable and tractable in the hand of God?
David here shows that he does not want to be prepared by man.
Nor does it militate against this sense, that John Rcuchlin,
according to the opinion of the Jews, renders it, 'hi the morn-
ing will I order,' so as to make it the active verb which the
scripture uses when speaking of arranging and ordering sa-
crifices ; that thus it may signify a ready and prepared state
of mind, a mind that casts off every thing that stands in its
way and is resigned and devoted to the whole will of God.
For that is a true sacrifice and an acceptable offering unto God,
when a man orders himself in this way, thus prepares him-
2IO LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
self, thus stands before God, and becomes thus teachable and
tractable.
It is manifest that, according to the Hebrew idiom, the verb
'to stand' (adstarc) is a verb substantive, or an absolute verb;
thus "I will stand," or, 'I will order,' that is, I will make an
ordering or an offering, that is, of myself. Hence it is not
inappropriately translated "I will stand." We are here at the
same time taught, that in hearing the Word of God we aro
not to be intent upon the man that is speaking, but upon God
who is teaching.
In the same manner the word 'see' or 'look up' is absolute ;
that is, I shall be seeing, I shall be illuminated, I shall be in-
structed, I shall become one that can see, that is, one that can
see truth and righteousness ; according to Micah 7 :g, "He Vvdll
bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteous-
ness." For no one can see or know the righteousness of God,
but he whom God instructs ; all others are only vain talkers who
speak out of their own brain.
Hence it is that Christ gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles
and to the church that he himself niay speak in us, and not we
from ourselves. If therefore David had stood before men
he would n.ot have seen, but would have been blind, according
to the words of Christ, "If the blind lead the blind," but now,
because he stands, orders himself, and is prepared, before God,
he shall see and be illuminated.
But if the mystical morning rather pleases any one, which
is the beginning of grace, wherein the church begins to stand
before God and to see, I make no objection to it. Though I
am never much in a hurry to follow mysteries where I can have
the plain letter. Nor should I say any thing in opposition to
it, if by 'morning' and 'standing' and 'seeing' any one should
wish to understand man's offering up himself, not as a self-
righteous sacrifice so as to boast of having given something
unto God, but as evincing a state of mind that is waiting to
receive the rig-htcousness of God.
PSALM V. 211
V. 4. For tJiou art not a God that liath pleasure in zvicked
ness: evil shall not sojourn with thee {nor shall the malignant
man dwell with thee).
V. 5. The arrogant {the unrighteous) shall not stand in thy
sight; thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
V. 6. Thou zvilt destroy them that speak lies; Jehovah
abhorreth the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
He here accuses corrupt teachers and their disciples under
seven different appellations, so great is his zeal for the true
life and doctrine of godliness. Hence we must understand
this part of God's Word, as well as every other, in the Spirit
and in faith. For the characters concerning whom David is
here speaking, if you look at their external appearance and
outward show, will seem to be every thing but what he here
declares they are, so deceptively covered are they with the
clothing of sheep and the name of Christ. In a word their
opinion is that these things which are said concerning them
belong altogether vnito others, whom they look upon as their
adversaries. Hence they acknowledge neither the names nor
the works which are here set forth, for they would turn them
thus, 'For thou art a God that hath pleasure in equity, and
we shal dwell with thee, for we are kind; and shall stand in
thy sight, for we are righteous. Thou lovest us the workers
of righteousness and thou shalt preserve us, for we are speakers
of truth. Thou shalt highly esteem us, for we are men gentle
and sincere.' Such are the glories which these ungodly ones
foolishly imagine concerning themselves ; but all that is here
said contrary to this, they transfer to the truly godly, righteous,
and lovers of God.
This perversion of things shall remain until the end of the
world. Thus we read, that Jacob and Esau struggled in the
womb of Rebecca, Gen. 25 -.22 ; and thus also the two harlots
contended before King Solomon for the living son, i Kings
3 :i6 etc. For heretics and false preachers always arrogate to
themselves the title of truth, righteousness, and the church, and
212 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
they excel all men in external pomp and show, though they are
excelled by the just in the sight of God ; and in reality the truly
catholic and righteous alone are they who excel all, though
without any pomp and show, because they are righteous before
God.
Let us then dwell a little upon these seven terms, "wicked-
ness," malignant," "unrighteous," "workers of iniquity," "them
that speak lies," "bloody man,,' "deceitful man ;" under which
terms David sets forth six evils and sorts of characters : — a
God that has no pleasure, those that shall not dv/ell with God,
those that shall not stand in his sight, those that shall be hated,
those that shall be destroyed, and those that shall be abhorred.
First then we have "wickedness," which had been better
rendered ungodliness. For, as we have shov.ai in Psalm i,
RASCHA signifies ungodliness, that ungodliness whence proceeds
the "counsel of the ungodly." This ungodliness, as I have be-
fore observed, is unbelief itself and a perverse opinion concern-
ing God and his Word and works, though, as to its outward
appearance, it carries a show of godliness. Our God therefore
as he is just and righteous, has no pleasure in ungodliness,
that is he does not desire it, he cannot delight himself in it.
For the Hebrew word in this place is haphez, whence comes
HEPHZO, which is used in Psalm i :2, "his will is the law of
the Lord," or his 'desire,' or 'his delight.' The sense of the
present verse is appropriately set forth in Psalm 51 :i6, "For
thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it tliee : thou de-
lightest not in burnt-offering." Why does God not desire sa-
crifice? Why does he not delight in burntoffering? Because
the sacrifice of "a broken spirit," which is tlie sacrifice of god-
liness, is wanting ; and therefore, godliness is wanting, and that
want makes the sacrifices of the wicked "an abomination unto
the Lord," according to Prov. 15:8.
The sense of the whole Psalm is, I will therefore pray unto
thee, I therefore desire of thee to hear me, I will therefore
stand before thee and will look up, because I know that the
PSALM V. 213
desires, the prayers, and the sacrifices of the ungodly do not
at all please thee, as they blindly presume and as they seduce
others to presume; for while they hide ungodliness under all
their works and sacrifices, they never acknowledge it nor are
humbled on account of it, but rest content as if all were going
on well because they had performed those works.
In this same way also Is, i :ii, exposes and condemns these
characters, saying, "What unto me is the multitude of your
sacrifices?" Again he saith just afterwards, verse 16, "Wash
you, make you clean." As if he had said, these works them-
selves, while ye remain unclean and ungodly and without either
faith or hope in my mercy, which alone justify and take away
ungodliness, cannot please, however specious they may be. Ye
rest wholly on works and judge according to external appear-
ance, and thus ye seem to yourselves to be godly and holy.
But I look at your heart and judge according to truth, and
thus I find you to be ungodly. As Christ said unto the Phari-
sees, "Ye are they that justify yourselves in the sight of men;
but God knoweth your hearts." Luke 16:15.
This is what is meant by the present verse, Thou art not
a God that hath pleasure in ungodliness. Thou art not de-
ceived by the outward appearance of works, so as not to dis-
cern the ungodliness of the heart. Such men are rather de-
ceived themselves, who, being led away by an external show of
works, never acknowledge their ungodliness, and who, while
they imagine that they please thee the most of all men, are of
all men the farthest from pleasing thee.
Secondly : We have, "Neither shall the malignant man dwell
with thee." In the Hebrew it is ra, that is, a bad man, or bad-
ness ; so that it may either signify an ungodly man, or ungod-
liness, because where ungodliness, infidelity, and unbelief reign,
there also malice or malignity reigns. For what can the man
do, who is destitute of the good grace of God, but sin? By
malignity in this passage we are to understand the very root
and the old leaven of malice and wickedness, whereby, being
214 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
destitute of grace, we are prone to rush into every sin, when-
ever occasion is given us for so doing. As Christ saith to his
disciples, "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
unto your children," Matt. 7:11.
This malice however plausibly conceals itself under the cov-
ering of works that are holy and pious in appearance, until
some opportunity or occasion presents itself to irritate it and to
force it to display itself in its true colors. You may see many
who are gentle, humble, and kind in their words, actions, and
deportment, who, if you but touch them with your finger, be-
come in a moment most cruel, most austere, and ready to com-
mit every evil. Yet these characters in the present day go by
the honorable name of men of acute feelings, because on ac-
count of their external show of a good conversation they must
not be called "malignant;" though they all the while perish
themselves in security, and destroy all others who, after their
example, neglect to mortify this malignity. For all these pas-
sions and acute feelings are a proof of the root of malignity,
showing that godliness, or faith in God, is there wanting and
that ungodliness is in full dominion. Such therefore shall not
dwell with God nor tarry in his sight.
Thirdly : We have "unrighteous," whom the Hebrew calls
HOLOELiM, which signifies properly those who break forth into
the outward act, transgress, and commit evil both in deed and
word. Ungodliness, indeed, and malignity frequently lie hid-
den, except in those to whom the spirituality of the law has
been opened, for the latter confess themselves to be sinners
with the Apostle Paul, Rom. 7 -.g, and these make the 'tree evil.'
But these holoelim are they who bring forth the 'evil fruits'
by following the malignity of their ungodly hearts, concerning
whom Solomon saith, Ecc. 10:13, "The beginning of the words
of his mouth is foolishness ; and the end of his talk is holeloth
ra;" which translators have rendered 'the worst of errors,' mis-
chievous madness.
We still see therefore a beautiful order kept up in the words.
PSALM V. 215
First, there is ungodliness, a state in which we are left to our-
selves without the assistance of the grace of God. This is
followed, secondly, by malice, by which w^e are inclined to
perform outwardly that which is in us, that is, every evil. And
thirdly, there is unrighteousnes, the transgression itself, that
is, the very fruits of this ungodliness and malignity.
These, saith David, "shall not stand in thy sight," or, as the
Hebrew has it, 'The iioloelim shall not make to stand in the
sight of thy eyes.' And this verb 'shall not make to stand,' or
'shall not place, or establish' (statiicnt), is exactly the same as
that verb in Ps. 2 :2, which the translators have rendered by the
perfect, "The kings of the earth stood up," instead of 'shall
make to stand' or 'shall establish ;' that is, in the full meaning of
the absolute verb, 'shall make themselves to stand.' So also here
"shall not stand," shall not make themselves to stand before
God, shall not appear before him, which nevertheless they most
confidently belive they shall do, being deceived by their false
opinions and works, for they do not believe that they do evilly
even when they are really doing evil.
Fourthly : "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity." We read
this same sentence in many places in the Old Testament, and it
is always written with the verb paal, which, as we have shown,
Psalm I, signifies 'to do or to work,' and the noun aven, which
is variously and differently rendered, as we have before seen,
verse 3 of this Psalm.
Now I see that the prophets, especially Hosea 10 :5, playing
as it were upon the word, have called that place Beth-aven
instead of Bethel, where Jeroboam the first king of Israel set
up the golden calves to be worshipped, lest the people of Is-
rael should go to Jerusalem to sacrifice and should ultimately
revolt from him to the king of Judah, as we read, i Kings 12:
26-33. Hence v^diere they ought to have called it Bcth-el, that
is the house of God, they call it Beth-aven, which some have
rendered 'the house of the idol,' that is, contrarv to the house
2l6 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
of God, or, more properly, 'the house of iniquity or wicked-
ness,' or 'the house of idolatry,'
Following the prophets therefore, I would rather understand
by AVEN 'iniquity and idolatry,' not that idolatry only which
serves idols of wood and stone, but rather that idolatry which
Samuel, i Sam. 15 :22, sets forth unto Saul in a powerful v/ay,
thus, "Hath Jehovah as great delight in burnt-olTerings and
sacrifices as in obeying the voice of Jehovah? Behold to obey
is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is
as idolatr}^ and teraphim." Here we see that this religion of
Saul was a furious disobedience, a perverse superstition, and a
wretched aven ; for of this we find him accused openly through-
out the Old Testament, as being the way in which he reigned.
So in our day, no pest more awfully rages than when men
leave the way v/hich God has ordained and make to themselves
another way of worshipping him entirely of their ovvai in-
vention, and attempt to serve him in it.
Thus the bishops, who are the best, delegate the office of
the Word and the care of the people to the most unworthy
and the most ignorant people, and they devote themselves with
all their power to add to their possessions, buildings, income,
and the appearance of their churches, and imagine that thereby
they do God a service in that they are disobedient. The priests
also and the spiritual leaders who are the holiest, do rather
anything else for God than fulfill their office. For here we do
not say any thing about the wicked ; for the Romish court does
not in the least come under consideration here, for it is totally
corrupt.
This unhappy fall into disobedience has gained ground much
more widely than any one can describe. For in every condi-
tion of life among Christians you find that, neglecting the ob-
servance of God's commandments, they v/orship God according
to their own traditions and opinions.
This, I say, is the aven, that outside show of works under
PSALM V. 217
which, as I said hefore, they cover their iniquity, iingodhnes,
niahgnity, and every transgression, and this sheep's-clothing
and pestilent hypocrisy, lays waste the Christian reHgion more
dreadfully than any sword, famine, or pestilence.
Behold therefore how the prophet is inflamed with zeal
against this inipious piety and this irreligious religion, than
which there is no religion that he more bitterly hates, saying,
"Thou hatest all them that work iniquity." "All," saith he,
and "thou hatest." Here lest any should imagine that they
please God by such an accursed superstition, he declares that
"all" are under the hatred of God, without excepting one.
For in fact misdirected service is mischievous in human af-
fairs, which is apparent since the right obedience is thereby
neglected. For who would sufl;er that a shepherd, to whom the
care of the sheep had been committed, should leave the sheep
and begin to serve his lord in his bedciiamber? This is forci-
bly taught us in Aesop's fable of the ass, that tried to imitate
tlie ways of the little dog and v/as stricken with a cudgel, be-
cause it neglected its ov/n duty and meddled with the office of
another.
It is just this evil that causes many to be dissatisfied with
their own order, station or calling ; since they look at the oftice
of others as if it were better, and are displeased with their own.
One leaves the priesthood to become a Carthusian friar, another
leaves this calling for that. It is this of which Job speaks, 6 :i6,
"They that fear the hoary frost, the snow shall fall upon them."
(Vulgate). They flee from the rain and fall into the water.
These few observations will suffice concerning this greatest
and most widely prevailing depravity, which we shall hereafter
always express by the term 'disobedience' or 'idolatry' that is,
the externally holy vv'orship of tlie ungodly. For they do not
openly violate the commands of God, like the publicans and
harlots, but under a show of great works and singular piety, as
was the case with Bernard. Ps. 91 :6 calls these characters
"the devil, or the destruction, that wasteth at noon-day." The
2l8 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
apostle Paul calls them "ministers of Satan fashioning- them-
selves as ministers of righteousness," 2 Cor. 11 :i5, a description
of whom we have plainly and strikingly set before us in the
above mentioned character of Saul, i Sam. 15:13 etc.
Therefore aven is rightly interpreted by many, not only
'iniquity,' but also 'pain' and 'labor' because this disobedience
has indeed in it much pain and labor. Hence as the common
proverb goes, 'It is harder work to merit hell than to merit
heaven.' For the devil presses these his martyrs most terribly
and never gives them any relief or refreshment. As the Lord
said by Moses, Deut. 31 :i6-i7, that he would deliver the people
of Israel into the hands of their enemies and that they should
there serve strange gods which should give them no rest neither
day nor night.
So Ecc. 10:15, "The labor of fools wearieth every one of
them." And it is said frequently in the same book, i :i4; 2:17;
4 :i6, that to such "all is vanity and vexation of spirit." Where-
as on the contrary, although Christ chasteneth, yet "his yoke is
easy and his burden is light," because he relieves and refreshes
all who are weary and heavy laden with a joyful confidence of
heart, if they will but come unto him. Matt. 11. But all the
former characters will have to say with Wisdom 2:1, "Our life
is short and tedious.""^
Whoever wishes to study this subject further should read
Paul, Rom. 12 :3 etc, and i Cor. 12 :ii etc., where he treats of it
with all diligence, that each member should perform its own
ofhce, so that no confusion of the members would arise, which
would be the case if the eyes began to do the office of feet, or
the feet the office of the eyes, but hold to the rule of Prov. 4 :25,
"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight
before thee." Look before thee, and take heed to thyself."
Proverbs against this perversion have arisen among the
*) St. Louis Walch gives Wisdom 5:7, "We wearied ourselves
in the way."
PSALM V. 219
heathen, as, "let each one work at the trade he has learned,"
and "shoemaker stick to your last," and "let each one remain in
his own skin."
Fifthly : "Thou wilt destroy them that speak lies." Here
he attacks the teachers and the doctrine of iniquity; for the
Hebrew verb bibber seems to me to signify that kind of speech
whereby something is taught or spoken or recited in public.
Hence, the word dabar signifies the thing done or wrought, or
rather, spoken or narrated. This figurative mode of speech
has been preserved by Luke, 2:15, "Let us now go even unto
Bethlehem and see this word (rema) ," 'that is, this thing which
is done and spoken of. And indeed, in the book of Leviticus
a clear distinction is made between the words dibber and amar,
each of which signifies 'to speak' or 'to say.' For it is con-
tinually written, "The Lord spake unto Moses, saying :" where
the first verb is dibber, that is, 'spake.' Hence it is in constant
use with the prophets, as "And the Word of the Lord came
unto me, saying." Wherefore, dibber generally signifies 'to
speak any thing forth publicly in the way of doctrine' which
doctrine is particularly specified by the verb amar. Even if
this distinction and difference are not universally received and
allowed, yet let us use them thus until we shall have found
something better. It is at least certain that the word which
is here rendered 'to speak,' in many places signifies 'to teach,'
as in Ps. 119:46, "I will also speak of thy testimonies." And
Ps. 60:6, "God hath spoken in his holiness" or 'in his saint'
(sane to suo).
Therefore, as the life of the ungodly is, such is their doc-
trine ; as they act, so they speak. Hence the whole is ungodly,
evil, and iniquitous, all which David includes in the term "lies."
These "lies" he called, Ps. i, "the counsel of the ungodly,"
nay, "the seat of pestilence and scofifers." The madness of such
characters as these rages and reigns at this day also, concern-
ing whom Paul said, 2 Tim. 3 :y, "Ever learning, and never
able to come to the knowledge of the truth." They strenuously
220 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
devote themselves to the teaching of good works, as they
imagine them to be, whereas they have never yet known what
good works are, because they are utterly destitute of the
knov\Aledge of faith. Hence it comes to pass that they most
miserably crucify and murder the people by their lies and im-
pious fables which they take from the morals of philosophers,
the laws of men, and their own precepts and traditions, con-
cerning which I have spoken before and shall say more here-
after.
Sixthly : Jehovah abhorreth the bloodthirsty and deceitful
man." Here David shows, in a very few words, what sort of
men the above-mentioned characters are toward their neighbors,
in their manners and conversation ; that is, that they love no
one from their heart. For as they are destitute of grace and
true godliness and are left in their own malice, it of necessity
follows that they are polluted with the love and conceited
opinion of themselves from the crown of their head even unto
the sole of their feet. They feign indeed all things. They call
each other and all men their dearest friends, write to them as
such and speak with them as such. They appear to be humane
and sweet tempered, and, under that covering, they plausibly
conceal "bloody" men ; but all this is deceit. This is manifested
the very moment they begin to be offended, or whenever an
occasion presents itself wherein they are required to give proof
of their benevolence; for then the deceit immediately appears
and the blood-thirsty anger and hatred show themselves and all
the consequences which follow. For they never love any one
unless it be for their own- advantage ; it is never that they may
do others good, but that they may do themselves good.
These words therefore are to be understood spiritually, not
as having respect unto the external appearance, but a search-
ing of the heart and the reins. For the words of faith are di-
rectly contrary to all outward appearance and have respect
unto the things and times of the cross. It is by such words
tliat those vv'ho are of the character mentioned are discovered
PSALM V. 221
and are found to hate every man and to love no one truly, be-
cause they love themselves.
Under this disease no set of men labor more than those
most holy and most religious martyrs of the devil, whom we
have already denominated ungodly, workers of iniquity, and
cl'ildren of disobedience; and all under the external garment
and show of godliness, the power of which they above all men
deny.
If thou dost not believe these things, or dost not know them
to be true, only consult experience. The whole world is full
of this complaint, that there is no faithfulness to be found
among men, that all things wdiich are either done or spoken
are feigned and dissembled ; so that they will aver the truth of
that word of Micah 7 :5, though they may never have read it,
"Trust ye not in a neighbor ; put ye not confidence in a friend ;
keep the doors of thy mouth from her that lieth in thy bosom.
For the son dishonoreth the father, the daughter riseth up
against her mother, the daughter-in-law against her mother-
in-law ; a man's enemies are the men of his own house."
Hence it was that Christ gave this admonition, "Beware of
men," Matt. 10:17. For if thou indulge their wishes and be
useful to them, thou wilt find them deceitful friends ; and if
thou offend them or dissent from them, especially if thou do it
for God's or the truth's sake, thou wilt find them most bloody
enemies. Therefore, David could not describe the nature of
man in terms more apt and short than by calling it "bloody and
deceitful."
So rare a thing is it to find one who does not act deceitfully
with his neighbor and v/ho is faithful. A man will live with
you pleasantly, will speak to you courteously, and smile upon
vou; but if you ask him to help you with ten dollars of Iiis
large property you make him your enemy at once. Indeed, if
you do not serve him in all things, even in those things v/hich
are unjust and wrong, you are sure to lose your friend. In a
word, if you do not lay yourself out for his use to gratify him
222 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
in all his desires, without making use of him in the least in-
stance for your own service, you wil not have your friend's ac-
quaintance long. These things we are taught by experience ;
so easy is it to understand the present verse.
Yet these characters will not acknov/ledge their miserable
state, for they all despise these things and believe themselves
to be the farthest of all men on earth from blood-thirstiness and
deceit. First, on account of their specious works ; for, being
inflated and blinded with these, they cannot see themselves.
Next they are so in love with themselves and so kindly indulge
their own vices, that they ahvays have before their eyes, not
how many evil things, but how many good things they have
done. This their blindness is increased by their considering it
to be a heavenly holiness to hate those by whom they have been
injured, or rather, by whom they imagine they have been in-
jured; for they look upon themselves as persons qualified by
their eminent righteousness to hold the unrighteous in hatred.
Being subverted by this madness, they proceed to such
lengths, that, neglecting the beam that is in their ov/n eye and
beholding the mote that is in the eye of another, they desire
to have themselves accounted humane and faithful while they
judge others to be the bloody and deceitful men. Thus, with
a perpetual perversion and madness they place upon others that
divine abhorrence v/hich is declared to rest upon tliemselves.
Whence it comes that if they read the scriptures they do not
understand them, and if they hear them, they do not receive
them, as considering that they do not belong to them ; and thus
they become wholly incorrigible, of whom we read. Matt. 1 1 :
16-17, iinto whom, if you pipe they will not dance, and if you
mourn they will not lament. God's Word and work on these
are lost.
It is also no small mantle for their wickedness that when-
ever they lose some of their friends they find or have others
with whom they associate in the same deceitfulness. Deceived
by the mutual understanding with these, as is the case with de-
PSALM V. 223
ceit, they have no concern as to how many they hate and de-
spise, but toward how many they are benevolently disposed,
though it may be hardly the thousand thousandth part, and it
occurs not to them that Christ commanded to "despise not one
of these little ones." Matt. 18 :io.
Behold the fruits which this trusting in their own works
and their own righteousness brings forth ; namely, ignorance
of themselves, obstinacy, and incorrigibleness, together with all
the evils of ungodliness, malice, disobedience, and every other
sin. Such monsters are they v/ho can conceal, nourish, and
preserve themselves under a covering so light and trifling.
Moreover, horrible monsters like these can appear before God
in the morning, sacrifice to him, and believe that they can please
him ; nor do they ever implore his mercy, but give him tlianks,
like the ungodly Pharisee, that they are not as other men.
Is not this horrid to see and hear ! And is not the burning
zeal of the prophet against such instances of madness most just !
Now let us sum up the contents of these three verses. The
two former describe the four sins whereby we sin against God.
Two are contained in the first verse, namely, ungodliness and
malignity. The former is an aversion from God, that is, a
being destitute of a pure love and a right opinion of God.
The latter is a turning towards self, that is, an inclination to
all evil works and an enmity against all good works, as pervert-
ed affections and a perverted opinion. By these two sins the
person himself is described, that is, the bad tree, such as these
characters are in the sight of God.
The other two sins are contained in the second verse,
nemely, unrighteousness and the working of iniquity. The
former of which is transgression or the effect of malignity and
the omission of the worship of God. The latter is the external
appearance of the worship of God, but in reality disobedience
and idolatry. For in these two sins are comprehended all
the evil fruits and works which we bring forth and do in divine
things. The one is, doing things contrary to really good
224 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
works and to the true worship of God, which characters are
the HOLOELiM, the other is doing things feignedly which are
good in appearance but contrary to the obedience of God, which
characters are "the workers of iniquity."
The third verse describes those sins which are committed
against man, which are three. First, "Hes," whereby men
seduce others by word, example, and conduct from the true
worship of God into their own impious idolatries, making others
like unto themselves in tliose things which pertain unto God.
Secondly, Hatred and all those things which follow it, whence
they are called "blood thirsty" men. And thirdly, deceit and
all its consequences, whereby men make use of others only
for their own advantage, use, and pleasuree, and wherein are
included all the sins of a perverted love. For there are fraud
and deceit in all carnal love, as is abundantly manifest. For
as hatred and love are the grand and ruling affections v/hich
direct all their actions, it is evident that the whole viperous
poison of a vicious life and conversation lies in these, which
hatred is bloody and which love is deceitful ; for a right hatred
opposes all that is sin and a pure love seeks those things which
are to the profit of others, and not to its own profit.
To conclude the whole of this scripture, they that come
in the "morning," saith David, do not pray, O Lord ; neither do
they want thee, nor do they desire to be heard. They are
full and satisfied, being filled with all that mass of filth, their
own righteousnesses. Nor do they "stand" before thee, nor
do they ofifer themselves unto thee, that they may be formed
by thee, and that they may be illuminated in order that they
might "see" ; but they rather form themselves against thee, and
agreeably to the idol of their own hearts, as Isaiah saith, 46 :5,
having false opinions of thee; and therefore they see not, but
are rather blinded and hardened. This most certainly will be
their case, because thou hast not, as they imagine thou hast,
any pleasure in iniquity, but hatest the ungodly and utterly
abhorrest all such. But I, says David, come unto thee, stand
PSALM V. 225
before thee, and offer myself unto thee, that I may be formed
by thee, that I may think of thee according to thy nature, that
I may be illuminated and may see. They come unto thee,
bringing with them, as an offering unto thee, their own good
works, deeds, and merits, and thereby take away with them
the greater evils and sins ; but I come unto thee to beg of thee
thy good things, confessing my own evils and sins. They
because they are whole, need not a physician ; but I, because I
am weak, and under dangerous disease, seek a physician. This
is now shown in the verse that follows.
V. 7. — But as for nic, in flic ahi'indancc of thy loving-
kindness {mercy), will I come into thy house: in thy fear will
I zvorship tozcard tJiy holy temple.
A blessed verse this ! a blessed saying ! The words and
the sense itself carry with them a powerful contrast. For there
are two things with which this life is exercised, hope and fear,
which are as it were those two springs of Judges 1:15, the one
from above, the other from beneath. Fear comes from behold-
ing the threats and fearful judgments of God, as being a God
in whose sight no one is clean, every one is a sinner, every
one is under condemnation. But hope comes from beholding
the promises and the sweet mercies of God ; as it is written,
Ps. 25 :6, "Remember, O Jehovah, thy tender mercies and thy
lovingkindnesscs ; for they have been ever of old."
Between these two, fear and hope, as between the upper
and nether millstone, we must always be ground and kept that
we never turn either to the right hand or to the left. For
this turning is the state peculiar to hypocrites who are exercised
with the two contrary things, security and presumption. By
security they decline to the left hand, neglecting the fear of
God, as in Ps. 36:1, "There is no fear of God before their
eyes" ; and by presumption they decline to the right hand, while,
having no fear of God, they presumingly imagine all that they
do pleases him. For while they do not acknowledge themselves
sinners it must follow that they fear not God, whose judgments
226 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
they never consider, as it is written, Ps. 10:5, "Thy judgments
are far above out of his sight." Therefore, instead of the judg-
ments of God, they set before themselves a certain ignorant
idea of God, and instead of his mercy, their own righteousness.
Hence it follows that they can neither hope nor fear.
This therefore is the contrast which David uses. They who
are without thy fear, disregarding thy terrible judgments, wor-
ship thee in security like the Pharisee in the Gospel, Luke 18,
and they enter into thy holy temple in the multitude of their
own righteousness, and come into thy sight without feeling any
need of thy mercy.
But I, being conscious that I cannot be safe in the sight
of thee and of thy judgments, wholly despair of myself, and so
enter thy temple and stand before thee, as to have thy mercy
only before my eyes, which mercy I know to be great and in-
finite; and looking at that only, I find boldness and feel safe,
as in Ps. 26 13, "For thy lovingkindness is before mine eyes,
and I have walked in thy truth." Entering with this con-
fidence therefore I will worship in thy temple ; but in thy fear,
not presumtuously imagining that I shall please thee of myself,
for I shall rather be in fear, lest my service and worship should
deserve thy reproof. By remaining in this fear I shall preserve
unto thee thine honor and keep myself humble ; while I do
not justify myself, but in a humble mind expect thy judgments,
having nevertheless a hope in thy pardoning mercy.
You clearly see therefore that the scope of this Psalm is
directed to show the difference between the religion of the godly
and the ungodly, the humble and the presumptuous. For he
draws a comparison between himself and them in this m.orning
service, which is, entering into the house of the Lord and wor-
shipping toward his holy temple ; for it is there that the works
and doctrines of all are especially and chiefly made known.
The contrast of the words is very beautiful, but somewhat
changed. For he puts the "mercy" of God, which is the object
of hope, without expressing the word 'hope'. Again, he puts
PSALM V. ^T.'J
"fear", the object of which is the judgments of God, without
expressing the word 'judgments'; whereas, to have made the
antithesis quite correct, he should have put the words mercy
r.nd judgment, or hope and fear. But it was necessary to ex-
press mercy, the object of hope, as well as the nature of hope.
Nay rather, the object of hope is the multitude of the mercies
of God; which is set before the hope of the godly, because
they are too much inclined to fear and approach unto God and
divine works with great awe and reverence.
Hence these two, hope and fear, are the two sacrifices and
works that are by far the most acceptable unto God, which those
ungodly self-justifiers neither teach nor understand, and there-
fore they neither do them nor are able to do them.
The whole world, as I have said, is at this day full of the
ungodliness of these same characters, who draw men into a
confidence in their own works and righteousness and do not
permit them to attain unto the fear of God and to a hope in his
mercy; and such are ever learning, but never able to come
unto the knowledge of the truth, and as Christ saith, Luke 1 1 :
52^ "Ye too, took away the key of knowledge," namely, the
power of teaching, and the knowledge of God, "ye entered not
in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."
These presumptuous persons, these most secure despisers of
the judgments and mercies of God, Isaiah also copiously ex-
poses and condemns, i :ii, saying, "What unto me is the mul-
titude of your sacrifices ? saith Jehovah." And verse 15, "When
ye make many prayers I will not hear," etc. And why? It
is shown in what follows, verses 15, 16, "Your hands are
full of blood. Wash you, make you clean."
Hence, nothing can please God but that which is done in
humility, and humility cannot be exercised unless we fear the
judgment of God in every work we do however good it may
always be. Humility rests alone upon the goodness of God,
which he gratuitously bestows by grace. Against this kind
of godliness the people of Israel fought above all people in the
228 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
world, from a natural and inbred presumption, being puffed up
in a wonderful manner with their law and works.
But you ask the question, perhaps, how can David promise
that he will enter into the house of the Lord and into his temple,
when, in his time, there was no temple or house of God, and
when the ark of the testimony in the tabernacle of Moses was
instead of a temple? David says in another place also, Ps.122 :
2, 3, "Let us go unto the house of Jehovah. Our feet are stand-
ing within thy gates, O Jerusalem." And Ps. 135 :2, "Ye that
stand in the house of Jehovah, in the courts of the house of
our God." From such passages one might suspect that these
were not the Psalms of David, or that they were altered by
Ezra afterwards.
According to my opinion, any place where God is wor-
shipped may be rightly called the house of God. For we well
know that the place where Abraham offered his sacrifice was
called Beth-el, that is, the house of God, Gen. 22 14 ; which
Jeroboam, having polluted with his golden calves, afterwards
was called Beth-aven, i Kings 12 129 ; Hosea 4:15; 10 :5, that is,
the house of iniquity. Jacob,Gen. 28 119, when he had slept on
Mount Moriah, 'the mount of reverence', or 'of the worship of
God', or, as others will have it, 'the mount of vision', on which
the temple of Solomon was afterwards built, 2 Chron. 3:1, set
up a stone and said, "This stone, which I have set for a pillar,
shall be God's house," Gen. 28 :22.
Wherefore laying aside all mystical interpretations, I wish
to understand by the house of God, a fixed place, in which there
is an assembling together to worship God and to hear his Word.
Such was the place in which Cain and Abel offered their offer-
ings and heard the Word of God, and such were afterwards the
altars of all the fathers, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job ; in
their different places ; until we come down to the tabernacle of
Moses and the temple of Solomon.
For as the Word of God never utterly failed in the world,
so neither did the worship of God. Therefore there must have
PSALM V. 229
been places in every age in which divine works were performed.
For when Jacob, Gen, 35:1, etc., was going to build an altar
unto God and commanded them to put away the strange gods
from among them, what did he but preach the Word of God in
the same manner as we do now?
Since therefore we find that hypocrisy and false doctrine
reign most especially in the worship of God, for it always pre-
tends to, and defiles, the best things, and that true godliness
and specious hypocrisy contended with each other in the first
two brothers Cain and Abel; therefore it is that the present
Psalm strikes at that false show of godliness in the ungodly
and at its doctrine, which are found in the worship of God that
is performed in the morning.
For what degree of sincerity can he show in his dealings
and works among men, which are things so inferior, who acts
perversely and impiously in that first and most sublime of
all works, the worship of God? wherein a false outside show
is the more injurious, the more specious it is, and the more
it resembles a true and really holy work. In a word, there
is nothing in the world more perilous than false religion, or
idolatry, for this is the fountain of all evil, though under the
name of all good.
The house or temple of God therefore is that place in every
age and among any holy persons where God is worshipped.
For God may truly be said to dwell where he is truly wor-
shipped, but especially, in the general assembly of his saints.
Wherefore, one place is not called the house and temple of God
more than another on account of the magnificence, cost, or size
of the edifice, or on account of the multitude of the people, but,
as I said, on account of the assembling of many to pray and
worship God and hear his Word, according to Ps. 102 :22,
'When the peoples are gathered together, and the kingdoms,
to serve Jehovah.". Whence, the place is called the house of
God on account of the people for that is indeed the house of
God, and not the people on account of the house.
230 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
But there is a powerful superstition now prevailing that is
devoted to building, consecrating, and preserving temples of
this sort throughout the whole world, in which there is not so
much concern manifested about the people being godly, the
worship true, and the Word of God pure, as about making the
temples themselves magnificent in riches, splendor and pomp,
superb buildings, and all such kind of worldly vanity. To set
forth the whole state of the case after the manner of this Psalm,
every thing else, with shame be it spoken, seems to be attended
to in these places appointed for divine worship, except entering
into them in the multitude of the mercies of God, and worship-
ping him in his fear ; and every thing is taught in them except
that we ought to enter into them in the fear of God and worship
him in truth; whereas, it was for these purposes alone that
they were ordained.
Hence it is no wonder that they are often riven asunder with
lightning as profane houses; for there are no places under
heaven filled with greater abuses, iniquities, and deceptions,
than these which are expressly dedicated only to the most pure,
yea, divine works and duties. For though crimes are com-
mitted in other houses, yet the name of God is not so polluted
in them, because that holy name is not there called upon. For
in religious houses the sin is doubly great.
V. 8. — Lead me, O Jehovah, in thy righteousness, because
of mine enemies; make thy zvay straight before my face {direct
my i^my in thy sight).
The Hebrew, according to Jerome, is, "Lead me, O Lord,
in thy righteousness : because of mine enemies make thy way
straight before my face."
I have said that from the beginning of the world there have
been false workers and lying teachers as is taught in 2 Pet. 2:1,
and therefore, the world has never been without false religion
and idolatry.
These characters, 2 Pet. 2:14, "are enticing unstedfast
souls", for there is nothing more insidious than this iniquity of
PSALM V. 231
the serpent; and of this iniquity Paul had many fears when
writing to the Corinthians, for he says, 2 Cor. 1 1 :3, "But I
fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his
craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is toward Christ."
The Hebrew word schorerai may indeed signify "ene-
mies," as our translation has rendered it, but it signifies more
properly 'one that plots evil with a malicious design,' that is,
by treachery, and that too, under the appearance of doing good.
These characters the apostle calls phrcnapatai, that is, deceivers
of minds, as being men who corrupt others by false opinions,
especially in those things which pertain unto God. This signi-
fication of the word most strikingly accords with the design
of this Psalm; which shows that there is no pestilence more
to be dreaded by sincere and godly men than the crafty machin-
ations of false religion and false learning; and therefore it
teaches us that the only way in which such machinations can
be guarded against is by prayer. This is the serpent thai al-
ways insidiously lies at our heel that it may corrupt the way
of true godliness. Hence the word schorerai would not be
rendered improperly 'seducers' or 'defilers' or 'corrupters'.
By the righteousness of God, which we shall often meet
hereafter, we ought always to understand according to its can-
onical signification, not that righteousness whereby God himself
is just and whereby he condemns the wicked, which is the
righteousness that is generally understood to be meant ; but as
Augustine has beautifully said in his work on the 'spirit and
the letter', we ought to understand it as signifying that right-
eousness wherewith God clothes man when he justifies him,
that is, that mercy itself or that justifying grace, whereby we
are accounted before God ; concerning which the apostle saith,
Rom. i:iy, 'For therein is revealed a "righteousness of God
from faith unto faith : as it is written, "the righteous shall
live by faith." Again, Rom. 3:21, "But now apart from the
232 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
law a righteousness of God hath been manifested, being wit-
nessed by the law and the prophets."
It is called the righteousness of God, because it is by his
grace freely given unto us, even as that is called the work of
God which he works in us, that the Word of God which he
speaks in us, and that strength of God which he makes perfect
in our weakness, etc. As in Ps. 31 :i, "Deliver me in thy right-
eousness." And Rom. 10:3, "For being ignorant of God's
righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not
subject themselves to the righteousness of God." Hence also,
that passage of Ps. 24 :5, is not improperly rendered by our
translator, "He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, and
mercy (in the Vulgate) from the God of his salvation," though
the Hebrew has it 'righteousness' instead of 'mercy', because
the blessing of the Lord and the righteousness of the Lord are
the same thing, that is, they are both that mercy and grace of
God which are freely given us in Christ.
This scriptural manner of speaking of the righteousness of
God, because it is different from the usual mode of speech
among men, has been made the occasion of many difficulties in
many places. We are not indeed to cast away the saying that
the righteousness of God is that righteousness by which he is
righteous. So that we are made righteous by the same right-
eousness whereby God is righteous, even as we were made to
exist by the same word whereby God spoke us into being, and
as we exist now by his existence, and as also, his being is our
being. But these things are of a nature too high to be pursued
farther upon the present occasion and are deeper than most
men can comprehend, and though they are useful and necessary,
yet we must leave them for some other opportunity.
This translation of the Hebrew by Jerome is also most cor-
rect, "The way straight before my face," which we have ren-
dered, "My way in thy sight," a sense directly the contrary.
But the Hebrew agrees with the preceding clause and makes
it a repetition, because "thy righteousness" and "thy way" are
PSALM V. 233
nearly the same thing ; for the "way" of God is the "righteous
ness of God, in which we are to Hve and walk and not in our
own way and our own righteousness. This is the way of God
and the way of the righteous, which are spoken of in Ps, i :6,
"For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way
of the ungodly shall perish." This is what John meant, when
he said. Matt. 3 13, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." It is
the way of God, when, as he saith he will. Lev. 26:12, 'He walks
in us'; that is, works in us, lives in. us and speaks in us; for,
saith Christ, "It is not ye that speak," Matt. 10 :20.
Yet our translation does not wrongly or improperly render
this passage, "My way in thy sight"; because when God works
in us we are rightly said to work ; though this working" of ours
is a being influenced and led by, and a being passive under the
hand of an operating God, as this verse implies when it says,
'Lead me', "Direct my way", whereby it signifies that the man
does not act of himself but is lead and acted on of God.
Nor do these two "before my face" and "in thy sight" mili-
tate against each other. For each expression is peculiar to the
Holy Scriptures ; and they both show that all we do should be
done as in the sight of God, in his presence and before his eyes,
these things are in the power neither of our own free will nor
of our own righteousness, but are a work of divine grace. And
thus our Latin translation shows by these words that by "my
way" the way of God is to be understood, which the Hebrew
expressed by "the way". Again by "before me" the Hebrew
shows that the way of God is our way, which our Latin transla-
tion expresses by "my way" in order that we may turn our face
to the way of God and direct our way before the face of God.
The way of God before our face is the same as our way before
the face of God ; both necessarily take place at the same time.
This figurative expression strikes at the ungodly and their
perverseness, for they turn their faces to their own way and
their backs unto God and so walk on. Thus, Lev. 26 :27,etc.,
'And if ye walk contrary unto me : then I will walk contrary
234 LUTHEK ON THE PSALMS.
unto you in wrath', etc. These characters consider and follow
their own works only and disregard the way and works of God ;
as it is written, Is. 2 :8, "They worship the work of their own
hands, that which their own fingers have made." Again, Is.
5:12, "But they regard not the work of Jehovah, neither have
they considered the operation of his hands." And all this, as we
have said, proceeds from their hating the way of the cross and
the life of faith, which compel them to lay aside all that they
are in themselves and all that they know, and from their en-
deavoring in vain to worship God according to the command-
ments and doctrines of men; as saith Is. 29:13, and as it is
repeated in Matt. 15:9.
The verb "direct" or 'make straight' is of most frequent use
in the scriptures ; in which is set forth the rightness, or up-
rightness, or right direction of the heart, as in Ps. 119 7, "I will
give thanks unto thee with uprightness of heart." And Ps.
73 :i, "Surely God is good to Israel, even to such as are pure
(upright) in heart." Again, Cant, i 4, "In uprightness do they
love thee." Hence the word uprightness is sometimes put ab-
solutely, as in Ps. 99 14, 'Thou executest uprightness' ; namely,
thou alone makest uprightness ; whatever uprightness of heart
there is to be found any where, the whole is thy gift. Those
that are made thus upright are the only persons who truly love
and please God.
This uprightness is a sound opinion and right knowledge
of God, Contrary to it, is the corruption or perversion of heart,
which latter, as we have frequently shown, is the state of heart
in the proud, "the counsel of the ungodly", and "the wisdom of
the flesh", and there are many other terms whereby it is set
forth in the scriptures. That is called an upright heart, which
seeks not what is its own, but what is God's, and which looks
with a single and unaltered eye to the will of God ; on this will
alone its eye is fixed in all things, both prosperous and adverse,
and it will look at and know nothing else.
Whereas, a corrupt and perverted heart is that which seeks
PSALM V. 235
its own, has its eye only on its own advantage, and always looks
two ways, pretending that it seeks the will of God, whereas it
is all the while seeking its own profit. This depravity and per-
suasion lie so deeply hidden in the corruption of nature that
God alone can discover it, as Jer. saith,i7:9, "The heart is de-
ceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt : who can
know it ? I, Jehovah, search the mind, I try the heart."
David therefore fearing he should be led into this depravity,
prays in this Psalm 'For the inheritances', that the way of the
Lord may be made plain before his face ; that he may persever-
ingly walk, and always live, in uprightness of heart, which can
only be where pure and full faith of heart exist.
This verse therefore is directed against the ungodly and
workers of iniuqity, who leaving the true obedience of God wor-
ship him by their own works ; for it opposes to such worship
the "righteousness" of God and the "way" of God, that is, the
obedience of God. In this "way" David desires to be led and
directed like a tractable sheep, on account of his enemies, the
deceivers, the crafty and the all-destructive corrupters of the
inheritances of God. All this is more especially practiced by
those deceivers and destroyers in that greatest of all works
which we call worship, than which no one work is more ex-
posed to ungodly abuses, superstitions, heresies, hypocrisy, and
vanity; for the deepest iniquity of these corruptors is their
clothing themselves in the outside show of the best intentions
and their puffing themselves up, so that caution against them
cannot be too earnestly inculcated.
V. 9. — For there is no faithfulness in their mouth, their
inward part is very wickedness ; their throat is an open sepiil
chre; they flatter zvith their tongue.
The clauses of the verse are divided thus in the Hebrew,
but we make of it two verses. Jerome translates the Hebrew,
'For there is no faithfulness in their mouth : their inward parts
are snares : their mouth is an open sepulchre : they speak
lightly with their tongue'. All this is quite correct, except that
236 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
it is generally and more rightly considered that the Hebrew
word signifies 'vanities' and not "snares", but that is of no
moment.
It is evident however that the prophet is speaking now es-
pecially of the doctrine of those whom he accuses first of lying,
then of vanity, then of destructiveness, and of deceivableness ;
for they so teach this their word of doctrine, that under the
appearance of being good it is incurably destructive. All these
accusations from what has preceded, are plainly and manifestly
just.
These lying teachers, says David, are all ready to teach ; they
are all open mouthed and full of words, but as Paul saith, i
Tim. I 7, "They understand neither what they say, nor whereof
they confidently affirm" ; that is, they neither understand their
ovv^n words, nor that of which they speak. Therefore "there
is no faithfulness in their mouth" ; though they seem to teach
the truest and purest doctrine. In a word, "As Jannes and
Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth",
2 Tim. 3 :8 : they dare to contend with all and even to persecute
those whom they are convinced know better than themselves.
Hence we have the declaration. Job 42 :/, "For ye have not
spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath."
The reason such persons do not speak what is right is, be-
cause they work iniquity and depravity ; that is, in all their doc-
trine they aim only to make man seek only his own, and to
trust in his own merits and works ; or at least, they do not take
this evil out of the way, nor correct it, nor bring man down to
nothing that he may become a fool and acknowledge himself
a sinner. Hence it comes to pass that, whereas God is to be
worshipped in fear, to be served in fear, to be rejoiced before
with reverence, and to have every work done before him with
a trusting only in the multitude of his mercy, they make men
secure and presumptuous dependers upon their own works.
This is what those three friends of Job did through all their
contention with him. They said nothing about the mercy of
PSALM V. 237
God, which is what Job above all things dwells upon and extols
in the fear of his judgments, but disputed only about that right-
eousness which praises the good and condemns the bad. Hence
they are justly reproved of God as not having "spoken the thing
that is right". Because the real truth is that no one can be
found righteous before God on account of his works, however
many and great they may be. On the other hand it is certain
that he who trusts in God only is righteous, even without works.
While he abides in that trust and confidence he is assured that
his works please God, and that God views him now as neither
sinning nor having sinned ; whereas, it was for such an assertion
as this that Job's friends condemned him as a blasphemer, con-
cluding from the calamity that had befallen him that he had
sinned and was now under the wrath of God.
But you will say, what am I to do when these characters
speak things so excellent and so consistent and true, that no
reasonable argument can disprove them ? as was the case with
the friends of Job, and in a word when they bring forth out of
the scriptures the very words of God ?
I answer, David is here speaking especially concerning those
characters who adulterate and corrupt the ^^"ord of God. It
is the covering of the wickedness of such that he is here laying
open, when he says, "Their inw^ard parts are snares", or 'vani
ties'. As if he had said, their words are plausible and appar-
ently holy and true, but they are not applied to a right and true
purpose, but are made use of to produce a false understanding.
Hence Jeremiah saith, 5 :i, "Run ye to and fro through the
streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the
broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that
doth justly, that seeketh truth; and I will pardon her. And
though they say, as Jehovah liveth ; surely they swear falsely".
And again, 23 128, "He that hath my Word, let him speak my
Word faithfully." What do all these scriptures show and
prove, but that the Word of God may be spoken both truly and
vainly ?
238 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
These therefore are faithful and true as to all outward ap-
pearance indeed, but their inward parts are vain and their heart
is vain. They do not savor of that in their heart, which their
words outwardly teach ; though they wish it to appear that they
hold in their hearts that which they teach with their mouths.
Thus truth is used by them only as a covering for lies and van-
ity, and hence these words, "Their inward parts are vanities",
descriptively set forth the real nature of the doctrine of hypo-
crites, that they pretend one thing outwardly, but cherish and
foster another inwardly, that they pretend to godliness, but
foster ungodliness. This is to be a minister of Satan trans-
formed into an angel of light, 2 Cor. 1 1 114. This is the subtlety
of the serpent, saying that the knowledge of gods may be at-
tained unto, Gen. 3 15. This is the religion of angels, of which
Paul speaks. Col. 2:18.
Nor do they speak absurdly who render this same Hebrew
word HAVOTH, not 'snares' only and Vanities', but also 'per-
versions', because such men are in truth perverters of the words
of God, as is written in Jer. 23 136, "For ye have perverted the
words of the living God". By these perversions they become
vain in themselves and snares in the way of the truth and of
those that seek it, according to the words of Paul, 2 Tim. 3:13,
"But evil men and imposters shall wax worse and worse, de-
ceiving and being deceived".
This perversion of mind was prefigured in all the idols of
old that were either graven or molten, and this Moses has
by no means obscurely intimated, Ex. 32 :2, etc., where, when
he describes the making of the golden calf, he says 'That Aaron,
after he had received the ear-rings of the women at their hands,
made or melted them into a calf, and fashioned it with a graving
tool' ; in which passage, the Hebrew has 'with a pen', intimating
that it should come to pass that these ungodly teachers should
change the words of God, which are the ear-rings of believing
souls, the true daughters of Israel, and their only ornament into
forms of their own, so as to make them convey their own sen-
PSALM V. 239
timents ; and that the people also should "heap to themselves
teachers having itching ears" and deceitful rulers, and be turned
unto fables, as Paul saith, 2 Tim. 4 •.2,-4. For Jeremiah, writing
as it were a comment on Moses, says, 8 :8, "Behold, the false
pen of the scribes hath wrought falsely" ; and chapter 9.* Is.
44:12 etc., also gives us a full and particular description of the
formation of an idol. Ezekiel 16:17, Jerusalem is accused of
having taken her ornaments of gold and silver which the Lord
had given her, and made unto herself idols and images of men
and committed fornication with them.
However all these things are but a mere joke if we compare
them with what has taken place in our times, in which nothing
is so much boasted of as the worship of God and the church
and the house of God ; when at the same time, there are none
that worship God less than those, who by their numerous rites
and ceremonies and their newly-invented works, have given
themselves up, some to the sowing of discord, others to seeking
after glory, others to hunting after gain, and all to seeking their
own profit and advantage.
In all these things they use as a pretext the Word of God,
when they teach that we ought to pray, to do good works, and
the like. Indeed, what evil, what enormity, what monstrous sin
is not at this day committed under the cover of the terrible name
of God, of St. Peter, St. Paul, and the church? For, to say
nothing about the rest, some of these holy sects are religious
above all others, merely to foster mutual hatred and to fill their
own bellies ; and yet these mutter over this and other Psalms
for the salvation of others with a brow so impenetrably fortified
with brass, that they cannot feel any thing of the vehement zeal
with which the words of the Psalmist inveigh against those who
do thus mutter them over.
Their throat is an open sepulchre.
There is no doubt that by these words written in so forcible
*) St. Louis Walch gives Jer. 10:3 etc.
240 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
a way David wishes to shew the insatiable voracity of these
characters, for not being content with having compared their
throat to a sepulchre, which is that which devours all things, he
heightens the representation by adding the epithet "open", to
show their continual readiness to devour v/ith insatiability.
The holy scriptures iiideed have ascribed to these characters,
above all others, an insatiable avarice, and a devouring of the
people. Hence Christ saith, Luke 20 47, 'They devour widows'
houses, and for a pretence make long prayers'. And Micah 3 :3,
"Who also eat the flesh of my people, and flay their skin from
off them, and break their bones, and chop them in pieces as for
the pot, and as flesh within the caldron". Again directly after-
wards, verse 5, "Thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets
that make my people to err, that bite with their teeth, and cry,
peace ; and whoso putteth not into their mouths, they even pre-
pare war against him". Again, Amos 4:1, "Hear this word,
ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, that
oppress the poor, that crush the needy, that say unto their lords,
bring, and let us drink." But Is. 56 : 10-12, describes them much
more fully and particularly thus, "His watchmen are blind, they
are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they can-
not bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea tlie
dogs are greedy, which can never have enough, and these are
slieperds that cannot understand ; they have all turned to their
own way, each one to his gain from every quarter. Come ye,
say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong
drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, a day beyond
measure".
This will need no explanation if you look at the leaders in
the church at the present time and those who are considered
the teachers of the people. For why is it necessary to call atten-
tion to the incredible avarice, gluttony, pomp and the more than
worldly luxury of the bishops at Rome and all bishops, priests
and leaders of orders, since they do that daily by their talk to
the people and confirm the same by deed? For where do they
PSALM V. 241
not sing publicly of the avarice of the clergy ? And this is all
done under the cloak that they are the leaders of the people of
God. Does not the prophet rightly call their throat an open
sepulchre. For they rob every one of every thing, and yet they
are not satisfied, but are full of greed, as to-day so to-morrow,
to swallow still more.
Offence is taken when these things are mentioned, they are
revolutionary and scandalous words to their saintly ears. But
they gave offense and were revolutionary when the prophets
spoke there to the rulers of the synagogues, so that they were
shamefully put to death as heretics in the church and traitors
in the government.
Isaiah says of them, 5 '.y-^, "He looked for justice, but, behold
oppression ; for righteousness, but, behold, a cry. Woe unto
them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be
no room, and ye be made to dwell alone in the midst of the
land ! This is before the ears of Jehovah of hosts". Amos says
the same, 6:1-6, "Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and
to them that are secure in the mountain of Samaria, the notable
men of the chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel
come ! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see ; and from thence go ye to
Kamath the great ; then go down to Gath of the Philistines ;
are they better than these kingdoms ? or is their border greater
than your border ? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause
the seat of violence to come near; that lie upon beds of ivory,
and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out
of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall ; that
sing idle songs to the sound of the viol ; that invent for them-
selves instruments of music, like David ; that drink wine in
bowls, and annoint themselves with the chief oils ; but they are
not grieved for the affliction of Joseph".
But I must be temperate and not add more in order that
I may not be thought to have sinned aga-nst the holy spiritual
canons and to have stolen the patrimony of Christ and the
possessions of the church by disregarding the discipline of the
242 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
church, and to have insisted that these temporal possessions of
nches and lands are not allowed. For I would not be sufficiently
secure here before the most holy papal laws although all the
prophets and apostles stood with me.
It is sufficient that the prophet Amos esteemed the king-
doms that surrounded Israel, although they were great and very
lich, less than the riches of the priests and the luxuries of the
elders of the people, by which he shows us what their throat is
that the psalmist calls an open sepulchre. At the present day you
might much better call it the throat of hell as Is. 5 114 says, "hell
hath opened its mouth without measure". New devices are al-
ways being used to get the little that is yet among the people,
and of it which they can hardly live, since all the rest is already
swallowed and the word of Ps. 14:4, is fulfilled, "they eat up
my people as they eat bread".
Since it is evident therefore from these statements that such
ungodly teachers do not teach the way of the Lord, nor seek any
thing else, even in the things of God, than their own profit, it
follows that they seek much more their own profit in things
pertaining unto this life. Hence it was that Paul with so much
boldness and confidence dared, Phil. 3 :2, to call them dogs, say-
ing, "Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware
of the concision". And in verse 19, "Whose end is perdition,
whose God is the belly". In his epistle to Titus i :i2, he calls
them "liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons" : in both places he is
speaking of seducing teachers.
Therefore David, detesting with a holy indignation the wick-
edness of such, exposes their lusts by a most filthy comiparison.
As if he had said, what do these swine, by their ungodly doc-
trine whereby they destroy souls, but serve their own bellies,
whilst by preaching this their doctrine they so deceive the people
as to seize upon, collect, and increase an immense store of
worldly things with unending and insatiable voracity? In a
word, he speaks of their "throat" as Paul in his epistle to Titus
did of their "belly". As if he had said, ye are all "throat" and
PSALM V. 243
nothing else, and that throat is Hke an "open sepulchre", for ye
devote yourselves to nothing else but to devouring the substance
of men.
I would add to this another way in which these words may
be understood, namely, that they are called a "throat" which is
like an "open sepulchre", because they lead the souls of those
men by their impious word and works into the swallowing jaws
of hell ; and this is the way in which Augustine understands and
treats the passage, though it seems sotnewhat remote from the
literal meaning; and I shall not dwell upon it myself here, be-
cause it is more easily explained than the literal meaning, on
account of its agreement with the succeeding and preceding
context; but I entertain no prejudice against the judgment of
another as to the propriety of the spiritual interpretation.
Since therefore these teachers of the people reap their tem-
poral harvest, as in the case of the Levites, but under the most
plausible cover and pretext, while they sow unto them their
spiritual things, as they pretend, there grows and increases from
this their dominion an avarice and also an ignorance of the
"way" of God, Thus, instead of sowing spiritual things, they
sow the most impious doctrines which savor only of the flesh ;
and because these doctrines please the common people more
than those which are truly spiritual they are easily seduced and
their teachers in the mean time reap their temporal fruits, until
they have swallowed their farms together with all their sub-
stance. Thus the teachers for their ungodly labor obtain and
enjoy the happiness of the ungodly in this world ; while the
people, on account of their ungodly religion, are destroyed with
a double destruction, the destruction of both body and soul.
Nor is it without its peculiar appropriateness that David
compares the "throat" of these to an "open sepulchre", rather
than to any other kind of voracity? For why does he this?
Perhaps it is because the whole substance and possession of
those things which are acquired by a wicked ministry and under
a wicked pretence, is of that unhappy nature, that it returns
244 LUTHEE ON THE PSALMS.
to no g^ood use whatever, but is like dead bodies which, when
once buried, never return to Hfe. For David does not say, their
throat is a coffer or chest, so as to leave some hope of that
coming into use again which has been put into it ; but he says
"sepulchre", from which there is no hope of ever regaining that
which has been once placed into it.
So it is at this day, for the possessions of the church, espec-
ially the greater ones, are of that character and appropriated to
such use, that they are made to serve grooms and harlots and
the most infamous of mankind, and are left for that purpose by
wills and successions ; so that the poor believers in Christ are
not considered worthy of them. This is well known, not only
by general report, but by actual experience. Wherefore, to de-
vour substance and to communicate it to none of the faithful
in Christ is the peculiar privilege and characteristic of the
"workers of iniquity", namely, the martyrs of the devil. There-
fore has come the proverb that it is injurious to have any con-
tact with or make any use of the so called spiritual possessions,
and that they consume every thing they touch. This some think
takes place, because they are so holy an'^i are dedicated to uivine
services, others say because they are deserted and like Jericho
cursed, Josh. 6 :26, wherefore they shall never be of any service
with their possessions that are for good uses, since they have
robbed them of their right use.
Lastly we have, "They act deceitfully with their tongues,"
or 'They speak lightly with their tongues,' as the Hebrew has
it, 'They fawn and flatter with their tongues.' This belongs to
that which precedes, for they do not consider that their duty
is to teach such things as shall lead the people to godliness, but
to tell such impious fables as shall please them.
All their concern is not to offend the ears of the people to
the end that they may grow fat and increase in wealth. They
are of those, whom Is. 30 :io, describes as saying, "Speak unto
us smooth things." Paul saith of them, 2 Tim. 4 13, "They
having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their
PSALM V. 245
own lusts." And Rom. 16:18, "For they that are such, serve
not our Lord Christ but their own belly ; and by their smooth
words and fair speech they beguile the hearts of the innocent."
Such therefore speak not the truth from fear of ignoble pover-
ty, but they willingly speak those things which please the peo-
ple, from the hope of amassing wealth, and therefore they be-
come ''an open sepulchre."
It is at these light, flattering, or as our translation has it,
"deceitful" tongues, that the present verse strikes, for such
tongues are more destructive and pestilential than all the poi-
son of asps. The reason such characters act thus is because
truth is unpalatable and the word of the cross rougher than
the camel's hair of St. John the baptist; for he that lifts up
his voice in the desert of ungodliness is not clad in soft cloth-
ing. Therefore a messenger of the Word of God must be poor,
or at least cannot long be rich.
Hence arises that excuse which is so universally made at
this day, 'That they do not teach and declare the truth, because
by their doing so the ruin of the church and of the rich wealth
of the monasteries of Christ would soon follow, and no small
portion of dainties would be taken from the throat and the
belly.' Therefore that the "throat" may not be robbed and that
the yawning "sepulchre" may be kept open, there must be
speaking lightly with the tongue, there must be flattering the
people, and conniving at their vices ; and if they be of the
higher class their vices must be called virtues, whatever they
say or do or leave undone, must be called unalterably right, and
every thing that is the contrary must be condemned as heretical
and ungodly and be persecuted.
Proceed thus and your throat will be safe and your belly
secure ; you will not be excommunicated nor deprived of your
benefice. If you will speak a little more lightly still with your
tongue and flatter a little more brazenly your throat will be
distended, the sepulchre will open wider, and your belly will
be made to give more room ; you will be loaded with benefices
246 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and donations and adorned with honors ; your sermons will be
looked upon as letters of gold, your books will be immortalized,
and every place on which you tread will be considered a bed
of roses.
I believe it is quite clear and manifest to every one, that
the vv'orld is at this day filled wiih flatterers of this kind, for
all the religious persons have their mouth filled, and their zeal
fraught with flattery and levity of speech. Thus is fulfilled that
which Ezekiel saith, 13 riS-ip, "Woe to the women that sew
pillows upon all elbows and make kerchiefs for the head of
persons of every stature, to hunt souls ! Will ye hunt the souls
of my people and save souls alive for yourselves? And
ye have profaned me among my people (that is, by
teaching a false opiiiion of me instead of the truth) for hand-
fuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that
should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live,
by your lying to my people that hearken unto your lies ?"
How beautifully applicable is this scripture and how it il-
lustrates the words of David before us, is shown in what im-
mediately follows, verse 21, "Your kerchiefs will I tear (that
is, your flattering speeches and "cJirastologiai," as the apostle
calls them), and deliver my people out of your hand, and they
shall be no more in your hand to be hunted." Then follows,
verse 22, "Because with lies ye have grieved the heart of the
righteous, whom I have not made sad (for flatterers must not
only teach the ungodly false things, but must also persecute
the doctrines of the truly righteous, otherwise their throat
would soon be stopped up), and the hands of the wicked
strengthened, that he should not return from his wicked way,
and be saved alive : therefore ye shall no more see false visions,
nor divine divinations, etc."
It is manifest therefore that by deceitful tongue our trans-
lator understood flattering and fawning tongue, that is a tongue
that will teach the ungodly for the sake of those worldly ad-
vantages. Therefore no faithfulness is in their mouths, their
PSALM V. 247
inward parts are vain, perverse, and deceitful. Such then is
the meaning of this verse.
I am incHned to be displeased with myself for having been
so diffuse and prolix and for having used so many words in
my endeavor to explain the meaning of so short a sentence of
the Holy Spirit. But when I consider that I am not writing for
the learned, the acute, and the skilful, but for the simple and
the inexperienced and particularly for those who are in the
ministry also, I seem to myself to have been even now too brief
and sparing ; and especially as these are some of those things
that are essentially necessary to be known and that have been
buried throughout the world under superstitions and idolatries
and have now for a long time and by long habit been driven out
of the hearts of men. This makes it in my opinion highly ne-
cessary that they should be sounded forth with the continual
thunder of voices, that the sleeping may be roused and awak-
ened. Let the delicate reader therefore either know that these
things are not written for him, or let him remember that his
duty is to exercise patience for the benefit of the weak and in-
experienced ; and let him leave me, after the manner of the
patriarch Jacob of old. Gen. 33 :i etc., to follow on softly with
the children, the flocks of sheep, and the heards of oxen, as I
see they shall be able to bear it, lest, if I should outdrive them
one day, all the flock should die.
V. 10. Hold them guilty (judge tJieni), O God, let them
fall by their own counsels; thrust (cast) them out in the mul
titude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against thee
{provoked thee to anger, O Lord).
The first part of this verse is attached by us to the verse
preceding, but this improves the sense but little. The prophet
having hitherto described and condemned all ungodly hypocrites
and "workers of iniquity," now prays that such may be marked
by the judgment of God; because they are excused, approved,
and defended by the judgment of men, and considered to be
just and true, and that their name and reputation as such can-
248 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
not be taken away from them. As if he had said with Jere-
miah, 5:30-31, "A wonderful and horrible thing is come to
pass in the land : the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests
bear rule by their means ; and my people love to have it so :
and what will ye do in the end thereof?" For who can resist
those who are defended by the voice of the common people and
by the great? Yet thus in truth are the ungodly workers of
iniquity armed against one poor preacher of the truth ! Such
a preacher therefore must of necessity make many open declar-
ations that shall be deemed scandalous and seditious, that shall
give offence to the ears of these righteous ones, and that shall
be judged by the people to be erroneous and heretical. What
can he do in the meantime? Nothing but call upon God for
his judgment, committing his cause into his hands.
The Hebrew word, which is rendered "judge them," Je-
rome translates 'condemn them.' The word signifies properly
that judgment by which men are made manifest, their ungod-
liness being laid open to view. In this sense Paul also saith, 2
Tim. 3 :g, "But they shall proceed no further : for their folly
shall be evident unto all men, as theirs also came to be." It
is therefore as if David had said, grant that, as they have lately
been approved, loved, and boasted of by all, so their folly may
be now made manifest and they themselves hated, cast out, and
detested by all, that every person may see that they have ap-
proved of that which thou hast condemned. For I have seen
and still do see it happens to all heretics that they first of all
please men, but afterwards their bones are scattered, Ps. 53 :5,
and they are put to shame, because God hath rejected them.
Their glorying and boasting and their applause and pomp are
therefore in the meantime to be borne with. Hence we hear Je-
remiah say, 20 7-9, "I am become a laughing-stock all the day,
every one mocketh me. For as often as I speak, I cry out : I
cry, violence and destruction; because the word of Jehovah
is made a reproach unto me, and a derision."
These words of David therefore do not only refer to the
PSALM V. 249
last judgment, but are a prayer that the truth may triumph
through the judgment of God, which such characters oppress
through the judgment of men. Do thou, O Lord, says David,
rise up and judge, for men do not judge rightly.
"Let them fall from their own thoughts." Thoughts here
is of the same signification as "counsel of the ungodly" in Ps.
1:1, and rendered from the same original word. Wherefore
it does not mean simply "thoughts," but as we fully showed in
the first Psalm, ungodly opinions, sentiments, ideas, disputa-
tions, human reasoning concerning God and divine things, and
also human inventions delivered to others as true doctrines.
Hence there is a peculiar force lying in each word, both in
"thoughts" and "own." These are their "own" thoughts in-
deed, and not God's, according to Is. 55 18-9, "For my thoughts
are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saitli
the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so
are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than
your thoughts."
And what does the prophet show by these words, but that
the thoughts of men, however holy they may appear, are but
earthly, vain, and lying; according to Ps. 94:11, "Jehovah
knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity."
Hence David calls them "thoughts" by way of expressive
force, intimating that they are vague, unstable motions of the
mind, for that is the nature of a mere thought, though they
are considered to be decrees more stable and durable than the
rock by the sea-shore. Hence the apostle admonishes the He-
brews, 13 :9, "Be not carried away by divers and strange doc-
trines." In Eph. 4:14, he exhorts not to be "tossed to and fro
and carried about with every wind of doctrine." What these
wandering flies of doctrine are, is fully set forth in the plague
of Egypt. Therefore Christ said. Matt. 1 1 7, that the doctrine
of John was not like "a reed shaken with the wind ;" for the
doctrine of our faith is a firm key-stone, a mountain, a rock
that laughs both at the winds and the waves of the whole sea,
250 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and it will do so for ever, because the righteousness of God
is for ever and ever.
But what means this praying of David that not their
thoughts only, but the persons themselves should fall? Au-
gustine thinks that this verse contains the words of one prophe-
sying, and not praying; or that if they are a prayer, they pray
that these persons may fall saved and be changed to sound
thoughts concerning God ; and his interpretation is good and
admissible. But the figure of speech here used still induces me
to consider the meaning to be like that of Ps. 81 :6, "I removed
his shoulder from the burden." Because in the world, where
the powers of darkness still rule, it is in vain for any one to
try to prevent the existence of ungodly doctrines and thoughts,
for it must be that oflfences come. But our care is to be that
we turn away from such doctrines and thoughts themselves, as
being those which closely cleave unto us and therefore will
never fall from us of their own accord, but will be continually
rushing on us and most obstinately assaulting us.
If these things be so it appears therefore that those who
wish to have no errors and heresies left and no impieties to
exist, only attempt the burning of all heretics, and remain in
the end free heretics themselves. For I consider that it is a
conflict and not a state of ease, that is intimated by the verse
in question, a conflict against the thoughts of men, for he does
not pray that the thoughts might fall from the men, but the
men from the thoughts. Because the human heart and its own
thoughts or its own counsel are so inseparably and, as it were,
adulterously connected together and in love with each other,
that to separate them nothing less than the great and divine
power and operation of the grace of God are required.
David wished rather to say "fall from" than 'turn from,'
because he wishes such persons to come down from pride to
humility, for "thoughts" puff up to that height, that such men
cannot acknowledge themselves sinners, nor be humbled to the
grace of God.
PSALM V. 251
However he that would understand the passage rather as
a prophecy, which is the sense that I prefer, may easily satisfy
himself with the propriety of such an interpretation, namely,
that the ungodly fall from their thoughts when their confidence
in them fails and they cannot establish them. An example of
this we have in the building of the tower of Babel, for there
the attempt, the labors, the work, and the end of all ungodly
teachers are most beautifully represented, v/hich, when those
impious ones had begiui, they were, not able to finish. This
Christ has also set forth, Luke 14 :28, in the parable concerning
the man beginning to build a tower. In the same way also
Ps. 21 :ii, "They conceived a device, which they are not able to
perform."
Such therefore "fall from their thoughts" when they perish
in the execution of them and leave a monument and example
behind them that all might see v/hat they imagined and at-
tempted, and how they failed of accomplishing their purposes.
In this way it was that the Arians fell and left their memory
and their thoughts which they could not accomplish, a subject
of derision and a fable in the mouths of all. It is such a judg-
ment as this that the prophet here predicts, and prays that it
might fall upon all ungodly teachers and performers of "their
own thoughts," that they may not be able to accomplish that
which they imagine against true godliness. This takes place
in the execution of it when they are judged of God, as David
says, for as long as they are judged of men, they increase and
prosper in their thoughts.
Why did he not simply say "Thrust them out?" Why did
he add "in the multitude of their iniquities?" Moreover the
verb 'Thrust out' signifies, according to the original Hebrew
word, 'a dispersing;' in the same way as the builders of the
tower of Babel were scattered abroad thence upon the face of
all the earth, and abandoned the building of the city. Gen. 1 1 :8.
In the same way the blessed virgin saith, Luke i :5i, "He hath
scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts." This
252 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
scattering Samson prefigured by his foxes, Judges 15:4, and
the same is represented by the scripture, "A kingdom divided
against itself is brought to desolation," Matt. 12:25.
For no heretics have ever been conquered by force or craft,
but by dissension among themselves only; nor did Christ con-
tend with them in any other way than by sending among them
the spirit of confusion and dissension. Such a spirit as this
was sent among the Shechemites, Judges 9 :2t,, and among the
builders of the tower of Babel ; and under the New Testament,
among the Arians, Donatists, and Pelagians, And indeed the
Jews perished by their final destruction through dissension.
Hence the holy man Hilary, in his book upon the Trinity, glo-
ries in declaring 'that the war of the heretics is the peace of
the church ;' for upon their dissension is sure to follow their
dispersion.
This Christ also refers to, when in describing "the strong
n-;an armed" who is to be despoiled of his armor by a stronger,
he says that his armor in which he trusted is to be "divided"
and dispersed. So Hosea, 10:1-2, comparing iniquity to a
multitude, says that they are to be dispersed by division. "Is-
rael is a luxuriant vine, that putteth forth his fruit : according
to the abundance of his fruit he hath multiplied his altars :
according to the goodness of their land they have made goodly
pillars. Their heart is divided ; now shall they be found guilty :
he will smite their altars, he will destroy their pillars ;" which
words beautifully explain this present verse of David. For
what does this increasing of altars and multiplying of images,
according to the goodness of their land, mean, but that Israel
multiplied into many states and cities and erected unto them-
selves as many altars ? As we read, Jer. 2 •.28, "For according
to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah." Upon
this division soon followed their dispersion, while each city
or division watched and wished for the ruin of the other that
his own might stand.
The meaning of David therefore is, 'They are ungodly in
PSALM V. 253
irany ways, they invent many superstitions and practice various
kinds of idolatry ; they are also divided among themselves like
the sadducees and pharisees of old and like their imitators and
followers in our day. According therefore to this multitude
of their iniquities, do thou, O Lord, thrust them out, that their
ungodliness may be brought to naught by the strength of their
concord being broken.'
If then these things be true and will take place according
to David's prayer, there appears to be a great persecution, de-
vastation, and scattering hanging over the present state of the
church, which being divided into so many sects, and the mem-
bers all seeming to fight against each other, threatens a terrible
shaking and an awful destruction ; for there are not only now
as many altars as there are cities, but almost as many as there
are heads, so wholly has brotherly love gone to ruin ; and there-
fore it must of necessity follow, that whatever exists without
that is idolatry, for it does not seek that which is God's. Hence
all the specious lives and conversations of all our priests and
religious people, being destitute of, and disregarding this love,
for such is the present state of the church, may be rightly
called a multitude of iniquities ; and thus we are divided and
scattered more and more daily, each one according to Is. 53 :6,
turning "to his own way ;" all this, as I have before observed,
was beautifully prefigured by the foxes of Samson, Judges 15 4,
which had their faces turned from each other, and fire-brands
tied to their tails !
"For they have provoked thee to anger." This in the He-
brew is 'they have embittered thee.' As I have observed,
above all other sins that are committed, this kindles God's
wrath the most, when men omit that which is commanded
and do something else which they think is better and which
is not commanded at all. This is that aven, that disobedience
itself, and that idolatry and working of iniquity. Hence the
prophet says of them that they "provoked God to anger" and
made him bitter. Other prophets do the same, where they call
254 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the house of Israel the one that makes God bitter, provokes
him to anger, irritates him, and kindles his wrath, etc.
We particularly observe that the word "iniquities" in this
verse is in the original a word different from all those pre-
ceding. For it is not aven nor rescha, but pescha, that we
here find in the Hebrew; which is a general noun that signi-
fies all transgression, as in Is. i :2, "I have nourished children,
and they have rebelled against me," that is, they have sinned
against me or they have despised me by their transgressions.
Hence Jerome translates this clause "according to the multi-
tude of their wickedness ;" and what these transgressions are
in their nature and character, he has enumerated above where
he said, "Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness."
For David designs by all these things to show that these char-
acters sinned, transgressed, and prevaricated in many ways,
and so as to provoke God to anger, even while they thought
they were pleasing him. Hence by saying 'the multitude of
their iniquities,' he does not only mean that they were di-
vided, as we have observed, into many and various sects, but
also that every separate one of those sects sinned in many
ways, which ways we have described under our foregoing
seven heads.
V. II. But let all those that take refuge {hope) in thee
rejoice, let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest
them : Let them also that love thy name be ioyful in thee.
{they shall shout for joy and thou shalt du'ell in them. And
they that love thy name shall glory in thee.)
All this is one verse in the Hebrew, and Jerome translates
it, "And let all who hope in thee rejoice, they shall praise for
ever ; thou shalt defend them ; and they that love thy name shall
be joyful in thee." In this last clause our translator has put
"shall glory" for "shall be joyful." But others again vary
wonderfully in rendering these words which contain so many
feelings and aft'ections, so that we cannot harmonize all their
PSALM V. 255
variations without going to the original Hebrew, the fountain
head.
We here find four words put together to convey a fulness
of expression, 'To rejoice,' 'to hope,' 'to shout for joy,' and
'to glory.' But the expression "shall dwell in them" indicates
the affection of hope. How then do they differ ? This is diffi-
cult to be investigated and learned, because these affections
are of a high and sublime nature and can neither be taught
nor understood but by those who have experienced them.
This one thing however is certain, according to the tenor
and scope of the whole Psalm, namely, that David is speaking
of that joy and quiet safety of heart, which arise from, and
stand, not in the removal of external evils, for that is where
patience more properly reigns, but in the remission of sins and
impurity and good assurance of conscience where hope reigns.
For the object and intent of the Psalmist is to show in what
way men may become righteous and godly, namely by the
mercy and through the fear of God and not by works of in-
iquity. All men seek to be glad and to rejoice, but all do not
seek rightly, and therefore they find not that for which they
seek.
Hence we will divide this verse into two, that it may as
it were be a repetition, and that "And let all those that hope
in thee rejoice: they shall shout for joy for ever, and shall
dwell therein" may be the same as, "And they also that love
thy name, shall glory in thee".
For the Psalmist seems to contrast these affections of joy
to the POELE AVEN, that is, the "workers of iniquity", or as it is
very frequently translated 'the workers of pain'; because as
I have observed, this idolatry and outward show of works is
the labor of fools, which afflicts them and kills them with
sorrow and never suffers them to know real joy of heart; as
they themselves say, Mai. 3:14, "And what profit is it that we
have walked mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?" Is. 58:3,
"Wherefore have we fasted, and thou seest not? Wherefore
256 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?"
The remaining part of the chapter and also that which follows
abundantly set forth this misery.
Dost thou desire to know then, where true joy of heart is
to be found and in what it consists? David says, "Let all
those that hope in thee rejoice". This truth therefore re-
mains firm and this definition sure, that the heart of man can-
not rejoice in works, nor in any thing else but in a pure hope ;
he therefore that seeks to rejoice in any other way besides
this hope, will toil much and will find all his labor in vain
at last ! For, as it happened to the woman with a bloody issue,
mentioned in the Gospel, that she spent all her substance upon
physicians and only grew worse ; so it happens to all who,
under perturbations of conscience, run about to this place and
that, consult now this person and now that, now doing this
and now that, and trying all ways to obtain rest for the heart ;
but they seek not after this hope, which alone can bring them
the quiet they seek. And in this soul killing work are all those
lying teachers engaged, who impiously teach their works, satis-
factions, indulgences, and pilgrimages, and who administer
their false consolations, and, by other works of darkness like
these, deceive mankind ; the number of these in the present day
is out of one's power to count.
CONCERNING HOPE AND SUFFERINGS.
Since this 'hope' is so often taught throughout the Psalms
let us make a more extensive and full digression than usual,
that we may consider once for all the force and nature of this
term 'hope' ; for these things are very necessary to be known by
trembling, weak, and simple consciences.
Just as impatience, dejection, and confusion do not properly
and primarily proceed from the multitude or magnitude of the
afflictions, adversities, or evils, of whatever kind they may
be, but rather from the feelings of the person who is alarmed
at them and who is in an unwise way thirsting after the con-
trary, prosperity, happiness, and honor; so, despair, spiritual
PSALM V. 257
dejection, and the confusion of a restless conscience do not
properly and primarily arise from the multitude or magnitude
of sins, but rather from the feelings of the person who is
alarmed at them and who is in an unwise way seeking after an
abundance of good works and righteousness and salvation.
The first part of my observation is clear ; for David here
says, "Let all those that hope in thee rejoice". If then, he says,
"all" shall rejoice in the Lord who hope in him he does not
permit us to understand that any are excepted, not even those
who are in tribulation ; nay, it is concerning such that he more
particularly speaks, when he says that such hope in the Lord
while they are afflicted in themselves and by men. These are
the faithful in Christ, in whom, as the sufferings of Christ
abound, so do the consolations of Christ abound also, as the
apostle saith, 2 Cor. 1 15. For they know where and in whom
they ought to rejoice and to glory, namely, in the Lord. There-
fore through this their wisdom they are not cast down, they are
not confounded, they are not impatient, because they do not aim
at things prosperous, things pleasant, nor things honorable.
Hence they pass through a tranquil medium between good and
evil as it is written, 'Nothing that happeneth to the just shall
disturb him'. And in Prov. 28:1, it is said, "The wicked flee
when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion".
But they who are ignorant and unwise and will not under-
stand that rejoicing and glorying is to be in God alone, what
else do such, than become dejected, confounded, and impatient?
and that, not because adverse or afflicting circumstances come
upon them, but because when these come upon them they do not
turn unto God which proceeds from their foolish feelings, but
look anxiously after the prosperous and pleasant things which
they have lost. Thus they flee but cannot flee away nor escape,
because they know not whither to flee. Hence the whole cause
of every one's sorrow is the unwisely anxious search after joy
and honor; for if men were not glued to these things, adver
sities would cause them no uneasiness, according to the trite
258 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
proverb, 'The world is ruled by opinions : and such as each
man's opinion of his condition is, such is his condition'. Hence
contempt can neither profit nor injure any one, but when it is
regarded then it profits or hurts, and then only.
The second part also is equally certain ; because, many and
great sinners have been saved. The very persons who David
here says rejoice in the Lord, would say with Job, 9 13, "We
could not answer him one of a thousand", and hereby they
acknowledge both the multitude and magnitude of their sins.
Herein God shows that the cause of despair is not the multi-
tude or magnitude of the sins but the wrong affection in those
who seek after good works in the time of their trouble of con-
science, in order to set these against their sins as a counter-
balance and satisfaction. For such imagine by this their de-
praved opinion that their sins have been and can be, overcome
by such works ; and therefore not being able to gain the victory
for which they labor and not knowing that they ought to turn
to the mercy of God, desperation of necessity follows ; for he
must necessarily become impatient, who neglecting all regard of
God attempts to put good for evil and cannot succeed, because
no works whatever can make satisfaction for one sin even
though it be a venial sin.
In the same way the conscience of an ungodly man at the
point of death and drawing near to the judgment of God dis-
putes with itself thus : O miserable man that I am ! O if
I had but now done many good things ! O if I had but never
done any evil ! If I had but remained pure ! And these words
full of folly and iniquity most eminently prove that the saying
of Augustine is true, 'The unhappy change overtakes the un-
godly man that when living he forgets God, and when dying he
forgets himself. Hence such an one seeks the good and hates
the evil, and 3'et does not feel that he never did so much evil,
nor less sought good than in this ver}' hour, when he says these
things and acts thus unwisely. For he proves that he does not
hope in God, but presumes upon his own works, while he thus
PSALM V. 259
looks back upon his past works and presumes; whereas, these
are not things upon which he has any right to presume. If he
imagines that he can hope in God on account of his works, in
which case he dreams that he shall hope in God more con-
fidently and more joyfully, if he can but see before him plenty
good works, it is plainly manifest that he hopes more in his
own works than in God, than which nothing is more horrible or
more impious !
Whereas the righteous even though they sin despair not.
Because as among temporal evils, that is, the sufferings of
this life, good things are intermingled ; so it is also with respect
to spiritual evils, namely, sins ; for spiritual good things are in-
termingled with them also. These righteous persons therefore
neither presume upon spiritual blessings when they live in the
enjoyment of them, nor despair when they sin, for they know
that they ought neither to be elated by the one nor cast down
by the other, because they feel that the one state proceeds from
God's gifts being bestowed upon them, and the other from their
being taken away; and whichever of these takes place, they
still remain cleaving close to the giver himself.
This is taught in Prov. 24:16, "For a righteous man falleth
seven times, and riseth up again : but the wicked are over-
thrown by calamity" : that is, they rise not again but fall into
despair. If thou hopest and canst hope only when thou doest
good, thou wilt certainly despair when thou doest evil. Take
heed therefore lest that of Ps. 49 :i9, "He v/ill praise thee when
thou doest well unto him", and that of Luke 8:13, "And in
time of temptation fall away", be applicable unto thee; take
heed that thou add not iniquity unto iniquity and blasphemy
unto disobedience.
Hence it is greatly to be feared lest a twofold evil should
befall these ungodly. First, when they find all things going
prosperously and gloriously with them, they should imagine
they are rejoicing and glorying in God, when in truth they
are not trusting in God, but in his gifts, that is, in their pros-
260 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
parity, as temptation will in the end prove. And next, lest,
when they are looked upon by all as living a holy and religious
life, especially in this our most perilous day, which is so much
devoted to the observance of the outward show and bug-bears
of works, they should imagine that they are hoping most firmly
in God, when they are all the while ignorantly hoping in their
own sanctity, as the hour of death will prove. For when such
are drawing near to judgment and are dying in full confidence
under a self-persuasion of their good life which is the ground of
their confidence in God, the destruction of all good hope, it
will happen unto them just as it does unto a man who sets his
foot upon a log of wood swimming in the sea — the log slips
aside and he is suddenly lost in the deep, or, as Isaiah saith of
them, 30:13, "Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a
breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose break-
ing cometh suddenly in an instant'".
Therefore just as that patience which is exercised in pros-
perity is no patience, so the hope that is exercised in merits is
no hope. And, as it is possible and easy to have patience in
prosperity, so it is possible and easy to exercise hope in merits.
In each case there is eminent peril. In the former, lest the
man should become proud and secure ; in the latter, lest, being
puffed up with his own righteousness, he should disregard the
fear of God, in which fear lies the exercise of true hope. For
the nature of patience is to be exercised only in adversity, and
that of hope to be exercised only under sin. Not, however,
that we should sin, in order that we may be in a state to hope !
No, God forbid ! We have sins enough already, both of those
which we have committed ourselves and of those in which we
were born, for all our own good works are but sins before
God, to make us fit subjects for the exercise of hope.
Is God cruel then, who condemns all our works and per-
formances? No. But his mercy is unspeakable in his con-
descending to communicate himself unto us and to take away
all our own confidence from us, which is the only thing that
PSALM V. 261
opposes his mercy. He has given a law, in and by which he
has shut up "all unto disobedience, that he might have mercy
upon all", Rom. 1 1 :32. For where there is no low there is
no sin; where there is no sin there is no mercy; where there
is no mercy there is no salvation; and where there is no sal-
vation there is no God. Hence the strength of sin is the law,
I Cor. 15:56, the strength of the law is mercy, the strength
of mercy is hope, the strength of hope is salvation, and the
strength of salvation is God through Jesus Christ our Lord;
for he "is the God of deliverances and unto Jehovah, the Lord,
belongeth escape from death", Ps. 68 :20. For the law works
sin in us, mercy works, that is, fulfils the law, hope works
mercy, salvation works hope, and God works salvation, and all
is in Christ. Hence salvation descends from God through
Christ unto sin, and we ascend from sin through Christ unto
God.
From this it follows, that as in temporal affairs good things
are given unto us of God, that we may by them be led the
more to worship him, hope in him, and love him, since, from the
depravity of our nature, we worship, hope in, and love him
less in tlie time of prosperity than in the time of adversity ; nay,
in the latter we worship, hope in, and love him, more than in
the former. So in spiritual things, the blessings and merits
of grace are given unto us of God, that by them we may be .
led the more fully to hope in him. And behold, by the depravity
of our nature, we presume upon these freely given blessings
and exercise imdcr them the least hope of all and are more
easily brought to hope in him under sin. Hence it seemed
necessary to the divine goodness to raise the cross, and by the
preaching of it to save fools and sinners that believe, and to
reprobate the self-wise and saints, as the apostle saith, i Cor.
I :23 etc., "But we preach Christ crucified, unto Gentiles, that
is, to the wise foolishness, and unto Jews, that is, the saints, a
stumbling-block ; but unto them that are called, both Jews and
Greeks, that is, sinners and fools, Christ the power of God
2.62. LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and the wisdom of God" ; and so on as it is there beautifully set
forth.
Wherefore as it is most perilous for a man to be left always
in prosperity, because in such a state he never or very rarely
learns to love God ; so it is more perilous for a man to be left
in great spiritual prosperity all his life long, for he will scarcely
ever learn to hope in God. Hence when God begins in mercy
to visit such they do not only fall into perturbation of con-
science, but if they happen to be of a more incorrigible nature
than usual, they will sometimes even fall into the open act of
sin, that is, into fornication or something of that kind. God
thinks fit to deal with them thus, leading them as it were to
his mercy in a way that is contrary to mercy and permitting
them to fall into sin in order to deliver them from sin.
But these things are higher than many can grasp and under-
stand, and perhaps they may say by way of objection, well then !
we had better sin only, and lay aside doing good altogether !
Or, as the apostle says, in stating the objections that such will
make, "Let us do evil that good may come", Rom. 3 :8. For
when we speak as I do now we seem to many to be opening
the door to sin and shutting it against good works unto the
injury of salvation. To such we will give this answer: Good
works are not only not prohibited, but are greatly commended
by these words, and sin is by the most effectual discipline taken
out of the way, while they teach that these good works are to
proceed from within and that sin is to be destroyed within.
For it is that depraved affection, the head of the old serpent,
which is so secretly and subtlely carnal and which trusts in
these works and most obstinately resists that hope which rests
in the mercy of God alone, that is to be bruised, plucked out,
and destroyed. And we are to understand that even if our
mind has not been employed well we are not to despair, and
that, on the contrary, we are not therefore to hope, because it
has been employed well ; the former of which is very difficult
to be put into practice, though the latter is much more difficult
PSALM V. 263
Still; because, in the former we fight only against sins, but
in the latter, against good works and sins both, that is, against
that feeling of presumption which always accompanies good
works.
Moreover, when I say that patience cannot exist in pros-
perity, do I therefore condemn possessions, power, peace, the
happiness of life, etc., things without which we cannot live,
and which are prized by the best of all beings ? By no means !
I only condemn the state of our miiids under the enjoyment
of them. In the same way, these things are elsewhere compelled
to be called by a name descriptive of them, as in Ecclesiastes
they are called "vanity", and by Christ in the Gospel "thorns" ;
not from any evil that there is in these things themselves, but
from the vanity of men, under which vanity, as the apostle
saith, Rom. 8 :20, 22, "For the creation was subjected to vanity,
not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in
hope".
Hence these very good works of the ungodly, which are
themselves gifts of God and by which others are often bene-
fited while the ungodly themselves are destroyed by them, are
called AVEN^ that is, iniquity, idolatry, and disobedience; not
on account of the evil in the works themselves, but on account
of the evil and contagious depravity in those that perform them.
And Moses speaks of these things thus, Deut. 28 130, with the
veil upon his face, "Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man
shall lie with her : thou shalt build a house, and thou shalt not
dwell therein : thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not use
the fruit thereof" ; and many other things he says in the same
spirit, wherein he foretells the labors that such shall endure, but
of which others shall reap the fruit ; ^or what else does Moses
here say than that such do good works, but that those works
end only in their own punishment and the benefit of others ?
Hence, the argument which many adduce by way of ob-
jection is answered and disposed of. They ask how a work
done without grace, such as, giving of alms, helping a needy
264 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
person, and the like, can be sin ? As if Christ did not know that
to prophesy, to do wonderful things in his name, and to hear his
Word, were good works ! And yet he says that he will con-
demn all such works as iniquities and will say to the performers
of them, "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity". So, when
a harlot is adorned with gold and jewels it of necessity follows,
that it is she that sins, and not the goodly ornaments that she
wears. Therefore the ungodly may do good to profit others,
but not to benefit themselves. For it is rather God that works
by them in these works, who worketh all in all.
All these things are also proved by the firm and conclusive
argument, that according to the opinion of all, hope is a spirit-
ual and powerful principle which in its acting has God for its
object, and God is goodness, and that mercy which is promised
unto us. Wherefore, if a person hope in any thing else than
that promised mercy, that is, in God, he does not hope, but
presumes and misses hope altogether. The same also does he
who hopes in God and his own merits. For, as God cannot be
loved together with another as Augustine says, for then he is
not loved above all things ; so, neither can he be hoped in to-
gether with any other, because then he is not hoped in above
all things. These three things, therefore, are of a divine
nature: — there is a divine object, a divine subject, and a
divine agent ; wherein are contained the work, the manner, and
the act. Here are the bridegroom and the bride and all the
secrets of the marriage-bed, the bridegroom alone with the bride
alone. All other works are carried on by the daughters of
Jerusalem and by the companions, all others halt between two
opinions, worshipping their Baal and God together!
Finally, these things are further proved thus. 'Hope acts
upon things which are not seen', as does faith also, for the
apostle saith, Rom. 8 -.24, "But hope that is seen is not hope :
for what a man seetli why doth he yet hope for?" So if a man
believe in that which he seeth, why doth he yet believe? If
these men hope in, believe, and love what they see, what do
PSALM V. 265
they hope auJ beheve in? In nothing but a carnal bugbear,
in something for beneath God, that is, not in a reahty, but in
a deceptive hobgobHn of appearance. Such hope in, see, hold,
possess, and feel their own works, and in them they trust, but
not in the invisible, intangible, incomprehensible promiser who
is heard, and who reveals himself in his Word only ! These
things are too high, too difficult, too hard for our flesh, because
they are the death of it.
Hence, all that is said in the Song of Solomon concerning
the bridegroom and the spouse in a lascivious manner, as it
were, and according to the carnal love of men, and also all
those things which are there represented as transacted between
the male and female sex have a signification directly the con-
trary to those pleasures ; for they represent the most perfect
works of faith, hope, and love, that is, they show such works to
be as strong as death and hell ; as it is there written. Song 8 :6,
"For love is strong as death ; jealousy is cruel as the grave".
Again, ver. 7, "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can
floods drown it. If a man would give all the substance of his
house for love, he would be utterly contemned" ; which things
can by no means be understood concerning the flame of lust.
Many men have vamped up and fabled many things about
mystical, negative, proper, and symbolical theology, "not know-
ing what they say nor whereof they affirm" ; for they know
not what either negative or affirmative theology is, nor the
relative nature of either. Nor can the commentaries of such
men be read without peril, because such as the men are them-
selves such are their writings ; as they felt, so they spoke. They
felt every thing the contrary to negative theology, that is, they
never knew nor ever felt death and hell, nor loved such ex-
perience ; and therefore, it is impossible but that they should
deceive themselves and their readers,
I wished to say these things by way of admonition, because
the commentaries of Dionysius upon mystical theology are
every where circulated both from Italy and from Germany;
266 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
which are mere "oppositions of science", vaunting and puffing
off itself. Let no one therefore consider himself to be a theo-
logian in mysteries because he has read, understood, and taught
these things, or rather because he imagines that he has under-
stood and taught them. For a man becomes a theologian by
living, or rather by experiencing death, and condemnation, not
by mere understanding, reading, and speculation.
Again they may bring forward, by way of objection to
what I have said, the saying of Paul, Rom. 5 :3-5, "Tribulation
worketh stedfastness (patience) ; and stedfastness, approved-
ness ; and approvedness, hope ; and hope putteth not to shame".
'Here, they say, the apostle seems to place hope among merits.'
Thus they will make the great master of all doctrines, Peter
Lombard, to give this definition of hope in unison with the
opinions of the whole multitude of theologians : — 'That hope
is a certain expectation of a reward springing out of merits.'
For such have no other hope than that which preceeds from
merits. From which opinions, what else can follow than the
ruin of all theology and the ignorance and oblivion of Christ
and his cross, and the forgetting of God for ever.
But what will such say when we bring before them their
own confessions, 'that faith, hope, and love are infused virtues,
and the principles of all good things?' Hence they themselves
declare that merits cannot exist before love. They moreover
constantly assert, 'that hope and faith are infused together with
love'. According to their own assertions therefore it is cer-
tain that hope does not proceed from merits, but merits from
hope. Yet, when they define hope they controvert this assertion
and contradict themselves, making hope to proceed from merits.
What will they say to the apostle, when he makes patience
to be the work of tribulation ? Rom. 5 :3. But who can endure
any tribulation without hope? For the man that is in despair
will never come to any patience, nor to any approvedness, nor
to any glorying in tribulation, by tribulation, but on the con-
trary will only become worse and worse by it ; as Christ teaches
PSALM V. 267
US in his discourse, Matt. 7 •.26 etc., concerning the house built
upon the sand, the fall of which was great when the winds blew
and the floods came; and as we are also taught by his parable
of the seed, which when sown fell upon a rock, Luke 8 :6, and
soon sprung up, but was scorched by the sun ; these parables
represent those who in time of temptation fall away. Hence
there must be hope in the beginning of tribulation in order to
its working patience.
But further; only reason upon this definition, 'Hope pro-
ceeds alone from merit'. Therefore no sinner can ever hope
except the righteous alone! If this argument stand good, who
will be converted to repentance? Who will be righteous, if no
sinner repent? And how will any one repent, without hoping
in the mercy of God? Are we then to say to a dying sinner,
'Thou hope ! far away be it from thee to attempt to hope. Thou
hast no merits from which thou canst possibly derive any hope ?'
This would not be acting the theologian, but acting the devil.
, For the voice of the devil is always, 'Do not thou presume to
hope, for thou hast no merits!' Whereas the point of death
is the greatest, the most important, and the best place and cir-
cumstance in which hope can act, and death itself is most es-
pecially adapted to work together for the exercise of hope.
Such a definition of hope therefore is most false, and I would
rather confess that I did not understand one word of the apostle,
than admit that such a definition of hope could be drawn from
him.
I will therefore give my opinion. First of all, it is certain
that grace, namely, faith, hope, and love, are not infused or
communicated without sin being also infused or felt at the
same time; that is, the sinner is not justified unless he be first
condemned, he is not made alive unless he be first killed, he
ascendeth not into heaven unless he first descend into hell, as
the whole scripture plainly shows. Wherefore the infusion of
grace must of necessity be attended with bitterness, tribulation,
and suffering, under which the old man groans, not being able
268 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
to bear his casting out with any kind of patience. But if under
, this tribulation the man be patient and wait for the hand of
him that is working in him and infusing or communicating
grace unto him, he is thereby proved and he shall find hope,
faith, and love, which under such an experience are infused.
This takes place as often as things turn out contrary to our
will, and the effects are the greater, the more contrary those
things are.
This I say is the way in which grace is infused or com-
municated not only at first, but also at every subsequent com-
munication. For the old man is always more and more ex-
pelled, as grace more and more enters in even unto death ;
according to Rev. 22:11, "He that is righteous let him do right-
eousness still ; and he that is holy let him be made holy still" ;
and according to John i :i6, "Grace for grace" ; and Paul, Rom.
I :iy,'A righteousness of God is revealed from faith unto faith' ;
and 2 Cor. 3 :i8, 'We are transformed from glory to glory'; so
Ps. 84 :y, "They go from strength to strength". And in the
same way we may rightly be said to go from hope to hope.
It is quite manifest therefore that the apostle is not speak-
ing so much of the hope itself which is obtained, as of the
certain assurance of heart under that hope; while the man,
after the tribulation and infusion or communication of hope,
for under the tribulation he appears to himself to have no hope
at all, feels that he hopes, believes, and loves ; for he then tastes
how sweet the Lord is, and begins to hunger and thirst after
more suffering, that the tribulation may work in him a greater
degree of hope. Hence it is necessary that there be faith, hope,
and love, in the beginning of every good work and suffering;
but it is after the work and suffering that the hope which lay
hidden is made manifest ; and it is then that the persons are
approved and manifested. In this way Job and Abraham were
tried, that they might be made manifest and known to them-
selves and might be assured that they believed in, hoped in, and
PSALM V. 269
loved God. "Now know I that thou fearest God", that is, now
have I made thee to know, etc., as Augustine expounds it.
For a man must not only beheve, hope, and love; but he
must know and is certain that he believes, hopes, and loves.
The former takes place in the hidden circumstances of the
storm, the latter after the storm is over.
Thus, Peter exhorts you to "give the more diligence to
make your calling and election sure". 2 Pet. i :io. For it is
one thing for a man to be, or to be made, good and another for
him to know that he is so made. Just in the same way as a
"blood thirsty and deceitful man", when he is irritated, becomes
manifest and is found to be a blood thirsty and deceitful man ;
whereas before, he seemed to others and also to himself to be of
a very sweet disposition and a simple character.
In like manner the cross operates in those who endure it
and are proved by it, even unto the end, until they arrive at
solid hope ; that is, the hope begins, increases, and goes on, and
makes the man's knowledge of the goodness of his state sure
and certain. But in those who do not endure it and are not
proved by it, but found reprobate, it works the most impotent
despair from the very beginning. Hence Tauler, a man of
God, said, as all who experience the same thing say, 'God is
never more pleasing, more lovely, nor more sweet to his chil-
dren than after their probation under tribulation.
This is the hope that the apostle says is wrought by ap-
provedness". Rom. 5 4. And as children of the flesh love their
natural father more sweetly after correction by the rod ; so
the bridegroom Christ visits his bride after his embraces with
a pleasure which is contrary to the flesh, which embraces are
themselves death and hell to the flesh. Herein does that great
mystery, "And thy twain, Christ and the Church, shall be one
flesh", Eph. 5:31, rule and reign; which is indeed a great
mystery. It is very hard to be borne in its operation, but it
produces the sweetest fruits, bringing forth an ofifspring most
like unto God and works that are blameless. For it is thus that
270 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the vine is purged, that it may bring forth more fruit. If
then it be true that every degree of hope is wrought by ex-
perience how much more is the apostle to be understood as hav-
ing spoken and thought in the same way also of perfect hope,
which proceeds from many and different tribulations?
Let us now look farther into the v/ords of the apostle. He
calls hope the work of approvedness, approvedness the work of
stedfastness, and stedfastness the work of tribulation. But that
great master of doctrines says too much if he calls those 'merits'
from which hope proceeds ; at least, the persons who so under-
stand him do not comprehend what he means by those 'merits'.
For, most certainly that active life in which many too rashly
confide and which they generally understand to be signified by
the term merits, does not produce or work merits, but presump-
tion; just as knowledge puffeth up. Therefore v/e must call
in another kind of life to be understood as here signifying
merits, namely, that passiz'c life which mortifies and destroys
all this active life, so that nothing of the merits of the latter
remains in which the proud person may glory.
Where this takes place, if the man persevere, hope is
wrought in him ; he learns that there is nothing in which he
can rejoice, hope, or glory, but God. For tribulation, as it
takes away all things from us, leaves nothing but God ; it cannot
take away God, but rather brings him nearer to us. If, when
all cur own affairs are taken away, even our works and our
merits, if, I say, we here endure and stand, we find God in
whom alone we trust, and thus "we are saved by hope".
Wherefore though those holy work-mongers say they trust
in God with all their confidence, yet, when their active life,
which is all their dependence, begins to be tried, either with
contempt in the sight of men, or with trouble of conscience
before God, they all give way and fall, thereby showing that
they trusted more in their own life, than they hoped in the
mercy of God. There is no active life which can sufiice before
God, or can so suffice before men as to be satisfactorily pleasing
PSALM V. 271
to all unto the end. Hence David saith, Ps. 143 :2, "Enter not
into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight no man living
is justified".
It is the passive life only that is most pure, and therefore
it is only that which works hope and glory. In this we ought
to be conformed to the example of Christ our King and Captain,
who began indeed with the active life, but finished with suffer-
ing, all his works, though so great, so many, and so wonderful,
being accounted as naught, that is, in the sight of men, as our
own works should be in our own sight, that he was not only
numbered by men among the wicked, but was thought to be
deserted by God.
All things therefore are to be so entirely taken from us, that
not even the best gifts of God, that is, the merits above-men-
tioned themselves, shall be left, in which we may trust ; so that
there may be pure hope in an all-pure God, and then the man
is truly pure and holy. This matter is attended with various
tribulations and with many pains; but the greatest pains are,
when we begin to approach towards the perfection of hope,
that is, to the being stripped of all our good works and of trust
in our good life. For in the loss of all other things, such as
property, health, and honor, it is not so much hope that is ex-
ercised, as it is patience that is contending against impatience
and the natural man ; under which the man is so exercised and
instructed, that he learns patiently to despise his present
troubles as being those which he will never have to endure
again.
But in these storms of conscience and in these ruins of
merits, hope itself fights against desperation and oftentimes
against itself, nay, even against God ; vvhom L ; c feels to be
angry with her^ because sle has no merits whatever; and
though she cannot endure being without these nvaits, yet she
is forced to be without them, which so miser.- ' . iucifies the
spirit of the man, that it makes him almos ab! , like Christ,
to tell all his bones. Ps. 22 :i8.
272 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
So that, any one may rightly call hope, spiritual patience,
or patience in enduring accusations ; as, on the contrary,
i patience may be called spiritual hope, or hope in enduring pun-
ishments. For what is it to be tried and tempted in the con-
science and with despair, but to feel that our sins are unpar-
donable, that God will not be merciful to us, and that all our
works are naught? Yet, if the man persevere and hope against
hope, Rom. 4:18, he shall be found proved and approved; and
being by this tribulation stripped of all his merits, he shall be
furnished with hope and be crowned with an incorruptible
crown that shall not fade for ever and ever. For God is not
really angry nor is it his will to refuse pardon to such an one's
sins, he only tries him to see whether he will hope in his mercy
rather than in his own works.
Whereas our self-justifiers who are daily filled and crammed
with the merits of their active life dread nothing so much as
having this cross laid upon their merits, being deceived in the
words of our great master of theology, where he says that hope
proceeds from merits, which they understood to be good works.
But the apostle calls them "tribulations", that is, mortifications
and crucifixions of the flesh.
Behold therefore how far we have strayed from the true
knowledge of hope by misunderstanding one word of the
apostle ; and this error has produced an infinite number of con-
science-murders and perhaps eternal damnations. For while
such have tried to find hope and peace by works, tribulation
either of conscience or of body, which are the true workers of
hope, opposed them in their attempt ; and they, not knowing
what that tribulation was and rejecting it, did not find the hope
and peace they wanted and therefore despaired. And no won-
der, for they sought hope in that way which leads to presump-
tion ; and being hindered, or, as Hosea 2 :6 saith, finding 'their
way hedged with thorns,' and not understanding this hinder-
ance they fell away.
Hence we have today that multitude of poor, weak, fearful,
PSALM V. 273
and scrupulous consciences, which are unstable in all their ways.
Thou art not, poor soul, thus tried with despair or v/ringings
of conscience, that thou shouldst be driven to run to trusting in
thy works, but on the contrary, that thou may est be called away
from those works. This is a truly spiritual conflict, though it
be most bitter, and it is between thee alone and God ; where
hope alone can support thee by waiting and expecting, commit-
ting its whole cause unto God and overcoming God against
God ; as Jacob did, Gen. 32 124, etc., .Avhere it is recorded of
him that he being alone wrestled with God and prevailed
against him and therefore received the blessing from him in
the same place ; but the name of the one who blessed him it was
not lawful to know : so he called the name of the place Penuel,
saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is pre-
served."
If any one be permitted to go on prosperously in the way
of presumption and to increase his works without this tempta-
tion, what will he come to? Perhaps he will not run into des-
pair but despair will come into him, because he knoweth not
God nor has learned hov/ wonderful he is in these his counsels
and workings.
Now we can see the contents and weight of that famous,
much admired saying of Cicero, 'The consciousness of a well-
spent life is a most sweet reflection.' True! But the sweeter
such a reflection is, the more destructive is it. This sentiment
does not at all savor of the Christian ; for, to a Christian the
consciousness of a life that has well suffered, that is, has been
reduced to nothing, is most sweet ; for, "He that glorieth let
him glory in Jehovah," Jer. 9 124. Job did not speak like
Cicero; for though he said, 27:6, "My heart shall not reproach
me so long as I live," yet he did not dare to glory but prayed
that God would not enter into judgment with him. Nor did
Paul speak like him when he said, i Cor. 4:4, "For I know
nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby justified." Nor
Jer. 9 :23, 24, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom.
274 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not tne rich
man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in
this, that he hath understanding and knoweth me, that I am
Jehovah who exerciseth loving kindness, justice, and righteous-
ness in the earth : for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah."
Consequently we are not to believe in, hope in, cleave to,
or glory in, any gifts of God, lest we should commit fornication
with them, as is often said in the prophets, but in God himself
the giver and in him alone. This is what is meant, Ps. ii6:ii,
"I said in my haste, all men are liars." Now this "haste" was
tribulation, by which we are instructed to know how vain and
lying every man is who hopes not in God alone. For man is
man until he is made like unto God who alone is true, by par-
taking of whose truth, man becomes true also, which he does
by cleaving unto God in true faith and hope, being reduced
to nothing in himself.
For to what can the man come, who hopes in God, but to
nothing in himself? Where can the man go who is brought
to nothing, but unto him from whom he came ? He came from
God and from nothing ; and therefore, he who returns to noth-
ing returns unto God. He that fails from himself and all
creatures cannot fall from the hand of God also, for the hand of
God upholds all things; he holdeth, as Isaiah saith, 40:12, the
world in his hand. If therefore thou fall through the whole
world, where canst thou fall but into the hand and bosom of
God ? Thus the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
because their safety is out of the world. They seem in the eyes
of the foolish to fall utterly and perish. Wis, 3 :i-2, in the same
manner as they see a ston^ go through the air or the water ;
but the stone, remember, does not fall through the earth also !
But, as to those active workers and self-justifiers, who, being
deluded by their own opinions, seek only by all their works and
righteousnesses to increase and become fat and great, and who
by no means wish to come to nothing, but to become something
great — to what think ye such will come ? Why, they too will
PSALM V. 275
be made to fall back into their nothing; not, however, to be
brought into the hand of God but to fall utterly and perish
everlastingly.
But I know how many things are brought forward out of
the holy scriptures and out of the sayings of the fathers and the
lives of the saints in opposition to these teachings. But I also
well know how perilously all those things are understood, if
they be not brought down to the rule and standard now before
us, for they all make to this same point. I will, however, for
example's sake, produce one of these.
We read upon the authority of Jerome that Hilary said to
his soul, while he was fearing to die, 'Leave this body, O my
soul ; what fearest thou ? Thou hast now served Christ for
these ninety-three years; and dost thou fear to die?' If there-
fore he be understood to have spoken as the words imply, that
is, if he thus trusted in the works of his life, we must conclude
that he went to hell and not to heaven.
But why do they not look into those different words of St.
Agathon? who, when he had been looking up to heaven with
steady and unaltered eyes for three days, and was asked by his
disciples why he feared and why he did not trust in his well-
spent life answered, 'I do fear in reality. I know indeed that
I have kept the commandments of God, as well as I could ; but
the judgment of God and the judgment of men are very differ-
ent from each other.' But the fear of Hilary proves the same
thing. For if he had found his works sufficient he would not
have been filled with fear. He was forced therefore to seek
some other anchor for his confidence and trust and to set before
himself the mercy of God, from the remembrance of his past
benefits and mercies toward him. For it is no slow motive to,
and excitement of, hope, to call to mind the past or present
benefits of God which have been bestowed or are now bestowed
upon us ; nay it is a ray of the countenance of God shining upon
us and a good sign in our favor, and very encouraging to faith
and hope. Thus the children of Israel were commanded to re-
276 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
member the works of the Lord and his bringing them out 01
Egypt, Deut. 8:14; that their mouths being thus stopped and
filled with the praise of God ; they might not perish, as Isaiah
saith, 48 :g.
But you will ask, perhaps, are there then no merits at all?
Why are we enjoined by so many precepts both of Christ and
his apostles to do good works, to sow our seed, to build gold,
silver, jewels, etc.? I answer: this is what I said before, that
most men are deceived by misunderstanding good works. Good
works are certainly to be done and the tree of the spirit ought
to bring forth those fruits which are described. Gal. 5 :22, 23.
But men do not understand those words of Christ, John 12 124,
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of wheat fall into
the earth and die, it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it
beareth much fruit." And those words in John 15:2, "Every
branch in me that beareth fruit, he cleanseth it that it may bear
more fruit."
For this mortification and purgation, which take place by all
the infusion of faith, hope, and love, strip a man of all his own
works, that he may learn to trust in God alone and to do good
works ; not that they may be merits to him, for which he may
seek and expect his reward, but he does them gratuitously with
a free mind and with a mind ready and willing to please God,
not trusting at all in them himself, but doing them to promote
the glory of God ; as Christ saith. Matt. 5 :i6, "Even so let your
light shine before men ; that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father who is in heaven."
They who do good works in this way do them not for them-
selves but for God, as instrumxcnts to his glory. They arrogate
nothing to themselves in doing them, being satisfied with God
only in whom they hope. Those who do not their works in this
spirit and for these ends are only apes of the true saints.
Hence of necessity unbelief follows from tlie life of all
saints, unless they have learned to glorify their heavenly Father
by their works. Rightly is it said, therefore, Ps. 25 :io, "All
PSALM V. 2'J'7
the paths of Jehovah are lovingkindness and truth" ; that is,
truly good works are done when God only and totally does them
in and by us, so that no part of the work whatever pertains unto
us.
Wherefore, let this be thy standard rule ; wherever the holy
scriptures command good works to be done, understand that it
forbids thee to do any good work of thyself, because thou canst
not ; but to keep an holy Sabbath unto God, that is, a rest from
all thy works, and that thou become dead and buried and permit
God to work in thee. Unto this thou wilt never attain, but by
faith, hope, and love ; that is, by a total mortification of thyself,
Col. 3 :5, and all thy own works.
Consequently there are merits and yet no merits in us.
There are merits, because the gifts of God and his own works
are merits. Yet there are no merits, because we cannot any
more presume upon them, than any sinner can who knows noth-
ing at all about them and in whom God has not yet wrought
any thing. Thus we all are, all have been, and all shall ever
remain, upon an equal footing before God, so that the glorying
of one over another must for ever perish ; according to i Cor.
4:7, "For who maketh thee to differ? and what hast thou that
thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, v;'hy dost
thou glory as if thou hadst not received it ?" Mark the words !
He who is puffed up with, and boasts of, the gifts of God does
the same as if to say he had received nothing ! Where then is
a difference to be found ? Nowhere. As the apostle here saith,
"Who maketh thee to differ?'' Who has declared that thou art
better than others ? As if he had answered, no one.
From all these things, then, consider the equal judgment
and justice of God, and how he would have held up to contempt
all that external bug-bear and outward show of life and works.
Because in his eyes the just and the unjust are alike as to the
merits of their works. For he has ordained this law for all that
live in this mortal life : — that they should be made to know,
that, as the righteous have no cause or ground for presuming,
278 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
SO sinners indeed have no cause or ground for despairing
He has given to each the same law for their hoping in him,
which law alone makes the distinction between the righteous
and the wicked, between those that despair in themselves and
those that presume. Hence in Ps. 119:75, David sings rightly,
"I know, Jehovah, that thy judgments are righteous, and that
in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me." Behold, before the face
of the truth of God David is nothing, and in the judgment of
a just and righteous God he is as the greatest novice, the great-
est sinner of all sinners.
The end of the law of faith, hope, and love, is to make us
all the greatest and least instructed of all sinners, that is, to
make us all equal ; and yet, to work thereby the most unequal
and the most strange things. Truly God is wonderful in his
saints !
We are all therefore by the commandment of God urged
to hope in him, and are by the same commandment deterred
from despair and presumption ; and thus, truly God is in all
things and in all, equal and the same ; and yet, he is most un-
equal and most different. For he is a God who is simple in
multiplicity and multiplex in simplicity, equal in inequality and
unequal in equality, low in loftiness, deep in height, and far in
nearness, and their contraries. So he is powerful in the weak,
weak in the powerful, wise in fools, and foolish in the wise, in
a word, he is all in all. But I wish to say these things apart
from the pious ears of those who are offended at the truth,
which by all their unhappy reasonings and questionings they
could never learn.
But perhaps the weak and infirm conscience may yet say,
'But suppose I cannot believe, and thus find my despair to be
misurmountable ?' I will answer : Thou art not even then to
despair when thou thus feelest thyself to despair. For that is
not despair when thou desirest not to despair and grievest that
thou dost despair, it is only the trial and temptation of hope;
though that is certainly by far the most heavy of all tempta-
PSALM V, 279
tions, because it involves in its sensations the greatest, the eter-
nal hatred of God, blasphemies, curses, and all the evils of hell,
which we dare not openly mention, in a word, it involves in an
awful degree the ever-blessed and glorious Majesty.
What therefore shalt thou do in this case? Why, first
acknowledge that thou deservest all this and that it is due unto
thy sins. Here thou art to be wise, thou art to praise and give
thanks unto God, and thou art to endure this infirmity and
temptation, according to Eccl. 10:4, "If the spirit of the ruler
rise up against thee, leave not thy place ; for gentleness allayeth
great offences." Hence what thou hast to take care of is, that
thou do all in thy power not to yield to this hatred, blasphemy,
and desperation ; but that thou cry unto God, if it be but in one
single sigh or groan; and that thou assure thyself that, ac-
cording to Is, 42 :3, "A bruised reed will he not break, and a
dimly burning wick will he not quench."
I will say first in my free way, there are none nearer to God
in this life than these kind of haters and blasphemers of him,
nor any sons more pleasing to him and beloved by him ! Thou
mayest in this state make more satisfaction for sin in one mom-
ent than ever thou couldst by repenting for many years under
a diet of bread and water. Hence it is true that, in death, where
this temptation prevails most, a Christian may in one moment
get rid of all his sins, if he act wisely under the temptation. It
is in this state those "groanings that cannot be uttered" are
exercised and prevail. Rom. 8 126.
Secondly, remember throughout thy whole life, that thou
pray for hope ; but so that thou refuse not the will of God in this
tliy infirmity but that thou endure it even unto death, saying
with thy Lord and Master, Matt. 26:38, "My soul is ex-
ceeding sorrowful even unto death". Pray so as not to doubt
that hope will be given thee of God. For he, who willed
that thou shouldst pray, yea rather, who taught thee to pray
thus without any of thine own seeking after it, willed thee
to pray thus, because he had purposed to hear thee. There-
280 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
fore, bear all delays with patience but doubt not that thou
slialt receive; that which will come, "shall surely come, it will
not tarry", Hab. 2 :3, and do thou in the mean time hope against
hope.
- ■' But to this end you will have the rod and staff of God
to sustain and comfort you, namely the first and greatest of
all the commandments of God ; "Thou shalt have no other
Gods before me". In this commandment w^e are not only re-
minded, warned and persuaded to hope in him, to love him, but
it is commanded us under the greatest punishment and obliga-
tion, for it teaches that we have a God. By this command-
ment you are not freed from any sin, yea it outweighs all
sin, whenever the opportunity is at hand to keep and fulfill
;this commandment. For if thou hadst sinned against all other
commandments, and that in various ways, thou didst not sin
as much as when thou this moment dost doubt this first
commandment. For this would be the same as to deny God,
which is horrible only to think of. For v/ho can say in the
face of his God, thou art not God? Yea, who can hear this?
Yet, he who doubts, says this with the full and everlasting
fervor of his heart. The tempted one does not think he says
it, yea. indeed, he does say something like this, or what is
nearer the truth, he suffers satan to say it in him.
But how 3'ou will say if he torments me concerning pre-
destination and makes me uneasy, so that I hope in vain, if I
am not predestined? Concerning this I will say more under
Ps. 22, if Christ give us grace. In the meantime it is sufficient
that this is the most dangerous of all temptations. If thou
knowest why satan and the wisdom of the flesh thus move you,
you will at the same time know with what means you can meet
them.
First you must hold firmly and be perfectly sure that this
thought is not of God, and therefore with all diligence banish
it as one that in many wa3^s is displeasing to God. That it
is not of God thou canst know by this, that whatever is of
PSALM V. 281
God moves us to keep his commandments and do his will,
for God does, thinks and wills nothing more than that his
will may be done. But this overcurious solicitude, whether
you are predestinated or not, he has not commanded you,
since he has forbidden you the same, Ps. 55 :22, "Cast thy bur-
den upon Jehovah", and Matt. 6:31-33, "Be not anxious.
Seek ye first the kingdom of God etc."
Satan occupies your attention with these useless and in-
jurious cares for no other reason than that you should under
their weight forget the commandments of your God, in which
he has commanded you to hope and believe, and he at the
same time deceitfully leads you to think only of yourself and
love yourself, when you begin to seek your own. For this
is his last and greatest trick, by which he leads us so that
our care is self love, and he makes us thus guilty before the
commandment of God. What will it profit, if you are occu-
pied with this thought to the end of the world ? Nothing will
result from it ; thou wilt not be secure by it, neither will God
think differently of you.
Therefore you should hurl the thunderbolts of the scrip-
tures against the work of such fools and against satan, who
suggests such things. First the words of Ps. i :2, "Blessed
is the man whose delight is in the law of Jehovah, not in his
own predestination, day and night." And this saying from
Sirach 6 137, "Let thy thoughts be upon the precepts of the
Lord, and meditate continually in his commandments". Ex.
13:19, "It shall be for a sign unto thee upon thy hand, and
for a memorial between thine eyes". And Matt. 7:21, "Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father
who is in heaven", and many like passages.
For God requires nothing more than that his will be
commended unto us with assiduous solicitude. When we do
that our predestination will be spontaneously accomplished
and that without any anxiety on our part. The tempter how-
2^2 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS,
ever wills that you should first be concerned about yourself,
and then about the commandments of God, whereby you in
this way prefer yourself to your God, and do not love him
above all things, yea you do not have a God. For if they
hardly persevere who hold most faithfully to the command-
ments of God, where will they be who forsake them and en-
gage in strange and useless thoughts? Then you should say
to satan and to your heart : God has not commanded that,
but has called me to hope; and about this alone am I con-
cerned; should I wish to do that, I Vv'ould not be able.
Secondly you can readily see that this thought is not of
God in that satan with these strokes intends two great evils
for you ; first that you should tempt God, which he had in
mind with Christ on the pinnacle of the temple. For he is
concerned to occupy you with this theme, in order that you
should wish to be certain of your predestination or to see a
sign from heaven. For what is it for man to be tormented
about his predestination, except to be impatient concerning
the uncertainty of the divine decree? What does this im-
patience do except tempt God in that it desires to be certain of
the counsel of God as far as it concerns each individual? In
short such a person has a hatred toward God, that he is God,
since he will not that he should know more than he knows.
Therefore you should meet this awful sin with the word
of God as Christ did, when he said, Matt. 4:7, 'Tt is written,
thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God". For thou
must not desire to know his secrets concerning which he has
willed that you should not know them, and be happy in this
his will, which he has commanded you to observe in all things.
But if you love this will of his unrevealed decree, then thou
art already predestinated. Hence there follows naturally from
the keeping of the commandments, without all this worry of
ours, that which we so anxiously and in vain seek by a per-
verted study in the face of the commandments, and yet never
find it, because the commandment of God is the way to God.
PSALM V. 283
If we have lost it, in that we through the temptation of satan
wish to accompHsh this by our own care for our salvation and
predestination, we are necessarily lead into error and loose
both the way of God and our own way and thereby both our
predestination and our salvation.
The other very great evil is, that satan labors to bring you
into the same deep fall, which he himself experienced and into
which he plunged Adam. For what is his aim with this anxie-
ty about your predestination, except .that you should wish, as
I have said, to know the decrees of God? But if man wills to
know God's counsels, that means that he wills to be like God,
as satan willed it, as he said. Is. 14:13-14, "I will ascend into
heaven ; I will make myself like the Most High", and to Adam
he said. Gen. 3 15, "Ye shall be as God, knowing good and
evil". This means again that you will not that he should be
your God, which is the greatest of all sins. Thus you see how
subtly through his horrible deeds he stirs you against the com-
mandments of your God in order that you may experience the
same fall which he experienced.
Therefore he must be crushed by the word of God, which
says, "It is not good to eat much honey ; so for men to search
out their own glory is grievous". Prov. 25 127. Again, "Seek
not the things that are too hard for thee, neither searth the
things that are above thy strength. But what is commanded
thee, think thereupon with reverence ; for it is not needful for
thee to see with thine eyes the things that are in secret. Be
not curious in unnecessary matters ; for more things are showed
unto thee than men understand. For many are deceived by
their own vain opinion ; and an evil suspicion hath over-
thrown their judgment". Sirach 3:21-24.
Therefore this over-curious concern about the works of
God is forbidden by the word of God, in which we are taught
that they are above our reason and sense and his judgments
are incomprehensible, and we should rather exercise our-
selves in fear in order that we may hope in him with con-
284 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
fidence, and turn this impractical undertaking back upon sa-
tans own head, and, comforted with Joab, being armed with
the word of God, say, "Be of good courage ; and Jehovah do
that which seemeth him good", 2 Sam. 10:12. Oh beautiful
example! If he had disputed before whether the victory were
predestinated, he would not have fought, moreover by dis-
puting he would have become indifferent, and interested in
other affairs, and thus been shamefully defeated.
Here we see our most impious impiety, our most stupid
stupidity and our perverse perversity. We marry wives,
build houses, plant vineyards, buy goods, and no one first dis-
putes whether it is predestined or not, whether the wife is
chaste or an adultress, whether the house will be destroyed
by fire or stand, whether the goods will perish or endure. In
short all our works, especially our sins, we courageously begin
and do without being concerned about what God has predes-
tined as to them. Here the most high counsel is very clear in
the face of our rashness. There is no one who is not first
thoughtful, solicitous and zealous as to how he shall accom-
plish what he undertakes, before he investigates and disputes
about predestination.
Why is this ? Because as they are not the precepts of God,
they are truly our own and chosen by us. But when it comes
to the works of God and his commandments, then the question
at once arises, the counsel of God is attacked, yea, then we
begin to dispute whether we will obey the commandments of
God before we know his secrets. Does it not provoke the
divine majesty with the most bitter perverseness that w^e are
so patient and oblivious in our own affairs as to his counsel,
and so impatient and inquisitive as to his aft'airs ? Is it not
time that just as no leaf of a tree falls to the ground without
his will, so no soul can be saved without his counsel ? No
hair grows upon your head without his counsel ; without his
counsel neither do you eat bread nor drink water. Here you
do not dispute nor hesitate, here you are not concerned about
PSALM V. 285
his counsel, you are at once settled down to work. But then
you are truly full of questions and hesitation.
Now therefore understand at least that these offensive and
.crafty thoughts have not come to you from God but from
satan, in order to draw you by these unnecessary things from
the commandment and most agreeable will of your loving God.
Right and most suitable are the words of the preacher, Solo-
mon, Ecc. .11:4 etc., "He that observeth the wind shall not
sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As thou
knowest not what is the way of the wind, nor how the bones
do grow in the womb of her that is Vv'ith child ; even so thou
knowest not the work of God who doeth all".
How is it? Shall we do nothing since he does all, and
we do not understand it? That be far from us, for it follows,
Ecc. II :6, "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thy hand ; for thou knowest not which shall pros-
per, whether this or that, (that is that sown in the morning or
in the evening), or whether they both shall be alike good".
You see how God teaches us that we do not know all and
yet, therefore we should not cease, moreover he commands us,
that we should labor the more, because we do not know what
shall come to pass, while those perverted people will do nothing
because they do not know what shall take place.
For the devil seeks this in order that they may not do any-
thing in life nor die in peace and hope, and at both times be
rebellious against God and disobedient as to God's will, yet in
such a way that they may not have the blame but God himself,
since he did not first by revelation make void his decree and
annihilate the glorious majesty of his Godhead by making his
counsel of none effect, as if he had burdened these people with
his commandments. For these very sanctified people would
have gladly done all that was commanded, if they only knew
first, what God had thought concerning them, that is if they
had had no God and no lawgiver; for he can not be God if
286 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
he is not different, and does not think and know different than
we do.
But see again, when God reveals to ns his counsel, we
first fear then contemn and despair, as there are now people
who think it is injurious to preach grace and predestination
\ since many take offense. Thus man who is only dust dishonors
everything that God wills and does and is warm only on one
subject, namely, that he is without the fear of God, that is,
without God. For God cannot be feared if he have not secret
thoughts concerning us ; then neither faith, hope nor love could
exist. Woe to thee, most raging impiety.
We will return to the subject of hope in order to bring
our long discourse to an end.
Now there are two things to be observed in hope, our own
merits and the promise of God. In the mJdst of these thou
art to understand hope. Thou art to know that hope depends
on the promise of God and that merits proceed from hope;
so that merits are not the rich foundation of hope, but hope
is the work of the Word or promise of God.
Wherefore, merits are not necessary unto a man's hoping.
Thou art rather to look with the purest simplicity at the Word
of the free promise, by hoping in which thou mayest afterwards
bring forth merits. Thus the apostle Paul, in his Epistle to
the Galatians, does nothing but prove that our righteous-
ness does not proceed from the law, nor works, but from
the promise and blessing of God. For the mercy of a freely-
promising God and his truth which fulfils that promise are the
true causes of hope; by these the mind is encouraged and
drawn out to hope, to call upon God, and to live well ; for
if these things did not exist or were not revealed unto us there
wo-ild be neither faith nor hope.
Wherefore, the object of faith and of hope is a freely prom-
ising God, or the Word itself of God promising, and nothing
else. If this Word be not observed always and every where
hope must of necessity fall, just as the house which is built
PSALM V. 287
upon the sand must fall when the floods and winds beat upon
it. For upon this rock of the sure promise and infallible Word
of God is the church of Christ built; as it is written, Prov.
i8:io, "The name of Jehovah is a strong tower: the right-
eous runneth into it, and is safe" ; also Ps. 61 13, "For thou
hast been a refuge for me, a strong tower from the enemy".
There is nothing here about merits ; all that is said is about
God himself and his name in which alone man is to place his
hope.
« It follows therefore that hope does not proceed from merits,
but, on the contrary, merits proceed from hope. Or hope goes
on from hope to hope ; and so it is before all merits and goes
on with merits after merits. Even as in this life we do not lay
hold of righteousness, but are always stretching forth after it
and seeking it, always seeking to be justified, always seeking
to have our sins forgiven, always seeking that the will of our
Father which is in heaven may be done, and always desiring
that his name may be sanctified. Yet in this very state we
are accounted righteous before God ; as he saith. Matt. 5 :6,
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they shall be filled." So that hope may rightly be under-
stood as increasing from itself while tribulations work it if they
be but so endured that we may be found proved by them.
From this it seems to follow that other virtues may be ptr-
fected by doing; but faith, hope, and love, only by suffering;
by sufifering, I say, that is, by being passive under the divine
operation. Because the works of the other virtues are the fruits
of faith, hope, and love ; for who can expect to see incarnate
faith, incarnate hope, and incarnate love? In a word, all the
other virtues are exercised only in the grosser works.
Here the spouse of Christ again defiles her feet which she
gloried in having washed, again puts on the garment of which
she gloried in having been stripped, because those things which
are done by the flesh cannot be done without sin and pollution.
But the works of faith, hope, and love, appear to be the same.
288 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
For what is faith, but that motion of the heart which is called
beHeving? What is hope, but that motion of the heart which
is called hoping? And what is love, but that motion of the
heart which is called loving? For all those phantasms are
merely human, the habit is one thing and the act another.
Especially in these divine matters in which there is nothing
but a passive suffering or being acted upon, a being moved, a
being carried along by the Spirit, whereby the soul is moved,
formed, cleansed, and impregnated by the Word of God. So
that the business of these virtues is nothing else than a purging
of the vine-branch, as Christ saith, that, being purged, it may
bring forth more fruit. John 15:2.
Finally, other virtues are employed in courser things and
things outwardly carnal ; but these inwardly, with the pure
W^ord of God, whereby the soul is taken hold of and does not
take hold of any thing itself; that is, it is stripped of its own
garments, of its shoes, of all its possessions, and of all its
imaginations, and is taken away into the wilderness by the
Word, to which it cleaves, or rather which lays hold of it, and
leads it in a wonderful way, as Hosea saith, 2 114, to the invis-
ible, into the banqueting house. Song 2 4, and into the marriage
chamber. Song i 4.
But this leading, this taking her away, and this stripping
her, miserably tortures her. For it is a hard path to travel
and a strait and narrow way, to leave all visible things, to
be stripped of all natural senses and ideas, and to be led out
of all those things to which we have been accustomed ; this,
indeed, is to die and to descend into hell. For the soul seems
unto herself to perish utterly, when all those things in which
she stood and was employed and to which she cleaved are
destroyed, and when she herself can neither touch earth nor
heaven nor feel herself nor God, and saith, 'Tell my beloved
that I am sick from love,' Song 5 :8. As if she had said, I am
brought to nothing and I know nothing, I am come into black-
ness and darkness, I can see nothing, I live and am made strong
PSALM V. 289
by faith, hope, and love only, that is, I am wholly passive, for
when I am weak then am I strong.
This leading or being led is what the mystical theologians
call 'going into darkness' and 'ascending above entity and non-
entity.' But I much question whether such understand them-
selves, for they make all these things to be elicited acts and
do not believe them to be sufferings and feeling sensations of the
cross, death, and hell. But the theology of the cross alone is
our theology!
From these things I think we may clearly understand the
Vv^ord of the apostle, where he makes hope to be the ark of
patience, proved by tribulations polished, refined, and beaten
out as it were, like a vessel from the hand of the artificer, so
that he shines forth far beyond all visible and comprehensible
things, being taught to trust, not in merits, but in God alone.
So a golden vessel wrought out with file and hammer is not
formed for showing the color of it only nor yet for displaying
the workmanship, but is made a vessel that it may be of some
service. Nor is it polished that it might be made gold, but
it is formed into a vessel that its owner might use it. So man
is formed by hope for the use of God. But the works them-
selves do not produce this hope, for this would be to make that
first which is last.
Wherefore, that figurative language of the scripaure which
describes this purging and operation of hope to be a work-
manship or a vessel sent forth from the hand of the Word
pleases us well ; as, Prov. 25 :4, 5, "Take away the dross from
the silver, and there cometh forth a vessel for the refiner.
Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne
shall be established in righteousness". Thus the golden calf,
Ex. 32, is said by the same figure to have been sent forth from
the hand of the workmen, that is, formed and fashioned by
them. Hence we have the scripture, Ps. 121 :8, "Jehovah will
keep thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth
and for evermore"; that is, the beginning and the end of all
290 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
thy temptations ; as Augustine saA'S, in his observations upon
that passage.
It is an error, therefore, to hold that free-wih has any
hand in a good work, for when we say a good work, as we
have said of beheving, hoping, and loving, is a moving, a
carrying along, and a leading, wrought by the Word of God,
and a continual purging and renewing of the mind and un-
derstanding day by day in the knowledge of God ; and though
that passive reception of the teaching of God is not always
the same in degree and extent, yet it is a being continually
taught while lying passive in the hand of God. "Behold, says
the Lord by Jeremiah, 18:6, "as the clay in the potter's hand,
so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel". What power of
action has clay, I ask you, while it lies in the potter's hand
and he is forming it into shape? Is it not seen to be wholly
passive? And yet by this its passive and shapeless state it is
rendered fit to be moulded into the form that shall please the
potter.
In the same manner we. by growing hope while tribulation
worketh for that end, are conformed to the divine likeness and
are renewed after the image of him that created us, as Paul
saith. Col. 3 :io. But the incarnate will or that which is con-
nected with the external act may rightly be said to co-operate
and to have in that sense activity. Just in the same way as the
sword can do nodiing whatever by any power in itself to move
but is merely passive, but in giving the wound it co-operates
with the person who cuts by its means. Wherefore, as the
sword does not at all co-operate as to putting of itself in mo-
tion, so neither does the will co-operate in the putting of itself
in motion to do good, for that is a moving v.a-ought by the
W^ord of God where the will is merely passive; which never-
theless when put in motion co-operates to perform the work
of the hands in praying, in walking, in laboring, etc.
But I have now digressed, perhaps, somewhat too far, I
will therefore return to the Psalm.
PSALM V, 291
But let all those that take refuge (hope) in thee rejoice,
let them ever shout for joy {they shall shout for joy for ever).
Let us first look at the force of the words, and then at the
occasion on which, or the reason why, the prophet spoke thus.
Only "those that hope" are to rejoice ; and who these that hope
are, we have already fully shown. And they shall hope "in
thee" ; not in any thing of their own, nor in any creature, for
there are some that trust in man.
We also remark that the word olam is of very frequent
use in the scriptures and has been rendered 'for ever', 'always',
'for ever and ever', and in many other ways bearing the like
signification. In the Hebrew, by a manner of speech peculiar
to that language, it signifies time of an uncertain and indefinite
duration ; at least, it does not always signify 'eternity'. Hence
in the Law of Moses it is often said, 'A certain rite, etc., shall
be observed by your generations for ever' ; whereas, it is cer-
tain that all those cities, etc. were at some time to have an
end. Therefore the word appears to me not to be translated
improperly by the Latin words semper, perennitcr, and per-
pctno.
But what was it that moved the prophet to set forth these
feelings so copiously and fully? Doubtless the conversation
of the wicked whom he saw spending their days in wealth",
as Job saith 21 :i3, and so to live as if it were their peculiar
privilege to rejoice, exult, and glory; which was an offence
so deceitful and had such an effect upon the saints, that many
prophets complained of this as their greatest temptation and
were moved with murmuring and revenge. For as the state
of such persons is an offence unto the saints from the appear-
ance of works and temporal merits; so it is also from the ap-
pearance of temporal rewards which it carries with it. Hence
Asaph saith, Ps. 73:1-6, "Surely God is good to Israel, even
to such as are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet were
almost gone: my steps had well nigh slipped. For I was
envious at the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the
292 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their
strength is firm. Tliey are not in trouble as other men ; neither
are they plagued Hke other men. Therefore pride is as a chain
about their neck".
And Jer. 12:1, "Wherefore doth the way of the wicked
prosper ? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacher-
ously?" Again more fully, Job 21 :'], etc. "Wherefore do the
wicked live, become old, yea, wax mighty in power?"
The prophet therefore in order to fortify the godly against
being deceived by these external appearances and ofifences
calls them aside and exhorts them to despise the rejoicings of
such as these and to turn themselves to true rejoicing, which is
rejoicing in God. Wherefore we are through this whole verse
to observe a twofold antithesis, as it were, in this way. V\^e
appear to such men as these to be miserable, because we are
in tribulation and are deprived of all those temporal things in
which they abound and rejoice. And thus there is an offence
given to both these characters by that which they behold ex-
ternally, and this outward appearance deceives very many.
But inwardly, where we live by hope, they die. There we re-
joice and shall rejoice for ever, but there they neither can, nor
ever will rejoice, if they die as they now live. And our joy
is so real and solid that we are the only persons of whom it
can be truly said, 'they shall rejoice' ; whereas, their joy is
more a sorrow than a joy if you look within them.
Therefore he condemns the joy of the wicked altogether
and commends the joy of the godly. As the joy of the latter is
without any outward show and that of the former with a
great deal of such outward show, there is need of faith to un-
derstand the words of the Spirit which are spoken in the
Spirit ; otherwise, thou wilt not understand them and wilt be
offended with the appearances of these characters. For the
carnal man cannot savor the things of God ; that is, he cannot
understand how a man can rejoice under the privation of all
enjoym.ents, even spiritual, because he knows not that there
PSALM V. 293
can be any joy but in present things sensibly enjoyed ; whereas,
our glorying and rejoicing are in the cross of our Lord.
But as the Hebrews have no optative mood and therefore
use the future of the indicative in its stead and as we have
seen from the preceding observations that these words and
feelings of this Psalm are full of burning zeal, it is just to
understand this verse as spoken under a feeling of holy in-
dignation and having such a meaning as this — Why do these
ungodly ones rage thus? Why do they delude the souls of
men by a fallacious and destructive external appearance ? Con-
demn, O Lord, I pray thee, their joy and expel them ; make
their hypocrisy manifest and let them fall from their deceitful
appearances, that those only may rejoice who hope in thee;
that it may be made manifest and that all may know that there
is no joy anywhere but in the multitude of thy mercies. I
burn and am grieved, O Lord, that I cannot persuade them to
these things, for they will not hear them. Do thou therefore
judge them and make manifest their vanity and our truth.
Here then we have it told us, where and what true joy is,
namely, a good confidence and a conscience resting in the mercy
of God. For they that have had experience in these things say,
'that there is no joy above that of a pure conscience, nor any
sorrow greater than that of a guilty and troubled conscience;
as the wise man saith, "He that is of a merry heart hath a
continual feast", Prov. 15:15. Again, Ps. 26:3, "For thy
loving-kindness is before mine eyes ; and I have walked in
thy truth".
A pure and joyful conscience comes in no other way than
by looking steadfastly to the mercy of God ; as it is said, Ps.
4:6, 7, "Jehovah, lift thou up the light of thy countenance
upon us : thou hast put gladness in my heart". But what is
the joy of the characters before mentioned? A plenty of corn,
wine, and oil! that is, the joy of swine, consisting in the surfeit
of the body.
294 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Let them ever shout for joy.
This verb Jerome translated not improperly 'shall praise' ;
for some will have it that vocal joy is here meant, either that of
singing or that of speaking; just as, when we are joyful we
are accustomed to talk pleasantly or even to sing, and to talk
much of, praise, and boast of, him in whom we rejoice; as in
Ps. 35 :28, "And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness,
and of thy praise all the day long", that is, shall proclaim it
with joy.
Whether therefore the words "for ever" refer to "rejoice",
or to "shall shout for joy", the prophet still goes on in the
same zeal and holy jealousy; as if he had said, let them talk
largely of their good things, let them boast of themselves and
theirs, let them sing of themselves ; they not only do not truly
exult and rejoice, but will not even rejoice as they now do for
ever. "The joy of the godless," as Job saith 20 15, "is but for
a moment." And as he says again, 21 :i3, "They spend their
days in prosperity, and in a moment they go down to the
grave".
So uncertain and unstable is their boasting; and even that
does not last long but is disturbed by many calamities and
sorrows. Even if all should go on well and prosperously yet
their joy ends in sorrow at last and their folly shall be made
manifest to all, as was that of Jannes and Jambres, 2 Tim. 3 :8,
etc. Why therefore do they thus miserably deceive and destroy
themselves? But all they that hope in thee shall rejoice and
shall shout for joy for ever, and no stranger intermeddleth
with their joy, as the wise man saith, Prov. 14:10.
Here we see the fruits from which we may know whether
we are under grace or not ; for as Paul saith. Gal. 5 :22, "The
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, etc."; and we cannot say that
we do not know whether or not we have this fruit, for if our
joy be continual and stable and our praises of God persevering,
even under sufferings and afflictions it cannot be a deceiving
sign ; for, "by their fruits ye shall know them". The cross
PSALM V. 295
proves all things ; wherefore, if thou canst say with Ps. 18 :3,
"I will call upon Jehovah ; so shall I be saved", thou shalt
indeed be saved ; for this cross and calling upon God under
affliction the joy of the wicked cannot endure, and therefore
they neither call upon God continually nor is their joy stable.
The other fruit that follows is to talk of, to speak freely
of, to proclaim joyfully, and to hear the Word of Christ, to
extol his righteousness, to sing of his mercy ; and to detest un-
godly fables, calumnies, obscenities, and such like dregs of the
world. And can we not feel and know these things for our-
selves? especially if we are tempted, tried, and opposed on
account of them and because of them, suffer envy, reproach,
terrors and other evils? This therefore will be by no means a
fallacious sign of Christ living in thee, if thou persevere in
thus praising, rejoicing, and proclaiming the grace of God
in the face of, and in opposition to the pride of men.
It is not in vain, therefore, tliat David has added 'continu-
ally' or "for ever" to the word "shall shout for joy"; because
when this joy of the Spirit breaks forth it is sure to raise up
against it the adversaries of the truth, as we see it happened
to the apostles. Acts 2 :3, 4, 5, etc. ; and because many are to
be found who praise Christ and the mercy, truth, righteous-
ness, and grace of God, but do it not continually, because they
do not truly hope, and truly rejoice in God; f-?r they fall away
in time of temptation, and do not persevere in the face of ini-
quity, nor at all times nor in all things, nor do they dare at
all times to glory in God, that is, in the grace of God.
There are many of this sort in the present day, who speak
the truth only before those of the common people who bear
all things, and never before those whom they fear and have
any reason to believe will become their persecutors ; whereas
it is before the latter that it is more especially to be spoken.
If thou reply, but such are rulers of the people and they will
put us out of the synagogue, will excommunicate us, and cast
us out of the city, — hear what follows,
296 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Because thou defendest (shalt dwell in) them.
This Jerome renders, 'And thou shalt protect them.' And
who shall prevail against us when God himself is our pro-
tector? If it were not so hard and difficult a matter to rejoice
in, and proclaim the mercy of God against the workers of
iniquity and the speakers of lies, there would be no need that
such an exhortative promise should be made to us. David
himself knew that the gates of hell would rise up against our
joy, and therefore he says, but still trust. The God of Jacob
is our helper. They will not prevail. He himself will dwell
in us. And i John 4:4, says, "Greater is he that is in you
than he that is in the world". And Paul, Rom. 8:31, "If God
is for us, who is against us?"
By consulting the Hebrew, I find here an absolute verb,
the same which we have in Ps. 2 :6, "Yet have I set my king",
etc.; which verb, according to Reuchlin, signifies 'to ordain',
'to constitute', 'to set over'. Hence, according to the proper
meaning of the Hebrew this passage is, "Thou shalt dwell in
them"; that is, thou shalt ordain over them, thou shalt con-
stitute over them, thou shalt be an ordainer over them, thou
shalt have them for thy care, thou shalt rule over them ; which
Jerome has rightly, though not fully, rendered, :Thou shalt
protect them', for the signification of the Hebrew word is
much more extensive.
In the same way this also is absolute, 'They shall rejoice,
or praise'. As if he had said there shall be, and may there be,
preachers and evangelists, which is the meaning that the signi-
fication of the Hebrew more immediately conveys, for to
evangelize or to preach the Gospel is to proclaim glad, happy,
sweet and good tidings ; which is what the Hebrew word
TERARENU signifies. There are no other tidings that are truly
glad tidings, but the remission of sins, the multitude of the
mercies of God, and comfort for an afflicted conscience. Yet
that which happened to these messengers and proclaimers of
grace we may see in the apostles, martyrs, and all saints. On
PSALM V. 297
the other hand we know how Christ dwelt in them, ruled them,
and preserved them. But, who will dwell in these their ene-
mies ? Who will protect them ? Who will rule them ? They
want no protectors, they are strong, they are giants of the earth,
they are the powerful gates of hell and the seat of the devil,
for there the prince of this world is and in them he dwells.
Now follows the remaining part of the verse.
Let them also that love thy name he joyful {shall glory) in thee.
Although Jerome rightly translates these words 'And they
also that love thy name shall rejoice in'thee', yet our translator
has beautifully expressed the meaning of the Hebrew word,
which signifies another kind of joy than that meant by the first
verb "rejoice". As I am inclined to divine, the former signi-
fies properly to have joy, to receive and enjoy in one's self; and
the latter word, to cause to be, or to make joyful, to rejoice
another, or, as the Latins say, to be pleasant, juciindus. If any
one is pleasant and happy from the joy which he experiences
in himself there is a rejoicing in gladness ; as is written Ps.
68 13, "Let them rejoice with gladness". Again, Ps. 21 :6,
"Thou makest him (the king) glad with joy"; otherwise, as
we say, we should be filled with joy in ourselves and afford
joy to others. Hence we have in i Sam. 2 :i, "My heart exult-
eth in Jehovah" ; that is, is happy, ready to proclaim its joy.
And so also, i Chron. 16 132, "Let the fields exult and all that
is herein". Here the poet figuratively called the fields 'joy-
ful', because by their gladdening nature they make us joyful.
Perhaps it is folly in me to dwell so much upon words,
when there are many other words in the Hebrew language
which signify joy, the difference in which, I neither can nor
wish to undertake to set forth. It is sufficient for us to suppose
that the kind of joy here mentioned pertains to that affection of
gratitude which renders us grateful to, and happy in, our bene-
factor, rejoiced at his gifts, and joyful in such gratitude; thus
bringing our returns to our benefactor and his gifts, as the
fruitful field does to its cultivator. That this is the true signi-
298 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
fication appears, because at the beginning of the verse an ab-
solute verb is used, "and they shall rejoice" ; but here it is
said "and they shall rejoice in thee". The former verb plainly
indicates the feeling on account of a benefit received ; but the
latter, the joyful returns of gratitude to the benefactor. For
this rejoicing in joy is set forth in Ps. 122:1, "I was glad when
they said unto me, etc" ; where we find the same vv^ord that
we have in the beginning of the present verse. I do not say
that this is a standard rule for understanding these two verbs,
but I observe that they are so to be understood in this passage
from their ruling and absolute state. For in the passages "Be
glad in Jehovah", Ps. 32:11, and "Be glad in Jehovah, ye
righteous", Ps. 97 :i2, we find the same verb with another
governed word as that with which the present verse begins
in a absolute position. The signification therefore of the verbs
which I have given must be right, unless they say that you may
rejoice in God and in his benefits without any feeling of grati-
tude.
This moreover exactly agrees with the meaning of the con-
text. For as in the former part of this verse he describes the
joy in tribulation, so in the latter part he describes the joy
in prosperity, or the rejoicing in joy, which rejoicing cannot
be true and sincere unless it be a rejoicing -in God only; ac-
cording to the words of Isaiah 61 :io, "Rejoicing I will rejoice
in the Lord". All these things we cannot vuiderstand better
than by setting before us, as we have said, the generation that
is contrary to all such rejoicing; in speaking of whom, we
must invert the whole of this verse, for they being in adversity
are in sorrow instead of rejoicing, and despair of God. They
do not rejoice continually and speak good concerning God,
but continually murmur and speak evil of him. Therefore God
does not protect them nor dwell in them. On the other hand
when they abound in prosperity they glory as fools, not in
the Lord, but in their own works, please themselves, admire
their own, love their own name, and seek their own glory.
PSALM V. 299
We may rightly invert the whole of this verse making it thus
applicable to them, and say 'And they shall all sorrow who
hope not in thee, they shall always murmur ; thou shalt forsake
them ; and all they that love their own name shall glory in
themselves'.
Therefore this verse, in a wonderful and brief way makes
a distinction between each prosperity and adversity, between
each generation of men, and between each kind of affections,
and works ; and the spirit of the prophet describes the whole
with a most appropriate antithesis. For it is impossible that he
should not be filled with sorrow, who does not hope in the
Lord, when tribulation comes upon him ; and he who is in sor-
row cannot but continually murmur, because there isnopraising
God without joy of heart, and this sorrowful and impatient
murmurer must displease God and be more and more forsaken
of him ; for God dwelleth not in Babylon but in Salem ; his
tabernacle is in a place of peace, Ps. 76 :2. And his spirit rests
upon the quiet and the humble. Is. 66 :2.
On the other hand, it is impossible that he should not re-
joice, who hopes in God ; even if the whole world should burst
upon the head of such an one he would stand unmoved amid
the falling ruins. He who is joyful in such hope cannot but think
well of God, exult in his praise, and encourage himself in him.
The man thus rejoicing therefore is patient, happy, and in a
state to be protected and dwelt in of God. Nor will such an
one be permitted to rejoice, hope, or exult in vain, for God
preserving will preserve him. This is the dividing road where
'The men of blood' and 'the deceitful nien' separate from the
men of mercy and the men of a willing mind, in the time of the
storm and in the hour of temptation.
Wherefore as I have often said, our Saul has no better
remedy against the evil spirit from the Lord than that our
David seizes the harp and plays with his hand, i Sam. 16 :23.
That means if thy soul be sad and cast down begin some joyful
song or psalm or something that brings thy God to thy memory.
3CXD LUTHER ON THE PSALAIS.
and thou wilt soon find relief and wilt prove that the counsel
of the wise man is good, "In the day of evils be not unmindful
of good things", Sir. ii :27. Again, "Sadness hath killed many,
and there is no profit in it', Sir. 30 125. For in this case, music
in the midst of mourning, even contrary to the proverb, is a
most appropriate remedy ; thus David saith, Ps. 43 15, "Why art
thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou disquieted within
me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him who is the
health of my countenance, and my God".
Again it is impossible that the man should not please him-
self, be puffed up, and glory and rejoice in himself, who, as
soon as any prosperity happens to him, loves and praises his
own name and glory, and not those of God. While he pleases
himself in his prosperity, what does he else than fulfill that
common proverb, 'Mules rub each other'. For in the same
way he blesses them who bless him, and praises them who praise
him ; they in their turn bless him who blesses them, and praise
him who praises them; according to Ps. 10:3,* "The sinner
is praised in his lusts and the impious are blessed". The god-
father jumped the fence and back again, etc. The last thing
that they can do, is to vainly boast of, vaunt, and preach them-
selves, whose end is confusion, Phil. 3:19.
On the other hand, it is impossible that he should please
himself and rejoice and glory in himself, who, however much
serenity and happiness attend him, loves not his own name,
but the name of God. For while a man is thus displeased with
himself and vile in his own eyes, he will of necessity seek,
love, and speak of the name, praise, and glory of God, saying,
"Hallowed be thy name", but let my name and the name of all
men be profaned. Let all the works of the Lord bless the
Lord. Let none bless the righteous but thou alone : let the
blessing of the wicked be considered a curse.
If therefore thou wouldst rightly understand this verse of
*)This saying was introduced by Roth.
PSALM V. 301
the Psalmist suppose him, or rather, view him, as placed in
3 situation, where beholding the life of the wicked he is vexed
with a two-fold offence. The one, because all things turn
out unfavorably for him, and all his words and actions are
accounted folly and impiety, hereby he is moved to sadness,
impatience, and desperation. The other, because all things turn
out favorably for the wicked, and all their actions and words
are praised and held in esteem ; and are immediately consecrated
to immortality ; which is the most galling of all, and more es-
pecially irritates to offence. Then growing angry but not sin-
ning, he speaks in his heart, he is silent on his bed, and waits
for the end, saying the words of this verse. For if any one ask
what it is to speak and talk upon the bed concerning which we
have spoken, Ps. 4 •.4, it may be rightly answered, it is nothing
else than those things which are delivered to us in this verse,
for a man to comfort himself in God, while the characters here
described are glorying in themselves.
Hence David here preserves a most appropriate order. For
the temptation on flic left hand comes first and is less perilous,
because on that side only "a thousand" fall, Ps. 91 :"/, but on
tlic right hand ''ten thousand" ; which latter temptation is much
more heavy and perilous, and is not undergone except by those
who have been long exercised by the former.
Each temptation is a furnace of probation, as is written,
Sir. 27 :5, "The furnace proveth the potter's vessels ; so the
trial of man is in his reasoning". Again, Prov. 27:21, "The
refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold ; and a man
IS tried by his praise". But how ? Because by the former, men
are rendered sorrowful and made to murmur ; while by the
latter they become vain-glorious, loving their own name, and
blessing themselves. In the former case is found more gener-
ally the destruction of the common people and those whom we
despise as sinners ; but in the latter is the perdition of the fat
ones of Israel and the chosen ones among them, and those
whom we venerate as the wise and the righteous, that is, the
302 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
ungodly, according to Ps. 78:31, "He slew of the fattest of
them, and smote down the young men of Israel". And Is. 5 :i4,
"And their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he
that rejoiceth among them descend into it", that is, into hell.
Therefore God has ever smitten down the high ones and
the potentates, that he might terrify us and teach us humility
as the safest. And hence it is properly concerning the great
ones of the earth that Ps. 76:12 speaks, "He shall cut off the
spirit of princes, he is terrible to the kings of the earth". But
this has been of no profit whatever to tyrants. Of whom do
we read in the Holy Scriptures, that held the highest place,
who did not make his glory and loftiness memorable by some
signal fall, even if you number the whole of them from Adam
down to Peter? Such a care has God ever taken to humble
the lofty and great, seeing that it is necessary for the salvation
of those who are under them to cut down the flourishing state
even of their honor or dignity, lest they should become im-
pious lovers of their own glory and admirers of their own name.
But on the other hand, there is hardly recorded here and there
one of the commonalty as having rendered himself notorious
by a crime. We have an Achan, and him who gathered sticks
on the sabbath day, Num. 1 5 :32-36, etc.
CONCERNING THE NOMEN DEI TETRAGRAMMATON^ OR
FOUR LETTERED NAME OF GOD.
It is necessary to consider also what 'the name of the Lord'
in this passage is, concerning which many different things
have been written in different languages. The Jews boast of
ten names of God, according to the testimony of Jerome, and
one of these,, which they call the Tetragrammaton, jehovah,
they celebrate with great superstition ; by virtue of which they
promise to themselves I know not how many safeguards and
effects; whereas, by an impious disbelieving and blaspheming
of the name of Christ they are all the while continually taking
PSALM V. 303
the name of God in vain; and they think of any thing else
but looking to and trusting in the name of God for the salvation
of their souls. And this same superstition has crept also into
Christendom ; where many continually boast of, rub with their
fingers, fix to their bodies, and carry about with them, these
four letters, not at all regarding whether they themselves be
godly or ungodly. Like the Magi, who pretend and presume
that they can do great wonders with certain letters and char-
acters.
But we as becometh Christians ought to know that without
godliness which accompanies faith all things are superstitious
and damnable ; so that neither Christ, nor God, will be of any
saving benefit to any one, unless they be held by faith. But
every name of God, yea, every word of God is of almighty
power unto the salvation both of soul and body, if it be
possessed in the reverence of faith. It is not the name of God,
therefore, but faith in the name of God that does all things;
nor is one name more afficacious than another. For if the
four-lettered name of God only has all this virtue and efficacy,
the church acts foolishly, by not baptizing and performing all
her sacraments in that name, instead of performing them in
the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, It
might well excite w^onder that the church of Christ, which has
the Spirit of God, did not find out this before, since she knows
all the things of God.
If you reply, 'But the Tetragrammaton contains all these
things in it and the perfections of all the other names ; so that
when you name the holy Trinity, or God, or the Lord, the
Tetragrammaton is named at the same time'. Why then is it
separated from the rest ? Why has it not the same effect when
joined with the rest as when it is venerated apart from them?
Is it so very holy that when mixed with the others it is polluted
bv their profanity? Or is it so invidious that it envies the
others the honor of being placed with it? Let ll.en all such
things be considered as mere figments of the Jews. Let all
304 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Christians be wiser, and know that all the names of God have
the same power and virtue. Have thou godly faith without
which not even the name of the holy Trinity can be of any
profit to thee.
But as all those things were intended to be figurative, and
as we believe that not one jot or tittle was written in vain, I
will not deny that in the four-lettered name there was a figure,
peculiar and different from the rest, which was to be revealed
in the New Testament, and therefore, it is even now held
ineft'able and incommunicable, and is still held as it was before
by the Jews, because they most obstinately hate and recoil at
the mystery of it which is now revealed. Wherefore let us
consider (v/hetther we be thought to trifle or merely to cavil
with the Jews), that the four-lettered name is a symbol or sign
of the name of the holy Trinity, and the name of the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, now revealed, but then shadowed forth
under Four letters. That we may bring this to some kind of
proof, let us argue from the Letters themselves, from their
number and from their signification.
The signification is this. Jod signifies beginning (priiisip-
ium), He this {ista) Vaf and. He this {ista) ; which, if gram-
matically put together, according to the Latin language, will
form this sentence, Principium istius et istiiis; which in all
things agrees with the name of the Holy Trinity; for, in the
Godhead the Father is the beginning of this, that is, the Son ;
and of this, that is the Holy Ghost. To these pronouns this
(istius) and this(istiits) represent, in an obscure manner, the
Son and the Holy Spirit ; even as it was meet so to be in the
Old Testament, wherein the mystery of the Trinity was not
to be revealed, but only to be shadowed forth. Nor indeed is
even the name of the F'ather clearly revealed, though by the
name beginning he was more distinctly pointed out than the
Son or the Koly Ghost. In the whole of which is signified that,
as Christ sailh, Matt. 1 1 127, neither the Father nor the Son
is known by any one but by him to whom they are revealed ;
PSALM V. 305
even as at this day also the mystery of the Holy Trinity, how-
ever much the name may be professed, is known to none but
by the teaching of the Spirit of faith.
It appears therefore that the number and nature of the
Persons of the Godhead were not less shadowed forth to the
Jews under the tetragrammaton than they are to us under
the name trinity. For as when this latter word
Trinity is unfolded, its meaning gives us the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit ; so when the Tetragrammaton
is unfolded it gives us Priiicipiuni istiiis et istius, 'The Be-
ginning of Him and of Him' ; which, though somewhat ob-
scurely, is the same, for in each there are alike Three Persons
and Two proceedings set forth to us, and in the name of the
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Secondly, the mnnhcr is Four. Here we have a quadrate
or square plane : the first of which itself consists of two simple
proportions equal to the first ; of which, one is equal to one and
tvv'o equal to two. From this two-fold proportion or proceed-
ing, therefore, there proceeds a square figure, consisting of
one equal to one, and two equal to two, beginning from unity
and ending in quaternity. These proportions are unequal ac-
cording to arithmetic, but according to geometry they are
equal.
Thus in the square of this divine name is signified the unity
of the paternal substance; from which proceeds the Son, equal
to him by the first simple proportion ; and from both proceeds
the Holy Spirit, by a second simple proportion, equal to the
Father and the Son ; as the proportion of two to two, and one
to one, are equal in geometry. And as this simple proportion
is of all the most perfect, and as the first is the fountain or
head of all proportions, and the hole is a figure V\'herein neither
part exceeds the other, nor is exceeded by the other, because
one is equal to one, and tv/o are equal to two in all things ; it is
clear that by these two proportions or proceedings in this most
beautiful square, or quadrate plane, where the substance is all
306 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
one and the same, or, by the symbol of this Tetragrammaton,
the equahty of the Persons in the Godhead was set forth to
the primitive fathers in a hidden way. For the Son is equal
to the Father by the first proceeding, and the Spirit by the
second proceeding is equal to the Father and the Son.
Now to this we may easily refer those four relations which
are so commonly used by theologians, active generation (gene-
ratio) and passive generation, active breathing (spiratio) and
passive breathing. For these four constitute, so to speak, the
Triune-God, even as the four letters in the Tetragrammaton
constitute his name.
Thirdly. The letters themselves. The first syllable termin-
ates the first proportion in the letter He, which is a soft breath-
ing, indicating that the proceeding in the divine Persons is not
carnal but spiritual, and altogether sweet and gentle. For if the
aspirate letter be extended in sound it is nothing more than a
certain soft proceeding of wind or gentle blast ; so that it most
appropriately figures forth the proceeding of the Son. In like
manner the whole name is terminated by the second proportion
in the same letter of a soft breathing ; so that we are to under-
stand that the second proceeding is also spiritual and not at
all difTering from the former, except its being the second and
proceeding from the first. So neither does the Spirit differ
from the Fether and the Son, except in his proceeding only,
which is from both. Since therefore these proceedings are
spiritual and of a most spiritual nature, it of necessity fol-
lows that the whole beginning flows into the two proceedings,
because the substance is indivisible. Thus the inestimable plur-
ality subsists in an all-simple unity.
These things, I say, and others that may be adduced of the
same kind seem to have been figured forth to them of old in
the Tetragrammaton or four-lettered name, but which are now
indeed made known in all languages, so that there is no more
particular need of the Tetragrammaton to understand God,
than there is of the whole Hebrew language, and what I say
PSALM V. 307
is supported by the words of Burgensis when he says, 'The
Tetragrammaton was therefore called ineffable or incommuni-
cable, because it was not reducible to the etymology of any
Hebrew word, and its signification could not be known by any
analogy'. Whence it appears that these letters were joined
together by the divine wisdom and purpose, and so that they
might form a name without a communicable signification, ex-
traneous, and not reducible to the nature of the Hebrew lan-
guage; in the same way as any ward may be made up of
Roman letters, unknown to grammarians and used merely for
the sake of a certain signification or commemoration ; which
the Valentians seem to have initiated in their Greek word
abraxas.
That name of God, therefore, was rightly called inefifable
or incommunicable, because the sacred mystery of the Trinity
was not then revealed, though it was secretly figured forth.
And this name was rightly said to be applicable to God alone,
because it figured forth God according to his substance and
internal nature. For the true God is none other in himself
than Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or the Trinity, and all that
is said of the unity and the proceedings, which can be found
in no creature whatever; and therefore, the Tetragrammaton
can be applied to no creature. For in other respects the names
King, Lord, God, High, and the like, might be applicable and
ascribable to any one that stands in the place of God, because
angels and men may be likened unto God as to his external
works, but they cannot be likened to him in the Trinity in
Unity. Therefore they may bear the names of God, but the
Tetragrammaton or four-lettered name and the name Trinity
they cannot make use of.
Now as I think that difficulty, Exod. 6 :2 etc., may easily be
solved, where many make a great noise about what the Spirit
means when he saith, "I am Jehovah : and I appeared unto
Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but
308 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
by my name Jehovah I was not known to them" : whereas,
the four-lettered name is found, long before in Gen. 4:1, and
afterwards. Now I do not here understand it to be signified
that those letters of the Tetragrammaton were not then made
known, except it be signified that they were not then composed
or written, but that the force and true signification of that
name, that is, faith in the Trinity, or the knowledge of Christ,
was not abroad in the time of the fathers, nor of Moses, nor
of the whole of the Old Testament, but only secretly inspired
and shadowed forth under figures.
But there are some who think that the Tetragrammaton
is the name of Jesus, the letter Shin being added ; which, in-
deed, I wish were true and proved. But since the Evangelist
Matthew, 1:21, gives to his name the meaning of salvation,
where the angel says to Joseph, "And thou shalt call his name
Jesus ; for it is he that shall save his people from their sins",
and since the Tetragrammaton, as I said, is of no etymology
at all, it will be difficult to defend such an opinion. Not to
mention also that in the Hebrew word which signifies sal-
vation, or saviour, there is the necessary or substantial letter
as they call it, ain, which the Tetragrammaton will not admit,
and which the name Jesus, formed from it has not. But I
leave others to exercise their judgment in this matter. I have
thus made these observations to guard all against the supersti-
tion of the Jews.
What, then, is the name of God, which the prophet in this
verse says is to be loved? This name is not one only, for
Paul, I Tim. i :i7, calls him "wise", saying "The only wise
God". And in the same place he calls him "The King eternal,
immortal, invisible'. And i Tim. 6:15, 16, he calls him "the
blessed and only Potentate; who only hath immortality".
I John 4 :8, saith, "God is love". And he is not ashamed to
be called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Heb. 11 :i6.
But what would it profit us to bring forward all the writings
PSALM V. 309
of Dionysius concerning the names of God? What would it
profit us to bring forward all the works of the same upon mys-
tical theology ? We may do this until we should leave no name
to God at all. Indeed how can he that is incomprehensible in
nature be affable or communicable in name? Let us leave all
speculative attempts of this kind to those who have nothing
else to do ; and let us by a simple understanding receive the
name of God in the scripture before us as signifying, not that
merely by which he is called ,but that which is proclaimed of
him abroad; according to Prov. 22:1, "A good name is rather
to be chosen than great riches". Again, 10 :/, "The name of the
wicked shall rot". And Ps. 22 :22, "I will declare thy name
unto my brethren".
The name of God therefore, is a good report, praise, glory,
the preaching and proclamation of a saving God ; as is clearly
shown, Ps. 102 :2i, "That men may declare the name of Jehovah
in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem". Here David says that
the name of the Lord and his praise are the same and are pro-
claimed by the same preaching. Again we have, Ps. 148:13,
"Let them praise the name of Jehovah ; for his name alone is
exalted ; his glory is above the earth and the heaven".
But since it is God alone that worketh all in all, it is a
necessary consequence that the name and glory of all good
v/orks ?rc due to God only. He alone therefore is good, wise,
just, true, tender, merciful, holy. Lord, Father, Judge and what-
ever else can be named or applied to any one in a way of praise.
From this truth it is manifest that as nothing is left to us
either of power, merit, or operation, so we cannot arrogate to
ourselves any thing of name, and that as we are men and are
nothing but sin, lie, vanity, and can work nothing else, we have
a putrid and rotting name. So that "All men are liars", and,
"Every man at his best estate is altogether vanity", Ps. 116:11,
and Ps. 39:5.
Wherefore, our name is sin, lie, vanity, unrighteousness,
malice, perverseness, and whatever evil may be said of any
310 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
one. When we acknowledge these things and confess them
we do rightly ; and then we hate ourselves our own words, our
own name, and cast them away and lose sight of them alto-
gether, and love, desire, and seek God, his works, and his
name, saying, with Ps. 54:1, "Save me, O God, by thy name".
As if he had said I shall perish in my own name, yea, I am
undone already, but in thy name I shall be saved.
It is sufficiently manifest therefore that all these things are
spoken by the prophet against the godless vain glory of im-
pious hypocrites. For as these have the audacity to justify
themselves with the Pharisee, Luke i8:ii, and with Simon
the leper, Luke 7 :39, so it is equal madness for them to boast
of themselves, and to love their own name and preach it abroad,
to insult others, and to accuse, expose, and upbraid publicans
and sinners with the worst of appelations. But if godly and
faithful men glory, they glory in the Lord and desire that the
name of the Lord should be sanctified, magnified, and glorified.
All such as these accuse, judge, and condemn themselves ; they
take the lowest seat, and so are ignorant of their own name
and honor altogether.
But here, again, the cross alone is the judge and test of
truth, foi* there are some who boast that the name of the Lord
is loved by them. They with great confidence commit to paper
such expressions as, 'In the name of the Lord' etc., 'Glory to
God only', and, 'Glory to God'. 'In the name of Jesus', and the
like. In a word in whose mouth and use is there not that signal
and most christian expression, 'Thanks be to God' ?
What could be more fortunate for the church today, than
if there were none who lied and took the name of God in vain
when they boastingly make use of all these expressions? But
alas, to find such a one is to find a rare bird indeed! For if
all such love the name of God indeed, and do not rather love
their own names, why do they feel indignant and swell with
fury when they are touched by being addressed in their own
name? that is, when they are called fools, or evil men, or are
PSALM V. 311
loaded with any such reproach of the same kind. Why do they
not here acknowledge their name and say, 'Thanks be to God'
and 'Glory be to God only'? Why do they so pertinaciously
resist the truth which another professes before them, when
they, according to their own account, profess the same them-
selves? Therefore, the cross itself makes all men manifest.
So that he spoke truly who uttered these words, "I said in my
haste, all men are liars", Ps. 116:11.
You see therefore how soon such an one's pretended hatred
of his own name is turned into a most powerful love of his
own name, as soon as his false love of God is made manifest.
For such an one will by no means patiently bear his own name
to be taken away from him, which he nevertheless continually
casts away and takes away from himself, saying, 'Glory be to
God', 'Thanks be to God', 'But I am a sinner'. Who then could
ever discover this most deeply hidden hypocrisy, if Christ did
not take care to make such manifest by the cross and by re-
proach ? The words of Gregory therefore are most excellent
and true, 'The being reproached w^ill manifest openly what a
man is secretly in himself. For when this falls upon a hypo-
crite he will soon turn his thanks unto God into blasphemies
against him.
But this ostrich finds a leaf under which to conceal himself
and makes excuses for his sins. First of all he lays hold of
Augustine, 'He that neglects his own reputation is cruel'. This
also, 'Thy conscience is necessary for thyself, and thy reputa-
tion for thy neighbor'. Also that of i Pet. 4:15, 16; "For
let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil-doer,
or as a meddler in other men's matters : but if a man suffer as
a Christian, let him not be ashamed ; but let him glorify God
in this name". Jerome plainly teaches that no one ought to
rest patiently under the suspicion of heresy.
First, in these matters we speak in the Spirit with the pro-
phet, and before God, — that we ought to provide all things
honest not only before God, but also before all men, Rom.
312 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
12:17. And 2 Cor. 4:2, "Commending ourselves to every
man's conscience in the sight of God". Again, i Thess. 5 •.22,
"Abstain from every form of evil". Christ in Matt, 5 :i6 says,
that they who suffer persecution are blessed; but then, it is
those who suft"er it "for righteousness' sake".
Wherefore it is true that we ought not to lie and acknow-
ledge a crime before men of which we are not guilty, but rather
die like the woman mentioned by Jerome, who was beaten
seven times. As we ought thus to suffer death and every other
evil for righteousness' sake, when innocent; so we ought also
to suffer the injury of our reputation, and not attempt any tum-
ult to regain it, nor to retaliate with injury; but, though inno-
cent before men, we ought to confess before God that we de-
served these and much greater evils and losses, not only of our
property and possessions, but of our good name also. For
we ought to acknowledge, not our property and life only, but
our good name also, to be good creatures of God and the best
of gifts. We are not to think that we deserved these things,
nor to consider that any injury is done us if they are taken
away; nay, we are to consider ourselves wholly unworthy of
all these things and are patiently to suffer the loss of them if
such be the will of God.
Therefore it is not required of thee that thou shouldst con-
fess thyself a murderer or an adulterer, if thou be not one;
or that thou shouldst acknowledge any such crime if laid to thy
charge. Nay, thou oughtest not to confess or to acknowledge
it, lest thou also shouldst lie as well as the person who may thus
falsely accuse thee. Yet thou ought to be ready to bear it, and
be patient under such trial, if, when thou shalt bear testimony
of innocence concerning thyself, thou shalt not be believed,
but still criminated. In the same way thou art not to con-
fess that thy life is nothing, or that thy flesh is a mere shadow
of naught, or that thy gold is not of the value of copper, so
as to carry an appearance of humility. But thou art to confess
these things to be what they really are; and yet, if they are
PSALM V, 313
taken away thou art not to resist, nor to recover them, nor to
revenge the injury done thee.
So also thou art not to resist those who vilify and calumniate
thee; though thou oughtest to protest and stand by thy inno-
cence and not to confirm their lies by thy silence. Thus the
Christians of Lyons in France who were some time ago accused
of devouring their infants in secret, firmly denied it unto their'
death. And, Jer. 37:13, v/hen Irijah accused Jeremiah of flee-
ing to the Chaldeans, he answered, "It is false, I am not falling
away to the Chaldeans". Nevertheless he was not believed,
and he suffered himself to be beaten and to be sent into prison
though innocnt. So Christ before Annas constantly defended
his doctrine, concerning which the high priest interrogated him,
and which he in a sinister way denied; and yet Christ received
a blow from the servant, suffering innocently, and permitting
himself to be accused of the crime of falsehood by the unbe-
lieving.
By this same rule we all must v/alk in our day, when those
most ungodly flatterers of the great, like furies and madmen,
most insidiously brand the righteous with the appelations of
heretics, offensive, erroneous, seditious, offenders of pious ears,
detractors from the reverence of the popes, and such like, just
as their own opinions lead them on.
All these enormities I say, are to be borne, but not to be
acknowledged as true. Even if they prevail over us and are not
content with the defence which we make, let them go on raging
and let us confess to God that we suffer no more than what
we deserve, and that it is not our good name, but God's, that is
thus taken away, and that it is justly lost by us because we are
unworthy of such a good name. Nevertheless let us within
by faith and a good conscience, and without by confession, most
firmly cleave unto it, for they do not take away the good name
from us, for it does not belong to us, but from God whose gift
it was and from whom we received it. Nay, they take away
our good name from themselves, because it was therefore given
314 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
unto US, that they might by it be moved towards God, being in-
structed by the Hght of our good works, that they might glorify
our Father who is in heaven. Therefore they do not in reality
take any thing of our good name from us, because they cannot
take it from our conscience nor from our confession, but can
only extinguish it in their own opinion, and that to their own
loss. Therefore we have more reason to condole with their
misery, than to be dejected at our own loss. Hence when
we confess ourselves to be innocent, and by an honest defence
repel the evil name which they would put upon us, we do not
serve ourselves so much as we serve our calumniators, and that,
against their will.
But these ostriches do not defend their name with this
affection and according to this rule, but only seek how they
may avoid infamy, and they never rest until they have overcome
their own adversaries, if they can, and have regained their
own name, according to the rule of right, or rather, the mistaken
idea of right, by repelling force by force. That they may
not become cruel, as they imagine, by neglecting their own
name, they become both impious and cruel by avenging their
good name, not as if it w^ere God's, but as if it were their own.
Thus such most perversely abuse those beautiful words of
Augustine, 'He that neglects his ov/n reputation is cruel', and
'Thy reputation is necessary for thy neighbor'. For we are not
on that account to rage furiously, and contrary to the Gospel,
to demand a cloak for a coat, because a cloak is necessary for
our neighbor; nor are we to refuse to lay down our property,
nor even life itself, because our neighbor has need of them.
In the same manner our fame is not to be regained by force,
because it may be necessary for our neighbor. It is enough in
all these things not to acknowledge the crime laid to our charge,
and having done that we ought to be willing to suffer greater
things for God and to have our other cheek ready though not
to acknowledge that the blow on the first was deserved by
our sfuilt.
PSALM V. 315
But that all this zeal in such pugnacious and pertinacious
defenders of their good name is mere pretense and that they
speak most falsely when they say that they do all these things
from love of the name of God and that they seek not their own
name, but the name and glory of God. That all such zeal is false,
I say, you may prove by this sign. First, such are found most
unconcerned in all other matters where God is concerned. They
make not all this bustle to do the will of God and to seek the
glory of his kingdom, which they certainly would do if they
sincerely loved the name of God. Moreover they must patiently
suffer the same name of the Lord and the same good fame to
perish in their neighbor. Nay, they are themselves the first
to establish the name of God in themselves and to destroy it
in their neighbors. Thus at this day there are many who think
they cannot be Christians and of the Catholic faith unless they
go and search out those whom they may brand with the appella-
tion of the heretics, thereby proving that they hold one name
of the Lord and worship one God in themselves and persecute
another in their neighbors.
Wherefore believe not that they are lovers of the name of
the Lord, who are always ready to brand others with opprobri-
ous names and to commend their own good name only. A truly
good name is the same in all and cannot be loved in thyself
more than in thy neighbor. Thou errest if thou art offended at
being called a heretic thyself and yet laughest and rejoicest
when thy neighbor is accounted a heretic. In how much
worse state art thou then, if thou defame another that thou
thyself mayest have a name? for on the contrary, thy good
name ought to be used in covering the reproach of another,
as the comely members are said to give more abundant honor
to those members which are less comely, i Cor. 12 123.
But let us return to the words of the prophet.
TJiat love thy name.
We have said that the name of the Lord is the fame, the
knowledge, and the praise of the Lord ; and these also must be
3l6 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
in others, that is, in us by faith and confession : it is not our
righteousness, strength, and wisdom, that are to flourish, but
those of God are to be revealed in us and in us to increase and
reign. Thus we are baptized in the name of the Lord that
we might not live ourselves, but that God might live in us, and
that the name of the wicked might perish in order that the
name of God only might reign in us. And hence, as all our
actions are his so is our name. Thus both our actions them-
selves and our name are to be ascribed, not unto ourselves but
unto God,
Therefore it is not improper to say that by the name of
the Lord we may understand Jesus Christ, or Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit ; for all these are names of God to whom be-
longs every good name. Hence they who love the name of Jesus
love also the salvation of God, the truth of God, the mercy of
God, the wisdom of God, and all good, for all these things are
included in the name of the Lord. If a man love these he must
of necessity hate his own name and cannot glory in the wisdom,
the salvation, and the power of man, because they are vain ; and
in this way only will he be in a state to love the name of the
Lord that he may be saved by it and that God may be glorified.
Wherefore let us observe the peculiar force of each word,
"love" and "name" ; for David does not say, who write of, talk
about, sound forth, explain, think about, acutely dispute about,
or profess to know, thy name; but "they who love thy name".
For who does not see how many there are who talk much about
God and his name and yet do not glory in it. The heart of such
therefore is vain and their inward parts perverse. Where these
are perverse nothing can be done rightly ; and on the other hand
where they are right nothing can be done perversely, for God
shows himself pure unto the pure and unto the perverse he
shows himself perverse, Ps. i8 -.26 etc.
What loving the name of the Lord is, cannot, I think, be
understood in any other way better than by considering the
power and nature of love, which is not to seek that which is its
PSALM V. 317
own but the things of the object beloved. Wherefore he will
be proved and found to love God, who, despising his own name
and the name of all others, desires from his heart to see only
the name of God exalted, spread abroad, magnified, and known
to all. That this may be accomplished, such an one must think
of all things, which he shall think likely to promote the know-
ledge and exaltation of the name of God ; and that too at the
expense of his own property, name, and life, if necessary.
Hence such an one cannot be vain-glorious but must be a
prodigal despiser of himself; nor can he be proud of, or glory
in any thing else than in the Lord whose name he loves and
seeks to promote.
He therefore who in the time of quiet and prosperity looks
at his own, pleases himself and, with the full bent of his will,
seeks after his own name, will be proved by that furnace of the
mouth that praiseth him, mentioned in Prov. 27:21, not to love
the name of God but his own. And it is such ungodly charac-
ters as these that the prophet is attacking in the present Psalm,
as glorying and trusting in their own righteousness. Concern-
ing whom also the scripture speaks thus, i Sam. 2 13, "Talk
no more so exceeding proudly ; let not arrogancy come out of
your mouth ; for Jehovah is a God of knowledge, and by him
actions are weighed".
Paul also glories that he can do all things, but it is through
him who strengtheneth him, Phil. 4:13. Otherwise he glorieth
not, except it be in his infirmities, 2 Cor. 1 1 :30. The blessed
\lrgin speaks of these things briefly and beautifully, Luke i :49,
in these words, "For he that is mighty hath done to me great
things, and holy is his name". As if she had said, I have done
nothing, but he hath done great things to me, who alone work-
eth all things and who alone is mighty in all, to whom on that
account belongs all the name, and whose is all the glory, for
he alone hath done it. That is, the name "holy" which no man
can attain unto, nor arrogate unto himself belongs only unto
him, for when he knows that he did not himself perform the
3l8 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
work, how can he have the temerity to take unto himself and
glory in a work that was not his own ?
He therefore truly hallows the name of the Lord, who keeps
himself from usurping it. This he does when he acknowledges
that no good work belongs unto him but unto God only, and
when he confesses him to be that which he is praised as being,
Ps. 145 :i7, "Jehovah is righteous in all his ways". Behold, this
is what is enjoined in the second commandment. Thou shalt
not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain'. This is what
we pray for when we say 'Hallowed or sanctified be thy name'.
This also is what is intended in Ps. 11 1 19, "Holy and reverend
is his name".
But these impious justifiers of themselves rushing on rashly,
continually pollute the name of the Lord, while they ascribe
unto themselves righteousness, power, and wisdom, and are
pleased with hearing their own name praised in these things.
Whence it follows that the greater the num.ber of the gifts
of God any one of them is adorned with the more perilously
he lives ; and therefore no mortal has more need of the fear of
God than such an one, lest he should pollute his name and as-
cribe unto himself those things which are the gifts of God, or
should patiently sufifer them to be ascribed unto himself by
others. This is that temptation "on the right hand" where ten
thousands fall. This is that "arrow that flieth by day" and that
"demon or destruction that wasteth at noon-day".
For this cause Gregory teaches in many places that the good
works of all saints are unclean, because they cannot sufificiently
avoid the name of God, nor hold him so holy and terrible as
they ought to hold him, nor will they do so until the passions
of nature be wholly mortified, which never will be done in this
life. For how rare a thing it is to find a man who is frightened
and terrified at the name and praise bestowed upon him and
shrinks from putting his hand on it as a most holy thing of
God, which it is terrible to touch ? Nay, we rather smile sweet-
PSALM V. 319
ly as if pleased, and like swine quietly suffer ourselves to be
rubbed with this kind of praise.
Where then shall they appear who like the giants of old,
from an insatiable and maddened love of praise and of fame,
carry on war against the Lord and his name by mountains
heaped on mountains, thereby endeavoring to take from the
Lord both his work and his name and to usurp it for them-
selves ? Yet such in the meantime prate nothing else but 'Hal-
lowed be thy name', 'Glory to God alone', 'Thanks be to God' !
'In the name of the Lord, Amen' : and with such plastering
and daubings as these they color, paint, and set off their Jeze-
bel faces. Indeed the world is so filled with the robbery of
the divine equality, with the profanation of the name of God,
and with the pollution of the name of God that there is not one
of them who sees that, instead of fighting for the name of God,
they are horribly fighting against it and implacably resisting it.
What a sacrilege it is considered for the cups, the coverings,
and the linen of the churches and the altars to be touched by
the laity, because they are consecrated in the name of the Lord ?
Yet none more awfully pollute and defile the name of the Lord
than those very blind consecrators, those reprobate selfjusti-
fiers, and those most vain boasters of the works and words of
God themselves, by their polluted touching of his glory.
He therefore reverently loves the name of the Lord, who
with pious awe trembles to touch his praise and good name
and abstains from it as from that ointment, mentioned in Exod.
30:22-23, which was commanded to be kept holy, and that no
other composition should be made like it, that the flesh of man
should not be anointed with it, but only the tabernacle and the
vessels thereof. Fer he that thus worships and sanctifies the
name of God shall be sanctified by it, according to Ps. 18 :26,
"with the pure thou wilt show thyself pure". Because such an
one not only reverences the name of God that he might not
touch it himself, that he might not usurp it, and that he might
not anoint himself with it ; but he desires that this same name
320 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
should in the same way be reverenced and held holy by all and
that this may be brought to pass he omits nothing- either by do-
ing or by suffering. Thus we read of the saint, Thomas
Aquinus, that he made the sign of the cross under his clothes
as often as he heard himself praised. Which is certainly a
good and pious custom, to show reverence to the name of God.
Now the sum of all that we have said may be set forth in
a plain way, thus. That no one should be elated by prosperity.
This is indeed a thing easy to be said but it is most hidden
and most deep to be understood and can be known by none
but by those who are brought to experience it ; as it is written,
Ps. 111:9-10, "Holy and reverend is his name. The fear of
Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom ; a good understanding
have all they that do his commandments ; His praise endureth
for ever".
But they who do not understand the fear of the Lord in
any other way than in being terrified from the commission of
sin by the fear of punishment, do not understand it at all ; nor
will such ever learn to glory in the Lord, for the fear of the
Lord is that whereby we fear to arrogate to ourselves, or arro-
gantly pollute, any of those things which are the Lord's, that is,
his glory and his name, and when we fear to touch such things
lest we should defile them. In this fear we must proceed so
far as not to usurp to ourselves either temporal things or spirit-
ual, or to imagine that there is any thing of ours in them
but the being allowed to use them to supply our necessities
and those of our neighbors ; and as being granted to us by the
free bounty of God, to be possessed with godly reverence, and
to be returned to him with faithful gratitude.
The praise of such endureth for ever, that is, that they did
not glory in themselves nor in any men that praised them, but
according to Paul, i Cor. 1:31, desired only to "glory in the
Lord"! As he saith again, i Cor. 4:5, "Then shall each man
have his praise from God". And Ps. 34:2, "My soul shall
make her boast in Jehovah". Again, 2 Cor. to :i8, "For not he
PSALM V. 321
that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord com-
mendeth". God praises and commends those only who take all
praise from themselves and give it unto him and who do not de-
sire their works to be seen for any other end than that their
Father who is in heaven might be glorified, whose name they
love ; and therefore he loves and praises them, as he saith, i
Sam. 2 :30, "For them that honor me I will honor, and they
that despise me shall be lightly esteemed".
It is however very hard, though necess^ary, to expect praise
and a name from God, neglecting in the meantime all the names
and praises given us by men, and when they happen to be given
us, to give them all back to God as being borne with in fear,
rather than possessed for the salvation .of others. This is serv-
ing Jehovah with fear and rejoicing before him with trembling,
Ps. 2:11. This is not being in despair when tried and not lifted
up in presumption when comforted and favored.
V. 12. For thou zvilt bless the righteous, O Jehovah, thou
ivUt compass him with favor as zvith a shield (thou hast crozvn
ed us zvith the shield of thy favor).
Jerome translates it 'For thou, O Lord, wilt bless the righte-
ous ; as thou wilt crown him with the shield of favorable kind-
ness' ; he omits the pronoun "thy", and the pronoun "him" is
more appropriate than the pronoun "us" for it refers to the
"righteous". But I think that this genitive would be better
turned into the ablative, thus, 'With thy favor, as with a shield'.
But the force lies in the punctuation : our translator begins
the last verse with the vocative "O Jehovah", which in the
Hebrew is the end of the middle one of the last three verses.
The sense of this verse is the same as that of Psalm 3 :8,
though the words are somewhat different. "Salvation belong-
eth unto Jehovah, and thy blessing be upon thy people". As all
the force and emphasis of this passage lie in the pronoun
"thy" and the words "unto Jehovah", so in the passage now
before us they lie in the pronoun "thy" and the vocative "O
Jehovah". The understanding of which depends upon the con-
322 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
trast drawn between the righteous and wicked generation.
Men bless the wicked and curse the righteous ; but thou, O
Lord, says David, shalt bless the righteous ; on which we have
before spoken more at large in the end of the third Psalm.
But David is here explaining also the preceding verse where
he said that all those rejoice who hope in God, that they re-
joice in the time of adversity, and are the care of God, and that
in prosperity all glory in God v/ho love his name. This they
do, O Lord, says David, because they know that thou only
blessest the righteous ; and being instructed in this knowledge,
they despise all the blessings and cursings of men, who bless them
only that love their own name, but curse all those who love the
name of the Lord only, that is, the righteous. Wherefore it is
not without a forcible meaning that he adds "the righteous",
thereby making a manifest distinction between them and the
wicked whom men bless, and not God, with a very different
kind of blessing.
Here again we are to esteem the words of the prophet as
spoken in the Spirit. For as he had before called these charac-
ters the workers of iniquity, malignant, and ungodly, who be-
fore men have any thing but this evil appearance, nay, have an
appearance and form of godliness vvhile they deny the power
thereof, 2 Tim. 3 15. Therefore the prophet by "righteous"
here means those v/ho are such in spirit, but who before men
and in their eyes seem unworthy not only of the name of "right-
eous", but of the name of men, and who are always considered
fools, evil men, and mad men in the sight of those externally
?howy saints who rest securely in the blessing.
This disease or rather impetuous flood of ungodliness pre-
vails at this day in the church even unto despair of all remedy.
Therefore whatever the great ones choose to do they have plenty
to favor and bless them, as if what they did were the will and
pleasure of God also ; and if you doubt this at all, or mutter any
thing against it, you must be immediately called a heretic, a
son of the devil, and a son of perdition.
PSALM V. 323
In this way does the holy and reverend name of God suffer
at present, in this way is it prostituted in the holy lusts of such
men, thus is it made to serve the cruel tyranny of the Turkish
ecclesiastics, and thus is it made a mantle to cover all things of
iniquities and all kinds of evils. So that there is nothing more
horrible to be seen, if thou open the spiritual eye, than that
which is in our day ascribed to the Word of God ; for to it are
attributed works the most numerous and those diabolical ; and
on the other hand, to the name of the devil are attributed the
best and most Christian works. Nor does any one at present
dare to resist and condemn, if any one of these flatterers of the
great has prefixed to any work, though the most diabolical, the
name of the Lord ; and has dared thus 'to introduce the plans and
designs of the devil under the authority of God, of Christ, and
of the apostles. Unless thou hast made up thy mind to burn as
a heretic thou must adore this Satan and Antichrist, and on
account of the cover of Christ's name which they bear com-
memorate all their works as divine.
On the other hand if God do any thing in the name of the
Lord to oppose these monsters, you must not favor it nor con-
sent nor assent to it, but you must believe and affirm that all
such things are carried on under the name and authority of the
devil. What else does such maddened ingratitude to Christ de-
serve, than that we should be thus delivered over to a reprobate
mind and be left to commit the unpardonable sin against the
Holy Ghost upon every occasion continually and without fear?
thus condemning God under the name of the devil and worship-
ping the devil under the name of Christ. Thou art righteous,
O Lord, and righteous is thy judgment. For if God gave up
the Gentiles to a reprobate mind, because when they knew
God they worshipped him not as God, and if they were left
to commit all those enormities which are recorded, Rom. i, and
if he also visited the Jews with such terrible calamity because
they did not receive Christ, what evil do we most justl}'^ de-
serve to have brought upon us, who, after we have received
334 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and professed his name, have been subverted with such maHce
as to mock and defile it? But what a cross, think ye, these
things are to those who love the name of the Lord ! How
horrible it is to live in these times, to hear and see the horrible
insults and indignities which are offered to God's holv name I
Let us therefore learn to know ourselves, and let us set be-
fore our eyes the contrary judgments of God and of men, lest
we should err with the unwise and lest we should be ignorant
of the judgment of God and should fail. This then is a truth
that stands firm. He that will become righteous must become
a sinner; he that will become sound, good, upright, and, in a
word, like unto God, a Christian, and of the true faith, must
become unsound, bad, perverse, and, in a word like a devil, a
heretic, and a Turk; as Paul saith, i Cor. 3:18, 'Tf any man
thinketh that he is divine among you in this world, let him be-
come a fool that he may be wise". This truth, I say, stands
firm. For such is the will that is settled in heaven that God has
determined to make men wise through foolishness, good
through evil, righteous through sin, upright through perverse-
ness, men of a sound mind through madness, of the true faith
through heresy. Christians through infidelity, and of the image
of God through bearing the image of the devil.
Do you ask how this is done ? The answer is ready and may
be given in a few words. Thou canst not become such an one
in the sight of God as thou wouldst be unless thou first become
such an one in thyself and before men as he will have thee to be.
He will have thee to be in thyself and before men that which
thou really art, that is, a sinner, an evil person, mad, perverse,
of the devil, etc. These are thy names, this is all that thou hast
of thine own, this is the truth itself, this humility; when all
these things have been brought to pass, then thou art such an
one before God as thou wouldst wish to be, that is, hol}^ good,
true, upright, godly, etc. In this way thou wilt be one thing
before thyself and men, and another before God. Why then
dost thou wonder? Why art thou disturbed if thou neither
PSALM V.
325
pleaseth thyself nor men? "If I were still pleasing men, I
should not be a servant of Christ", saith Paul, Gal. i :io.
But we are deceived here, we do not think that these leaders
of Israel are men nor those who rage to please them. As
though we never had heard that snares were laid for the
apostles themselves by the false apostles under the name of
Christ ! so delighted are we to be deceived by their appelation of
blessed apostles and apostolicals, if we can but find that we
please them; so that the words of Ps. 53:5, (Vulgate), are
fulfilled, 'God hath scattered the bones of them that please men :
they have been confounded, because God hath despised them'.
And that of Is. 3:12, "O my people, they that lead thee cause
thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths".
Observe, I pray you, how plain and powerful this defini-
tion is. All are deceived who are praised, and all praisers are
deceivers. Who then would not tremble at being praised?
Who ought not rather to be dispraised ? Are those then, you
will say, the only persons who speak and think rightly, who
reprove all our actions and account us miserable ? Yes ! That
is the true state of the case. For, in Rev. 3:17, it is said to
!he church of Laodicea, "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and
have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest
not that art the wretched one, and miserable, and poor, and
blind, and naked".
As therefore these things are so, every Christian should
lake the most diligent care not to despise or praise according
to the judgment of the multitude those whom men despise and
praise. For there is danger here lest we run against the
l.ord of life and glory who as numbered with the transgressors
and still remains with those who are accounted such, and will
do so unto the end of time; because he justifies sinners before
men and condemns the righteous ones of this world. For ni
ihe former, his own name is lost and the holy and reverend
name of God dwells and they are thereby sanctified ; but in the
hitter, the name of God is cast out, and there dwells in them
326 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the profane and abominable name of men whereby they are
polluted.
For the same reason you dare not despise yourself nor
despair concerning yourself, the less so the more miserable
you are. For as no man dare judge and condemn a sinner,
nor despair of him, so you dare not judge and condemn your-
self, though you have sinned against yourself and your fellow
men. Just so you dare not praise and justify yourself nor be
presumptuous, though you do appear to be something in your
own eyes and the eyes of your fellows ; but you are to glory
in God alone and find your pleasure in his name which is
^'ood in the presence of his saints",
I take it for granted that the figure synechdoche is very well
iiuown by which "the just", jiisto, is put for the just, jiistis, m
the plural, or for a general and distributive sentence, thus,
"Thou wilt bless the just", that is, every one who is just.
Moreover all know that to "bless", according to the manner
of expression used in the scriptures is the same as to praise,
to glorify, to wish well, to wish all good ; and is contrary to
cursing, reproaching, and wishing ill, either of which, when
it is done of God, is done indeed and in reality, because he saith
and it is done; but if it be done of men it is nothing and
amounts to nothing.
As we said at large in the first Psalm he is called a just
or righteous man, who is so in secret ; not in his own eyes nor
in the eyes of men, but in the sight of God. Such an one be-
lieves and trusts in God, and of such an one you may say that
he is a righteous sinner ; but, as we have said, in a different
way and view from all human estimation.
Thou zvilt compass him with favor as with a shield.
That is, thou hast surrounded or encompassed him, accord-
ing to Ps. 125 -.2, "The Lord is round about his people". And
Ps. 34 -.y, "The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about themi
that fear him". Again, Deut. 32 :io, "He compassed him about,
he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye". But
PSALM V. 327
all this is done insensibly in the spirit, while you are sensibly
feeling that of Ps. 118:12, "They compassed me about like
bees", etc.
Wherefore this favor, this good-will, and this lovingkind-
ness of the Lord are to be apprehended by faith that he fail not
when our Saul compasseth us about as with an hedge, that he
may bring us over to trust in him, i Sam. 23 :26. Thus we see
the various consolation which God holds forth unto us, but all
in the Spirit, that he may allure us to trust in him, as we have
it, Deut. 32:11, 'As an eagle enticeth her young to fly, and
hovereth over them', etc; for, as it is written, Ps. 18:10, "He
rode upon a cherub and did fly ; yea, he soared upon the wings
of the wind".
Thus have I spoken at great length concerning these affec-
tions of faith, hope, love and joy, that when they shall occur
again we may dismiss them sooner, and, having thus indulged
prolixity once for all, we may be more brief hereafter. Let
us therefore at the end of this fifth psalm pause that when we
have recruited ourselves by a little rest we may enter with
more alacrity upon the sixth psalm.
As we have thought proper to rest here a little we will
for the use of some few just add to these crowning graces and
blessings which pertain unto life those two verses which are
often sung at the end of the Psalms in the church, 'Glory be to
the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost', etc., for
these are so much like the last two verses of the present Psalm
in which we are taught that the name of the Lord is to be
praised and loved. They are as follows :
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy
Ghost. As it zvas in the beginning, is nozv, and ever shall be,
world zvifhoiif end. Amen.
In using these godly verses the affections are to be engaged,
so that what is sung by the voice may be sung in mind and
spirit also ; for in these is contained the sum of all prayers and
affections in the same way as in that part of the Lord's prayer,
328 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
'Hallowed be thy name', are contained all the following peti-
tions, and as all the following precepts of the decalogue are con-
tained in the first commandment. Thus as the first command-
ment is the sum and substance of all the rest and that first
petition of the Lord's Prayer is the sum and substance of all
the rest, so the affection of this verse is the sum and substance
of all affections, for no prayer ought to be offered but that
which has for its object the glory of the divine majesty, that
his name may be sanctified ; nor ought any thing to be done
in work but that wherein those things are sought which are
God's that we may have no strange god ; so that we ought to
be proved by no other motive but the glory of God.
In a word, by these verses, if we use and sing them in mind
and spirit, we in a short way offer all the numerous sacrifices
commanded in the Old Testament. For what was their offering
unto God slain sheep and cattle, but the same as our offering
ourselves unto God as men slain by sin, and living unto right-
eousness unto the praise and glory of his grace? as Hosea saith,
14:2, "So will we render unto thee the calves of our lips": and
Ps. 51 :t9, "Then wilt thou delight in the sacrifices of righteous-
ness, then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar". And
Heb. 13:15, "Through him then let us offer up a sacrifice of
praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips, which make
confession to his name".
Nor is the sacrifice of the New Testament any thing else
than that which is contained in these verses, so that the sacra-
ment of the altar may be called the Eucharist, that is, a giving
of thanks, because in performing that service we properly fulfil
the force and meaning of these verses. For it is not enough
to partake of the body of the Lord unless we do it "in remem-
brance" of him. as it is commanded.
But how many are there who daily mutter over this verse
while there are but few who really do that which it signifies.
Wherefore it is necessary that every one watch himself and
PSALM V. 329
remind himself, from the admonition and invitation contained
in this verse, what he owes to God.
Here we do not say Glories be to the Three Persons, but,
"Glory be', etc., because the glory of the Triune God is equal
and the same, even as their majesty and divinity are the same;
and therein we confess the revealed holy name of the true God.
In this the highest faith is necessary, which is called into exer-
cise in the verses before us. For those things of which we
are now speaking are incomprehensible and the highest points
of our faith.
But that we may speak of these things in a more practical
way, we would say, let power and might be ascribed unto the
Father, wisdom and counsel unto the Son, and goodness and
love unto the Holy Ghost. So that let him who sings glory to
the Father, offer up his own vain-glory, confessing his own
weakness and infirmity, and let him never desire to be strong
or mighty but in God the Father.
When he sings glory to the Son, let him hate all his own
wisdom and counsel, and, having sacrificed these beasts, let
him offer them up, confessing his own ignorance and foolish-
ness and not wishing to be accounted wise and prudent neither
by himself nor others but in the Son, his God.
When he sings glory to the Holy Ghost, let him lay aside all
confidence in his own righteousness and goodness, confessing
his sins, desiring to be made righteous and good by God the
Floly Ghost, and offering up the opinion of his own righteous-
ness. Hereby it comes to pass that we leave all things unto
God and nothing unto ourselves but confusion and the con-
fession of our evils, our nothingness, and our misery. Thus
we are just and render to all their dues.
But let no one so think as to believe that he can worthily
sing these verses. Let him rather sing desiringly than posi-
tively, that his singing may be rather a prayer, a praise, and a
giving of thanks. For there is no one without a vain-glorious
opinion of his own power, wisdom, and goodness, and no one
330 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS,
to be found who does not take something from the glory of
God, and does not impurely make this sacrifice.
This prayer is to be offered as a common prayer, 'As it was
in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end,
Amen'; that is, he who sings this ought to wish that all the
creation from the beginning would unto all eternity glorify
God with him. Therefore this prayer is most weighty and ef-
ficacious, because it is the most universal, wherein that which
is deficient in us is supplied by the communion of all saints
and especially by Christ himself, with which universality we
may sing in concert most safely, for there the deficiency of our
voice will be assisted and perfected by the multitude of the
perfect.
Hence it is impossible that any man given to vain-glory
should sing these verses unless he would by his horrible noise
confound the sweet harmony of the whole creation and thereby
call down and hasten evil upon his own head. For such im-
portunate discord which would disturb the harmony of God
would not be tolerable. From this destructive vain-glory there-
fore may Christ himself deliver us, who is our glory for ever
and ever. Amen.
Wittenberg, in the year of our Lord, 1519.
PSALM V I.
TO victory; on the organs; upon the eighth, a psalm
OF DAVID.
Concerning 'victory' and the 'organs' we have spoken,
in the fourth psahn. But the mystical signification of this
'Eighth' has been minutely handled by many, whom we will
allow to indulge in their own opinions, and we will follow those
who speak simply and without any mystery, considering that
the grammatical or historical signification of the 'eighth' is,
that it means an organ, or a harp with eight strings. For Ps.
33:2, indicates that the psaltery was an instrument of ten
strings. So that the meaning is that this Psalm is one of those
which were sung 'to victory' on the organs, concerning which,
we have spoken in Ps. 4 from i Chron. 16:19-21, but so that it
was sung on the particular instrument of eight strings, that is,
the harp ; and the word "eighth" is added in the title to signify
the kind of instrument mentioned in the Psalm. I am not
certain whether the eight-stringed harp was of the highest,
the middle, or the lowest kind. It appears that the psaltery of
ten strings was of the highest, so that we find that to have been
used in the joyful and festive Psalms. And it is certain that
the Psalms 'to victory' were accustomed to be sung on the harps
which, by a general appellation, are called 'organs' in the titles
of the Psalms.
It is not however to be doubted that all these things were
figures of things to come, and that these eight strings were not
then instituted in vain nor commended in vain. Though indeed
I am not inclined to apply them to the eighth day of the future
resurrection only, but to the present state of the church and to
a certain afifection and experience of the believers in Christ.
332 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Not that there was not the same state also under the Old Testa-
ment, but it was not then revealed. Wherefore let us meditate
for our mind's edification and consider that the harp of eight
strings was the highest, the chief, and superior to all the rest,
even as we consider that the psaltery of ten strings was the
highest, and that it was for that reason distinguished in this
title by the name 'eighth'.
We have mentioned in the beginning that the psaltery and
harp differ in this, that the psaltery, from having the cavity in
the upper wood, sends its sound downwards from the top,
whereas the harp, from having the cavity in the lower wood,
sends its sound upwards from the bottom. By which particulars
are figured forth those two sacraments of the death and resur-
rection of Christ, and the mortification of the flesh, and quick-
ening renewal of the spirit in us. So that the singing on the
harp, in the revelation of the truth, signifies nothing else than
the work of the cross, the mortification of the members, and
the destruction of the body of sin, whereby we are raised above
all our earthly wisdom and brought to savor those things which
are above where Christ sits. The singing on the psaltery sig-
nifies the work of the Spirit, justification, peace, and the like,
which through faith and hope come down from above. Hence
the harps were properly adapted, as we have said, to the Psalms
'to victory', because the work of the Lord, that is, the cross of
Christ, requires exhortation that we may endure unto the end
and may by perseverance obtain the victory.
Since in this Psalm that sum of the "ross and mortification
and that very brink of death, that is, hell, are described, it was
not properly said to be on the highest harp, that is, the 'eighth',
and the eighth number very frequently occurs and is a sacred
number in the Holy Scriptures ; as Jerome shows from the
eighth day of circumcision and from the eight souls that were
saved in the ark of Noah, and David also is said to be the eighth
son of Jesse, and Zacharias the father of John received his
speech on the eighth day, and the like. Moreover eight is i
PSALM VI. 333
solid number, a square, and an equal to equal, consisting of six
equal sides, having twenty-four plane-triangles and eight solid
ones, like a die; which square figure is also frequently used
in the Holy Scriptures, and it is by philosophers applied to sig-
nify equality and stability. Again the number six, which is the
number of this Psalm, is the first number of perfection, so that
by it is signified the solid, stable, perfect, and absolute morti-
fication of the old man by what is sung on this harp, which mor-
tification is truly described in the present Psalm. But why this
same title is not prefixed to all the Psalms on the same subject
we desire to remain in ignorance, to use the words of Augustine,
because God has not willed that we should know the reason.
Wherefore the words of this Psalm will suit him who is
singing on the eight strings, that is, who is exercised under the
extreme pains of death and hell, as the words of the Psalm
themselves show. Hence according to my judgment, this Psalm
contains the experience of what was taught in the Psalm pre-
ceding. For we there said that the nature and power of hope
were shown and exercised in man while laboring in the midst
of evils and sins. What the feelings, the surges of mind, the
groans, and sighs, and the words and counsels of such an one
are, we have set forth in the Psalm under consideration.
Wherefore we are to consider that the words and doctrine
contained in this Psalm are general, that is, are applicable not
only to Christ himself, but unto any Christian who suflfers these
things. Now according to my opinion when the pain of purga-
tory, the fear of death and the horror of hell present themselves
because of the lack of the right and perfect love, it is very be-
coming for the church to pray this psalm in the person of the
dying. Nothing more suitable can be prayed.
For those who are in this state and exercised with these
things and are instructed thereby, are sure to have an impla-
cable war raised against them by the workers of iniquity who,
depending on their ov/n works and teaching others to do the
same, always most pestilentially resist this mortification. For
334 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
it is not our works, but the work of God, that is here going on,
which must be endured alone by a patiently-suffering hope;
for such an one cannot be delivered from, nor conforted under
this work by any works of men ; nay when placed in this excess,
one sees that "all men are liars". Hence the Psalmist here most
severely attacks, not persecutors, but the workers of iniquity
and crafty counsellors, who under a show of kindness are in-
jurious opposers of this work of God, for their opinion will
never endure to hear that these things are sent and wrought
of God, being always authors and teachers of despair and pre-
sumption but never of hope.
Nor are we to think that all believers in Christ are exercised
with the things which are set forth in this Psalm. For all are
not proved by all kinds of temptations, though all are proved
by many and various temptations. So in the Gospel we do not
read of more than one, the woman of Canaan from Syropheni-
cia, who was exercised with this kind of temptation and passion,
which was when Christ refused to hear either her own cry or
the intercession of his desciples, and while she suffered being
compared unto dogs and not unto the children, and being most
positively denied. The rest ere blind, or halt, or laboring under
some such bodily calamities and diseases.
So also the temptations here described happen principally
unto those who are of great faith, and, as it was said of David,
who are men "after God's own heart". Yet the nature of this
temptation is to be learned that we may readily if at any time
God shall will to prove us by such a day of trial.
Why should we not endeavor also, as many have, to find
the order which is observed in the preceding Psalms with the
intent to seek and know their peculiar variety ? for these various
Psalms contain various and particular designs and experiences.
The First Psalm seems to set forth to us the perfect image
of a godly man or of the people of God, though in short
and general words and terms, and there is set forth such a godly
man as all the Psalms afterward speak of, one that is spirit-
PSALM VI. 335
ual, that is delighted only with the law of the Lord, and that
is not moved by any prosperity or adversity. Then it sets
forth the opposite image of the ungodly, and afterwards the
end of each, showing that God knows the former but not the
latter, and that therefore the latter shall perish, but the former
shall be saved. So that the First Psalm seems to be placed
most rightly at the beginning as the argument of, or introduc-
tion to, all the rest, in which we may see what is taught
throughout the whole Psalter.
The Second Psalm teaches that Christ is the head and
author of the godly people. Then it shows where and whence
his kingdom is and to what extent it shall be enlarged ; namely,
that it is from Zion and shall be extended to the uttermost parts
of the earth in defiance of, and contrary to, the will of all the
adversaries who shall fight against it in vain. Lastly it shows
the nature and manner of this kingdom, that all the subjects
of it serve in fear and joy and are prepared to trust and hope
in Christ in the time of his anger.
In the Third Psalm the Head and King of this faithful
people himself is introduced as an example of suffering and of
glorification, showing that he is not a leader in name only, who
commands and requires many things to be done and does noth-
ing himself; but one who goes before the people over whom
he is appointed in the most lawful office of leader, one who
is powerful and "mighty in word and deed", and who begins
"to do and to teach".
In the Fourth Psalm the people thus constituted follow
their leader through sufferings. First of all, they are led
into temporal and lighter sufferings in which they are exercised
and, despising all the abundance and good things of this life,
which are signified by the abounding in corn, wine, and oil,
they are led into hope, in which they sleep in pc.ice. This is
the first and lowest degree of the cross which is thus set forth
for beginners and those who are more tender.
In the Fifth Psalm this people, being strengthened by
336 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
temporal sufferings, are brought under the spiritual and more
perilous temptations described by the Word, wherein Satan
attacks them with heretical cogitations, that is, perverse opin-
ions, which fight against pure faith and hope. They have,
moreover, to contend against that greatest of all spiritual beasts,
pride, which arises out of their very prosperity and through
v/hich the angels fell from heaven. Here therefore the feel-
ings and exercises are more vehement and increased. Here
the powers of the soul especially suffer and the spirit agonizes
for the truth and the sincerity of faith.
This is the kind of exercise which we find in Paul when con-
tending against the Jews and the false apostles.
Then in the Sixth Psalm which contains the last and
finishing conflict we have their contending with death and
hell, which kind of conflict is endured, not with men, nor
with temporal nor spiritual things, but it is inward in the
Spirit ; nay rather, it is out of, and above the Spirit, and is in
that extreme ecstasy where no one hears, sees, or feels any
thing but the Spirit who with groanings that cannot be uttered,
makes intercession for the saints and wrestles in a certain
way with God himself. No name can be given to this wrestling
prayer, nor can any one know what it is but by experience.
But let us now enter the particulars of this Psalm.
V. I. — O Jehovah, rebuke me not in thine anger, neither
chasten me in thy hot displeasure.
A question has been raised whether there is any difference
between anger and hot displeasure, and any difference between
rebuking and chastening. Now we know that in other places
of the scriptures, rebuking and chastening are put together,
as in Rev. 3:19, "As many as I love I rebuke and chasten : be
zealous therefore and repent"; so that this last word is the
same as chastening or disciplining. Those who wish to con-
sider this as a repition only Ave will leave to indulge their own
opinions. But we will, in the mean time, make this distinction,
that rebuking is reprehending, and cliastening, chastising or
PSALM VI. 337
striking the person when reprehended; which is according to
general usage among men, where the criminal is first accused
and reprehended and then, after the sentence has been pro-
nounced, led to punishment. So when children have done
wrong they are first rebuked and chided and then beaten.
This rebuking in the experience of the heart and spirit is a
dread and horror of conscience before the face of God, under
which Christ groaned for us in the garden ; as Isaiah predicted
of him, 53 :ii, saying, "He shall see of the travail of his soul".
And when he began to be sorrowful and very heavy he said.
Matt. 26 138, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death".
For in this state the soul, being left destitute of all confidence,
finds herself in a horrible condition as a guilty criminal stand-
ing alone before the tribunal of the eternal and angry God.
Of this state Job saith, 9:12, "If He examine on a sudden,
who shall answer him?" For in this examining every one
must be dumb, like that guest mentioned, Matt. 22:11, 12, who,
when asked why he came in not having on a w^edding gar-
ment, was speechless. Then that which is mentioned in the
same chapter, verse 13, "Bind his hand and foot and cast him
out into the outer darkness", expressed what is here exper-
ienced in the being 'chastened in anger'. For the conscience,
being reprehended and convicted, immediately feels nothing
else than that eternal damnation is its portion.
No one can understand this deep experience nor indeed the
inferior kinds of it but he who has tasted it ; and therefore we
cannot fully describe it. Job experienced it more than any
other, and that frequently. And after him David and king
Hezekiah, as recorded, Isaiah 38:10 etc., and a few others.
Lastly the German divine John Tauler makes frequent men-
tion of it in his sermons.
This temptation seems to me to be the same as that which
Christ mentions, Luke 21 :25 etc., where, among other evils
of the last time, he enumerates terrors from the heavens, under
which men's hearts shall fail them for fear and for looking
338 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
after those things which are coming on the earth ; so that the
worst and most perilous tribulation shall be in the last and
most perilous time. But we see many even now suffering
those things, and, from not knowing any remedy turning away
into madness and continually sorrowing, wasting away, and
consuming. Under this some of the fathers have also labored
in the desert.
Let no one pratingly contend with us nor presumie so much
upon his stupid brains, as to pretend to come forward and
make a seperate distinction between servile fear and love, and
say that they do not exist together. This work of God is not
to be comprehended by any capacious understanding: there
is darkness upon the face of this deep ; and there may be to-
gether a most servile fear, a fleeing from punishment, and a
most servile fear, a fleeing from punishment, and a most ardent
love. As Christ saith, Ps. 142:4, "Refuge hath failed me; and
no man cared for my soul". Love lies in a most secret depth,
but servile fear appears and is felt with intolerable violence ;
the spirit is borne upon the top of the waters and nothing is
left but a groan that cannot be uttered. Finally what this tribu-
lation is and v/hat it worketh may be collected from the various
features of it v/hich this Psalm enumerates.
First of all David prays for the removal of the wrath and
fury of God, v/hich he would not have done if he had not felt
his anger and fury. He does not however refuse to be rebuked
and chastened but prays that it may be done in mercy; as we
have it also, Ps. 26 :2, "Examine me, O Jehovah, and prove me;
try my reins and my heart". And Ps. 139 -.22), 24, "Search me,
O God, and know my heart : try me, and know my thoughts ;
and see if there be any wicked way in me".
Wherefore in this verse we have a twofold rod of God
described ; the one of mercy and the other of anger; This
also Jeremiah saith, 10:24, "O Jehovah, correct me, but in
measure ; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing".
And Job says, 7 :20, "Why hast thou set me as a mark for
PSALM VI. 339
thee?" And verse 17, "What is man, that thou shouklst mag-
nify him? and that thou shouldst set thine mind upon him?"
This tribulation is also called in the scriptures the day of visita-
tion and the day of beholding ; because God tortures the wicked
only by his looking upon them, which is intolerable; as we
have it, Hab. 3 :6, "He beheld, and drove asunder the nations,
and the eternal mountains were scattered". Thus also, Exod.
14 :24, we read that the Lord only "looked" upon the hosts of
the Egyptians, and that terror and confusion immediately
seized them. In a word, this is that day of judgment and
eternal destruction, which no one can ward off, no one can
avoid or escape, unless by hope he lay hold of the mercy of
God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This Psalm teaches us that if any one be pressed in these
straits, he should flee unto no other than the angry God
himself. But this is a matter most difficult and painful ; in a
word, this is hoping against hope and indeed a striving against
impossibilities, as far as the feelings and apprehension of the
person are concerned. For here is that most miserable conflict
which Hezekiah describes in his own experience, Is. 38:14,
"O Jehovah, I am oppressed, be thou m^y surety". And im-
mediately afterwards, as if he had felt a denial, he adds, 'what
shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath
done it'. As if he had said, like Job 9:16, "If I had called
and he had answered me, yet would I not believe that he had
hearkened unto my voice". So much do hope and despair al-
ternately prevail here, that even if those who call upon God
are heard ,yet they feel it not and do not even believe that their
voice is heard.
Therefore when this Psalm saith "in fliy fury", the Psalmist
thereby confesses that what he suft'ers is from God ; so that he
might say, what shall I say? what will he answer me? will
he hear me? will it do me any good to pray when I know
that he himself has done these things?
Wherefore if men have not learned in lighter temptations to
340 LUTHEK ON THE PSALMS,
flee unto him that smiteth them, that is, unto God, as the
prophet Isaiah, in the eighth chapter, most fully teaches ought
to be done, how will they turn and flee unto him under this
greatest of all pressures where it is felt that God himself
worketh them?
Wherefore all other temptations are the most perfect exam-
ples of this, and are, as it were, pre-instructions and preludes
to it, wherein we are taught always to flee unto God against
God as it were. From this verse I have taken what I dis-
cussed before concerning suffering of the soul in purgatory,
that doubt seemed to me to like purgatory and almost hell
itself, from which souls could not be delivered through inter-
cessions or indulgences, but only through the prayers of the
church, or they may be purified and perfected in love by
the punishment of purgatory, or make satisfaction for their
sins, which is something I do not understand. For indulgences
can not help the living who tolerate these things. For only
the intercession of believers can help them.
Here then we are to know that the doctrine of this Psalm
is most diligently to be observed by them that suffer these
things ; that they may not wander away, may not complain,
and may not seek the consolations of men, but may stand alone
and endure the hand of God, and, with the prophet may never
turn any where but unto God, saying, "O Lord, rebuke me not
in thine anger". If they do not continue in this prudence, as
those consecrated to these things recommended, then to their
great ruin they fall from the hand of God, who heals and
cleanses them, in that they flee to the miserable consolation
of a weak creature, just as when the clay falls from the hand
of the potter and is crushed to pieces, so that it is entirely
useless or it deserves to be cast away as good for nothing.
This is what Jeremiah in Lam. 3 :24-2g, most fully and
beautifully teaches, "Jehovah is my portion, saith my soul ;
therefore will I hope in him. Jehovah is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a
PSALM VI. 341
man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of Jehovah.
It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let
him sit alone and keep silence, because he hath laid it upon
him. Let him put his mouth in the dust, if so be there may
be hope" ; that is, he hideth his face and sayeth nothing, as
if he were buried in the dust with the dead.
And it is under the same feelings that those words of Ps.
143 :3, 4, were written, "He hath made me to dwell in dark
places, as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my
spirit overwhelmed within me ; my heart within me is desolate".
In this silence and in this solitude, this purging and cleansing
are accomplished. As is also in Ps. 55 :4-8, "My heart is sore
pained within me : and the terrors of death are fallen upon
me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror
hath overwhelmed me. And I said, O that I had wings like
a dove, then would I flee away and be at rest. Lo, then would
I wander afar off, I would lodge in the wilderness, Selah.
I would hasten my escape to a shelter from the stormy wind
and tempest" ; which in the Hebrew is, from the commotion of
the wind and storm, which is the same thing.
V. 2. — Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah, for I am withered
azvay (zveak) : O Jehovah, heal me, for my bones are troubled
(vexed).
Here he in the second place confesses himself withered
away, that is, destitute of strength, and therefore unable to
endure that unsupportable rebuke and chastisement of the anger
of God. As if he had said, the terror of thy anger is more
than I can bear ; and unless thou communicate to me the power
of thy grace, I must utterly despair and perish. Thus Moses,
Ps. 90:11, "Who knoweth the power of thine anger", that is,
the violence and force of it, "And thy wrath according to the
fear that is due unto thee".
And the force of this feeling is moreover shown by the fre-
quent repetition of the name of Jehovah, "Have mercy upon
me, O Jehovah", "O Jehovah, heal me", O Jehovah, how
342 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
long"? For these are the feehngs and cries of those even,
who are oppressed with Hghter temptations ; they call con-
tinually in heart and mouth upon the helping name of God.
Some will have it, that "Have mercy" in this passage sig-
nifies properly, not the remission of sins, which is generally
expressed by a word signifying clemency or pity, as in Ps.
Ill 4, "gracious and full of compassion", but grace or strength,
whereby the soul may be strengthened; which aptly agrees
with the word "weak", "For I am Vv^eak" or 'impotent' ; and
it is weakness that is helped by strength. Such therefore is
the nature of this temptation, which is most appropriately
described in the words of this Psalm, though it can be really
known by no one but through experience, as I have before
said. For this expression "weak" touches the weakness of
the spirit, not that of the flesh; that is, that weakness which
neither hope nor love, no, nor even faith is able to support,
unless it be thus strengthened.
In the third place he says that his "bones are vexed" and
therefore he prays to be healed. But who understands what
this vexing of the bones is? For David is not here speaking
of a corporal vexation of the bones by a fever or any other
disease. This inexperience gave occasion to many illustrious
fathers also to understand by "bones" the powers of the soul,
whose opinion I do not condemn. But, as I have observed
already, the powers or faculties of the soul, such as the under-
standing, the will, the reason, the memory, and the like, were
signified in the former part of the verse under the term "weak".
Grace properly, for which he prays in the words "have mercy",
strengthens the heart and its powers against that spiritual
weakness, for it is in the spirit that he speaks.
Wherefore "bones" ought here to be received as signifying
according to their grammatical meaning the very bones them-
selves which are in the flesh of our bodies and v^-hich, by this
weakness and perturbation of spirit, are vexed that they tremble
and have no strength whatever and indeed are then no longer
PSALM VI. 343
bones, nor are they able to support only the body itself. For
thus it is written, Is. 38:13, "As a lion, so he breaketh all my
bones". This is what we sometimes find in them also who
are brought to the point of death, where many tremble and
are horribly wracked with straits and agonies. For God often
works this tribulation in that state, where the man can no more
run to human comforts, and is forced to bear the hand of him
that purifieth him. For it is necessary that sin should be
destroyed is this manner, and be driven from us, that we may
love God above all things, and may burn with an unspeakable
thirsting after him . And those earthly effections which are
wrought by sin are beyond all comparison less and weaker than
this thirst of the man who thus seeks after God, that is, his
grace and mercy.
That is what we mean when we say that we must love
God just as much and more than we love the creature. Those
who postpone it to death must then suffer this great purification.
God would however not be loved and desired with so great
ardor if man were not weighed down by these great troubles,
which force him to seek and say unto God with powerful ex-
clamations of the heart, especially if he be deeply sunk in
vice, and had been inactive in crucifying the flesh. For this
crucifying of the flesh will be the harder, the more lively the
manifold development of sin formed his character. It is to
be hoped that those who have sufifered this death and hell in
this life will have less when they die.
Here perhaps I may seem to advance unheard-of and ab-
surd things in the estimation of those, who imagine that they
can find an easy way to heaven by their indulgences, their
letters, or their works. And though I know that I cannot
prove the truth of what I thus advance to the satisfaction of
those who do not believe the words of the prophet, yet I will
not, on their account, deviate from the vrords of the prophet.
Let every one abide by his own understanding of the scriptures.
I know what I say; and let them take heed that they fully
344 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
know and understand what they say. This is certain, that no
one will come to the mercy of God, but he who most cravingly
hungers and thirsts after him; like him who said, Ps. 42:1,
"As the heart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my
soul after thee, O God. My tears have been my meat day
and night". Again, Ps. 63 :2, "My soul thirsteth for thee, my
flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and weary land, where no water
is."
Let no one ever think that a full and satisfied soul will be
filled of God ; he only "fills the hungry with good things".
How much less then will he give eternal life to those who
disdain it ; na}', who despise it in comparison with the good
things of this life. No ! He will give it to those who most
ardently, and with groan ings that cannot be uttered, seek after
it, crave after it, and knock at the door for it. As we should
not thus seek, crave, and know it otherwise, especially if we
enjoyed a quiet life, God has set before us death and various
tribulations, that being pressed under these, we may be forced
to seek for mercy and life; as Job saith, 10:12, "Thou hast
granted me life and lovingkindness ; and thy visitation hath
preserved my spirit".
It is certain therefore that the bones of those who suflfer this
tribulation are so vexed that they cannot perform the office of
bones. On the contrary we see that where the heart exults
and is kept filled with joy, the bones are as it were strengthened
and made ready to leap and to bear the heavy and filthy burden
of the flesh, and there is nothing that they are not able to bear.
So that the joy is felt through all the bones like a certain
watering. As in Prov. 3:8, "It will be health to thy navel,
and marrow to thy bones". Nay even a poet of old said.
Through all his bones a chilling tremor ran.
So that the afifections of the mind penetrate through the
body. Rightly therefore does David say, "O Jehovah, heal
me" ; because he is so broken down, even in body, that his
bones have lost all their strength. So great is this tribulation
I'SALM VI. 345
that there is not a corner in the frame or in all its powers which
it does not vex and wear down.
V. 3. — My soul also is sore troubled.
In the fourth place he complains that his "soul" is sore
troubled ; that is, the lower and inferior part of it, namely, the
sensible life. For when the spirit is vexed and the bones also
there is no part of the sensible frame that is not filled with sor-
row, so that now there is nothing remaining either in spirit,
body, or soul, that is not possessed and filled with the most
bitter sorrow and terror. The soul or life feels the attack
of death, which is the most distressing of all to the feelings,
and the spirit feels hell which is intolerable. And what this
sensation of death and hell is, in this conflict and perturbation,
is shown in the following part of the Psalm. In the meantime,
however be it known, that to those who are exercised under
this tribulation there is nothing in the whole creation so pleasant
as to be able to give relief even to one hair of the head, nothing
so sweet in sound as to be able to soothe the ear, nothing so
delightful, either to eat, to drink, or to touch, that does not
seem to be very bitterness. Death is in every thing that is
either seen or touched. The man is most miserably wracked
between life and death, he dreads death and has not life.
I presume it is known to every one that life or soul and
spirit dififer from each other, according to the scriptural usage
of those terms, though philosophers will go according to their
opinions. For the apostle in Thess. 5 :23, gives it thus, "And
the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly ; and may your
spirit and soul and body be preserved entire, without blame at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ". Upon these points
Origen and Jerome have disputed much in various parts of
their works. But the apostle prays that they may be preserved
separately and particularly in spirit, soul, and body. And in
the Evangelists, Mark 12:30, we have "With all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all
thy strength". But upon this we cannot enlarge farther here.
346 LUTHEH ON THE PSALMS.
And thou, O Jehovah, hozv long?
Here some understand a word ; thus, "how long" 'wilt thou
refuse to deliver me', or, 'to strengthen me'? and such a read-
ing the pronoun "thou" favors, "And thou, O Jehovah, how
long"? Under these same feelings David saith, Ps. 13 :i, "How
long, O Jehovah wilt thou forget me for ever ? How long wilt
thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day"? Where
he not only prays the Lord to hasten his help but, being as it
were impatient of delay, he complains of his distress on account
of the delay ; because in every feeling of fear, love, hope, and
hatred, etc., delay is always distressing and grievous ; as Prov.
13:12, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick". And under
this sensation of death and hell the delay is above all the most
distressing. For here that common saying is true 'One hour
in hell is longer than many years in this world'.
In a word human nature cannot bear to endure this tribula-
tion even the shortest time, nor does it suffer the whole of it at
all, it only tastes a few drops of it, as on the other hand, it is
said of those who under the experience of the heavenly feelings,
that they scarcely taste one drop, because this life cannot bear
all the riches of the pleasures of that life to come. Indeed
when either of these feelings or sensations exceeds the common
measure the m.an thinks that his soul will leave the body, unless
a miracle of divine power prevent. Wherefore in these words
"And thou, O Lord, how long"? is particularly indicated that
unutterable groan of the Spirit which man under these feelings
breathes forth.
v. 4. — Return, O Jehovah, deliver my soul; save me for
thy lovingkindness' {mercy's) sake.
He again indicates in this verse that his soul is lost and that
he himself is condemned, for these are his feelings in the hour
of this excess, when he prays that his soul might be saved ;
that is, from the death that presses upon him ; and that he
might be delivered from the hell that now with open mouth
PSALM VI. ^4P
is ready to swallow him. Ps. 9:13, "Thou that liftest me up
from the gates of death". Again Hezekiah saith, Is. 38:10,
"I shall go into the gates of hell".
The Psalmist also beautifully shows the power of hope while
he sets nothing before his eyes but the mercy of God, saying,
"For thy mercy's sake". As if he had said, not for my merits,
for I have none, as is sufficiently manifest from this my terror
at thine anger, from my perturbation of heart, and from the
vexation of my bones and of my soul; therefore save me for
thy mercy's sake, that the glory and praise of thy mercy may
be exalted in my salvation unto all eternity. For though I be
unworthy of being delivered and saved yet thou art worthy
of being praised, glorified, and loved, to all eternity ; and yet,
thou canst not be praised, nor can thy mercy be glorified, un-
less there be some whom thou shalt save from death and deliver
from hell.
Thus Manasseh, king of Judah, in his prayer, verse 15 etc.,
says, 'For thou wilt save me, that am unworthy, according to
thy great mercy. Therefore I will praise thee for ever all the
days of my life; for all the powers of heaven do praise thee'.
Behold in this way does God render his mercy most lovely, most
sweet, and most desirable to be sighed after. This is how it
ought to appear unto us, as it is eternal and of a majesty so
great, he is bringing upon us those evils and temptations which
we have deserved. But, as to those whom he does not try with
these temptations, what wonder is it if such should look upon
the mercy of God as a thing of no value and nauseate the
heavenly manna.
Here at one blow and in one moment perishes all the prat-
ing of those vv'ho talk about meriting grace by works of con-
gruity and gaining heaven by works of condignity, and who, by
an incredible madness, prepare to meet the intolerable judg-
ment of God by the works of their own righteousness. There-
fore, David, at the end of this Psalm, attacks such with a fiery
zeal of spirit, inveighing against them in words addressed
348 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
especially to them, saying "Depart from me, all ye workers
of iniquity". So that this truth stands firm and certain, "O
save me for thy mercy's sake" ; for my iniquity is found to
be unto death and hell, my righteousness is all vanished, my
strength has failed, and my merit has come to naught. Blessed
•^an that I shall be, if I be but allowed to breathe unto, and
rest in, thy mercy !
Here therefore we are taught that as we ought not to pre-
sume at all concerning ourselves, so we ought not by any
means to despair of the mercy of God, but ought, however
unworthy we may be, to call upon that mercy to save us from
the power of death and hell. For what sins or what evils can
there be so great that they should lead thee to despair, when
thou hearest from this scripture that no one ought to be led to
despair when under the feelings of death and hell, where there
must of necessity be the greatest of all sins and evils?
V. 5. — For in death there is no remembrance of thee; in
Sheol {the grave) who shall give thee thanks?
Here David plainly opens to us the experience and feelings
contained in the whole Psalm, where he confesses that he feels
death and hell. For he does not speak these things like the
sophists, who have the audacity to divine and imagine any thing,
as being matters of which he in reality knew nothing, but he
speaks from what he himself experiences and paints forth the
whole just as he himself feels it. "Save me," saith he, that I
may proclaim thy mercy to all eternity : and rebuke me not in
this thy anger, for therein there is nothing but death and hell
and no remembrance nor praise of thee. For here, the words
of Prov. 16 :i4, are found to be true, "The wrath of a king is as
messengers of death".
Hence Hezekiah saith, Is. 38:18, 19, "The living, the living,
he shall praise thee, as I do this day : for the grave cannot
praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee : they that go down
into the pit cannot hope for thy truth". And Ps. 115 ri/, "The
dead praise not Jehovah, neither any that go down into silence".
PSALM VI, 349
These feelings are set forth in many other places in the Psalms.
What then is this being in death and hell? It is, first of
all, to be in an eternal forgetfulness and oblivion of God, and
next to be in eternal blasphemy. For here the care for the
love of self reigns with a most powerful and confused concern ;
and therefore it is impossible for such to have the mercy of
God before their eyes. They seek refuge and escape, and find
none ; and then they are presently involved in a most burning
hatred of God. They first of all desire that there were another
God, and then that they themselves had no existence ; and thus
they blaspheme his divine Majesty. They wish, as I said, with
all their heart that no such majesty existed; and if they could,
they would destroy his existence ; and this fleeing from and
this hatred against God are eternal. 'Thus that scripture of
the first Psalm is fulfilled, "For the ungodly are like the chafif
which the wind scattereth away" ; that is, they are ever fleeing
but never escape.
But here some will open their mouths with this objection,
what then did those words mean so often found in the scriptures,
'There is no redemption in hell' ? For, according to this it ap-
pears that the pains of hell can happen to none but to the
damned ? I answer, though I do not remember that I have read
these words in the holy scriptures, yet they seem to be taken
out of this verse of this Psalm, and also out of other like places
of the scriptures. But such scriptures are not understood by
these carnal ones, nor by any inexperienced theologians. As
though no one could taste of hell, because there is no redemp-
tion from hell ! According to the same argument, we might say
that Paul never tasted heavenly things, because the blessedness
of heaven can never be lost, and sin can never be felt there,
because it is forgiven.
Wherefore it is true that in the present conflict and agony
nothing is present in the feelings but hell, without any prospect
of '"edemption, for all that is felt seems as it it would be eternal.
For the anger of a mortal man when felt is attended with the
350 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
hope that it will have an end, but no hope accompanies this
anger of an eternal God, nor any expectation of its coming to
an end. 'Rebuke me not, O Lord, in thine anger', saith David :
but, to be brought under the mortal anger of a mortal man is
nothing.
All that takes place in hell takes place in the soul ; even
the hatred and blasphemy are almost the same. "For love is
strong as death, jealousy is cruel as hell", Song: and therefore
the man under this temptation prevails in praising God. Love
however most severely, sharply, and vehemently wrestles
against hatred, hope against despair, mercy against wrath,
praise against blasphemy, perseverence against flight, and, in a
word, heaven against hell, to the unspeakable torture of the
soul.
But why do we spend words in vain, when we can effect
nothing by thousands of words? because, nothing can give a
man a judgment in, and an understanding and comprehension
ot this tribulation, but the feeling, sensation and experience of
it. Though every one, if he be not devoid of all feeling and
callous in heart and conscience, v/hen he hears these things,
must say ihat there is something signified by these words, which
he does not 3'et know ; and it is terrible to be brought to the
knowledge of it.
V. 6. — / am zveary zi'ifh my groaning; every night make
I my bed to szvini, I zvaler my conch zvitJi my tears.
This verse may be arranged in the translation two ways :
either by making the words 'T am weary" to stand alone, or
by joining them to "with my groaning". Though the former
order is the most generally used, yet we will upon the present
occasion pass it by and confine ourselves to the latter, by doing
which, as I think, we shall more properly preserve the repetition
which the passage contains. So that, washing the bed under
sighing and groaning will be the same as watering the couch
with tears; thus taking together the sighs and groans with the
PSALM VI. ^^l
tears, the washing with the watering, and the bed with the
couch.
In the Hebrew it is, 'I will make my bed to swim ; and water
my couch'. Here the question may justly be asked, how any
man should have so many tears? Augustine according to his
custom has recourse to a mystical understanding of the passage,
in which he is followed by many others. We however will un-
derstand "bed" and "couch" according to their plain grammati-
cal signification as being those places where men, according to
the common usage, recline for the night. The groans and tears
we will understand as spoken hyperbolically or comparatively,
when they are said to wash and water the couch. For it was
never, nor in any place, heard that any one saint ever shed so
many tears in one night even, much less* every night, as to water
his couch, to say nothing about its being made to swim.
But we will understand the hyperbole or the comparative
expression as applying only to the act or state of crying itself.
But as the words of the Spirit are always to be understood in
the Spirit, there will be no hyperbole at all if you consider the
affection of mind in the person who experiences these things,
for then this will signify, not what the person could really do,
but what he wished and desired to do. For so the fathers say
of Mary Magdalene, that she did not speak according to her
natural bodily strength, when she said to the gardener, John
20:15, "Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell me where thou
hast laid him, and I will take him away". For all things are
considered possible in the feelings of those who believe, hope,
and love. Since therefore God v/eigheth the spirits, and not the
works, and does not look at the external appearance of the
works, but at the reins and hearts of men, David says these
words without any hyperbolical or comparative figure at all ;
nav, he speaks from his heart when he says that he would wash
his couch with his sighs and tears. Though he cannot really do
this yet, because his wish is so ardent, that which he would do is
accounted done before God. Hence we shall do rightly if we
352 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
understand the passage in an optative sense, thus; 'O I wish
I had so many tears that I could every night make my bed tc
swim'. As Jeremiah saith, 9:1, "Oh that my head were waters,
and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and
night for the slain of the daughter of my people".
This verse therefore is another testimony of the terribleness
of the agony when conflicting with death and hell. The man
wishes to do impossibilities, that he might be delivered from it.
Hence, I can easily believe the accounts of those who have
said that many souls under these agonies have confessed that
they would rather endure the greatest punishments that could
be inflicted by men in this life, even unto the day of judgment,
than to suffer these things in their reality for the shortest space
of time.
This is more particularly confirmed by the repetition in the
passage, which, as I have said before, always strengthens the
confirmation ; and thereby is confirmed also the all-serious truth
of this experience. See therefore with what proofs he sets forth
the cross of this most miserable conflict and how he would pre-
fer suffering any evil of the world to this under which he says
he could weep with so many tears. What then is there left in
the world that can give any delight or ease to such an one?
Is he not most completely dead to the flesh since he has under-
taken to live God in the Spirit ; and has chosen to weep not at
the table, nor at work, nor by day, nor in business, where others
weep, but in his bed, upon his couch ; and in the night, when
others are accustomed to rest and quicken their tired spirit, he
has undertaken the great and unheard of task to shed tears unti?
he could swim m them? Perhaps those who were once sud-
denly in danger of death have experienced to some degree
^■he meaning of this verse, while in the real battle of
death and hell such a wish and undertaking are easily
wrung from man, yea, he readily undertakes and does it, it he
is able, and is prepared to promise and do even greater things.
'T am weary," saith David. A most appropriate word this
PSALM VI. 353
for the present description, signifying that he was in the ut-
most anxiety and difficulty. For so Isaiah 53 4, "He hath borne
our griefs ;" that is, he was most distressed, as Christ himself
saith. Matt. 26 :38. Here I say distress forces him to be ready
to do and suffer such difficult and great things. Blessed are
they that mourn for they shall be comforted, Matt. 5 4, namely,
those who bewail and afflict and humiliate themselves in order
that they may not be forced to suft'er this distress. "My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death." The rest I leave to
practice and experience.
V. 7. — Mine eye zvasteth azvay (is consumed) because of
griei {anger); it zvaxeth old because of {among) all mine
enemies.
Reuchlin renders the passage, 'My visage is worm-eaten
from anger' ; wishing by 'worm-eaten' to signify corroded, as a
garment is eaten and consumed by moth. But the sense is the
same as that of our translator. For the prophet means to
say that the power and effects of this conflict are so great, that
it alters the appearance of the whole man. No wonder David
should say that he has become pale and worn by it, when it
consumes the bones and the blood. And indeed any sorrow or
grief alters and wears the appearance and the countenance of a
man, but the changes which other troubles make by degrees
this conflict produces in a very short time. We have read of
many who have become grey on a sudden through trouble and
grief ; how much more then shall men be so altered, and decay,
and waste into a state of old age by this conflict ?
We have the same thing, Ps. 39:10-11, "Remove thy stroke
away from me : I am consumed by the blow of thy hand. When
thou with rebukes dost correct man for iniquity, thou makest
his beauty to consume away like a moth". In the Hebrew it is,
'Thou hast made his comely parts like a moth' ; that is, his face
or his visage or appearance. And in the same way Reuchlin has
here rendered this passage, 'My visage is worm-eaten'. For the
face is the part where man's comeliness consists. Finally, we
354 LUTHEE ON THE PSALMS.
have the same words, Ps. 31 :g, "Mine eye is consumed with
grief", which we find in the present verse.
By "eye" therefore he means visage or appearance, for the
same word in the Hebrew signifies eye and appearance. So that
the sense is ''Mine eye is consumed", that is, I am suddenly
changed in my whole body and am become deformed. These
are the effects which this "anger" produces. He does not say
7ny anger, but the word anger is put alone; that is, it is the
very tribulation of death and hell. Thus also the apostle often
expresses it by wrath, or death, or hell, only ; as Rom. 5 :€},
"Much more then being now justified by his blood shall we be
saved from the wrath of God through him".
That which follows is the same. "I h.ave waxed old among
all mine enemies". Which is much better in the Hebrew,
"Among all my tribulations". Which is the same as if he
had said, 'I have straps on all sides; all sides cause me tribula-
tion ; the whole creation is against me ; I have no place to flee
10; an'l therefore I grow old before my day, under the weight
of my anxietv, and my whole appearance is changed'.
The present verse shows also another powerful cause of
this mifeci y ; that in addition to being alarmed and terrified by
the anger of God. he can find consolation in no creature, but
v/hateve- he looks at seems to be against him. For the whole
creation acts with its Creator, especially when a man's own
conscience is opposed to God, and therefore, every thing around
is wrath, every thing increases the tribulation, all around are
enemies. This is more particularly shown in his saying not
merely "my enemies", but "among all my enemies"; that is,
among all those who are mine enemies ; for I am in that place
and state that no-body and no-thing agrees with my sensations ;
as Job saith, 9:19 (Vulgate). "No man dare bear witness for
me".
It is my belief also that David under the exercise of these
tribulations was brounght to that state, that toward the end of
his life he was very much weakened and so cold continually,
PSALM VI. 355
that he could not keep himself warm with many garments ; as
we have it recorded i Kings i :i. For, as I have said, this
wrath consumes and withers all things. Thus then have we
this terrible temptation described with all its attendant signs,
feelings, counsels, and thoughts. Now follows the consolation
and the bringing back and deliverance from this death and hell.
V. 8. — Depart from me, all ye zvorkers of iniquity, for Je-
hovah hath heard the voice of my zveeping.
Now I ask you why he thus indignantly rejects these work-
ers of iniquity in particular and above all others? For we
have said, Ps. 5 :5, that poela aven signifies those who are
of the religion of disobedience, of self-righteousness, and of
spiritual idolatry. These he commands to depart from him.
Whereas before he had made no complaint about these in this
psalm, but had been complaining only of the wrath and fury of
God. What then have these workers of iniquity to do with
the fury of the Lord? especially when such being most secure
and presuming every thing against God could not at all inter-
fere with him in the temptation of which he is complaining in
this psalm? To increase the apparent absurdity he therefore
commands them to depart, because the Lord had heard the
voice of his weeping. Did then these workers of iniquity pre-
vent the Lord from hearing him before?
We will observe that the whole of this lies in the feelings
of David, and those are the most powerful and exalted ; and
therefore he does not describe zvhy he does it but zvhat he
does. Thus we see that those who are carried along with
any powerful feelings, often talk to themselves, act as apparent
madmen, and say strange things, but we are ignorant of the
cause why they say those things. Let us then enter into the
feelings and experience contained in these words.
I see this to be particularly worthy of remark throughout
the Psalms, that whenever the prophet speaks under any pecul-
iar ecstacy he immediately adds a word addressed to the ad-
versaries full of indignation and complaint against them, as
356 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
in these passages: Ps. 116:10, 11, "I believed, therefore have
I spoken : I was greatly afflicted. I said in my haste, all men
are liars". And Ps. 39:11, "Thou makest his beauty to con-
sume away like a moth : surely every man is vanity". But
VvX see in human affairs also that those v/ho meet with oppres-
sion experience something of the same. However it is univers-
ally the case, that when any one apprehends the truth in the
experience of it, he is soon led to inveigh v/ith indignation and
complaint against those who savor of, or teach the contrary.
We have a striking example of this in Augustine who, in
the ninth book of his Confessions, in his exposition of the
fourth Psalm inveighs with impetuous zeal against the Ma-
nicheans. The great art of all exposition is so to teach the
subject in question as to root out at the same time all that is
contrary to it and launch out against the adversaries ; for how
can we, when we are teaching right and true piety, refrain
from inveighing at the same time against ceremonialists and
crafty workers of the Word, while we feel an indignation that
they did not know the truth that we teach, or that they once
taught us the contrary?
Hence David also did the same when he had been taught
by this his ecstasy and particular experience to trust in God
alone and to feel and know that no righteousness of his own
would avail. For he knew that those, who had not been in-
structed by these temptations, taught and did foolish and im-
pious things under the garb of piety and were wholly inex-
perienced in these things v/hen they happened to con:ie upon
them ; and yet such are ready to teach the whole world, for men
of this stamp always act thus, who are the most foolish vvdien
most wise, and the most wise when most foolish, becoming
blind leaders of the blind, "always learning and never able to.
come to the knowledge of the truth", and, which is the greatest
evil of all, such are unteachable, unpersuadable, incorrigible.
Yea, as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these
resist those who have attained unto this sound wisdom through
PSALM VI. 357
the experience of great temptations and withstand them con-
tinuallv with impudent temerity; by such therefore the godly
man is afilicted with tribulation upon tribulation. Hence
David from a zeal of love, whereby he desires that the truth
may be known to all in common with himself and that the con-
trary error may be exposed and condemned, inveighs against
such characters with the most just indignation, saying, "De-
part from me, all ye workers of iniquity". In a word, we
shall scarcely find a psalm which contains a complaint of this
kind, where the psalmist does not accuse and condemn these
workers of iniquity; and this we shall see as we proceed.
The whole therefore lies in the particular feelings of the
psalmist, that he commands them to. "depart", because the
Lord had heard him. And what the cause for his so doing
is, he leaves us to understand from what has preceded ; that is,
his knowing and experiencing that God saves those who cry
unto him for his own mercy's sake only ; before whom no one
is righteous, as Moses saith, Deut. 34, tliat no one is guiltless
in himself. As these things are so therefore, and he has de-
clared that they are so throughout the whole psalm, he rightly
concludes and says that he will not know those v/ho savor of
jnd teach the contrary; and that it is enough for him to know
tliat 'the Lord has heard the voice of his weepmg', etc. And
lo this same point refers also Matt. "^ '2^^, wnere ci:e Lord de-
clar.^s that he will say to those that have prophesied in his
name, and done many wonderful works, "Depart from me, all
ye workers of iniquity". For the Lord referred to these words
as applying, according to the general sense oi this psalm, to
all those who trust in themstjives, and not in his mere mercy.
V. 9. — Jehovah hath Jieard my supplication; Jehovah will
receive my prayer.
I-Je had said in the preceding verse in a general u^ay " lehov-
ah hath heard, the voice of my weepir-g was heard". He now
defines the particular nature of that voice of weeping £nd
shows what it was. It is observable that he here repeats the
358 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
name of Jehovah three times, "Jehovah hath heard", "Jehovah
hath heard", "J^^^ovah hath received", to signify thereby his
feeUng of confidence and his confirmation of hope against the
adversaries whom he here attacks.
The word in the Hebrew which is rendered "supphcation"
is a word which signifies properly imploring mercy or grace ;
so that it ansvv^ers to the former word, "Have mercy upon me,
O Jehovah", and to that which follows ; whereby, as we have
said, grace or power was implored. The latter word "prayer"
signifies, in the Hebrew, a praying against evil ; and therefore
answers to the words, "O Jehovah in thine anger", etc. Un-
less any one would rather understand the whole as signifying
a repetition that betokens a confirmation and exultation of the
affections.
These are the words of hope, raising up and exhorting the
conscience and now prevailing over all surrounding difficulties.
In the same way as the preceding words were those of hope
sufifering, laboring, and almost yielding. Here we see those
things which were spoken in the fifth Psalm, not only taught,
but experienced; those things, I mean, which are contained in
the words, "And all they that hope in thee shall rejoice".
The words themselves plainly show the prophet's state of
mind and feelings ; under which he has before his eyes the
mercy of God, which he sets against the disturbing views of
sui, death, and hell. For, as it is certain that he speaks in hope
and in the Spirit, yea, in the presence of God and in the enjoy-
ment of the present vision ; it is also certain that he was saved
by hope, that he attained unto the grace of the power of God
by hope, and that he was consoled by hope ; and all these
things show the way in which he drove away the distressing
crowd of evils.
This is the reason why he impresses upon himself the mercy
of God in so many repetitions ; which are, as it were, so many
strong and heavy blows with which he follows up his advers-
aries and all the things that are against him, and so many
PSALM VI. 359
powerful words whereby he exhorts and encourages his own
infirmity and hope.
Hence, according to the instructions given us by this our
teacher, when heaviness or sin distresses our conscience we are
to be active and not to fall asleep, nor to yield. Nor are we
to wait until the tribulation goes away of its own accord, nor
until the consolation itself comes to us ; for all these things are
those that accompany perdition. But we are to fight, to cry
again and again, to strive with all our might, until we are as-
sured of the good will of God toward us ; according to Ps. 3 13,
"But thou, O Jehovah, art a shield about me, my glory, and
the lifter up of my head". And in Ps. 30 :5, complaining of
the like tribulation, David strengthens himself in the good
opinion of God concerning himself, saying, "For his anger is
but for a moment ; his favor is for a lifetime", that means our
God wills not death and hell but life and salvation . As also
in Ps. 32 :7, "Thou art my hiding-place ; thou wilt preserve
me from trouble; thou wilt compass me about with songs of
deliverance".
Yea, in all the psalms where this or similar suffering is
lamented there is at once introduced how hope may be created
and confidence in God established according to the Vv^ord of
Wisdom I :i, "Think of the Lord with a good heart". For
unless this meditation and this confidence should rise up and
overcome the tribulation, no one could stand. But these are
not attained and we are not established in them except by the
word of God and by Jesus Christ.
So here, when as yet he knew not that his weeping was
heard, he conceives and strengthens himself in this persuasion,
repeating and maintaining it so as to attack his adversaries,
being fully persuaded that such as he assures himself he is in
the sight of God, such he is. Therefore as his hope is, such is
his state in reality ; for in these matters also man is ruled by
opinions, but they are opinions of God, that is, concerning God,
360 LUTHER ON THE tSALMS.
and the difference lies here, whether those opinions be good
or bad.
V. 10. All mine enemies shall be put to shame and sore
troubled : they shall turn back, they shall be put to shame
suddenly.
This verse may be understood as applying to persecutors,
because he calls them his "enemies". But that these last words
may agree with the preceding, let us understand these "ene-
mies" to be none other than the poele aven themselves, "the
workers of iniquity". For we have observed that in every
Psalm where this tribulation is described the spirit of the pro-
phet inveighs against those characters; for, as I have said,
there is a continual war and contention with these ungodly
ones, because they not only will not hear of this humility of
the godly and this commendation of the grace of God, but they
even persecute it; as it is said, Ps. 109:16, "But persecuted the
poor and needy man, and the broken in heart, to slay them".
Ps. 69:26, "They persecute him whom thou hast smitten".
These are they who, like Job's friends, talk to the increasing
of those tribulations which are justly inflicted of God, and who
set themselves against such afflicted ones as standing on the side
of God, and pronounce that God is justly angry with them and
become their enemy; while they themselves are most secure
as to their thoughts about God, as if they should escape his
judgment.
Since therefore all these things when spoken to these im-
pious ones are like a story told to one that is deaf, for they
cannot understand the things of the Spirit by reason of their
carnal senses, or their inflated pride, the prophet prays for
a speedy and sudden destruction and subversion of their in-
iquity; that they themselves might be overtaken by this kind
of temptation, that they might feel the wrath of God, and the
tribulation of death and hell; as Jeremiah also saith, 17:18,
"Let them be put to shame that persecute me, but let not me
be put to shame; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dis-
PSALM VI. 361
mayed". And in the verse preceding he says, "Be not a tefror
unto me: thou art my refuge in the day of evil". Ps. 9:17, 20,
"The wicked shall be turned back into hell, even all the nations
that forget God. Put them in fear, O Jehovah, let the nations
know themselves to be but men", that is, vain and liars.
"For the law worketh wrath", as Paul saith, Rom. 4:15, be-
cause it revealeth sin, by which the conscience is confounded ;
and when the conscience is confounded it is distressed and put
in perturbation by wrath and death, which the soul sees that it
deserves by the law revealing them. This excess, when men
fall into it, suddenly and terribly vexes and confounds and dis-
turbs the proud, bringing thena to nothing and forcing them
to lay aside all supercilious conceit of iheir own righteousness
and to seek the mercy of God. If these characters of which
we are now speaking have not proved these things in their
own feelings and by their own experience they will read, hear
of them, and do all that they do, in vain. For it is vexation and
tribulation, as Isaiah shows, 28:19, which alone give under-
standing to the hearer; that is, the Word of God becomes in-
telligible unto them only who have felt what it contains, and
who have been well exercised and vexed with tribulations.
The cross of Christ is the only way of instruction in the Word
of God, and the only true theology.
These words "sore" and "suddenly", however, may be un-
derstood tvv'o ways. They may be referred either to the thtie
or to the kind of temptation. Their meaning with reference
to the time of the temptation is this, — that such may not be
long left thus, but that they may be vexed suddenly, in order
that being quickly turned from their iniquity they may thirst
.after the mercy of God. But when referred to the kind of
.temptation it means, that they may not be vexed with any light
tribulation but with the storm of this greatest and most severe
vexation, the force and nature of which are to be most power-
ful ; and therefore it most powerfully humbles and instructs
imto grace. For the self-wisdom and self-righteousness of
362 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
these workers of iniquity render them so obstinate and stub-
born, that if they be touched with certain Hght temptations
only, they glory in them without any fear, and in the midst of
these tribulations think themselves to be smcere and true
martyrs, so pertinaciously do these ravening wolves imitate
sheep's clothing. Hence they become hardened and confirmed
in their ungodliness by those very temptations whereby they
are visited that they may be reformed.
But they cannot stand before the face of this visitation when
they are vexed with the confusion of sins and the wrath of
God. This is the vexation which subverts the securely im-
pious, and in which none persevere but sincere and upright
hearts, who are rightly instructed in the fear of God and in
hope. Wherefore as the enduring of the wrath of God is im-
possible, so it is most especially necessary for these unbelieving
and insensible ones, as being that alone which is sufficiently
powerful to humble them effectually.
It was with such a visitation as this that St. Paul was over-
taken, which came upon him immediately from heaven, when
he was filled with the most secure violence and impetuously
perverted zeal ; for being on a sudden surrounded with a light,
and all trembling, he said, Acts 9 :6, "Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do ?" And here is proved that word of Jeremiah, 23 •.2g,
"Is not my word like fire? saith Jehovad; and like a hammer
that breaketh the rock in pieces"? And Ps. 21 19, "Thou wilt
make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thine anger :
Jehovah will swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall
devour them". David would not have said these things if he
had not experienced them. For this "furnace" and this "fire"
are the 'rebuking in anger' and the 'chastening in his hot dis-
pleasure', which drive guilty consciences into inextricable and
inevitable straits by setting before them a view and a realizing
sense of the judgment of God.
In this verse moreover he compares, or rather sets forth
in other words, the fury and the anger of Jehovah. For to
PSALM VI. 363
be 'rebuked in the Lord's anger' is nothing else than, for the
conscience of man to be ashamed, to be confounded, and to
be found guihy, before the eternal judgment. And there is
no man whose conscience is not found guilty before that judg-
ment; as it is said, Ps. 143:2, "Enter not into judgment with
thy servant, for in thy sight no man living is righteous". What
is it not to be righteous but to be found guilty and to be con-
founded? Again David saith, Ps. 116:11, "I said in my haste,
all men are liars".
Therefore he desires all these insensible ones who still se-
curely glory in themselves, to be brought to this and be con-
founded. "Thy hand will find out all thine enemies ; thy right
hand will find out those that hate thee". Again, Ps. 83 :i6,
"Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek thy name,
O Jehovah".
For as I have often said, the ungodly differ from the godly
in this. They are both indeed liars and unjustified before God
and are both vanity of vanities. But this tribulation turns the
godly to a knowledge of themselves ; and having attained unto
this knowledge, they flee from the anger of the judgment of
God to his mercy and are saved. As is said, Prov. 12 :/, "The
wicked are overthrown and are not". Which some have un-
derstood thus, "turn away" that is, unto a knowledge of them-
selves ; and when they have been thus humbled they will cease
to be ungodly, having thus obtained grace. But when such are
turned away they do not come to a knowledge of themselves,
and therefore do not seek grace, but remain in their vanity,
lies, and iniquity.
Again 'to be corrected in anger' is nothing else than to be
"sore vexed", as David says ; that is to be under a conflict with
death and hell. When this anger is kindled, yea but a little, as
David saith, Ps. 2:12, "Blessed are all they that put their trust
in him". But this the wicked do not. For in the same psalm
he sets forth two evils, where he saith, verse 5, "Then shall he
ipeak unto them in his wrath, that is, shall rebuke and convict,
3^4 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
and vex them in his sore displeasure", that is, shall correct
and chastise them, i Sam. 2:10, teaches, "They that strive
with Jehovah shall be broken to pieces; against them will he
thunder in heaven". And we have many other like passages
in the scriptures where this powerful confusion and vexation of
heart are described, both as they are experienced in the hearts
of the saints and as they are foretold to await all the wicked ;
by which the former being humbled are comforted and raised
up, but the latter when humbled are only afflicted more and
overwhelmed. David says this, therefore, as wishing all men
to be saved, and that none should perish.
There is moreover in the Hebrew a beautiful allusion in
these two verbs "turn" and "ashamed", which the Latin lang-
uage is not capable of rendering. For in this passage we have
by a change of letters jasobu for jesobu; and David repeats
the word jesobu, "let them be put to shame", from a vehem-
t-nce of feeling, desiring that those things which he himself
suffers may be turned upon his adversaries, that they also may
cease to be proud and to persecute the humbled. As we have
it also, Ps. 54 :5, "He will requite the evil unto mine enemies".
"The righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked
cometh in his stead", Prov. 11 :8. And Ps. 32:10, "Many sor-
rows shall be to the wicked; but he that trusteth in Jehovah,
lovingkindness shall compass him about". In the same way
he prays, Ps. 79 :$, 6, that the anger of the Lord may be turned
from him upon his enemies, saying "How long, O Jehovah?
wilt thou be angry for ever? shall thy jealousy burn like fire?
pour out thy wrath upon the nations that know thee not, and
upon the kingdoms that call not upon thy name". He also
prays in this psalm, that he might not be rebuked by the anger
of the Lord, but that they might feel this rebuke who
call not upon him nor fear his wrath.
We have observed that the enemies of the godly are more
especially those who are called "workers of iniquity", advisers
to a presumptuously secure heart and to an ignorant faith and
PSALM VI. 365
hope in God ; and therefore the godly have a continual warfare
with these, which warfare they would not have, if they had at
some time been vexed with this kind of tribulation themselves.
But if any one chooses rather by "workers of iniquity" to
understand devils, who in the hour of temptation fearfully
assault the godly and urge and drive them to desperation, set-
ting before their eyes good works and telling them that if they
do these they will have no reason to despair, and thus con-
firming desperation by presumption, and presumption by des-
peration, and all the while entangling their souls in these
trammels of iniquity, that they might not worship God in true
godliness of faith and hope. If any one, I say, wishes to un-
derstand the passage thus, I will not oppose it; for devils are
certainly the most crafty persuaders 6f souls to disobedience
under a show of obedience, because it is peculiar to them to
transform themselves into angels of light, and then more es-
pecially when they least ought to do it, that is, in the time of
tribulation.
I believe hov/ever that the prophet speaks against those
men v/ho are the enemies of true godliness, that is, those who
cannot endure the knowing or being told that their ignorant
wisdom will drag thousands together with themselves into hell.
PSALM VII.
THE INNOCENCE (iGNORANCE) OF DAVID, WHICH HE
SUNG UNTO THE LORD CONCERNING THE WORDS OF THE ETHIOP-
IAN, THE SON OF JEMINI.
Many have spent much labor upon this psalm in order to
show what the scope of it is and what the title indicates, and
it still remains as much as ever in dispute. We in the mean
lime will follow Burgensis who seems to me to come nearer
to the true point than any other, when he judges that the
Psalm is not to be understood of Saul but of Shimei. That
we may see the propriety of thus understanding it, let us cite
the words of the history recorded in 2 Sam. 16:5-8, "And when
king David came to Bahurim, behold, there came out thence a
man of the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei,
the son of Gera ; he came out and cursed still as he came. And
he cast stones at David, and at all the servants of king David :
and all the people, and all the mighty men, were on his right
hand and on his left. And thus said Shimei when he cursed,
Begone, begone, thou man of blood, and base fellow : Jehovah
hath returned upon thee all the blood of the house of Saul in
whose stead thou hast reigned ; and Jehovah hath delivered the
kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son ; and, behold, thou
art taken in thine own mischief, because thou art a man of
blood." When the servants of David wanted to kill Shimei
David said, "Let him alone, and let him curse, for Jehovah hath
bidden him". Who is there that would dare to say, why dost
thou do so? And David said to Abishai and to all his servants,
"Behold my son, who came forth from my bowels, seeketh my
life: how much more may this Benjamite now do it"? 2 Sam
16:11.
PSALM VII. 367
It is evident therefore that he calls this cursing- Shimei,
in the title, the son of Jemini, and it is he who cursed David,
although Saul is also called the son Jemini, i Sam. 9:21, be-
cause they were of the same tribe, 2 Sam. 16:15.
Therefore, we have here also at the same time the words on
account of which he sung this psalm, namely, on account of the
curses of Shimei, by which, as a most bitter and persevering
calumniator, he loaded him with false accusations. For we
do not find in the history of Saul that he vomited forth any
such words as these against David. Hence it must of necessity
follow that it is concerning the dreadful injury done him
by these words that David speaks, as the text of the Psalm
itself will show.
It now remains to be shown why he particularly calls him
Cush, which signifies an Ethiopian. Almost all commentators
agree that this is a metaphor, because blackness always indic-
ates wickedness of character. As the poet of old also saith —
Romans ! of this man beware ;
He is a dark — black character !
As on the other hand we call him white who is sincere and
upright and of a candid heart, and who is without any dark
cast, as the proverbial term goes. Commentators suppose there-
fore that the proper name of the man was omitted by David
in the title, and that he made use of a new appellation suited
to his heart and disposition. But if we do not admit this we
may consider that he had two names, which we frequently find
in the sacred scriptures, as may be collected from the lineage
of Christ, Matt, i and Luke 3, and as we find with respect to
Zacharias the son of Jehoida, 2 Chron. 24 :20, is called in Matt.
23 :35 the son of Barachiah. Still the same point remains, that,
being silent about the name Shimei, he chose to call him
by another name, "Ethiopian", rather than Shimei, as being
an appellation more suited to his bad and malicious nature.
Now if we receive these things the ignorance here men-
tioned will discover itself of its own accord and show what
368 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
its meaning is. For as David was so far from acknowledging
the justice of the curses of Shimei, as, even on his death bed,
to command Solomon, i Kings 2 19, that he should 'bring
down his, Shimei's, hoar head to the grave with blood', as
a revenge for the curses that he had received from him; it is
manifest that he, David, had confessed his innocence unto God,
and that this "ignorance" is nothing else than innocence, for
that of which we are not conscious, we may be rightly said not
to know or to be ignorant of.
But as it is wicked for any one to trust in his own devices,
Prov. 12:2, and according to "He that trusteth in his own
heart is a fool", Prov. 28 126. Therefore we are so to stand in
this innocence of ours as yet to fear the judgment of God,
and not to glory in our innocence in a way of security ; but we
are first to give glory to God and confess before him that his
judgment is one thing, and man's another; that having thus
received permission from him, we miay profess our innocence
before men, and yet not injure, but glorify, his judgment; and
this we learn by temptation. Therefore David, though he knew
that false things were laid to his charge, that is, as far as his
conscience v/as concerned, yet, as he knew also that God had
bidden Shimei thus to curse him, feared lest they were true
and just in the sight of God; nor had he a sufficient confidence
in his own conscience. In the same way, the apostles had not
sufficient confidence in themselves when they heard that one
of them should betray their Lord. For such is the tender
state of every godly man's conscience, that although innocent,
he fears sin where sin is not. Such is the case where there is
the fear of God and a sense of the inscrutable depth of his
judgment.
Hence David, though innocent, fears that he was guilty of
those things v.'hich were laid to his charge; and especially in
'•his time of temptation, in which God seemed to favor the
cause of his adversaries, and to strike him because of those
things which are laid to his charge, though he knows nothing
PSALM VII. 369
of them. Tlierefore though he is not conscious of any crime
either to himself or before men, yet, fearing lest he should
be guilty in heart, for God searcheth the heart and trieth the
reins, he teaches us in this Psalm, that which is taught by the
Apostle, 2 Cor. 10:18, "For not he that commendeth himself
is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth".
Wherefore although this Psalm is written concerning David
and his ignorance, yet, as this evil of calumny is common and
frequent in the world we are to believe that these things are
written as a doctrine applicable in general unto all of us ; as
Paul saith, Rom. 15:4, "For whatsoever things were written
aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience
and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope".
Here we see what are and ought to be the mind and feel-
ings of all those who would faithfully, and in the fear of God,
bear and overcome calumny. For this kind of persecution
David has here set forth to us in this seventh psalm. He
has in the preceding Psalms instructed us in those evils and
temptations whereby we are purified from sin ; and now he
would more perfectly instruct us in the perfect fear of God ;
that we may there fear that we have sinned where we really
have not sinned ; and that we may be perfected in such a hatred
of sin and such a love of God, that we may be brought to fear
as sins those sins of which we are ignorant, and which are
indeed no sins at all.
To attain unto this perfection, we have need, not of a per-
secuting Absalom whom we know for certain persecutes us
unjustly, but of a calumniating Shimei whose curses we may
fear as true, though we know ourselves innocent all the while.
For we are not to be satisfied with this our innocence and rest
in contented security, but are to say with Job, 2y :5, 6, "Far
be it from me that I should justify you : till I die I will not
put away mine integrity from me. My righteousness I hold
fast and will not let it go : my heart shall not reproach me so
long as I live". Thus, as we touched upon these points in the
370 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
fifth Psalm, we are to confess our ignorance before God, who
alone knows the hearts of men ; but before men, we are to hold
fast our innocence, if our heart does not condemn us. For, as
before God sins are not to be denied, before whom no man
living is justified; so, before men, the truth is to be asserted
and maintained, before whom we can and ought to live without
sin. David therefore having received this instruction by his
own experience, imparts it unto us also, by which we avenge
ourselves of calumny much easier than Apelles some time since
took vengeance by his own picture. He saith therefore,
V. I. — O Jehovah my God, in thee do I take refuge (put
my trust) : save me from all them that pursue {persecute)
me and deliver me.
The first feeling here set forth is not that of heated revenge
and zeal against the calumniators and persecutors, as is the
case with man accustomed to vanity and lies, for God saith,
"vengeance is mine, I will repay", but we are first of all to
flee unto God and are to lay both our calumny and our per-
secution before him with that full hope and confidence which in-
nocence and a good conscience will in such cases afford us.
Here then, you see, David prays to be saved from all his
persecutors ; for there were two that persecuted him, Absalom
with smiles and by action and strength, and Shimei with the
scourge of the tongue and calumny; and without doubt the
latter was not alone, or at least, he did not do this to please
himself only; and therefore David saith, "Save me from all
them that persecute me", with the same feelings as those under
which he said, Ps. 6 :y, 'Mine eye waxed old because of all mine
enemies". Because those who suffer both violence and calumny
seem to have all things against them ; and it appears to them
that there is not one left to help them ; as indeed all things do
seem to one thus alone. Therefore he saith, "from all them
that persecute me"; that is, for I find all men and all things
against me.
And as to what difference there may be between "save me"
PSALM VII. 371
and "deliver me", I do not think that of any consequence what-
ever; unless we wish to understand "save me" as referring to
the good, and "deliver me" to the evil. But rather, the whole
is to be understood as a repetition, and indicative of the power
of his feelings.
This verse we may bring forward against those who do not
believe that faith and hope are necessary either for prayer or
for receiving the grace of God or for receiving the benefit, as
we term it, of the sacraments. As the prophet prays to be
saved or delivered, and as he glories that he hopes in the Lord,
it is certain that these things will follow to those that believe
in, hope in, and love the Lord. He says moreover, "In thee
do I take refuge", not in myself, nor any man. We have spoken
more at large of these things in the fifth Psalm.
V. 2 — Lest they tear my soul like a lion, rending it in
pieces, ■li.'hilc there is none to deliver.
Jerome translates the passage from the Hebrew, "Lest he
seize my soul like a lion, and tear it, and there be none to
deliver'. 'Seize', says David, and 'tear', as a furious beast does,
which words he uses that we may not understand that any com-
mon kind of seizing is spoken of. Then he says, "like a lion", a
most implacable beast, and "tear me in pieces". Tear what in
pieces ? my house or my cattle ? no ! my soul ; that is, my life,
that life which my body has from my soul, as we have shown
from the preceding Psalm.
All these things David magnifies with the power of language
ihat he may set forth his extreme necessity, and put it in its
most alarming light, that he may be the sooner heard ; or rather,
that he may excite himself to a more ardent intentness of soul,
for we must pray with earnestness and seriousness if we would
ever be heard. It is not to be stated, however, that David
was at this time in that state, that he feared lest he should be
seized by Absalom and Shimei as by roaring lions, and should
be torn in pieces by them ; and he knew there was no hope nor
help for him but in God. In a like situation are all those who
372 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
suffer violence and calumny, who will well understand the
sense and meaning of these words.
V. 3. — O Jehovah my God, if I have done this; if there he
iniquity in my hands;
V. 4. — // / have rewarded evil unto him that was at peace
with me {did me evil); yea, I have delivered him that zvithout
cause was mine adversary;
Here David enters upon the very theme of his Psalm and
according to the title speaks of the words of the Ethiopian,
Shimei. This calumniator first cast in his teeth that he
was guilty of the blood of the house of Saul, when he said,
'Come out, come out, thou man of blood, and thou man of
Belial' ; In the second place that he had invaded his kingdom
by violence; and that therefore both these things had now
come upon his own head. That, first of all, his blood should
be shed by his own son, and that, in the next place, the kingdom
should be transferred to him. Of both therefore David com-
plains and confesses himself innocent.
The nature and experience of the second namely 'innocence',
he teaches us to understand in two ways, negatively and con-
ditionally. That we should maintain our confidence in an
innocent conscience, as far as the sight of men is concerned, arid
should yet fear our own secret sinfulness in the sight 01 God,
our judge. For the experience of each is set forth in these
verses in this manner, 'O Jehovah my God, so far am I from
having done this, so far are my hands from being guilty in ihis
matter, so far am I from being the cause of the bloodshedding
of Saul's family and of the loss of his kingdom, that I did not
even return him and his evil for the evil the 7 did me, even
when it was in my power to do it, when I caught him in the cave
alone, i Sam. 24:5, and when I took away his spear out of his
camp, I Sam. 26:11, etc.
Moreover he says I have not only not rendered evil for
'.vil, but have, on the contrary, rendered good for evil. Thus
Saul himself testified, i Sam. 24:17, saying, "Thou art more
tsALM vii. 373
righteous tlian I; for thou hast rendered unto nie good, where-
as I have rendered unto thee evil". So far is it, says David,
from being- possible that I can be a man of blood. But if there
be any secret sin in me, in that I did not do these things faith-
fully, and thou judgest me thus, on that account, I am ready
before thee. Punish me as I deserve. "Let mine enemy per-
secute my soul and take it".
Further, the expression "iniquity" seems to refer to the
latter accusation of Shimei, and "if I have done this" to the
former. So that the meaning is, I have not committed any
act of blood at all, with which he charges me. Nor is there any
iniquity va my hands, as to my having gotten the kingdom ; be-
cause I have done no one any injury in this matter, for I did
it, not by any temerity of my own, but according to thy com-
mand.
But where he imprecates so many evils upon himself if he
had done any such thing, the feeling grows more powerful
than it is where he merely says that he did it not. Whereby we
are taught to pray with an earnest heart against calumny ; yet
so, that we may testify our innocence, and at the same time fear
the secret judgment of God, being prepared to suffer any evils
if we are found blamable. For although according to the best
of your own judgment you have the command of God on your
side in any work, yet you ought to fear lest you should not
have acted rightly, and be apprehensive lest any commandment
should be against you. Even as Abraham, though he had re-
ceived the renewal of the promise in Isaac, yet fearing the judg-
ment of God, he willingly offered him up as a burnt-sacrifice.
So David, in this case, though conscious of no s'n, yet he
resigned the kingdom, saying, 2 Sam. 15:26, "But if he say
thus, I have no delight in thee ; behold, here am I, let him do to
me as seemeth good unto him." So he permitted Shimei to
curse on and even believed that he was commanded of God to do
it, fearing that it might all be just and right that happened
unto him.
374 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Wherefore, however just, holy, innocent, true, and divine
your cause may be, you must conduct it in fear and humiHty,
always fearing the judgment of God and having confidence in
nothing of your own but in the mercy of God alone. Judas
Maccabee was engaged in a most just war, and many others
were overcome in most just causes, and in divine matters; as
is written in Judges 20:21-25; because they did not go forth
in fear, but depended upon the justness of their cause, and not
on the mercy of God only. But the apostle saith, i Cor. 4 4,
*'For I know nothing against myself; yet am I not hereby
justified".
This is what David, being placed under tribulation, teaches
by his example, namely : that no one is at liberty to arrogate
justice unto himself so as to make a tumult on account of the
justice of his cause, or to rage with revenge because of it, or
to meditate any retaliation either by force or by law. It is
in this way that the church leaders who wish to seem just and
wise above all men madly rage ; but they ought first to be con-
cerned with humble fear lest they have merited all those things
before God, and they ought to offer themselves for deserved
punishment.
Then they ought to pray against their adversaries according
to the innocence of their conscience. This they may do, for
no adversary can have a just cause against any man who has
an innocent conscience ; for this God alone can have, and this
he does have. For the judgments of God are far different from
the judgments of men. Man sees those things only which are
open to view ; but God beholds the heart. Therefore when any
man judges otherwise than according to outward appearance,
he becomes a calumniator like this Shimei.
In order to set forth this humility and fear of God, David
carefully entitled the Psalm 'Concerning the words of Gush';
because he was not ignorant that he deserved the persecution
of Absalom his son, and yet he does not excuse it. But the
curses of Shimei he does not acknowledge; or, if they are
PSALM VII. 375
true, he confesses that he does not know his guilt. He deserved
by his adultery and murder the evils that came upon him from
Absalom ; but he is not conscious that he deserves the curses
of Shimei concerning the blood of Saul. Yet he fears that
he deserved it on account of the secret and fearful judgment
of God. How these things are the godly and God-fearing heart
well knows and feels when it is vexed and afflicted either by
accusing men or accusing devils.
The word, moreover, which the translator has rightly ren-
dered "iniquity" is in the Hebrew aval^ which signifies properly
that which the Latins express by 'iniquity' (iniquitas) that is,
a hurting or injuring a person more or less, so as to transgress
the bounds of what is right, as it happens in the affairs of men.
Thus here it would have been unjust to invade the kingdom
of a neighbor against his will, if he had done it. And what
our translation has *T will justly depart empty from mine
enemies" Jerome renders, 'Yea, I have not sent my enemies,
that is my persecutors, away empty'. Here Jerome wishes to
convey that signification which I have mentioned, that David
not only did not render evil for evil, but even did not send
his enemies empty away' ; that is, he rewarded them good for
evil. For this also is a kind of revenge, to force benevolence
and good-will from those who offend us ; for even our enemies
are to be loved. Though I know not whether this translation
fully gives the meaning of the Hebrew.
Observe here how David exemplified the evangelical stand-
ard of righteousness. For to render evil for evil seems agree-
able to the feelings of the flesh ; and this was prohibited by the
law of Moses, unless it were done by the sentence of a superior,
for no one was permitted to do it by his own authority. The
contrary is the rendering of good for good ; but this is mercen-
ary and servile. This is how those serve God who wish to
suffer neither evil nor death. For God oppresses us with evils,
that we may learn to serve him purely, without any expectation
either of good or reward on account of our service. The third
376 LUTHEK ON THE PSALMS.
kind of return is, rendering evil for good, which is helHsh,
yea, worse than hellish. The fourth kind or return is rendering
good for evil. This is the gospel of Christ. David says he
acted according to this last ; because, he not only did not render
evil for evil, but rewarded good unto them, who, after they had
received good from him, ungratefully returned him evil, for
so the words are ; as we have before shown from the confession
of Saul, I Sam. 24:17.
V. 5. — Let the enemy pursue {persecute) my soul, and
overtake it; yea, let him tread my life down to the earth, and
lay my glory in the dust.
These words do not seem to me to be spoken under a feeling
of confidence as many think, though David was certain that
these things would not take place, because he did not deserve
them. For as he began in humble prayer, so we strive to sing
these things in the same fear of God. Because, as I said,
though he was not conscious that he merited this cursing, nay,
though he knew that he was called to the kingdom by the
command of God, yet, for many reasons, he could not glory long
and boast in this long: first, because God is wonderful in all
his ways ; and then, because we do not sufficiently know our
own hearts. By these things it may come to pass, that you
either may not rightly understand the command of God, or
may not rightly fulfill it. Thus you will be guilty though in
a most hidden way; and either the commandment of God must
be made null or altered, or God must stand against you, whom
you thought to be on your side.
It was in this fear that Abraham, as I before said, was in-
structed when he offered up his son Isaac. This indeed is an
exalted degree of the fear of God ; where thou art obliged to
apprehend that God and his commandment are not for thee, and
to fear that they are both against thee. In a word, where thou
hast to fear God did not wish, but forbade those very things
which he really did wish and command. Whereas in all other
PSALM VII. 377
cases the fear is only that we have not done those things which
we know are plainly commanded.
Who can endure this most constant inconstancy of the
divine contradiction, so to speak, with an all-constant though
incomprehensible constancy, but he who is a "man after God's
own heart", as David and Abraham were? For here the very
truth of God itself seems to totter and excite hatred according
to all human judgment. But in this way must that mercenary
principle of our servile nature be destroyed, whereby we wor-
ship God only for our own advantage ; and under the influence
of which we are inflamed towards God, and for God's sake, as
we imagine and are filled with pride, zeal, and hatred for his
cause's sake, and ready and willing to endure any thing for
his name and worship and for the salvation of the souls of
men, as we call it. For who of us that had the promise of
David or of Abraham would not show forth and maintain
this command of God even before angels, if any one should
oppose him with a denial upon that ground ? So deeply there-
fore are the bent and feeling of the flesh rooted in man that
God must show himself to us as if he were a God inconstant
and faithless, in order that we may be rightly instructed there-
by not to trust to any thing, even divine or eternal, with a per-
verted afl:'ection.
David here mentions the three things to be destroyed, which
we surrender with the greatest grief, namely, soul, life, and
honor. He devotes his soul a prey to persecution and his life
to a trampling under foot, and his honor to a burial. For
in the Hebrew it is said, 'And let him bury, set up, my glory
in the dust' ; which indeed is the same as our translation but
somewhat clearer.
He seems to distinguish "soul" from "life", in that "soul"
should be understood as signifying, as I have already observed,
the substantial life which gives life to the body, but "life" the
conversation or the things done in the body by the soul. This
is the distinction which the Greeks seem to retain in their Zoa
378 LUTHEK ON THE PSALMS.
and Bios. Though we use the same word lehen, yet, we use
it in different senses when speaking of the natural Hfe and
of the works of that Hfe.
In these words he explained what his mind and feelings
were when he said, 2 Sam. 15 :26, "But if he say thus, I have
no delight in thee; behold, here am I", etc. And also when he
said, 16:11, "Let him curse; for Jehovah hath bidden him".
For then he was ready to lose his soul, his life, and the glory
of his kingdom, as is manifest. Therefore he now sings these
same things under the same feelings, that by his own example
he may instruct us all how we ought to think, how to speak,
and how to act, and instructs those who may be brought to
suffer the same things.
The sense is therefore, 'If I am such before thee, let that
be done which is now done. I willingly submit. Let Absalom
and Ahithophel seize me, neither let there be any one to save me
from my persecutors, nor to deliver me from the hand of him
that seizeth me. I am ready to bear thy will and to endure the
punishment due to me.
Moreover let them tread all my life and the actions of my
life down to the ground ; that is, let them destroy and cast away
all of them, that nothing whatever may any more remain before
the eyes, in the ears, or in the memory of men : I willingly lose
all. Let me be found evil in my Hfe, useless, and pernicious,
worthy of being vilely trampled under foot, of being sup-
planted by all, and of being cast away as dust shaken from the
foot. But let all raise and exalt my enemy and extol him to
the skies, let all his life and actions be great and wonderful
before thee and before all men, and let all that he has done, or
now does or will do, be honored in the same way.
Not content with this, he says, 'Yea, let him not only cast
down my present and future glory and power, but let him
bury them in the dust ; so that they shall be cast away for ever,
and never more appear. Let the throne of my kingdom, the
wife of my bosom, my children, my friends, my riches, and all
PSALM VII. 379
that I have, go to obHvion. Yea, let that glorious promise
made me concerning a future Christ, which I held more dear
than all things else, and in which my only hope, glory, and
rejoicing stood, go also; so that, behold, I also like my father
Abraham bring and offer up my most beloved Isaac'.
O "man according to God's own heart", indeed! who can
rightly value this state of heart and mind? who can rightly
speak of it? We think it the greatest of all things to die
voluntarily, and lay down our life. But here, David is pre-
pared, not to die merely, but to be seized by a persecutor, to be
delivered into the hand of enemies, to be put to death. Not to
fall asleep gently in the midst of the tears of a circle of dear
relatives, but to be put to death in the midst of enfuriated,
mocking, and triumphant enemies. But, as to us, what do we
not perpetrate, what tragedies do we not act out, if even one
of our works or our words be blamed, or we are not highly
celebrated ? Whereas here, one that was universally renowned
for so many triumphs in war, for so many miracles, for a
conquered Goliath, for a vanquished bear, for so many godly
works, for so many augmentations of divine worship, not only
permits all his actions to lose their praise, but to be cast away
as dust from the shoes and trodden under foot for ever, and
so trampled upon by all till they are reduced to nothing !
But as to us, what murders and acts of violence do we not
plan, if not carry into execution, even upon the whole race, either
for the maintaining of some old honors and dominions, or for
defending some present privileges of our own ? Whereas,
David, though having been anointed king three times by the
divine command, and having received the infallible declaration
and promise of the Christ that should be born from him, not
only lays down the whole kingdom and all that distinguished
honor, but is prepared never to receive it again, and to remain
as a cast-away and dishonored for ever, permitting all those
unspeakable honors and ornaments to be trodden down and
buried in the dust. What feeling can be conceived more un-
380 LUTHER ON THE TSALMS.
bearable, more sublime, more deep, and, in a word, more won-
derful than this !
David had all these things by divine command and by com-
mands repeated in more places than one. Why then does he
not in a rage stand up for the defence of the divine right ? Is
he then ungodly for not maintaining, defending, and preserving
the kingdom thus given him by the divine command, by blood
and by death ? But we at this day seem the most godly of all
men, if we confound heaven and earth in defending temporal
things, having affixed to them ourselves the title of divine
right, without any fear of God whatever ; whereas, if we really
had any of these things by divine right, God vv^ould justly
take the whole from us, being offended at our pride and con-
tention.
If David feared that the command which he received from
God had been altered by him, after he had been created king of
all prophets by so many signs, miracles, and unctions, and
after he had received the future Christ by so firm a promise,
I ask you, what command, what promise of God, we can have
that can give us cause for so much pride, war, contention, and
for tragedies of the like kind? We may well fear therefore
that there is the least vestige of the true Church there, where
there is the most noise about the Church. For we see that
God is most jealously impatient of all abuse of his promises,
and terrible in his counsels and commands to the children of
men.
But this is enough. I do not say these things as wishing
that any one's right and aim should be taken from him or en-
croached upon. But what I believe is, that we are taught by
the words and the example of this scripture, that whosoever
holds or possesses any thing, however just and right his title
to it may be, should possess it in fear, and not defend it by
force but by prayer and patience, and be prepared to yield it up
if God so please. Indeed the true force and meaning of this
scripture could not be fully understood and set forth were it
PSALM VII. 381
not for the examples of the present age, to which it is so
exactly adapted and which it so clearly portrays.
For in this way do the Roman and Greek churches both
sin in their contentions for superiority and dominion, while
neither yields to the other; whereas, if they acted in the fear
of God each would yield to the other. Neither of them would
have lost their superiority, but would have preserved it much
more effectually if they had attempted by prayer instead of
aiming- at it by the contentions of popes and high-priests ; that
is, if they had not sought to do it by the will and favor of men
but by the mercy of God, for it would not then have been pre-
served by the former, but by the latter. For in this way David
also prays, and yet offers himself up : he asks with Christ
that the cup might pass from him, and yet obediently yields
to the will of God. As it is written in the law of Moses, "And
thou shalt do righteously that which is right". Hence we see
that he who has a most just cause is blamable before God, If
he does not defend it in the fear of God. God regardeth not
the proud and contentious, however righteous they may be.
Thus we read it was in the case of Job, in favor of whose
cause God himself bore testimony, yet he himself reproved Job
at the same time.
SuclWiumility and fear are necessary in the present day for
us, who are contending for the truth of theology and the power
of the church ; for we shall in both causes be condemned by
God, though they are causes most just, if we do not seek the
mercy of God by prayer, rather than aim at victory by a re-
liance upon the justice of our cause. We are indeed to pray
that the truth may triumph ; but if it does not please God that
it should be accomplished by us, let it be accomplished by
whomsoever he will. For let no one think that he shall accept-
ably do the commands of God, or defend them, if he offends
at the same time and transgresses that greatest of all the com-
mandments, the worshiping of God in fear and humility. For
382 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
all the other commandments are regulated by this, and without
this all the other commandments come to nothing- at all.
Nothing therefore is acceptable except that which is done
in fear and humility. But where shall we find this state of
things in the church at present? What is the church in our
times but a certain confusion of schisms, where a tumult and
noise are made everywhere about the justness of causes and
the divine right, but all without any fear? and thus while
we fulfill all commandments, we set aside the very head, life,
and standard rule of all the commandments. Oh, blindness,
blindness, blindness !
V. 6. — Arise, O Jehovah, in thine anger, lift up thyself
against the rage (in the borders) of mine adversaries, and
azvake for me; thou hast commanded judgment {awake, my
God, in the commandment for me; thou hast commanded).
These v/ords in the Hebrew are given in one verse, but it
is a verse the most obscure; nor is it fully understood to this
day what or concerning what it speaks. Jerome translated
it, 'Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, and lift up thyself with
indignation above mine enemies : awake for me in the judg-
ment which thou hast commanded'. But, 'with indignation
above mine enemies' is not in harmony with the Hebrew. I
therefore will make bold to translate the passage verbatim from
the Hebrew thus, 'Arise, O Lord, in thine anger, and lift up
thyself in the furies of my persecutors, and awake up for
me from the judgment, thou hast commanded'. The word
which we render 'in the borders' is, in the Hebrew, equivalent
to and nearly the same as the word 'furies', or angers, and
therefore, following Jerome, I have rendered it 'furies' rather
than "borders".
But this solecism, 'thou hast commanded', which our trans-
lators have made sense by the addition of the relative pronoun
"which" is found also in other places of the scriptures. As
in Psalm 51 :8, "The bones, thou hast broken, shall rejoice".
Where we render it, "The bones which thou hast broken", or,
PSALM VII. 383
"the broken bones"; as here also, "the judgment commanded",
or, "the judgment which thou hast commanded". But, ac-
cording to my judgment, I should add not, "which", but 'be-
cause', or, "for"; thus, 'because', or, 'for', thou hast broken
them', and, 'because or, 'for', thou hast commanded'. And
this "arise" or, "lift up thyself", or, "awake up", is equivalent
to 'take out of the way', or, 'destroy' ; because it is here put
alone and implies power, as signifying that the Lord would
send a destruction upon the anger or rage of his enemies : in
this manner, 'Lift up thyself against the wrath of mine
enemies' ; that is, 'make a destruction and overthrow of those
ragings whereby my persecutors rage against me', namely,
Absalom and his party. The same meaning is to be applied,
"awake", or lift up thyself, or arise; for David wishes to say,
do thou raise or lift up thy hand against these furies. Just
in the same sense as he says, Ps. 138:7, "Though I walk in
the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me; thou wilt stretch
forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies".
Then there is that expression, "awake up for me" ; where,
instead of "for me", our translation has "O Lord my God";
because, without the points, the Hebrew may read "my God",
or, "for me". And "awake" applies to him who is waked up
and who arises as out of sleep ; as David says also in another
place "awake, O Lord, why sleepest thou"?
Again, 'from the judgment", which our translation has
"in the commandment", seems to me to mean the office from
which judges and kings derive their name; concerning which
it is said, Ps. i :5, "The wicked shall not stand in the judg-
ment". And Ps. 122:5, "For there are set the thrones of
judgment". So that "from jugdment" should signify the same
as for judgment, or for the purpose of judgment. As it is in
Ps. 68 :29, "From thy temple at Jerusalem, that is, because of
thy tempel at Jerusalem, kings shall bring presents unto thee".
In the same manner, Ps. 4 :/, "From the time of their corn and
wine are they increased". For this use of the letter Mem or the
384 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
preposition a or ab seems to have a force equivalent to a con-
junction, according to the sense of that passage, Ps. 81 14,
"For it is a statute for Israel, an ordinance of the God of
Jacob". So here "from judgment", because that is the judg-
ment which thou hast commanded.
Jehoshaphat giving commandment to the judges said, 2
Chron. 19:6, "Consider what ye do, for ye judge not for man,
but for Jehovah". Directly afterwards he commanded them,
that they should judge for the judgment and the cause of the
Lord when they returned to Jerusalem. Therefore David
prays to God that he would rise up for him unto judgment,
that the ungodly may not prevail, who always exercise among
the people their own tyranny instead of the judgment of God.
If, therefore, we receive the meaning of the passage thus, it
will easily appear that 'commandment' and 'judgment' will
signify one and the same thing; because, in judgment judges
execute the command of God, whereas tyrants rather subvert
it, as has been said.
The meaning is therefore according to the peculiar gram-
matical construction, 'Arise, O Lord, and show thy wrath,
that thou mayest no longer suffer these things ; oppose and pre-
vent the fury of my persecutors, and stretch out thine hand
against their rage, and prevent their impetuosity from falling
on me. Finally awake and remember me. This I pray, not on
my own account but for thy judgment's sake; lest all things be
rashly perverted and confounded while there is none to ad-
minister and govern affairs ; and especially at a time when
all things ought to be governed by thine own immediate order
and command'. So far the grammatical meaning.
Now calling theology to our aid, let us inquire why he prays
for the anger of God upon his enemies and why he arrogates
to himself the kingdom when just before he had been so willing
to give up the whole, and to benefit his enemies.
First of all, as he had offered himself and his in fear and
humility, it is certain that this prayer was not uttered in a
PSALM VII. 385
wrong spirit. After he has ascribed all glory and righteous-
ness to God, he prays in safety against those who exercised
tyranny by force. For the fear of the Lord causes a man
to execute the divine command faithfully; by which he knew
that the kingdom and the administration of judgment were
committed to him. Add to this, that he does not seek his own
here but the things of God ; for he says, thou hast commanded
that I should hold the office of judgment among the people.
Therefore he chose rather to use the word "judgment" than
'kingdom' ; that he might show that he was concerned in the
cause of God, and that he did not desire a mere pompous out-
side show, but a good work. Hence Paul says, i Tim. 3:1,
"If a man seeketh the office of a bishop, he desireth a good
work".
He prays then for the wrath of God upon them, not as
desiring that they should be destroyed, but that, according to
what he had said in the preceding Psalm, they might feel the
wrath of God and God himself resisting them and making all
their attempts vain, and might be led to repentance and be
brought right ; for if they felt not this wrath, they would go
on multiplying their sins and remaining insensible and perse-
cuting the godly, the ways of the godly, and the commands of
God without end, thinking all the while that they were ren-
dering God the greatest service. How then could a church of
the godly subsist in the world, if God did not at some time
manifest his anger against the ungodly, and judge the needy,
and avenge the poor?
Therefore as he himself makes stormy the depths of the
sea, so he again stills its waves, setting bounds to the surges,
saying, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here
shall thy proud waves be stayed", as it is written in Job 38:11.
So, he who raises the fury of the ungodly can also restrain it
at his pleasure, in order to show his anger against it, and to
manifest that its malice does not please him.
David therefore prays for three things : First, that God
386 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
would arise and show his anger and take away that will from
the enemies upon which they presume. Secondly, that he
would restrain their fury and subvert their base attempts. And,
thirdly, that returning to him he would restore the judgment
of God. Thus, not because he deserved it, but because God had
not only promised it and done it himself, but had commanded
that it should be so; wherein the prophet seeks nothing else
than that the truth of God may be established and that his
command might be fulfilled: and he says, if this may not be
he will willingly yield to their fury.
And here he begins to touch upon the feelings under such
temptation, that, after the darkness of the tribulation is past
his confidence in the mercy of God began to brighten. He
teaches us that we should also learn to do the same in all our
tribulations. For all these things took place and were re-
corded for an example unto us.
V. 7. — And let the congregation of the people compass
thee about; and oz'cr them return thou on high {for their sakes
therefore return thou on high).
In this verse, to keep to the sense and meaning already
proposed, David shows that his concern was not for himself
but for the people. For he first prays to be restored to his
office, not for his own sake, nor for the sake of the people,
but solely because God had commanded, that the will of God
in this matter might be done first. From the love of God he
comes down to the love of the brethren and of his neighbor,
that by this same command of God he might serve his fellow
men. Grant, says he, that the congregation of the people may
again compass me about, cleave to me, and be subject to me,
for he speaks in an optative sense by the future indicative,
as he glories also, Ps. 144 .2, "Who subdueth my people under
me", for this redounds to their salvation if they obey thee who
hast set me as king over them. Let them not stray as sheep
without a shepherd, lest, as men without a guide, they fall into
the hands of robbers. If I am unworthy, yet thou art worthy
PSALM VII. 387
whom I should obey, and they deserve not on account of me
to be deHvered over to scattering and destruction. O do thou,
therefore, restore me to the head of affairs and gather the
outcasts of Israel, Ps. 147:2, and the members into the body.
Thus the godly ruler of the people, as far as he himself is
concerned, will Avillingly lose all things, will only desire to
do his duty to God and men, and will fear lest his evils should
be the cause of his people's peril and destruction.
As examples of this, look either at St. Athanasius or Hilary,
or like characters, who in the time of the Arian heresy were
driven from their stations into exile ! For I do not see that it
is possible to adduce any example from our own times, be-
cause none now a-days dare to do any thing that is likely
to subject them to exile. These holy fathers, though they were
most free from all iniquitous ambition, yet, as Hilary him-
self confesses, from the debt they owed to the ministry and
priesthood committed to them, they prayed that the Arians
might be cast down and that they might be permitted to min-
ister unto God in their stations, and to profit the people ; for
while they were absent, they anxiously and grievously feared
for the people intrusted to their care, lest they should be torn
in pieces by heretical wolves ; and they were deeply concerned
also lest violence should be done to the word of God. If there-
fore the present verses be prayed in their persons and if the
example of David be considered, it will be found that these
words exactly agree with the feelings of those who are brought
into such a state.
A parallel example would be, if a bishop or prelate were
excommunicated and banished for the sake of the truth or
because he was faithful in his office, and the people became
alienated from him, being misled by pernicious entreaties, dis-
tractions and lies.
For if the people were not led into danger by any other
evil they surely would be stirred up to lies and hatred of the
truth by the slander and abuse of their prelate, a good maa
388 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Since all Israel was perverted and corrupted by these means
David sighed the more eagerly that he in a prayer called the
wrath of God upon their fury, which was surely necessary to
restrain the people. For it is better that the godless perish,
than that the people should be ensnared by godless teaching,
as the apostle, Gal. i :8-9, uttered the wish that those who
turned the Galatians from the truth might be anathema.
He has skilfully chosen his words ; so as not to say, shall
compass "me about", but "shall compass thee about" ; that is,
shall be gathered unto thee. That he might show forth that
which we mentioned before, that the judgment is not of man
but of God. Therefore, they who are gathered unto ihe man
that ministers in the work of God are gathered unto God,
and not unto man. He has reference to that figurative expres-
sion in the sciptures where the Lord is said to be in the midst
of his people; as in Ps. 16:5, "God is in the midst of her, she
shall not be moved". And 2 Cor. 6:16, which is taken from
Lev. 26:12, "And I will walk among you and will be your
God, and ye shall be ray people".
Reasonably and most appropriately does David thus speak
in this matter ; for Absalom and those who imitate him do not
seek to gather people unto God but unto themselves. They
themselves wish to be idols surrounded by the people ; for they
seek not the glory of God and the salvation of the people, as
all faithful men who stand between God and the people ought
to do, but they seek the increase of their own power.
By this word therefore he strikes at the arrogance and am-
bition of those who command the people only to aggrandise
their own power. That this may not be done is what the man
after God's own heart ardently prays for. But this evil most
certainly increases in the church at this day beyond all bounds,
and that by the wrath of God, for our fearing the censures of
men far more than the threatenings of God, and for our losing
sight of God altogether by having respect to the persons
of men.
PSALM VII. 389
Then with respect to these words, "For their sakes there-
fore return thou on high", or as the Hebrew has it, "return
thou" etc. He does not say, put mc again on high, but "Return
thou on high". Nor does he say, for my sake, but 'For their,
the people's sake". "For he says it is they that I pity, it is
their calamity and their being seduced that fills me with so
much grief. It is for them that I pray, not for myself. Be-
hold therefore, as before in the love of God he prayed for the
judgment which God had commanded; so here in the love
of the brethren he prays for their salvation; thus, equally
anxious in both respects lest the judgment of God should not
be satisfied, and that men may not perish on his account ; that
the office of ruling the people which God has commanded, and
the obedience of the people who submit themselves to it, may
stand, that there may never be a people without a God nor a
God withoujt a people. O, that is a word that ought to be com-
mended to all the bishops, pastors, rulers and leaders in the
church, and held in memory and faithfully observed by them.
But when did God leave his seat on high so as to make
it necessary for him to return unto it? Why, it is so often as
any proud and ambitious one sits in the place of God. For-
while such an one subjects the people of God unto himself
rather than unto God, he certainly, as far as lies within his
power, is 'exalted, as Paul saith, 2 Thess. 2 4, above all that
is called God or that is worshipped'. Such an one as this is
ANTI-CHRIST ! As this is a time when all these popes and
high-priests in the church are thus ambitious and domineer over
the people and subject them unto themselves and not unto
Christ, who can doubt that Antichrist is reigning? But God
returns on high when, casting down all these Absaloms, he
again restores his judges as of old, who gather together people
unto God, teach the commandments of God, as of old, and set
aside all the traditions of men.
Let no one wonder that the returning of God on high is
his reviving his judgment, his power, his office, and his min-
390 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
istry; for the prophet, as we know, speaks in the spirit, and
therefore he is to be understood as speaking of a spiritual
exaltation of God, who is exalted when we are brought to
submit to him, when we hear his word, and when we see his
works, and when all these are wrought by the ministration of
man. ■ -^^ril
Wherefore this Psalm is the most fervent prayer for se-
curing good bishops and leaders in the church. Would God
that we each to-day might, with special fervency as becomes
the words, offer this prayer in behalf of the church of Christ,
for there never was a time when such a prayer was more
needed.
But what do we see at present in the church that at all
answers to these words? Where are to be found men who
gather people together unto Christ, with the same anxiety as
they gather them together unto themselves? Who is now
as anxious to see the people fear Christ, as to see them fear
the power of the pope ? We unconcernedly smile at those who
ofifend God by their sins, but when any offend the pope, we
vent all our fury against them.
Then we compel them to observe our pomps, ceremonies,
ordinances, and laws; but so far are we from gathering them
together to the words of Christ and to the love of the Spirit, that
we labor with all our endeavors to prevent the people from
understanding Christ and the truth, and to hinder the believers
in Christ from being in peace and union with each other, es-
pecially kings and princes. We have dared even to teach that
it is an offence to teach the true godliness of Christ, that is,
we teach that in our estimation it is a matter of no small peril
for the people to be admitted to a true knowledge of the gospel,
to prefer the Word of God to the words of men, and to value
the works of true godliness above all the foolish outside show
of works. For we begin to think that if such knowledge pre-
vails we shall meet with famine on the one hand and poverty
on the other, and that all the pomp which we have scraped
PSALM VII. 391
together from the whole world will fall to the ground. In
a word, in such perilous times do we live that we are compelled
to adore not God but man.
V. 8. — Jehovah ministereth judgment to the peoples:
judge me, O Jehovah, according to my righteousness, and
to mine integrity that is in me.
Here he plainly shows himself and discovers to us what he
meant by God's returning on high, by the judgment commanded
of God, and by the congregation of the people which com-
pass God about. Why, says he, should I not speak thus? It
is not we that rule, that judge, it is the Lord that judgeth the
people, and the judgment of the people belongeth to him alone,
it is he that speaks, that judgeth and does all things in us.
Thus Gideon saith, Judges 8:23, "I .will not rule over you,
neither shall my son rule over you : Jehovah shall rule over
you". Behold the holy man ! he will not permit the people to
be gathered together unto himself even though requested to
do it ; he gives all over unto the Lord.
On the other hand, i Sam. 8 7, the Lord said unto Samuel,
"They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that
I should not be king over them". Not that there was any evil
in asking a king, or in having one, for afterwards God gave
them kings, but they by a blinded heart and affection were more
anxious about a king than about God ; for they did not desire
the king that by him they might be brought nearer unto God ;
and therefore they were just such as ought to be under such a
tyrant as would subject them to himself and not to God; and
this is what happened unto them in Saul whom they desired
for their king.
From all these things it is manifest that it is an evident sign
of the wrath of God when he himself does not reign but per-
mits ambitious Absaloms to hold the place of judgment, con-
sidering us unworthy to hear the Word of God or to see his
works; as he himself foretold, Luke 17:22, saying, "The days
392 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the
Son of man and ye shall not see it".
In the Hebrew the verb is in the future, "he shall judge
the people" ; which, by the optative, may be understood in a
petitionary sense, in this way. I pray thee that thou wouldst
be the judge of the people, and that thou wouldst not suffer men
to judge, nor thy people to be seduced by the words of men,
nor by the burdens which they may lay upon themselves. Or
it may be understood assertatively and in a way of hope from
his feeling a confidence that his prayer was heard. In this
way I prefer to understand it. I feel confident and am certain
that I am heard in praying, that thy Word, thy work, and thy
judgment, may gather thy people together again whom these
ungodly ones have scattered by their words and works, and
have drawn them from thee on account of me.
After he had expressed his concern for the cause of God
and of the people, he begins with his own cause, praying that
his innocence might be made manifest ; because the cause of
God and of the people could not be restored in this instance
unless the ungodly were cast down and his innocence were de-
fended. Therefore the necessitous state of the glory of God
and of the safety of the people compel him to pray that his
own cause might be justified. For as long as he is condemned
unjustly, so long it must appear that neither the judgment of
God nor the obedience of his people is true, because he is not
heard, though the accusations and condemnations of his ac-
cusers and persecutors must of necessity be heard.
Hence we see, that it is not enough that any one in a just
cause suffer for the truth and commit the matter unto God, and
be prepared to yield and to be brought down to the dust to-
gether with al! bis glory; but he must pray anxio'isly that
God would iudge and justify the cause of truth, not for his
sake aud advantage but for the vindication of the ministry of
God and for the salvation of his people, which is not without
peril nor withoiit thy fault, if from a foolish humility thou
PSALM vir. 393
dost not pray most fervently for the preservation and mani-
festation of the truth and of thine own righteousness. For
thoii oughtest not so much to care about how humble and
abject thou rnavest be, as to fear that the people be drawn
away from the truth and from righteousness by lies and iniqui-
ty. Thou art indeed to bear evils and injustice, but so, that
thou may est not throw away thy love upon others, for love ought
to be solicitous about, not how thou mayest thyself rise, but how
the godl} may be prevented from offences and from perish-
ing. "For my brethren and companions' sakes", says David,
Ps. 122:8, 'T will now^ say, peace be within thee". Thus Paul
also gives thanks unto God that his bonds had not caused any
impediment to the gospel, but had even furthered it. Phil.
1:12-13.
David says therefore as thou art about to judge the people,
as that belongs to thee alone and as it is thus that the people
shall compass thee about again, and that thou shalt be again
in the midst of them, as I have prayed thou mayest be; now,
therefore that this may be brought about more effectually,
judge me according to my righteousness and according to mine
integrity that is in me, and thereby show how false and lying
these curses of the Ethiopian the son of Jemini are, lest my
righteousness being falsely accused should in any way hinder
this thy judgment and the salvation of the people.
We have before shown in the third Psalm, that in the
scriptures the righteousness of man and the righteousness of
God are different things ; that a man's righteousness is that
V. hereby he is unblamable before men and in his ow^n con-
science, though that righteousness sufticeth not before God.
But the righteousness of God is the grace and mercy of God
which justify us even before God. Hence David most care-
fully adds "my righteousness", that he might distinguish it
from that of which he speaks at the end of the Psalm, saying,
"I will praise the Lord according to his righteousness". Per-
haps he says "my righteousness" and "mine integrity" with
394 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
reference to the two things which he had before said, ver. 3,
"If I have done this" and "if there be iniquity in my hands" ;
which he had said in defiance of Shimei. So that his "right-
eousness" is his not being guilty of the blood of Saul, nay,
his not having rewarded evil unto them that did him evil and
his not having sent his enemies empty away. His "integrity"
or 'innocence' or 'simplicity', for the Hebrew word means all
these things, are his not having invaded the kingdom of Saul
by his own authority.
But what means this "upon me"? Jerome translates it
"which is in me": but whose righteousness is not in him?
Does he add this in order to make a greater difference and to
show more distinctly that the righteousness whereby we are
justified before God is not in ourselves, but in God and out
of ourselves? Yes, he does it to leave no one any opportunity
of being puffed up in himself on account of his own righteous-
ness before God ; though for the sake of the salvation of others
we are to seek to have our innocence or integrity justified
before men, as was said.
V. 9. — Oh let the zvickediiess of the zvicked come to an
end, hilt establish thou the righteous (thou shall guide the
just) ; for the righteous God trieth the minds and hearts {the
hearts and reins).
Here the Latin translator varies after his custom ; for what
he translated in Ps. 5 :5, "The malignant shall not stand in
thy sight" he here translates 'wicked' or "wickedness". What
he had rendered, Ps. 1:1, "ungodly" he here renders "sinners".
But what ungodly and ungodliness, malignant and malignity
are, I have abundantly shown, Ps. i and 5. Aside from this
the Latin translator took the word "just" from the end of this
verse and joined it to the following verse against the Hebrew
and Greek, but not without difficulty, in that he says in verse
II, "Just is my shield v/ith the Lord,,' as if the righteous could
have with God another, that is an unjust shield".
The Hebrew and Jerome's translation run, "The wicked-
ness of the ungodly shall come to an end, and the just shall
PSALM VII. 395
be established; the righteous God trieth the hearts and the
reins".
David teaches us in this example that we also ought to
contend more in prayer unto God against the malignity of the
ungodly and for the innocence of the just, than in our own
strength and with our noise and tumult. For we are to fight
with weapons different from those of the ungodly. They con-
tend with noise and tumult, but we are to contend with prayer,
the Word, and patience.
Let it ''come to an end", says David, which is the same
as, let it be finished, end, and cease; as we have it, Ps. 104:35,
"Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked
be no more". On the other hand, contrary to this, he prays
that the just may be established; that is, that he may prosper,
be guided, and be confirmed, and the more so by the wicked
being consumed. Nor would it be at all absurd if we were to
read it 'justice' (jiistuni) in the neuter gender, in opposition
to the "wickedness" of the wicked ; thus taking it in the abstract
for righteousness, or for a righteous thing, or the cause of a
righteous person; as the apostle speaks, Rom. 5 -.y, "For scarce-
ly for a righteous man will one die". But these things are of
little moment,
David then is to be understood to have prayed this verse as
an example unto us in order to instruct us in right affections ;
for he did not offer up this prayer from a desire of revenge,
but from a zealous love toward God and men, in the same way
as he prayed in the verse preceding. For those who are desir-
ous of revenge do not seek the fall of their adversaries in the
last place but in the first. Whereas David here is concerned
about God in the first place and about the people in the next,
and then he comes to his own case in due order, and lastly unto
his adversaries, whom he desires thus to be brought to an end,
that the ministrations of God and the salvation of the people
may not be endangered, as we before said ; which peril cannot
be taken out of the way unless the malignity of the ungodly be
39^ LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
brought to an end, and the cause of the innocence of the just
be estabhshed; and that by the judgment and avenging hand
of God. Wherefore as the wickedness of the wicked in the
time of David's tribulation was the tyranny of Absalom and
his party who oppressed justice, so in every state of the church
each just man's oppression is the wickedness of his Absalom
and the violence and tyranny which he endures.
CONCERNING THE REINS AND THE HEART.
We have not yet spoken on "the reins and the heart", of
which frequent mention is made in the scriptures, and there-
fore we must once for all treat the subject here.
In the book of Leviticus nearly the whole of the third
chapter, which instructs the priests concerning peace-offerings,
speaks of the sacrifice of the reins or kidneys {renihiis) or
small kidneys {rcnunculis) , of the parts that hold or contain
the vitals, and of the fat and caul of the intestines. It is prob-
able that the frequent mention that is made of kidneys or reins
is taken from this part of the scripture, and therefore we must
come to the nature and meaning of the words.
Physicians say that the two kidneys are connected to the
loins and that they are the organs of lust and pleasure, as the
heart is of fear and confidence, the spleen of laughter and joy,
and the liver of love and hatred. Hence, they will have it that
ren is derived from the Greek rco which signifies to flow, be-
cause the obscene humor of lust flows from the kidneys. Hence
to the loins in which the kidneys are seated is ascribed by the
scriptures the shame of lust; as in the passage, Luke 12:35,
"Let your loins be girded about". Heb. 7:10, "For Levi was
yet in the loins of his father Abraham". Again, Gen. 46 :26,
"And the souls which came out of Jacob's loins were threescore
and six". It is manifest therefore that by reins are to be un-
derstood delights or pleasures, which must be offered as sac-
rifices to God by the mortification of the flesh.
These same pleasures or the sensations of delight that ac-
company them are signified by the caul and all the fat. Be-
PSALM VII. 397
cause all this delight and all this love and the pleasures at-
tending it are to be offered to God, and we are to rejoice and
delight in nothing but in God who alone is to be loved ; as he
saith, Lev. 3:17, 'And all the fat shall be the Lord's, by a per-
petual statute'. This is v/hat Paul also saith, Phil. 4 14, taking
away the veil from Moses' face, "Rejoice in the Lord alway,
and again, I say re-rejoice". David understanding Moses thus
in the same spirit shows that fat signifies joy, saying, Ps. 63 15,
"My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and
my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips".
Therefore he that loves God enjoys God, delights in God,
and rejoices in those things that are of God, he offers up to
God the liver, the reins, the fat, and the caul, mortified to-
gether with all their carnal and corporal lusts, delights, pleas-
ures, and gratifications. This is what the law enjoined the
priests to do ; that is, all Christians are priests and are "an elect
race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation", i Pet. 2 :g.
To all this Augustine agrees who everywhere by reins un-
derstands sensual pleasures. 'Rightly, says he, is the pleasure
of earthly and temporal things attributed unto the reins, be-
cause that is itself the inferior part of man, and is that part in
which is seated the pleasure of carnal generation, through
which the human race are sent forth, by a succession of off-
spring, unto this life so full of all sorrowful and fallacious joy'.
But the "heart", because it is the seat of the understanding,
signifies the counsels of the man, his pursuits, mind, judgment,
opinions, affections, thoughts, powers of valuing and esteem-
ing, and the like. Hence, heart is put before reins, because it
seeks the pleasure by imagination, and then pleasure
follows ; and every one is delighted with those things which he
judges will be good for him, when he obtains them. Hence
the mind of the flesh is said by the apostle to be enmity against
God, Rom. 8 :7, because it seeks pleasures which are contrary
to him, and is affected, delighted, and carried away with those
things which God has prohibited. The sense of the passage is
398 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
therefore that God alone searcheth, knoweth, examineth, and
proveth the thoughts, dehghts, desires, and pleasures of all;
because he is a weigher of the spirits, Prov. 16 :2. Thus far
the grammar of the words.
But why did David wish to say these things here? Or
how do they at all agree with what preceded? He had said,
"Let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish
thou the righteous". As the judgment of men and the judg-
ment of God are two very different things, nay, quite contrary
to each other, David in the sight of men who see things as they
outwardly appear, was judged by Absalom and Shimei to be a
man of blood and guilty of many crimes ; for as it is said, 2
Sam. 15:13, "The hearts of the men of Israel are after Ab-
salom". Thus Absalom shines as just, righteous, and good;
and in the eyes of all David was vile, ungodly, evil, and in-
jurious. Hence as it is a most powerful temptation to be left
and deserted by all, and to have all our friends go over to our
adversary, David of necessity calls upon the judgment of God,
that he would judge according to the heart.
In this way David consoles himself and confirms his hope,
holding a good and right opinion concerning God. As if he had
said, although all should forsake me and should flee unto Ab-
salom, though he should be established and I should be con-
sumed and brought to naught ; yet thou, O Lord, who art a
just God, judging in a manner far different from man, and
trying all men according to their hearts and reins, knowest
how iniquitously they act ; for thou seest the heart and the
reins and thou knov/est what they think, what they seek, and
in what they rejoice. On the other hand thou art not ignorant
of my thoughts and wishes, though my enemies' outward ap-
pearance and mine are both very different from our heart and
reins. Therefore I pray that thou wouldst consume their
wickedness and establish my righteousness. For this verse,
in the Hebrew, is manifestly a petition, because the word na
is added, which is translated by the interjection 'O', or by the
PSALM VII. 399
verb 'I pray' ; thus, "Let, I beseech thee, the wickedness of the
wicked come to an end". As it is in Ps. 118:25, "Save now,
I beseech thee, O Jehovah".
We are instructed in this verse therefore not to yield in
defending the cause of truth, however many, nay if all, fall
off from us and go over to our adversaries ; for it is no new
thing at this day even for a whole multitude together with
all the great ones of the land, to hold an error and to defend
an unjust cause. Though it is difficult and hard to bear this
being left alone, because when this is the case fools all glory
that their cause is true and invincible. But God liveth, whose
judgment must be called in to our aid, and firmly to be adhered
to ; for he trieth the reins and the heart, because he is a just
God. Hence the word "just" belongs peculiarly to this verse,
because the whole force of the scripture lies in it, and by it is
signaled that all men are unjust judges.
From all this it will follow that heart and reins are to be
understood in a twofold way : as being unmortified and not
offered up to God, and on the contrary, as being rectified and
purged by grace. For David speaks directly afterward of the
upright in heart, and shows what hearts God tries, searches, and
accepts, saying,
V. 10. — My shield {defence) is with God, zvho saveth the
upright in heart.
The Hebrew is thus translated by Jerome, 'My shield '.s
in God' ; for it signifies protection and defence. These are
the words of David exhorting himself unto hope in God against
the multitude of men, who are his adversaries, and who trust
in themselves, and especially against the words of Shimei,
where he said, 2 Sam. 16:8, "Behold thou art taken in thine
own mischief, because thou art a man of blood ; and Jehovah
hath delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom thy son".
Be it so then, says David, trust ye in man who judges accord-
ing to appearance. I have found my defence, I trust in God
who judgeth according to the heart. Wherefore all the force
400 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
lies in the pronoun "my" and "Lord", and those two words are
set against 'your' and 'man'. Your defence, says he, is in man,
but mine is in the Lord. This is how we are to act in all like
cases. There is another force contained in the pronoun "who"
and in the accusative "upright", in this way. Man saves the
corrupt in heart, but God the upright in heart. These words
are very necessary for those who are enduring tribulation, that
they may thereby cherish in their hearts a firm persuasion con-
cerning the mind of God toward them, and may hold it fast
against all arguments that may be urged to the contrary, that
they may not faint in their hope of divine help.
What this upright heart is we have fully shown in the first
Psalm, when speaking of the "counsel of the wicked". This
upright heart is when a man has a right apprehension of God
and when he is not led according to his own senses, that is,
when he believes and hopes in God. For it is faith alone that
justifies, purifies, and establishes the heart by setting it in a
right, true, and holy apprehension of God. This agrees exact-
ly with the subject of the Psalm; for Shimei endeavored to
prove the justness of his curses even upon the authority of
God. And it rightly accords with the expulsion of David and
the usurpation of Absalom. For David in these words shows
how men of false and depraved hearts are accustomed to show
themselves off under a specious appearance and to revile the
upright in heart, especially when the applause of the people
joins with them.
V, 1 1. God is a righteous judge, yea, a God that hath indig
nation ei'ery day. Rev. Ver.
V. II. God is a judge, just, strong, and patient; will he
he angry every day?
The Hebrew is different from this translation and runs
thus, 'God is a judge, righteous, and strong, being filled with
indignation every day'. That which we render "strong" is
a name of God, and is the same as el : so that it might be
more properly rendered 'God is a righteous judge, and God
PSALM VII. 401
is angry all the day' ; and therefore the word ''patient" is added
and is generally called in by interpreters in their rendering of
the verse, though it is not in the original text.
Hence the hope of David so grew in this temptation that
now he not only has no doubt that he is heard and will be
delivered, but also begins to admonish his adversaries to fear
the judgment and vengeance of God. Then he openly declares
that all that they had devised against him shall fall upon their
own head. Although David sang these things after his tempta-
tion, so that we may plainly see, that he offered this consola-
tion to the persecuted, and denounced this anger upon the
persecutors, after he had been taught by the very event of his
tribulations, and that he instructed others by his own success-
ful example and by the perils of his adversaries ; yet, we arc
to believe that he meditated upon those things in the midst of
his tribulation which he afterwards sang in his psalms in public.
For he never despaired of God and therefore he knew that all
these things would come upon his adversaries. So now also and
always every just man who sees the ungodly unjustly doing
violence to the righteous may with confidence think and say
that God, whom he knows to be a just judge, will not sufifer
these things. As David says, Ps. 9:18, "The expectation of
the poor shall not perish for ever". And this he by no means
obscurely indicates, when in the same history which is now
before us he gave such anxious injunctions that his son Absalom
should be preserved, because he knew and feared, that the evil
he had done would fall upon his own head, as it also happened.
Here he declares that the same shall come upon all who follow
his steps.
Let us therefore hear this holy preacher and listen to those
things which he declares to his ungodly adversaries with pious
solicitude, desiring to rescue them from dangers, and thus
truly rendering good for evil. Know this, God is a judge, but
he is a just one, who has no respect of persons, is not moved
402 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
with any craft, nor changed by any favor, nor corrupted by
any gift. For by these things men are not only rendered un-
just judges, but even despisers of God the just judge, for they
think it enough to please men. God as judge does not con-
demn, for the sake of pleasing men, either the solitary, the re-
viled, the cursed, the oppressed, the poor, or the despised. In
a word, even this one word, 'God is a righteous judge', is
enough if it be truly felt and apprehended to comfort the
humble and to terrify the proud ; and this had great weight
with Christ ; as i Peter 2 :23 says, "But committed himself to
him that judgeth righteously". For he that thinks on this
word soon lays aside all thoughts of revenge, nay, he even
pities his adversaries who run upon the judgment of God.
"Strong, he is angry all the day" ; that is, continually. Do
not think, ye ungodly, says David, that God is favorable to you
because ye are exalted and become powerful in your iniquity.
Know ye and believe that things are otherwise than they really
appear. God is wroth and hates you, he is indignant at you,
he threatens you all the day, for the Hebrew word, as they say,
has all these significations. These things must of necessity
be said to the ungodly, who, because they feel not the anger of
God, neither believe it nor fear it. For the words of the Spirit
are spoken concerning things absent and not appearing, which
are to be apprehended by faith.
But our translation seems to reverse the whole of this, mak-
ing the former part refer to the ungodly and the latter to the
godly. For we understand that God is just and patient towards
the wicked who are to be alarmed ; and that his not being angry
every day refers to the godly whom he consoles and com-
forts ; according to Ps. 103 ig, "He will not always chide,
neither will he keep his anger for ever". Again, Ps. 55 :22,
"He will never suffer the righteous to be moved". But the
Hebrew more appropriately accords with that which now
follows.
V. 12. — If a man turn not, he zvill whet his szvord (unless
PSALM VII. 403
ye he converted, he ivHl brandish his szvord) : he hath bent
his bow and made it ready.
The Hebrew runs thus, 'If he turn not, he will whet his
sword'. Though he that whets his sword and prepares it,
makes it fit for brandishing; so that whetting and brandishing
do not differ much from each other. But it is doubtful whether
the expression "If he will not turn" refers to God who is
threatening, or to the wicked who is to be converted ; though
Jerome applies it to the man to be converted, saying, 'He will
whet his sword against him that will not turn'. Perhaps the
verb is put absolutely "If he will not turn', that is, if there
shall be no turning. But whether you say 'Unless ye turn', or
'against him that will not turn', or 'if there be no turning', the
sense remains exactly the same. Let us therefore proceed to
inquire into this sense.
The prophet makes use of a plain and coarse similitude for
striking terror, because he is speaking against the insensible
and hardened, who will not understand the severity of the
divine judgment concerning which he has been speaking, un-
less it be set before them by some similitude taken from that
which betokens severity among men. Therefore he does not
speak of a rod, nor a staff, nor of any thing that betokens
severity of discipline among men, but brings forward that
which threatens death, namely, the sword and the bow which
betoken eternal judgment, eternal death, and eternal wrath.
For what is the sword of God but the word of eternal judg-
ment? concerning which Paul saith to the Hebrews, 4:12, "For
the Word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword" ; by which Word it is that God wdll say unto
them "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire". And the
word "sword" signifies cutting and slaying, especially when
it is spoken of as being whetted and brandished.
His words are addressed to these same insensible persons
when he is not only not contented with saying that the 'sword
is whetted', but that the 'bow is bent' ; and not only so, but he
404 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
describes the 'arrows' also. So hard is ungodliness in its front
and face, that all these threats are necessary, nor will it be
softened even by these. The bow has the same signification as
the sword, namely, the Word of judgment; which is the same
things signified and represented by these various things. When
David saith he hath 'made them ready', it is the same as he
meant before when he said, "and guide thou the just". So that
you are to understand that the bow is prepared, bent, and
made ready to strike the wicked immediately, even as the sword
also is brandished to cut them in pieces.
In these words he beautifully describes the wrath of God
as about to fall immediately upon the ungodly, of which never-
theless they never understand any thing until they feel it. Yet
what would it have profited Absalom and Ahithophel even if
they had succeeded and prospered for many thousands of years
in their malice and wickedness, if they were to be overtaken by
the sudden sword of the wrath of God at last, and cut ofif, and
sent to eternal death? For the sudden wrath of God would
be all the while hanging over them. Hence Sirach, 5 4-7, 'Say
not, I have sinned, and what harm hath happened unto me?
And say not. His mercy is great ; for mercy and wrath come
from him, and his indignation resteth upon sinners. Make no
tarrying to turn to the Lord, and put not off from day to day :
for suddenly shall the wrath of the Lord come forth, and in
thy security thou shalt be destroyed, and perish in the day of
vengeance'. And Ps. 34:16, "The face of Jehovah is against
them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from
the earth".
V. 13. — He hath also prepared for Iiiui the iiisfniineiits
(vessels) of death; he makcth his arrozvs fiery shafts {he hath
ordained his arrows for t/ie burning).
The Psalmist still pursues his similitude and he now aptly
describes the eternal torment, which is to die and to burn.
"Vessel" according to the Hebrew signifies, by a general term,
every instrument of every kind; as in Ps. 71 -.22, "I will praise
PSALM VII. 405
thee with the vessels of the psahii" ; that is, with instruments
of music. And Ezek. 9:1, "And every man had a vessel of
slaughter in his hand" ; that is, an instrument of death or an
instrument for slaughter. So, Acts 9:15, Paul the apostle
is said to be "a vessel of election", which those who are ig-
norant of the Hebrew idiom do not understand to be, though
it is so, the same as the Latin expression instrumentiim electum,
'chosen vessel' ; because Christ's will was to use him in pre-
ference to all the rest of the apostles to convert the Gentiles.
They understand it as signifying only that he had received
electing grace ; whereas, Christ most particularly added that
he was therefore "a chosen vessel" unto him, because he should
bear his name before the Gentiles and the children of Israel,
and should suffer many things for his name and Word's sake.
So here, by the same idiom, "vessels of death" signify dead-
ly darts and weapons ; which words he uses that these insensible
ones might not account this threatening a thing of naught, but
that from the apprehension of temporal death they might feel
the terror of eternal death.
"He hath ordained his arrows for the burning". These
words he uses by way of increased force of expression, thereby
either repeating or explaining the words "vessels of death".
That they might not think lightly of these arrows, he calls
them deadly, and for terrible purposes ; thus, still keeping up a
weighty power of expression, and making use of striking and
forcible words. Jerome thus renders the passage, 'He that
hath wrought his arrows for burning'. Our translation renders
the passage obscurely and almost barbarously. For what is
the meaning of "He has made his arrows for the burning"?
Does it mean that he made arrows for those who were burning
to cast? The reason of their translating it thus, was the He-
brew word being in the plural, ledolkim ; which Jerome has
rendered 'for burning'. It might have been rendered, 'He hath
prepared for him the vessels of destruction, he hath made ready
his arrows to burn'; or 'that they may be burning'. For the
406 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Hebrew cannot be rendered literally thus, 'He hath wrought
his arrows to be burning'.
Nor is it full enough to say 'he has made his arrows burn-
ing' ; though this is also signified, because the verb "he hath
ordained" or 'wrought', of which we have spoken, Ps. i, is in
this passage paal ; which has not the signification of any work-
manship or art, but of a use or a person using. So that it
signifies both that the vessels of death are now ready and the
arrows made burning, and also that God is so using and hurl-
ing them, that they slay and burn ; and therefore it sets the
wrath and severity of God immediately before our eyes as pre-
paring for its execution. For he is now preparing to execute
his wrath that the ungodly may die and burn, though they do
not yet die and burn.
Moreover the word "burning" signifies also persecution
and devastation, Ps. 10:2, "In the pride of the wicked the poor
is hotly pursued" ; that is, they sufifer persecution.
The sum of the whole is, there is no doubt that under these
terms "death" and "burning" he represents death and hell,
concerning which we have spoken more at large, Ps. 6, under
the words "anger" and "fury", "rebuke" and "correct", and
also, "confounded" and "put to shame". Concerning these
arrows Job 6 4, complains, and we find them spoken of in many
other places in the Psalms.
It is observable that we have not before had any such
threatening and indignation denounced against the ungodly,
nor has the Holy Spirit inveighed against them with such a
power of language. In what follows he enumerates their pur-
suits and attempts, which were not indeed wholly in vain,
for he shows that they all turned upon their own heads, that
all who sufifer the violence of calumny may plainly see for their
consolation, how hateful calumniators are, above all others, in
the sight of God.
V. 14. — Behold, he travaileth ivith iniquity {ungodliness) ;
PSALM VII. 407
yea, he hath conceived mischief {pain), and brought forth false-
hood {iniquity).
Here he describes their mahgnant purposes which eventually
prove injurious to no one but to the authors themselves; V\^hich
purposes he calls "unrighteousness", "pain", and "iniquity".
Jerome translates the passage, 'Behold he travaileth with ini-
quity, he hath conceived pain, he hath brought forth falsehood'.
The first word which we have rendered "ungodliness" or
"iniquity" is, in the Hebrew, the very word aven, by which
is signified as we have observed in Psalms 5 and 6 "the workers
of iniquity" ; on which passages we remarked that the word is
more frequently rendered 'pain'; as in Ps. 10:7, "Under his
tongue is labor and pain". And so again, Ps. 90:10, "Yet is
their strength but labor and pain". Hence it may be here ren-
dered "Behold he travaileth with pain".
These two words amal and aven, 'labor' and 'pain', are
generally found together, as here and in the Psalms above-
mentioned. Hence it may be here more properly rendered "he
hath conceived labor"; for it more properly signifies 'labor',
from the act of laboring; as in Ps. 127:1, "They labor in vain,
that build it". We have in the German language this manner
of expression in the same number of the words and with a
like meaning : "it is pain and labor", so that aven is pain from
causing pain, amal labor, from to labor, in order to express
the labor and distress in the anxious intention of the heart and
in the severe struggle, fatigue, weakness and disgust of the
mind.
We have said that the lives of those who act impiously are
thus, for "there is no peace, saith Jehovah, to the wicked. Is.
48 :32. Such know nothing of the rest of which Christ speaks,
Matt. II :28, 29, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, as if he had said who are in amal and aven, and
I will give you rest". That is, the punishment of the wicked
so closely presses upon them that they are afflicted and dis-
tressed in and by the very act of doing wrong. Nay, says
408 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
David, their very pleasure is labor, Pliny says, "even every
pleasure engenders nausea if it is continuous". Augustine in
his Confessions, Book i, observes, "Thou, O Lord, hast com-
manded ; and hence it cometh to pass that every disobedient
and insubordinate soul is its own punishment'. And Wisdom
5 :/, "We wearied ourselves in the way of wickedness and des-
truction : yea, we have gone through deserts, where there lay
no way : but as for the way of the Lord, we have not known
it".
This punishment or trouble or labor, especially and terribly
distresses men Vvdienever they endeavor with devoted industry
to establish their own purposes against godliness, and, as the
apostle saith, Rom. 10:3, "being ignorant of God's righteous-
ness and seeking to establish their own righteousness" ; that is,
that righteousness which is exercised in the work of all iniquity
and in spiritual wickednesses. Therefore, as I have said, this
evil falls principally upon those, who, under a superstitious re-
ligion, idolatry, and disobedience, seek to justify themselves by
self-invented works and devotions, setting aside all the while
the commandment of God and indeed of men also which they
bound themselves to observe. As such they walk contrary to
God, God walks contrary to them ; and hence, they must of
necessity suffer a great deal of uneasiness ; and they can have
nothing but labor and pain in all that they can do. Hence the
Preacher in many places : i :i4 ; 2 :i i, 17, 21 ; 4 4, 6, 8, has called
all this "vanity and vexation of spirit". Whereas, on the other
hand, those who are led by the Spirit of God and yield them-
selves up to be guided by it, enjoy much peace in God, even
while they themselves are in tribulation.
Hence \we find that aven was rendered "ungodliness" before
"unrighteousness" here, and "pain" a little later; and if all
these renderings be put together they will give us that "malice"
which strives so hard to carry the plausible appearance of right-
eousness and godliness ; whereas, true godliness needs take no
labor or pains at all to give itself the appearance of godliness.
PSALM VII. 409
Thus David here, being confirmed in hope and having come
out of his temptation victorious, laughs at all the violence and
all the efforts of his calumniators and persecutors ; nay rather,
he pities them, saying before them all, 'Behold in what a state
my calumniators are. Let any one behold in wh it misery they
are involved and how much more Vvretched the} are than I am.
Not only does God threaten them continually, not only does
he hang over them with a drawn sword and with a bow, with
the instruments of death and with arrows that shall burn them
up ; but they are tormented with present punishment, and they
now receive in themselves the due reward of their malice ; while,
with anxiety and rage, they wrack their inventions to find out
a way wherein they may oppress me, and whereby, after they
have destroyed me, they may remain in security themselves.
They in their misery have more distressing anxiety about the
way in which they shall destroy me, than I have about thinking
by whose hands I shall perish. Nay, for my part, as I commit
myself wholly unto the will of God, I expect all that may come
without emotion. But they cannot be quiet nor in any rest
until they have brought forth all that with which they are tra-
vailing, and have accomplished all their thoughts ; and yet, as
their thoughts are against righteousness and against God, they
are vexed with all such thoughts in vain, "for they conceived
devices which they are not able to perform". Ps. 21 :ii.
David however touches upon that which Absalom said, 2
Sam. 16 :20, "Give your counsel what v/e shall do" ; at which
time many ways were anxiously discussed in many counsels
how they might kill David ; but by the wonderful providence
of God all were in vain. Just in the same way as the Jews
tried with much labor and pain to destroy Christ.
'We always find', saith Augustine, 'that those who inflict
punishment suffer greater punishment than those who endure
it ; nay, this is always the case in the perpetration of any crime.
What secret snares does not the robber or murderer fear ! what
hour, what place, what man, does he consider safe! With what
4IO LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
fears is not the adulterer tormented ! in what stratagems is he
not entrammelled before he once perishes' ! Hence, in every
kind of crime, and especially in that of calumny, the punish-
ments suffered are far greater than the advantages gained ; for
the miserable wretch is compelled to expect every kind of evil
and every kind of danger. Whereas in the meanwhile, he who
trusts in God, like a fearless lion, despises all things in happy
security, relying upon a consciousness of truth and innocence.
We are thus taught in this verse to embrace the best con-
solation when in straits and tribulations ; that having committed
our cause unto God, we may not be distressed, nor over anxious,
nor in perturbation. It is sufficient for us to know that we are
acting in the cause of God, in which case, let us divide the suf-
ferings with our enemies. Let us be vexed by them externally,
while they are tormented by themselves internally. Let them be
our burden, while not only we are a burden to them, but they
are the greatest burden to themselves.
Behold therefore the most miserable condition of all calum-
niators and ungodly men ! God is a burden to them, we are a
burden to them, and they are an intolerable burden to them-
selves ! Who would not rather pity such wretched characters
than be impatiently indignant against them? Every one of us
knows that all these things await the wicked, and that they un-
dertake such things as are here mentioned. But when the hour
of calumny arrives, we do not all continue in the same mind,
being in perpetual fear that all things will turn out prosperously
unto our adversaries and against us, though we are always
ready to affirm that they would not so turn out against others.
Let us then inquire further into the propriety of these words.
"Behold", says David, struck as it were with wonder and ad-
miration, he calls upon all to behold this singular sight, because
it is contrary to all natural sense.
"He travaileth with pain". Here he very appropriately com-
poses his words ; for to be in travail is the same as to struggle
with pain. As if he had said, such meditate pain in pain.
PSALM VII. 411
Which is a metaphor taken from women in child birth, in which
he beautifully describes the anxious striving of the ungodly and
of calumniators, which are, as I have said, to establish with
much care and peril their own inventions against the truth ; in
doing this, as the saying is, one lie requires seven others to
make it good, and to make all appear truth. Jerome saith,
'Falsehood requires much to give it the appearance of truth'.
"And hath conceived pain". It seems proper that he should
have reversed this and have said, "Behold, he hath conceived
labor and travailed with iniquity" ; because conception is prior
in order. This seems to me to be intended to describe to us
the mind and ingenuity of the ungodly, who, when they are
about to oppress the innocent, are mo^t impatient of delay ;
and are more intent upon venting the malice of their minds,
than upon consulting prudently : they begin before they delib-
erate. They are not guided by reason and counsel, but carried
headlong by impetuosity and temerity. They think more about
seeing the thing done than about consulting. When they have
accomplished their wicked design, they enter into consultation
about defending properly what they have done. Here begins
their labor, here is the anxious concern about defending the
iniquity which they have presumptuously committed.
So Absalom, after he had driven out his father David and
had brought forth his aven, said, 2 Sam. 17 :20 and 17 :5, "Give
your counsel what we shall do". So also the Jews first appre-
hended Christ and then sought false witnesses against him, that
they might accuse him. Thus also every calumniator first
brings forth his aven and imposes upon his neighbor, and after-
wards seeks to persist therein under a show of justice and
security; concerning which character, Prov. 30:20, "So is the
way of an adulterous woman ; she eateth, and wipeth her
mouth, and saith, I have done no wickedness". "Travail with
pain" and "conceive labor" we are accustomed to express In
German", you start a misfortune and then you will have some-
thing to do". And the proverb, "You have broken in and you
412 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
will hardly find your way out". These imprudent workers of
iniquity therefore begin both difficulty and peril; that is, they
bring forth their pain and then with much labor and toil en-
deavor to defend what they have done.
David teaches us therefore most beautifully that an evil com-
mitted before counsel is taken brings on pain, and counsel after
the commission, labor. Both kinds of temerity and folly await
such ungodly calumniators, both the act before the counsel,
and the counsel after the act ; for to the perverse all things are
perverse. But one may understand this conception of labor as
being together with the bringing forth of pain. For ungodly
calumniators say thus, when they enter upon the commission
of their evil, let us go on and act. After the act is committed
something will follow which will enable us to answer for what
we have done, or to defend it. As the Jews acted, according to
the history in Matt. 28:14, when they corrupted the guards
with money that the truth of Christ's resurrection might not
be published abroad : for they said, "And if this come to the
governor's ears, we will persuade him and rid you of care".
Only behold here how they conceive pain, while they burden
themselves with a pledge that they will find future security. In
this way did Absalom and his party audaciously bring forth
their aven ; but they have not yet brought forth the counsel
while they bring forth the act ; as we have it written, Prov.
14:16, "A wise man feareth and departeth from evil; but the
fool beareth himself insolently and is confident". That which
they bring forth from this conception is shown in the following.
"And brought forth iniquity" ; which in Hebrew is lying
or falsehood, or vanity ; and this exactly accords with that
which I have mentioned as the design of this psalm. For these
are the counsels, the defences, and the excuses of the godly
after their wickedness is committed. They are mere frigid
evasions, lying delusions, and vain deceptions, with which they
set themselves off, persuade the people, and destroy those whom
they oppress. Such are also all their vain attempts to establish
PSALM VII. 413
their own temerity. In all which they lose much labor and
pains, and yet all is in vain. These things we find are con-
tinually taking place in our day. But in this place we are more
particularly to understand the deceiving and vain birth than
the iniquitous birth. For he is speaking of the vain attempts
and fruitless counsel by which Absalom was deceived, and in
which he was disappointed, when, collecting all Israel together,
he sought to destroy David. For in all this his counsel and birth
all proved so vain, that they fell upon his own head ; and the
very snares he had laid for David destroyed himself, as follows.
V. 15. — He had made a pit {opened a lake) and digged it,
and is fallen info the ditch ivhich he made.
Here the prophet allegorizes, so that, as I have said under
the allegory he might set forth the true state of things. In
the same manner as the cross of Christ is an allegorical life,
appearing to kill while it makes alive; for in the same way
Absalom here opens a lake and digs it that he might drive David
into it, not knowing that by this stratagem he should deliver
David and destroy himself. And David touches upon this ; that
Absalom, relying on the multitude, thought that he should soon
destroy David, one poor solitary creature, left and forsaken by
all. For this is signified by the lake of death which he prepared
and dug. But behold, this very thing happened unto himself;
for being deserted by all and being hung up alone upon an
oak, he was pierced through and thrown into a deep pit in the
wood, and a very great heap of stones was cast upon him ; as
is recorded in 2 Sam. 18:17. This is the pit of which David
here speaks and which he uses for the allegory. But Absalom
had not prepared that pit for David, though he intended that
death for him which he himself suffered. Hence we say often
in common life that a certain trap was laid for us and that
our adversary fell into it himself, though he himself did not
intend any such thing. Wherefore this verse is proverbial
and contains a common saying; according to the well-known
hi es of the poet,
414 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
No law's more just than when the wicked schemes
Of wicked men upon themselves are turn'd.
These things, as I have said, are spoken for the consolation
of the oppressed, that they may rest assured that the evil which
is planned against them will fall upon the head of their slander-
ers. They are spoken also to strike terror into these calumniat-
ors and persecutors, whose daring presumption and security
are to be alarmed, and the weakness of the oppressed to be
confirmed and strengthened.
Observe how he describes the ardor and the panting fury
of the ungodly. For he does not simply say "hath made a lake",
as he afterward said "hath made a pit" ; but he says hath
"opened" and "dug" a lake. As if he had said with Prov.
I :i6, "For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed
blood". So busy and laborious are they in digging and pre-
paring their lake. They leave nothing untried, they search into
all things, and dive into every expedient. Not content with
"opening" only, they "dig" the lake and make it deep, that
they may the more terribly and effectually destroy the innocent.
Thus the Jews, though they hastened to destroy Christ and
made every preparation for that purpose; yet, they were not
content with any simple kind of death, but digging as it were
a most deep pit, they procured for him the most ignominious
death of the cross. So no calumniator is content with destroy-
ing his neighbor in the most dreadful manner, but he will do
it in the most ignominious manner also.
This ignominious death is indicated by digging the lake
deeper which was already prepared ; because the persons cast in
is the farther from the light and hope of recovery the deeper
he is plunged. For no ungodly man is such a fool as to suffer
the least appearance of his having destroyed the innocent with-
out cause ; nay, the more malignant he is, the niore he seeks to
make that his own cause was most just and that his neighbor
was destroyed as having most basely deserved it. Therefore
such an one must dig the lake deep that is already opened
PSALM VII. 415
and prepared. But on the other hand he is not said to have
'opened', nor to have 'dug' the pit for himself, but to have
'made' it ; because he did not seek his own destruction and
shame, but fell into them when he least expected it.
Again, here is a solecism. "He is fallen into the ditch, he
made" ; where our translators add the relative "which", but
I should have put 'because' or 'for', as I have observed at verse
6. Where we have "he hath opened" the Hebrew has "he hath
prepared". Though tliese are things of no consequence, be-
cause in either case we understand it that the lake was prepared
before it was dug, which is contrary to the general ideas of
all ; because David would have us to understand by it that
which I have set forth.
V. 16. — His mischief (pain) shall return upon his oivn
head, and his violence (iniquity) shall come down upon his
own pate.
The word here is not aven but amal, which properly sig-
nifies pain and labor, as I have before observed. "His labor,
says David, shall return upon his own head". And "iniquity"
here is in the Hebrew a word that we have not had before ; it is
iiAMAS, which properly signifies rapacity, violence, or an in-
jury which by force arrogates to itself a tyranny, in the same
way as hawks seize upon little birds. For Reuchlin says that
the night hawk is named from this word hamas.
David has respect to that which he said in the beginning,
"Lest he seize my soul like a lion". For Absalom, having
collected all the people, had prepared to seize David by force
and to devour him ; whereas, he as miserably seized and de-
voured himself, and thus his attempts and his labor all fell
upon his own head. The sense seems to be the same as that
contained in the preceding verse, the allegory of which he
here explains in plain words. Unless it be considered to dififer
from the preceding in this, that in the preceding verse the
work or act was designed, that is, death and perdition, set forth
by the "lake" and "the pit" ; and in this, the counsel and wis-
4l6 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
dom by which the lake and pit were prepared and dug; that
we may understand that God is so concerned for those who are
oppressed with cahminy, and so wroth against their calumniat-
ors, that he turns the evil which they planned and the counsel
by which they planned it upon themselves ; and that thus we
may not faint nor fall from our hope.
For this is the incomprehensible of the judgment of God,
that he takes the ungodly by their own counsel and casts them
into the destruction which they had themselves prepared and
invented. Thus Goliah fell by his own sword. Thus it is
said, Job 5 :i2 etc., "He frustrateth the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh
the wise in their own craftiness ; and the counsel of the fro-
ward is carried headlong. They meet with darkness in the
day-time, and grope in the noon-day as in the night" ; that is,
they are then the most foolish and most blind when they are,
in their own views, the most clear-sighted and wise.
With a powerful force of language therefore he calls their
counsels, their craftiness, and their wisdom, labor. Indeed
they have nothing from all this but labor; for the expected
fruits of all their devices never follow because God resists
them. So in the case of the Jews who meditated the destruc-
tion of Christ, what did they else but labor in vain, and, as it
is said in Ps. 2:1, "meditate a vain thing"? But David here
does not only call it labor, but says that it 'returned upon their
own head' ; for by that very counsel which Absalom had formed
for the destruction of David, relying upon the multitude, he
himself perished : who would have been safer, if, according to
the counsel of Ahithophel, he had remained in the city and
sent out those two thousand nien. But as the scripture saith,
by the will of God the useful counsel of Ahithophel was dis-
regarded, that the Lord might bring upon Absalom the evil
intended.
The scripture holds out consolation to us when it teaches
us that the ferocity of the wicked is nothing but a mere great
PSALM VII. 417
and vain attempt rather than any act, and such an attempt as
will surely fall upon the heads of the projectors of it. So
the waves and swellings of the sea seem as if they would over-
whelm the shore, but it presently falls back upon itself and
vanishes, leaving its threatening surges a laughing-stock to
the spectators.
This figure of speech is very common in the scriptures, this
returning, or falling, or descending upon the head and upon
the pate, etc. Thus Sirach 27:25-27, "Whoso casteth a stone
on high casteth it on his own head ; and a deceitful stroke shall
make wounds. Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein : and
he that setteth a trap shall be taken therem. He that worketh
mischief it shall fall upon him, and he shall not know whence
it Cometh". With the same figure it is said, 2 Sam. i :i6, "Thy
blood be upon thy head". And indeed all things both evil and
good that are invoked, are invoked upon the head. So Deut.
33:16, 'Let the blessing of him that dwelt in the bush come
upon the head of Joseph'. Because the head is the first and
most worthy member of the whole body.
David indicates at the same time that both good and evil
are sent down upon the head by God, both the punishment of
the ungodly and the salvation of the godly. Therefore it is
by the commandment of God that the iniquity of the calumniat-
or descends upon his own pate and his labor upon his own head.
But by a repetition the returning of the labor upon the
pate and the descending of the iniquity upon the head seem to
indicate the same thing. It is thus repeated that its certainty
might be set forth, as we have observed. For the ungodly
being insensible laugh at all the threatenings of God, as if
they would never take place, or at least were put off for a
considerable time; and therefore these terrible things are to
be inculcated into them repeatedly.
V. 17. — / ivill give thanks unto Jehovah according to his
righteousness, and zvill sing praise to the name of Jehovah
Most High,
4l8 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
He concludes this Psalm and prayer in a beautiful way. As
if he had said, all these things have been said and all these
petitions have I offered on account of the cursings, the calum-
nies, and the injuries of Shimei and of his men, in defence
of my ignorance and righteousness as far as my conscience
is concerned, and with respect to these things in the sight of
men. But I do not trust in this my righteousness, nor do
I consider it to be such that I can stand in it before God ; as
the apostle saith, i Cor. 4:4, "I know nothing against myself;
yet am I not thereby justified". And again, 2 Cor. 10: 17-18,
"He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord". "For not he
that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord
commendeth". So also, I have another righteousness in which
I glory, namely, the righteousness of God, and his mercy and
grace whereby he pardons all my sins and justifies me in his
sight. In this righteousness I do not boast, nor do I make
a confession of it as if it were my own, but I praise God for it
to all eternity. Wherefore, by means of my own righteousness
I willingly serve God and the people and resist the ungodly,
and in the righteousness of God I will seek my salvation.
In a wonderful manner in the same verse and in the same
words David gives thanks unto God and praises his righteous-
ness, and also describes the nature of it. He says it is the
free gift of God, for which he is to be praised and celebrated.
Wherefore "according to his righteousness" is here to be un-
derstood as signifying the same as 'on account of, or for, his
righteousness'. So that the sense is, 'I will praie the Lord
for ever, because it is he that justifieth; which if he did
not do, my righteousness which I have in my own conscience
could never stand'. This sense is supported by what follows,
which is as it were a repetition of these words, "And will sing
praise to the name of Jehovah Most High".
For the name of Jehovah, as we have said, is his praise
which is proclaimed abroad, that he is merciful and a Saviour,
etc. ; and the man that believes in this name is justified and
PSALM VII.
419
saved, for God is such as he is beheved to be by every man.
But the damned and the ungodly ascribe to him no name
at all. The former, because they cannot hope any good from
him; and the latter, because they do not feel the want of him.
Hence it is written, Prov. 18:10, "The name of the Lord is a
strong tower ; the righteous runneth into it and is safe". And
Rom. 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of
the Lord shall be saved".
As therefore righteousness, salvation, and a joyful con-
science, come from this name only by our firmly believing in
it, and not from our own strength, doings, or works, the
Psalmist rightly teaches that righteousness is to be ascribed
only unto the Lord and that he only is to be sung to, praised,
proclaimed, and celebrated ; in order that others, being brought
to the knowledge of that name of this confession and proclaim-
ing, may believe in it and be saved. David saith almost the
same thing in Ps. 51 :i3, "Then will I teach transgressors thy
way, and sinners shall be converted unto thee". Again, Ps.
35 :28, 'And my tongue shall talk of thy righteousness". Where-
as the ungodly do not exalt his righteousness, as we have often
said before.
Wherefore this confessing and singing do not in this place
signify any private duty of gratitude only, but also the public
ministry of the Word of grace, whereby the name of the Lord
is manifested to sinners.
The prayer of this Psalm is very necessary and very useful
when prayed against the devil, either in the hour of death or
in any time of deep temptation. For the devil himself is proper-
ly^ that calumniator who accuses us and confounds our con-
science even for those things which we have done rightly and
which please God, as well as magnifies beyond measure these
wicked things which we have done; and he is therefore in both
cases a most oppressive and unwearied Shimei, a most black,
a cursing, and an insulting Ethiopian, continually coming upon
us with such words as these, 'Behold thine evils are now come
420 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
upon thee. Come out, come out, thou bloody man. The Lord
is now bringing upon thy head all the blood of the house
of Saul'. And indeed we may take all the rest of this history
as having a figurative meaning; wherein David is an example
of us all and teaches us that we ought to bear these things and
at the same time to expect the blessing of God for all such
cursing and affliction.
PSALM VIII.
TO victory; for the wine-presses; a psalm of DAVID.
We have here a new title; and what David means by the
wine-presses has been discussed so differently that I am ready
to confess myself in total ignorance as to who, among so many,
comes the nearest to the truth. For three Psalms have this
title Tor the wine-presses' ; the present Ps. 8 of David, the 70,
of Asaph, and the 84 for the sons of Korah. It is not likely,
however, that David, which is granted by all the most eminent
Hebrews, composed this Psalm in the wine-presses of Pales-
tine; because then for the same reason it would follow that
Asaph and the sons of Korah composed their Psalms in the
same place. Nor do we read that David was ever in the wine-
presses of Palestine, but in those of Gath, which afterwards
by a lengthening of letters was called Gaza, a city of Palestine ;
though Gath signifies a wine-press (torcnlar) and has the same
signification as the words al gitith have here, which is 'On
the wine-presses'. Nor am I satisfied with the opinions of
some who suppose that this Psalm was composed to be sung at
the feast of tabernacles, here thanks were given to God after
the harvesting of all the fruits and the gathering of the grapes.
Therefore as we are here going according to the literal
meaning I am inclined to coincide with the opinion of Lyra,
who thinks that gitith is a name proper to some musical in-
strument. Or else we must agree with the ancient fathers,
who, following a mystical meaning, understand by wine-presses
(torcularia) the martyrdoms and sufferings of Christ and the
Church. Indeed there are other Psalms entitled by some word
or other that is not in common use, as we shall see in their
spiritual meaning. Leaving therefore every one to his own
422 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
judgment in this matter, we rightly affirm that wine-presses do
signify mystically sufferings ; as in Is. 63 :2, "I have trodden the
wine-press alone" ; which all understand as having reference
to the sufferings of Christ.
But Augustine very learnedly and discerningly understands
by wine-press (torcnlar) the ministry of the Word of God
in the church ; consonant with which are many scriptures, as
that of Is. 5 :2, "And also hewed out a wine-press therein".
For as oxen treading out the corn in the barn signify the
preachers of the Word, i Cor. 9:9: so the treaders in the
wine-press signify the same. Hence grapes and ears of corn,
wine and wheat, every where in the scriptures signify the
people who are either instructed or hardened by the Word of
God, of whom we have not time to say more now.
This meaning exactly agrees with the scope of the Psalm,
wherein is described the name of the Lord which is great
throughout all the earth, the people of Christ who are obedient
to his government, and his enemies who are destroyed. When
it is said that he hath perfected praise and exalted his own
glory out of the mouth of babes and sucklings ; by that is
doubtlessly signified the preaching of the Gospel and of the
Word of the cross ; by which all these things have ever been
and still are accomplished. For certainly the Word of the
cross, like a wine-press, bruises and humbles the men of the
world and collects many into one body, as the wine is collected
into the receiving vessel. Hence, it was the design of the
Prophet to sing here of a spiritual wine-press. It is not, how-
ever, foreign to the scope of the Psalm, to understand by wine-
presses, sufferings ; because the word of the cross crucifies the
old man and compels him to endure many and various suffer-
ings.
V. I. — O Jehovah, our Lord, lioiv c.vccUcnt {admirable)
is thy name in all the earth. Who hast set thy glory above
the heavens!
This is one verse in the Hebrew. One of these names is
PSALM VIII. 423
the sacred Tetragrammaton Jehovah, and the other the name
Adon, which is common and appHcable to men also. Our
translator has moreover thought proper to put "our Lord",
(Dominus noster), in the nominative, which Jerome has more
properly rendered by the vocative, O Lord, our Ruler, {Domine,
Dominator noster).
"Admirable", in the Hebrew adir, signifies high, great, ex-
cellent, etc. Hence Jerome has rendered it 'How great is thy
name'. That which our translator has rendered "greatness",
he has translated 'glory'. But the Hebrew word hod signi-
fies properly praise and confession.. It is from this word
that the names of Judah and Judea are derived, which have
the signification of praising or confessing. Hence we have
it, Gen. 49 :8, "Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise".
"Who has set thy glory above the heavens". In the 148th
Psalm, verse 13, David said, "His praise or glory, is above the
earth and the heaven". He seems therefore to say the same
thing in both Psalms. In Ps. 148:13, he says, "his name alone
is excellent" : here he says, "how excellent is thy name".
There he says, "his praise is above the earth and heaven" :
here, "his greatness is above the heavens", "magniiicentia super
coelos".
I here take it for granted that it is clearly known, from what
has been said, that the name of God is not one but many ; name-
ly, every thing that can be said that is good. Hence the name
of God is that good report, glory, estimation, and celebration,
whereby he is proclaimed, believed, hoped in, known, loved,
and feared, that is, truly worshipped and honored, as the only
wise powerful, good, just, true, sweet, etc. Whereby at the
same time all the glory and good opinion of man perishes ; and
no one is any longer found to be powerful, wise, and good, but
all are found to be as the apostle saith sinners, and to come
short of the glory of God, who before were impiously righte-
ous and full of their own glory ; as it is said also, Ps. 9 :5,
424 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
"Thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wick-
ed; thou hast blotted out their name for ever and ever".
No one now who beHeves in Christ is strong by his own
power, but is weak and suffers all things. Nor does he re-
venge or deliver himself even when it may be in his power ; but
he gives glory to God and waits for his dehvering and aveng-
ing power; even as Paul, 2 Cor. 12 :5, glories in his infirmities.
No one who thus believes is wise in his own wisdom, but be-
comes a fool in his own eyes and before all men, and gives all
the glory of wisdom unto God, who, when he hath proved
him, will give him the glory of wisdom in the heavens.
So no Christian is righteous in his own righteousness, but
gives all the glory of righteousness unto God, while he himself
in his own eyes and in the estimation of men is numbered among
the ungodly; so that 'in his humiliation his judgment is taken
away'. Is. 53 :8, and he is justified by faith and hope, expecting
the righteousness of God as that alone which can commend
him ; "For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but
whom the Lord commendeth", 2 Cor. 10:18.
This is the meaning and force of the name of the Lord to
all the names and glory of men; and shows that the Lord's
name is then magnified, exalted, and loved, when our name is
reduced to nothing and hated both by ourselves and all others.
The same is expressed in Ps. 113:3, "From the rising of
the sun unto the going down of the same, Jehovah's name is
to be praised". Again verse 4, "Jehovah is high above all
nations, and his glory above the heavens". Mai. i:ii, "For
from the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the
same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles". Again,
verse 14, "My name is terrible among the Gentiles". Is, 11 :g,
"They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain".
Why shall they not destroy? "For, saith he, the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea".
As if he had said, the knowledge of God and the magnifying
of his name, which by means of the Gospel shall fill the whole
PSALM VIIL 425
world like an overflowing sea, shall make men gentle, mild, and
innocent ; because they shall contend neither for wisdom nor for
power nor for righteousness, for they shall know that these
are not theirs, but the Lord's only. To the same end are the
words of Isaiah 2:17-18, "And the loftiness of man shall be
bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low ;
and Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day. And the idols
shall utterly pass away".
We would, however, distinguish the two words "Lord"
and "our Lord" in this way. By the former is represented the
most-high Godhead dwelling in himself; and by the latter, his
kingdom and care whereby he holds dominion over us and rules
us by the word of faith, which is fulfilled by the incarnation
of Christ, who is our propitiation, "in whom dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily". Col. 2:9; for it is by that we
are brought nigh unto the Father, and ruled in the world.
As John, 14:6 says, "No one cometh unto the Father but by
me". Hence it is not without reason that the pronoun "our"
is joined with "Lord" rather than with "Jehovah". Therefore
God was first known in Judea, and his name was great in
Israel. But now, saith David, thy name is great in all the
earth, and among all nations. Hence you see how well this
verse accords with the title, seeing that the name of the Lord
being made great by the wine-press of preaching has humbled
some out of the nations of the whole world into the one faith
and grace of Christ.
But it is of much greater moment for us to know what
follows. "Who hast set thy glory above the heavens". The
Hebrew and the translation of Jerome are 'who hast set', not
"is lifted up". I find that by this glory or greatness, or praise,
almost all understood Christ the Son of God, who, being re-
ceived into heaven and seated at the right hand of God, sent
down the Holy Spirit, who, by the apostles magnified the name
of God throughout the whole world.
Nor am I displeased at the opinion of those who say that
this latter clause of the verse gives the reason or cause of the
426 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
former; that is, that the name of God is magnified because
Christ ascended into heaven. For Christ could not have been
glorified but by the sending of the Holy Ghost ; as it is written,
Rom. I 4, "who was declared to be the Son of God, with
power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead". And John 16:14, "He shall glorify me: for
he shall take of mine and shall declare it unto you". The
Spirit could not have been sent if Christ had not risen from
the dead and ascended into heaven, unto the appointment of
king over all nations ; as it is written, John 7 :^g, "For the
Spirit was not yet given ; because that Jesus was not yet glori-
fied". So also. Psalm 2. Christ said that he would declare
the command, which is fulfilled by the Holy Ghost, after he
had said that he was appointed king upon God's holy hill of
Zion.
It seems, however, to be against this acceptation, that
Christ being called the 'praise', or 'confession', does not seem
to agree well with that verse of Ps. 148 :i3, "His glory is above
the earth and heaven"; nor with that of Ps. 113:4, "Jehovah
is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens" ;
because in those passages the confession is not only said to be
above the heavens, but above the earth ; and no one understands
that Christ is intended by confession in those passages. But
these things ought not to move any one, because Christ is
called the glory of God. Is. 46:13, "I will place salvation in
Zion for Israel my glory".
And it is in the same manner that the apostle dares to call
him the righteousness, the power, the wisdom, the glory, the
redemption, and the sanctification of God; because by and
through him we acknowledge and confess God to be powerful,
wise, glorious, etc. Again, while we honor and worship God by
this sacrifice of righteousness, wisdom, power, etc., he justifies
us, strengthens us, and makes us wise ; as he saith, i Sam. 2 :30,
"Them that honor me I will honor, and they that despise me
shall be lightly esteemed. "For this is the sacrifice of praise,
PSALM VIII. 427
by which, as he saith, Ps. 50:23, he is honored, and which
is the way to the salvation of God. No one offers this sacri-
fice but he who has experienced the destruction of his own
name, and' calls upon the name of God in faith ; that is, upon
the wisdom, power, and righteousness of God, as I said, per-
mitting himself in the meantime to be weak, a fool, and unright-
eous. So that we are glorified with the same glory as God is
glorified, made righteous with the same righteousness, and
wise by the same wisdom as God. And 2 Peter i 14, says, by
Christ are given unto us exceedingly great and precious prom-
ises, that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature ;
which are things, as he saith, i Pet. i :i2, that angels desire
to look into.
Hence by this "confession" or glory lifted up into heaven
we understand Christ. But we also learn the benefits which
we derive from his being thus lifted up, or having thus ascend-
ed. "It is expedient for you, saith Christ, John 16 :/, that I
go away, for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come
unto you ; but if I go, I will send him unto you". For the
prophet wishes to say, that the praise wherewith God is praised
in us and we in him is far different from all the praise of men.
Our praise, as it is the praise of God, or from God, is not
openly visible, or open to the eyes of the world, nor apparent
unto men, nor even unto ourselves. Nay, as our life is hid
with Christ in God, Col. 3 :3, that we may be wise unto the
things that are above, so our praise is taken up into heaven
with him, and hid with him in God, that our hope may be in
that, and not in any thing present.
Hence the praise of God wherewith both he and we are
praised is the same, and it is the same glory and greatness ; as
is written in Ps. 106 47, 'To triumph in thy praise'. Again,
Ps. 20:7, "But we will make mention of the name of Jehovah
our God". Also, Ps. 34 :2, "My soul shall make her boast in
Jehovah", Because while we are stripped of all our own name,
and suffering under ignominy, we are those truly humble ones
428 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
whom God regards, and those hungry souls whom God satisfies.
It was right that the prophet should use this summary term
'praise' or 'glory' or 'greatness', because he spoke at a time
when the truth was not yet revealed. But what this praise
was and what it contained, was left for the apostles to show
forth clearly. These taught that he who would be praised
rightly and truly should praise God above all things ; and that
he praises God above all things who ascribes unto God alone
righteousness, wisdom, power, and all good things, and gives
back the glory of them all to him when he receives them. This
no one does but he who lives in faith, hope, and love, being
oppressed in the world with weakness, foolishness, and sins,
both in his own eyes and in the sight of men; and none can
endure this easily but those who are partakers of faith and
hope.
The sum therefore of the verse is, that there is a certain
intercourse between God and men through Christ, formed by a
wonderful and all-sweet communion {commcrcie) . Men have
nothing in the world more sweet than the name of the Lord;
him they praise, proclaim, and confess before men, as alone
powerful, wise, holy, and righteous. And this is for the name
of the Lord to be great, admirable, celebrated, and of great
estimation in the world; and this is what was wrought by the
coming of Christ. On the other hand Christ himself stands
round about those who thus proclaim him, confess him before
men, and acknowledge his name ; and passing by he administers
to them, praises them, proclaims them, and confesses them be-
fore his Father and his angels in heaven ; he acknowledges their
name, and is himself their glory and praise in heaven, as they
are his glory and praise on earth.
This is what David means when he says, "Hast set thy
glory above the heavens". So that this glory is the glory of God
whereby we are praised and glorious before him, and whereby
his name is excellent in being praised and glorified by us before
men.
PSALM VIII. 429
In this mutual interchange of names and praise many pass-
ages of the scriptures agree, and are by it made plain to our
understanding. It is to this that Ps. 72:14 refers, "And
precious will their blood be in his sight". Again, Ps. 91 :i4,
"I will set him on high because he hath known my name".
So the spouse in Song 2 :i6, "My beloved is mine and I am his".
Ps. Ill :3, "His work is honor and majesty". Again, "The
earth was full of his praise", Hab. 3 13, "The heavens and the
earth are full of his glory". For in this communication stands
that righteousness of God by which we are justified ; while we
proclaim and honor him in that which we ought, he on the
other hand honors us.
But as I said, as it is easy to utter and to understand this
communication of praise between God .and us, it is difficult to
come to the experience of it. For it is a difficult matter to be
stripped of all our name both in this world and in that which is
to come, and to become nothing both in our own eyes and be-
fore all men ; and yet if it be not so, the name of God cannot
be great unto us upon earth, nor his praise above the heavens ;
for the name of the Lord must first of all be magnified upon
the earth before his praise can be lifted up above the heavens.
Hence the Blessed Virgin saith, "My soul doth magnify the
Lord", Luke i 46 ; and then, being certain that she was mag-
nified in heaven because of this her magnifying the Lord, she
says, "And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour". For
it is impossible that he should not be blessed of God who bless-
eth God. Nor is it possible that any one should love, praise,
and delight in God, without God's loving, praising, and de-
lighting in him in return.
But here perhaps the simple soul will raise a scruple, who
has so often heard, that our love to God does not precede his
love to us ; as it is written, John 4 :io, "Not that we loved God,
but that he loved us". And Rom. 11 135, "Who hatE first given
to him and it shall be recompensed unto him again"? Again,
John 15 :i6, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you".
430 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
Also, John 6:44, "No man can come unto me except the Father
which hath sent me draw him".
How then, it will be asked, can we first magnify him that
he may magnify us ? The answer is, The Holy Scripture des-
cribes both of these, both the grace of God, and the fruits of
that grace. Therefore a great deal of care must be taken that
we do not understand that of the tree itself which is said of the
fruits ; for if this chaos be introduced, that error of the Pela-
gians concerning free-will will follow ; which ascribes unto
man the beginning of a good work. Whereas God alone makes
the tree good before us, and without us, which must of necessity
precede the fruits ; but it must equally of necessity follow that
the fruits must precede the reward.
Wherefore this part of the Psalm, and all other passages
like it, do not refer to initial grace, but to the final grace, that
is, the reward itself, which is given to the first grace and its
fruits ; therefore we are not to understand by these passages
any kind of exhortation to a perseverance in good works from
this promise of the mutually rewarding goodness of God. Thus
him who, being converted, praises God, that is, lives from re-
ceived grace to the glory of God on earth, God praises in re-
turn, at the same time, and for ever in heaven : at the same
time, I say, and for ever; that is, at the present time and for
ever. For he that glorifies God in his life cannot but feel a
joyful and quiet trust in the mercy of God, by which he knows
that he in return pleases God and is praised in heaven. There-
fore, our praise of the name of the Lord in the earth is almost
heavenly, though before men we are continually vexed with
ignominy. Then if the praising ones persevere, their praise in
God will endure for ever. Thus we must understand Zechariah
I :3, "Return unto me, and I will return unto you", and similar
passages.
But according to the opinion of those who understand that
the latter part of this verse is, as it were, the cause of the
former, among whom is our translator also, we must say, that
PSALM VIII. 431
the praise of God above the heavens is prior to the greatness
of the name of the Lord upon earth ; and that Christ effected
the latter by his ascending above the heavens, and by sending
down the Holy Spirit to magnify the name of the Lord upon
the earth, as we have said. Therefore John 7 139 saith, "For
the Spirit was not yet given ; because that Jesus was not yet
glorified". Hence by the 'praise' of God here nothing can be
understood but the personal exaltation of Christ into heaven.
It would not require much trouble to defend both these
interpretations of the passage, for they are not very different
from each other; because it is manifest that by the exaltation
of Christ it comes to pass, that, having received the Holy
Spirit, we believe in God, and that we are well-pleasing and
commended in heaven ; and that it is by the same spirit that we
are emboldened to magnify the name of the Lord upon the
earth. By all this is signified, that Christ's being exalted would
have been of no service to us, unless he had been exalted for us;
that is, unless, when he ascended up on high, he had given
gifts unto us men, whereby we might magnify him upon earth.
But all these things I here leave to each one's own judgment.
V. 2. — Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou
established strength (perfected praise), because of thine ad
versaries, that thou mightcst still the enemy and avenger.
This verse appropriately follows the one where we said that
by the 'glory lifted up' we ought to understand the ascension
of Christ ; though it does not inappropriately agree with the
other sense also ; wherefore we will show that it harmonizes
with both in this way. Thy name, O Lord, is magnified, but
in a far different way from that in which it is magnified among
men. For the manner of men is, if it may be called a manner,
not to be praised by the humble and the contemptible, but by
the very wise. They wish to please the few, as they term it,
and to be looked upon by the great, the wise, and the powerful.
Again, those praisers, as they are the vainest of men, never
praise any but with a view to their own profit, that they also
might be praised or might reap some advantage. Thus, mules
432 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
rub each other; and in the same manner neither those who
praise are sincere, nor are those upright who are praised. This,
I say, is the way with all those who are influenced and led by
the appearance of things present.
But thou, O Son of God, David would say, as all thy things
are hidden and only to be understood by faith, thou dost not
find any among these great ones who will praise thee; nay
rather, they are the very persons who most pertinaciously ic-
sist thy praise and glory from a maddened love of their own
glory. Wherefore thou hast chosen the despised and the
humble to set forth thy praise and to magnify thy name, who
hate their own name upon the earth, being content that thou
shouldst be their praise in heaven. That thou mightest mani-
fest this, after thou hadst assumed thy glory, thou didst send
thy Holy Spirit from heaven, being thyself the apostle of all
apostles, and didst instruct the ignorant and simple, and from
their mouth didst perfect thy praise.
But the authority of Christ has given rise to a great
question in this passage. In Matt. 21 :i6, He applies it to the
children that praised him in the temple, saying unto the chief-
priests and the scribes who wanted to hinder them, "Did ye
never read, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast
perfected praise"? Now if this Psalm be understood as ap-
plying literally to these children, as some will have it, then
neither that which precedes nor that which follows will har-
monize with it; for he is speaking of the name of the Lord
magnified throughout the whole world, which took place after
the passion. Again if we stick so closely to the literal mean-
ing, these children were not "infants" nor "sucklings", for
they blessed Christ and sang praises to Him in plainly articu-
lated words, crying "Hosanna in the highest". Matt. 21 '.g.
But again, we ought not in any way to dissent from Christ
who applied this verse to them, for this authority is to be pre-
ferred to that of the Psalm. It follows therefore that the
words of this Psalm are general and applicable to all who are
PSALM VIII. 433
simple and upright in heart, who are not wise above others, nor
prudent in the things of the world, that is, who are the children
of light ; the generation of whom are not confined to any
particular age, but are found in every generation and in every
age of man ; and the words are peculiarly applicable to children,
not only because they are thus simple and sincere, but also
because, by this simplicity and innocence, they figure out to
us corporally the simplicity of the faith of Christ ; according
to I Pet. 2 :2, "As new-born babes desire the sincere milk of
the Word". For children do not affect delight and overcome
us by their wisdom, power, or greatness, but by their im-
potence, ignorance, and littleness. So, the praisers of Christ
conquered the world and magnified the name of the Lord in
all the earth, not by human strength, not by the words of
human wisdom, not by the magnitude of giants, but by the
foolishness of the Word and by the offence of the cross.
This verse therefore sings of the wonders of divine power,
which could magnify its name throughout the world in so
miraculous and unthought of manner. This was done, first
in the midst of those who most madly magnified their own
name, and moreover most pertinaciously resisted the name
of the Lord. It would have been a great thing for God only
to have destroyed the name of all the kings, the wise ones, and
the righteous ones upon earth, and to have reduced them to
nothing, and have erected his own name in their stead. But
in the second place, he whose name was thus magnified never
appeared anywhere, but was made known by the Word only.
Whereas, the great ones of the earth could be present them-
selves and could openly show their possessions and the things
v.'hereby they raised to themselves a name. In the third place,
which was perhaps the greatest of all, this invisible Christ
was magnified in the fall of all visible pomp; and that, not
by giants, by men of fame, of learning, of wealth, or of nobility,
but by fishermen, by fools, infants and without any appear-
ance of power or wisdom : whereas, their adversaries were sur-
434 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
rounded by multitudes and attended by the voices of the most
wise, most eloquent, and most powerful.
Hence it is said, "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
hast thou established strength," that the expression may convey
the greater wonder. But some being offended at the word
"strength", have rendered it 'praise', considering the former
an absurdity, perhaps, as not properly agreeing with the words
"Out of the mouth," and therefore they used the word 'praise'
as more agreeable to the general ideas and apprehensions of
readers. Although by "strength" here may rightly be un-
derstood the strength preached, by a figure of speech, and by
a Hebrew idiom, yet, in my judgment, we should rather un-
derstand that which is strong, powerful, and mighty, and which
all the adversaries are not able to resist ; as it is said also, Ps.
141 :6, "They shall hear my words, for they are able ;" that is,
for they are made firm and mighty.
So that we are here to understand also at the same time
that Christ has wrought all things in the world by the mouths
alone of those who preach the Gospel, and has by their weak-
ness subverted all strength and power, by their foolishness all
wisdom, and by their offence all religions. For the weakness
of God is stronger than men, and the foolishness of God is
wiser than men. In this manner also Luke frequently men-
tions, in the Acts of the Apostles, that the Word of God in-
creased greatly and was mighty ; thereby proving and exempli-
fying the substance of this verse.
And here also the rulers of the church of Christ are to
be called together, that being instructed by these words they
might learn their duty. For the power and strength of Christ
and the church are not procured from the world ; the church
does not call for the aid of the secular arm, it does not threaten
fire and sword, it does not trust in the arms of kings and
princes, but its strength is perfected out of the mouth of babes
and sucklings. David therefore, without doubt, here teaches
that he who studies to magnify the name of God otherwise upon
PSALM VIII. 435
the earth than by the mouth of babes and sucklings, rather
blasphemes, and is proved to magnify his own name rather than
the name of the Lord. And such are all those who madly
imagine that the Turks, infidels, and heretics at the present
day are to be attacked, not by the Word of God, of which
they know nothing, but by war and worldly tumult, or by the
clamors of abuse and revilings ; that is, they presume to con-
quer by those very things which are themselves conquered by
the mouth of babes and sucklings ; and thus they turn the mild
and gentle mouth of sucklings into the bloody mouths of giants,
that is, they turn the sweet Word of God into the tyrannies of
their own traditions. If therefore any one sees this evil and is
willing to leave it, let him at length learn what he ought to do
and how to act, that he may rule the people rightly.
First then "Out of the mouth," saith David. A most im-
portant admonition, but a most faithful one unto those who are
employed in the ministry of the Word in the church. For the
Word is rightly handled when the mouth is distinguished from
the Word, and when it is known that the Word is not his who
preaches, nay, that it is not he who preaches at all, but Christ
who speaks in him. Hence Paul, 2 Cor. 13 13, 'Seeing that
ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me.' He might have
here said, Babes have perfected praise ; but rash fable-followers
are to be blamed, who, without paying any regard to the Holy
Spirit, pour out upon the people whatever comes into their
mind, or rather into their mouth.
Nay, further, some search and strive that they may not
preach solid things; that is, that Christ may not preach his
own Word, but that they may teach theirs. Hence it follows
that they not only do not destroy the enemy and avenger, but
even strengthen his hands and make him a mocker. Of this
same sort are those also, who, being confident of the greatness
and importance of the doctrine that they have conceived in
their own brain, dream that their peril is great if they do not
teach it to others also, imagining to themselves that they have
436 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
a talent committed to them and that they are burying it in the
earth, and must therefore expect the severe sentence of their
Lord. With such ridiculous baubles does the devil laugh at
their phantoms !
Such therefore being instructed by this verse, ought to
know that it is not we who teach nor our word which is taught ;
and that it is only our mouth that is made to observe in his
Word when he pleases to call us to that office. "TJioii, says
David, hast established praise," not they nor zve. So in the
Gospel, also, a certain lord did indeed give talents, but is was
to those who were "called". Do thou therefore wait also till
thou art called ; and in the meantime neither teach after this
office of teaching nor plunge thyself into it, for thy knowledge
will not burst thee, though thou keep it in long. 'They ran
saith the Lord by the prophet Jeremiah, 23 :2r, but I never
sent them : I have not spoken unto them, yet they prophesied.'
This temptation miserably vexes many, so that they are con-
tinually weary of, and sorry for that which they have under-
taken. The devil does these things that he may distress the
minds of those who have begun well, and at length wears
them out by making them weary of the work. Therefore let
him who is called, offer his mouth unto God, that he may
receive the Word, and may be an instrument only and not the
author. And let him who is not called, pray the Lord of the
harvest that he would send forth laborers, and perfect his
strength out of the mouth of sucklings.
Secondly, we have the words "babes and sucklings." Here
the minister of the Word is taught that he should be a babe
among babes, and, according to the v^-ords of Paul, i Cor. 9 122,
should become all things to all men that he might by all means
save some; and above all things take care tliat he never despise
nor disdain any one. In the same manner as infants, from their
simplicity, are utterly unacquainted with any distinction or re-
spect of persons, but are equal and the same to all.
P'or what is more danp:crous in a minister of the Word of
PSALM VIII. 437
God, than to be one thing to the great and the rich, and another
to the weak and poor ? Whereas they are sent to this ministry
to serve all men, to flatter none, and to hate none. You will
scarcely find in the holy scriptures any one thing against which
the Spirit so much contends, as against an unjust respect of
persons; for it is difficult to despise the external persons and
appearances of men, and yet to love and seek the good of the
men themselves as they are in the sight of the invisible God.
They are moreover taught that they should be gentle and
not railers, nor, as it is written, Titus i 17, self-willed, nor
soon angry, nor strikers ; for such are not babes and sucklings.
Moreover in this scripture is condemned all the proud os-
tentation of those who deal in great and wonderful things which
are above them, teaching lofty and difficult things which do
not at all tend to the main object, which the people do not at all
understand, and from which, if they did understand them, they
could reap no solid advantage. In a word, the passage con-
demns all doctrine conceived and delivered by men, with what-
ever adulteration of human and carnal knowledge they may be
infected, while it is contrary to the doctrine that is divinely
inspired.
In the third place, we have 'thou hast established or per-
fected.' For it is not enough to teach the Word of God, if it
be not rightly taught. Thus Paul instructed Timothy that he
should handle the Word "lawfully." For there are many
wrongly-anxious and vain preachers, who rage and make a
great ado, not knowing all the while that it is one thing to plant
and another thing to give the increase : and these want all
things to he done as soon as they have spoken the words, not
so much desiring to be heard, because they speak forth the
Word of God, as because they are the teachers of the Word;
thus striving that the instrument should be commended rather
than the Word sounded forth.
This is the case with those who promise to themselves that
they shall touch, work upon, and immediately convert, now
438 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
these persons and now those, by words that they have previous-
ly conceived and meditated. Whereas by the wonderful man-
agement of God, it comes to pass that they are the farthest
possible from accomplishing that which they have framed out
in their thoughts. For the soul naturally feels that all such
are the words of the man himself, composed by himself, and
covered with human filth as Ezekiel saith, 4:1, that is polluted
v/ith human affections ; and therefore the soul nauseates such a
word, and is rather stirred up to wrath against it than con-
verted by it.
The soul is the rather moved when it hears nothing of the
attempt of the speaker but the free Word of God only. For the
Word being free and pure will have itself spoken forth in pub-
lic, and will touch those of whom the preacher himself knows
nothing. Of this we have many examples upon record.
Therefore let it be ours only to offer up our mouth to the
Word, and let it be God's to accomplish the work and to give
the increase. Hence Christ, Matt. 21 :2 etc., told his disciples,
w^hen he sent them, that they should find an ass and a foal ;
which they saw not and of which they knew nothing, and yet
they went and fetched the ass and the foal, though they were in
this ignorance about them.
Wherefore, laying aside this foolish confidence, as if we
could do anything towards co-operating with the Word in the
hearer, let us rather give ourselves to continual prayer that
God would himself without us accomplish in the hearer what
he speaks by the preacher ; for it is he that speaks and he that
hears and works all in all : we are only his instruments and
able neither to give nor to receive any thing, unless he him-
self give and receive. Hence Ps. 68:18, with a word watchful
over the honor of God, saith, "Thou hast ascended on high,
thou hast received gifts among men." But the apostle, Eph.
4 :8, saith, "Gave gifts unto men."
Fourthly, now if the ministers of the Word were like these
it would without doubt be effectual and powerful and would
PSALM VIII. 439
not be spoken forth in vain; as it is said, Is. 55 :ii, 'The word
that goeth forth out of my mouth shall not return unto me
void, but it shall accomplish that which I please.' Observe the
words, "That which I please,' not that which the minister
pleases. And, 'it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it,'
not in them to whom the minister in his rash fancies shall
send it.
Hence there is a most perilous thing both ways, either to
teach the word of man under the name of the Word of God,
or to hurl the pure Word of God, just according to our own
whims and feelings ; each of which monstrous perversions has
held the church at this day under the most oppressive tyranny.
For this reason therefore let every one that is set over the
people of Christ in the ministry of the Word be humble and
fear, and let him study, by purity of prayer, more than by in-
dustrious strength, to deliver the Word free, pure, and simple,
just as it is, committing unto God both his own tongue and the
souls of the hearers. For it is a decreed truth, that there is no
master in the church of God but he who says, Matt. 23 :io, ''One
is your master, even the Christ." And Ps. 60 :6, "God hath
spoken in his holiness," or saint, that is, in his sanctuary, which
is the church. But where men or Satan speak, there without
doubt is a brothel and synagogue of Satan ; for such as the
W^ord is, such are the people, such is their God, such their wor-
ship, such their faith, such their conscience, such their works,
and such all that belongs to them. Therefore all things are
wrought in men by the Word only.
Hence I fear that infinite number of books, both of rites and
of theolog}', which prevail at this day in the church over and
above the Gospel, are those bowls of the wrath of God men-
tioned in Rev. 15:7 etc. which, being poured upon the earth,
the sea, the rivers, the sun, the air, etc., are described as bring-
ing many dreadful plagues on men. For what wrath or what
plague from God can be more dreadful, than that Christ should
not be taught among Christians, nor his faith known, but that
440 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
the souls of men should be employed in and oppressed with
Decrees, Decretals, Sextaries, Clementines, Extravagaries, Mo-
rals, Summaries, and the like.
Now, as we have said that no one ought to teach in the
church but he who is called of God, lest any one should be at
a loss to know what this call of God is, let him observe this,
whether or not the person be called to the ministry of the Word
by the authority of his elders, either ecclesiastical or secular,
without, nay contrary to, his own will and inclination. For
there is no power but that which is ordained of God, Rom. 13:1.
Therefore whatever both powers command is without doubt
the command of God. Moreover we do not read in the Old
Testament of any undertaking that prospered, unless God was
first consulted and an answer obtained either by means of some
angel or some man. For how unsuccessfully did the children
of Israel fight when they fought without the command of God !
as vv^e read in Numbers 14:40 etc. ; and we see the same in the
Maccabees. If God want thee, he will undoubtedly seek thee
out and will rather send an angel down from heaven to fetch
thee to him.
This I believe is the reason why the popes, priests, and re-
ligious ones do not teach the Word of God in the church, be-
cause there is no longer any one of them who waits for the
call of God, but they all seek after dignities, prebendaries, and
the ease and gratification of their bellies. So that despair and
a certain slothfulness of spirit do not now make men monks
only, but the same things move our popes and priests also to
their offices.
Thou wilt not better understand this call of God, therefore,
than by observing the scripture histories and the histories of
all the saints of the church. For all those who were called of
God always wrought some great works ; as Augustine and Am-
brose, and before them Paul the apostle, etc. And, that I may
not raise any scruple or doubt in any one's mind, I am speak-
ing of those who have come and still come forward to teach the
PSALM VIII. 44i
Word of God. It behooves these, I say, to take the greatest
heed that they go forth with the commission of God ; as Paul
saith, Rom. 10:15, "How shall they preach except they be
sent?" as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the Gospel of peace." Again, Mai. 2 7, "For the priest's
lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at
his mouth : for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts." But
as to all the rest who come to episcopal sees, to canonries, and
all such priestly offices, in which there is not the ministry of the
Word, I do not see that they have need of any calling at all.
For in all these offices there is nothing more sought at this day
than a private serving of God, in which, as Paul saith, i Cor.
-j-.-j, "Every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this
manner and another after that."
Yet those are not to be rejected and cast out, who, moved
by godly desire and despising riches, fame, and their own life,
have a desire to teach the Word, though their cases are very
rare, nay, they are rather to be commended ; as the apostle saith,
I Tim. 3:1, "Faithful is the saying, if a man seeketh the office
of a bishop, he desireth a good work." But why the apostle
says it is a "faithful saying" and why he calls it "a good work"
is shown in what immediately follows : "The bishop therefore
must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate,
sober-minded, orderly, given to hospitality, apt to teach" etc.
As therefore the apostle would say these are the works of a
bishop, he that desireth the office of a bishop, desireth a good
work. For that office requires one that is a despiser of glory, of
fame, of his own life, and of all things, because it is a ministry
of truth. And these things Christ foretold when he said, IMatt.
10:22, "And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake."
And as those can scarcely endure this who were drawn to the
work against their will by the power of God, that man must
in vain hope to endure it who has sought after the office of his
own accord, or who has not been moved to it by some singular
impulse of grace within.
442 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
It now follows in the verse, "because of thine enemies ;" that
is, thine adversaries, or as we have already often translated that
noun, thine oppressors. As this, therefore, may be rightly said
of the incarnate God, for God himself cannot be oppressed nor
suffer from adversaries, that we may go on with the same ac-
ceptation of the Psalm as that with which we began, let us un-
derstand all these things as spoken of the Son, as those of the
verse preceding were of the Father. We are comforted by this
Word, because we hear the Holy Ghost declare that these ad-
versaries are not ours but the adversaries of God, for they are
the adversaries of him whose Word and v/ork they persecute.
And as it is not we that speak and work, but God in us ; so it
is not we that suffer and are despised, but God in us. Thus
the apostle dares to say, Eph. 4 :30, "And grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God, in whom ye were sealed unto the day of re-
demption." And Zech. 2 :8, "For he that toucheth you toucheth
the apple of his eye;" though our ecclesiastical ones have
twisted this around as applying to priests only, as if the laity
were not also partakers of the Holy Spirit. Again, i Sam. 2 130,
"And they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.." Why
then are we filled with fear and disquieted if ungodly men fight
against our word or work ? Let us leave them to rage on ; or
rather, let ws pray for them that their eyes may be opened and
that they may see that it is not against us they run but against
God himself.
What is it then 'for strength to be perfected out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings, because of the enemies ?' Why,
David here still goes on to comfort us under all our weakness,
and so hold forth to our view the wonderful power of God. As
if he had said. There shall rise up against these helpless infants
a powerful Pharaoh, and the sons of men shall open their
mouths against them ; magicians shall not be wanting, nor a
Jannes and a Jambres who shall be most powerful both in might
and craft, and shall resist the Word of truth. Because of these,
I say, saith David, that they might not prevail, but, as Paul
PSALM VIII. 443
saith, 2 Tim. 3 -.g, that their folly might be made manifest to all
men, he shall give them a mouth and wisdom which all their
adversaries shall not be able to resist or gainsa3^ For, as the
Hebrew terms them, there are always "giants" and '"murderers"
upon the earth and "men of renown," who, trusting to their own
strength and violence, rush upon and oppress the weak and
simple infants who are preachers of the Word of truth. But all
this is permitted that the power of the Word which proceeds
from their mouth might be made manifest and perfected, while
God confounds the mighty by the weak and the wise by the fool-
ish, and brings to naught things that are by the things that are
not. Hence it now follows,
"That thou mightest still the enemy and avenger." Jerome
translates it, 'that the enemy and avenger might rest ;' that is,
that he might cease, desist, and rest from his evil works. The
Hebrew is, that a sabbath, that is, that rest might come ; that
it might show that the enemies and avengers must either cease
or be destroyed ; according to Ps. 104 :35, "Let sinners be con-
sumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more." Or
else it shows, that they are to be changed into friends, and those
that shall suffer also ; according to the words of the prophet Is.
2 :4, "And they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and
their spears into pruning-hooks ;" which is an allegorical figure
to signify the changing of evil and destructive into wholesome
tongues.
The words "enemy and avenger" signify figuratively all
enemies and avengers. All are enemies who think and act con-
trary to us. They are moreover called "avengers" because they
madly contend against the babes and sucklings of God in de-
fence of their own principles and pursuits, as they say, Ps. 2 13,
"Let us break their bonds asunder and cast away their cords
from us." But there follows, in the same place, the manner
in which such shall be destroyed, ver. 5, "Then shall he speak
unto them in his wrath and vex them in his sore displeasure."
Though, as for myself I believe it is a saving destruction that
444 LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
is signified in this Psalm, by which, as I said, the ungodly man
is destroyed, in order to his becoming godly; for this is the
peculiar work of Christ in the church, and this is the work of
the Holy Spirit, and is wrought by the peaceful Word of the
Gospel rather than by the impetuous violence of wrath and
fury. The proof of this seems to be David's saying, that all
these are to be wrought by no other means than out of the
mouth of babes and sucklings, and that it is out of their mouth
only that this strength is to be perfected.
Now he goes on to show what are the disposition and man-
ners of these adversaries of the Word. In the first place, he
shows that they are flesh and blood; as he saith, Ps. ii6:ii,
"All men are liars :" they are above all things unable to endure
that truth which mortifies the flesh. For the wisdom and pru-
dence of the flesh is "enmity against God, because it is not sub-
ject to the law of God neither indeed can be," as Paul saith,
Rom. 8 :/. Moreover when this truth is spoken by babes, those
wise ones of the world, considering that understanding in-
sulted in which they boast themselves, not only become enemies,
but under a false external pretext, and under the name of truth,
arm themselves with zeal to revenge the insult offered to their
understandings, and never rest until they have suppressed and
slain these apostles of the truth under pretence of defending
the glory of God and the truth, or as the common term is now-
a-days, for the honor of the holy church. So general, usual,
nay necessary a consequence is it, that he who is an enemy to
the truth of God must also become an avenging defender of his
own lies. Though we find this evil to be general in all causes
both profane and sacred, yet, in the latter, where a holy pre-
tence can be more conveniently made, it triumphs with ease and
security.
Let every one therefore who is called or who attempts to
teach the Word, be instructed and assured, that he will have
adversaries who will not only not hear what he has to say, but
will, when he offends against their opinions and pursuits, which
PSALM VIII. 445
he must of necessity do, become his most bitter enemies and
persecutors. These words of the Spirit however which bring
the babes into a contention with enemies and avengers will
not lie ; the contest may be fearful, but it is so managed by di-
vine power, and will end so well, that if the babe does but be-
lieve that the matter is conducted by the counsels of God and
not by his own, and if he does but concern himself about of-
fering his mouth to him that speaketh in him, and does but
leave himself in his hands as the mere instrument of the Word,
that Word perfecting will perfect strength, and destroying will
destroy the adversary.
Moreover, he that so teaches as not to find an enemy to re-
sist, and an avenger to persecute, because he teaches out of the
rule laid down in this verse, let him not presume to himself
that he is a perfect and pure preacher of the Word. But if
enemies and avengers rise up and rush upon him, saying, "Let
us break their bands asunder and cast away their cords from
us," or if they shall taunt him as they did the prophets, saying,
"What is the burden of the Lord?" or shall serve them as Ze-
dekiah did Micaiah, i Kings 22 124, and say, "Which way went
the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee ?" Art thou
the only wise one in the world? Let such an one be of good
J.o]K\ knowing,according to this verse, that he is a babe and a
suckling, but that his enemies are Nimrods and giants : for this
is v»hat we see came upon all the prophets, upon Christ himself,
upon the apostles, and upon all the ministers of the Word.
The example of whom, like a thick cloud, ought to animate us,
for we see all such examples to accord most exactly with this
scripture.
From this it follov/s that all those laws and rites of men
and also all those dumb and sleepy systems of theology drawn
up by mere oppositionists, were never the strength that was
perfected out of the mouth of babes and sucklings, and that
I hey have nothing whatever in them that agrees with the
description given in this verse, because no one of all such com-
44^ LUTHER ON THE PSALMS.
pilers was ever known to suffer any evil or persecution on ac-
count of their profession or writings ; unless perhaps it be a
little abuse in a bickering or quarrelling, like that of women,
for they are never compelled by mere opinions to suft'er the
peril of fire and death, until they have been brought forth and
instructed in the scriptures, and have begun to preach the Word
of God. Nay rather, such are adorned with titles and honors
and high places and names; they are saluted in the market
place, and are called Rabbi, as is the case with all otir great
doctors and teachers.
Such a doctrine as this of human framing, therefore, has
no enemies and persecutors, except it be in the same way as
Pilate and Herod contended together, and the Pharisees and
Sadducees. For it would not take much to stir up all the dis-
ciples of Thomas, of Scotus, of Modernus, together with all
the priests, bishops, and religionists at this day, and to bring
them all to stand together against Christ, though they are al-
ways in a continual state of contention among each other ; thus
the prophet justly wonders, in the second Psalm, that all the
kings of the earth, though the greatest enemies to each other,
yet stood up against him. And so, all the princes and elders
among priests, though completely divided among each other
in mutual factions, yet all assemble together against the Lord
and against his Christ.
These things I wished to say unto those who desire to
speak the Word of God and administer it purely, that they
m.ay know that, according to this verse, they will ever have
the more and greater enemies and avengers, the more corrupt
these latter times are, and the more specious outside show there
is of titles, names, dignities, offices, and rites, under the name
of Christ. Let such, therefore, bear in mind, that this truth
is certain. 'Out of the mouths of both babes and sucklings,
saith God, I only perfect strength ; which shall have enemies,
but which shall destroy the enemy and avenger'.
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