Remember, O Lord, David.
This psalm, whether it was written by Solomon, as some think, or by David, is a prayer for the kingdom and the priesthood. For these are the two most noble gifts in this life and in this world. Therefore they need the prayer and help of God to defend them against the devil, whose twofold title you know, which Christ attaches to him in the Gospel of John [Cap. 8, 44], where he calls him a liar and a murderer. For he does not rest, but tries and undertakes everything to involve the world in lies and murder. Against these cunning plots and kingdoms of the devil, God has set up two other kingdoms, for so they may be called, the worldly regiment and the church, or the kingdom and the priesthood, so that the worldly regiment may fight against murder, and the priesthood against the lying teachings. Thus David and all princes must work in the administration of the worldly regiment so that their subjects can lead a peaceful life, so that marriages, the education of children and other domestic offices can exist in peace and can be defended against the
Rebels and the lust of men. The priesthood, however, serves to lead the growing youth to the kingdom of heaven, and the ministers of the church, like the angels, are appointed to defend the truth, so that the devil's kingdom, the father of lies, may be destroyed. This is the real ministry of the priests, who have always been present in the world among the faithful, waging a constant war against the heretics.
Thus the patriarchs had to fight against the Cainites before the flood, against the children of Esau and others after the flood; the prophets waged war against the false prophets, as their sermons testify, the apostles against the false apostles. For Satan does not desist. Furthermore, the kingdom of the devil was always the greater, because if you look at the church, there were always more unbelievers than believers. Thus, in the worldly regime, the portion of those who disobey, who stir up unrest and wars, is greater than those who do their duty and are obedient. Therefore, since the devil's kingdom is far greater in number, then
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Both the secular government and the priesthood are things that are far beyond human strength and therefore cannot be defended and preserved with our strength, it is obvious how necessary this prayer is, in which David asks that both may prosper and be preserved.
And here first see the difference between the king David and other kings of the world. Others find and see this also, that human communities cannot be maintained by force. Therefore they have said that he must have a special divine inspiration who wants to rule well and blissfully, and although they did not know that this is directed by God, they nevertheless preferred happiness (for that is what they called the blessing whose cause they did not know) to wisdom, power, justice and all rulers' virtues. For since just men are generally oppressed, but the unjust have dominion, they judged that justice is not the noblest cause that sustains empires. Otherwise Cicero would not have been defeated, but Antony would not have been raised to such great power. But if the empires were preserved by power, Themistocles would not have defeated Lerxes. Thus, many famous rulers did not lack wisdom and diligence, and yet they were unfortunate. These experiences also led the pagans to attach to the great rulers a deity who should govern wisdom, power and justice, and this they called happiness.
But now look at David here. He also sees that it is not in his power to preserve the kingdom, but he does not believe that it is luck that preserves the kingdoms, for he judges that God is the cause. Then he firmly holds, as we shall hear, that God, for the sake of His mercy, will not abandon those who pray to Him. The pagans know neither. Furthermore, the same distress that lies on the neck of the authorities, that one must pray for the temporal government, lies also on the church, so that one must pray for the church. The apostle John could not prevent the rise of Cerinth; in later lines, the Church could not prevent Arius, Sabellius, Nova
tus and other heretics rose. Today, we have not been able to prevent the emergence of the abusers of Holy Communion, Baptism etc. We have taught the congregations with all diligence and have not lacked anything that belongs to our ministry, but that was not enough. What must we do? Certainly what this psalm says, that we say, "Remember, O Lord, David," that your name may be sanctified, that these abominable desecrators may receive their punishment for disturbing the peace and the church etc.
In this way, the Psalm is a prayer for the ancient people that God would preserve the kingdom and the priesthood for the sake of the promises made to David. But it is also useful for us, because we also have our David and an Ephrata, in which we find the dwelling place of our God; for the matter remains the same, only the meaning of the words must be changed. But as they [the people of old] stood in danger in both things, so we also stand in danger. Therefore, we rightly sing with one another this "Remember". Furthermore, I will simply follow the sense of the letter as the Psalm was prayed by the people of the Old Testament. For afterwards it is easy to apply it also to our times. As the kingdom was twofold, a physical and a spiritual kingdom, so also the psalm is divided into two parts. First, it prays for the church, then for the world government.
V. 1. Remember, O Lord, David, and all his sufferings.
The word 1) means tribulation, humiliation, oppression. Jerome translates it almost everywhere by meekness, but the circumstances prove that he is speaking of David, who suffered much because of the divine promise. For as the history of the kings shows, Saul pursues him with inhuman hatred. But why? Because he was anointed king by Samuel while Saul was still alive. Hence those persecutions,
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hatred, envy, reviling and all kinds of dangers came upon him. But that either his son Solomon or the whole people remembered these things in prayer and before God did not happen in the way the papists think that David intercedes for them as their intercessor, but they speak of David, who has the promises, and remind God of those promises through David, just as Paul also speaks of Abraham. Therefore, the name of David is not to be taken in and of itself (absolute), as if it speaks only of his person. For he does not speak of David as such, but in relation to something, that is, to the promissory David, that I say so, or to the one who has the promise and is clothed with the divine promises, so that one must understand the form rather than the matter. For teaching half I call the promise "the form", but "the matter" David himself, to whom the promises happened.
Therefore this is the meaning: Lord God, we pray for the kingdom, not as if we were worthy and deserved to be heard, but as Daniel [Cap. 9, 18] says: "We lie before you with our prayer on your great mercy", basing ourselves on the fact that you promised David that you would provide that our kingdom would be a lasting one [2 Sam. 7, 16]. Thus, he beautifully lifts up the prayer by immediately pointing out the promise in the entrance. This example is exceedingly useful, so that when we want to pray, we appear before God as poor sinners, not trusting in our merit, nor basing ourselves on our worthiness, but clothed, as it were, with His mercy and His promises, not like that one [Luc. 18:12] who says, "I fast twice a week," but: Remember, O Lord, thy promises. For the promises are nothing else than the mercy and compassion, which is offered to us free of charge by grace.
In the same way, when he remembers the sufferings, he does not do it in and of itself or in general, but in relation to something. For he actually understands the sufferings he endured for the sake of the promises. In this suffering he held fast to the
and did not let them be snatched away from him. God also kept them for David. As the Psalm says that you preserved David, who suffered everything for the sake of your word and relied on your word, so also preserve us, who rely on your promises, so that you will accomplish what you have begun in us [Phil. 1, 6]. For everything must be referred to the promises, as Moses also does when he says [Ex 32:13, Deut 9:27]: "Remember Abraham, Isaac" etc. For he did not call Abraham and Isaac, as the unlearned papists dream, but he draws on the promises that happened to them of the seed or descendants. How can God be reminded of them more poperly than when those are called by name to whom the Lord has made the promises? The saints put these promises against their unworthiness, their sins and their debts.
This must be diligently inculcated, so that we do not get out of sorts and fall into the inconsistencies of the papists, whose scholastic theology knows nothing at all about the promises of God, but even though they are the most important part of the holy Scriptures, they still do not understand them. But the other part, namely the law, they teach sparsely and incompletely. Therefore they interpret such sayings as if the Psalm said: Remember David, how holy and good he has been, and let us have the kingdom through his merits, which he has too much of and has overflowed upon us (quae in nos su- pererogavit) etc. But this opinion is obviously idolatry, because it takes hold of the mere matter without the form, or only of the active person; as the Jews think that they want to obtain the Messiah through their merits. In this way, the religion of the Turks, the Jews and the Papists is completely one and the same, for they base themselves in the same way on their own worthiness. But we, as soon as it comes before God's face, throw away the active person and want to have the suffering person who is clothed with God's promises, that is, such a David who does not sprinkle his merits on us, but the promises that were given to him and kept in all sufferings. One who-
The papists do not know the active David. Therefore, because they only know the active David, they subsequently make an idol out of him. They do not know that he is holy in the same way that the whole church is holy, not because he has good works, but because he has the promise of grace, which is truly the womb and womb in which the church and all of us are carried.
V. 2. who swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob.
This seems not inappropriate to refer to Solomon as the author of this psalm. For he wants to say: You promised the kingdom to David, David in turn promised you the temple; it is now completed and the vow fulfilled; now you also keep what you promised, that you help in this place and this people. In this way he holds up the temple and the ark of the covenant to God, believing in the promise made to David about the light that would not go out [2 Sam. 7:16, 1 Kings II:36], and asks that this promise be kept. The scripture does not speak of this vow, because it only contains the consultation with the prophet Nathan, 2 Sam. 7, 2. [1 Kings 8, 17.] But the author wanted to praise the will of David with the words that denote an oath and a vow, that he had firmly in mind to show his gratitude in this way and to testify his faith in the promise of God.
Where the Latin interpreter has put: Deo Jacob, there the Hebrew reads: XXXX, which means great and powerful. This is sometimes attributed to angels, often it is also used adjectively for other things that have a certain strength or power, like the ox etc. But here it is a special word of faith, that God is the power or strength of his people. For faith alone attributes this to God; reason and the flesh attribute it more to wealth and other fleshly help, which they themselves understand. But all that there is of such carnal help are in truth idols that deceive. But this [faith] is the virtue, the power and the strength of the people,
because he has God. This virtue has preserved, in the midst of the enemies, this handful of people, the Jewish people. It is also for this reason that this word is attached to God, so that it may be known that it is He alone who gives valor and victory. So it is said in another place of the text [Ps. 20, 8.], "They rely on chariots and horses, but we remember the name of the Lord." So Paul says [Eph. 6:10.], "Be strong in the power of his strength." For this strength is eternal and does not deceive; all other strength, besides that it deceives, is also only momentary. Now follows the form of the oath:
V. 3-5. I will not go into the tabernacle of my house, nor lie down in the bed of my bed; I will not let mine eyes sleep, nor let mine eyelids slumber, until I find a place for the Lord, for the habitation of the mighty one of Jacob.
This is a prolix way of speaking (περυσσολογΐα), as it is common among the Hebrews when they want to express a great zeal; we would say all this with one image: I will not rest until I have found a dwelling place for the Lord. But it is also not necessary to answer the childish question here, how this oath could have lasted, since David neither built the temple, nor, if he had built it, could the work have been completed, unless he had often gone to his bed and slept. For he speaks of the will or heart as David had been minded to complete this work. Furthermore, the will or the heart of a work master comprehends all causes in itself: the material, the formal, the final cause and also the effecting cause. Since, therefore, as is shown in the books of Samuel [2 Sam. 7, 2], David considered it inequitable if he dwelt in a house of cedars, the ark of the covenant being above under the carpets, this image expresses the supreme will that he wished to abolish this inequity.
Furthermore, you must note here again, since he speaks of the dwelling of the Mighty One in Jacob, that the holy fathers and prophets did not have thoughts par excellence of God dwelling in heaven, but thought
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have to do with God, who can be grasped at a certain place and is, as it were, associated with a person. For God in Himself is an infinite being (natura), therefore He cannot be grasped and circumscribed by thoughts per se. David therefore looks to the word with which God bound Himself to the Ark of the Covenant [Ex 25:22J, which, since he wanted to place it in the Temple, he calls the Temple the tabernacle or dwelling place of the God of Jacob. Here the wise Jews disputed: God is infinite, therefore it is foolish to think that He is better worshipped in this place than elsewhere. But the eyes of David, Solomon and other godly people are to be praised, who did not wander into infinity with their opinions, but followed the word of God and sought him only in the place where he wanted to be found, as he had revealed in his word. Those who sacrificed there were said to be sacrificing before the Lord; those who worshiped there were said to be worshiping before the Lord." Thus Adam, Abraham and Jacob had altars where God had revealed Himself, and confirmed by signs from heaven that He was there. For since no one can escape the sin of idolatry unless God Himself indicates the place and manner of worship, therefore at all times the godly have been shown a certain place in the world which had the promise that God would be there, hear, speak etc. Today we have no physical place, but everything is in Christ. To Him alone should our eyes and hearts be directed, for He alone is the object of our worship (nostrum σέβασμά), so that it is rightly said that apart from this man Jesus there is no GOOD. Therefore, whoever takes hold of Him in faith has God; whoever does not take hold of Him has no God and cannot have Him.
In Hebrew the name of the dwelling is in the plural [ηυ^κ/Ώ], namely because of the parts
of the temple. For there was the mercy seat, before which the high priest was allowed to appear only once a year. Then there was the Holy Place, into which only the priests were allowed to enter. The third part was the forecourt, in which the other tribes were allowed to worship, that is, the common people and the princes alike. However, only the priests were allowed to enter.
Even though it was impossible for them to enter the holy place and the mercy seat, the promise was common to all that they would be heard if they worshipped there. Therefore, even though they were not in Jerusalem, they turned their faces and eyes toward the temple, trusting in the promise that the Lord had made to the tabernacle.
V. 6. Behold, we hear of her in Ephrata; we have found her in the field of the forest.
That is, the vow of David is now fulfilled. For it is preached that the Lord dwells in this temple built by Solomon, which is of such a nature that it cannot henceforth be moved to other places, as has happened until now; soon it was in Gilgal, soon in Shiloh, soon in Gideon. Furthermore, wherever the Ark was, there was also God. For the promise followed the Ark wherever it might be. Now, he says, the place is fixed and permanent, where the Ark and the Temple will remain; now, if it will not be in that place, it will not be anywhere in the whole world.
But what is this that he says it was "in Ephrata"? For nowhere does it read that the house of the Lord was in Ephrata, that is, in Bethlehem. Although the picture is a little hard, it is certain that by Ephrathah the kingdom of Judah is meant, to which David the Ephrathite was the head, so that "in Ephrathah" is the same as in Jerusalem, where David the Ephrathite had moved the royal residence. Therefore, from the king who was an Ephrathite, Jerusalem is called Ephrata by interchanging the names (per metonymiam), as we also often do in German, as when I say: Saxony has freely confessed Christ at Augsburg before the emperor and the whole empire. Here, "Saxony" means the most illustrious Duke John, Elector of Saxony, who is worthy of being constantly remembered in the church, who was of Saxon lineage. So I say: Pomerania rules the church at Wittenberg, that is, Johann Bugenhagen, the Pomeranian. But the prophet wanted to use this image in this place, so that one would know that the temple was not praised for the sake of Solomon, who built the temple.
not because of the present people who gathered at the temple, but because of David, who had this promise. For, as I reminded you above, the promise is the supreme thing to be considered in all things; it is to this that he looks here, indicating that the temple was given because of the promise, not because of the merits.
It is a repetition or tautology that he adds "in the field of the forest," for he calls "the field of the forest" Jerusalem, as the prophets often call it Lebanon, because it is built of the cedars of Lebanon, and the trees of Lebanon seem to have migrated, as it were, to Jerusalem. The former name ["Ephrata"] was therefore attached to it by the person [David], but this ["Lebanon" or "the field of the forest"] by the material. But these images serve to teach us how great a gift it is to have a place where the Word of God is taught. For there is the church, and there it is preserved, that is, the kingdom of heaven. This place, he says, we have here, where the temple is built by the divine promise. For here we hear the word, here God speaks to us, here we pray and do everything that belongs to the service of God; here the devil is overcome and all his cunning plots, ravings, lies, by which he seeks to disturb the church and to harm the honor of God and the church.
V. 7. We will enter his dwelling place and worship at his footstool.
This proves sufficiently that he is talking about Jerusalem, since he is talking about the things that happened after the time of David, after the vow he had made had been fulfilled. It is therefore a word that contains a congratulation and at the same time an exhortation, as if he wanted to say: since we now have a place that is indicated and confirmed by the word of God, why do we hesitate? Rather, let us go there to hear the word of God, to pray, to give thanks to God, to praise His mercy and goodness. For these are all things that are properly done in the house of God or in the Temple.
to be worshipped. The word "worship" indicates the gesture, namely, as the worshippers generally do, that they bow down and turn their faces toward the Lord or the temple. What the Latin interpreter gave: In loco, ubi steterunt pedes ejus, means in Hebrew: "We will worship before His footstool," that is, before the mercy seat or ark where God had promised that He would dwell there. But where the Word is, there in truth is the footstool, the dwelling place, the camp and the altar of God, as the prophets generally indicate by the Word that God is present, just as, on the other hand, when the Word is gone, in truth God is not there either, and we are like sheep in the desert that have no shepherd.
V. 8. Arise, O Lord, to your rest, you and the ark of your power.
Here he again calls the place where the Word is, the rest of God, that is, the tabernacle, the dwelling or habitation of God, as Christ says [John 14:23], "We will make our abode with Him." But this is a prayer which he adds to the preceding, as if to say: The temple is built, and now we place the ark in the same: arise therefore unto thy place, and make thy abode with us. For this is thy rest, because thou wilt be worshipped in a certain place and in a certain manner, and it is not pleasing unto thee to have divers opinions and divers services, as men invent them. You are indeed the God of heaven, and heaven is your throne, but that is not how you want us to worship you. You want us to know that you dwell here, and that we should seek you in this one place etc.
Furthermore, according to the thoughts of the hearts of wise people, it is foolish and ridiculous that God should be bound to this place and placed like a malis in this darkness of the holy of holies, that he should be worshipped only there and nowhere else. This is how it was with the neighboring pagans, to whom the religion of the Jews was known: it annoyed them greatly that the infinite being should be enclosed in a corner in such a way. But God does not only not care about
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the thoughts of men, but also condemns them, and decrees that we should form our thoughts according to his word. He says [Ex. 20:24], "In the place where I will make a memorial of my name, there will I be," as if to say: I know that this place in Jerusalem is too narrow to contain me. For whom all the heavens cannot contain [1 Kings 8:27], how can a cave and so small an ark contain him? Rather, for my majesty and person, I have no need of any place, but you have need of it for your blessedness, that there be a certain place where you worship, find me, hear the word, receive the blessing etc. Your need requires this, lest, if I do not designate such a place for you, the devil deceive you, and while you think to worship and adore me, you worship and adore the devil. This danger of yours requires that I designate a certain place where my memory shall be. Dear one, how great was our folly and foolishness [under the papacy] that one ran to Rome, another to Spain, as if God were not present to us everywhere who call upon Him in the name of Christ! Furthermore, how great was the diversity of opinion, in that each chose a particular way to worship God. So that this would not happen among the people of God (as the prophets nevertheless show that it did happen), God appointed a certain place where they should come together, not as if it could not be elsewhere, but so that the people would have a place where, if they came there, they would surely find God.
The ark was indeed a physical thing, just as the churches in our country have a material from which they are built. But because God had bound His presence to this physical place through His Word, it was in truth God's dwelling place. Thus we know that the Word became flesh. Therefore, the body or flesh of Christ is a true body and true flesh; His humanity is a true humanity. But in this flesh, body or humanity, as in a mirror, God is shown and held up to us. God appears in this flesh in such a way that
He does not want to be worshipped outside this flesh and cannot be recognized. Therefore, we also worship before that ark which is now there, before our mercy seat, the man Christ, and firmly hold that those who worship God outside this mercy seat are sinners and idolaters, just as those sinned and were idolaters who at that time sought and worshipped God elsewhere than in the Temple. Therefore, even though they were not in Jerusalem, when they prayed, the godly turned their faces toward the Temple and Jerusalem, just as the Church today, which is scattered over the face of the earth, nevertheless agrees that it prays in the name of Jesus, on whose sufferings and merits it relies, and so, through faith in Christ, there is only One Church. Therefore, such sayings, which bind God in such a way to a certain place, are to be carefully observed. For they serve to resist all idolatry and to judge all doctrines, just as the Jews could establish this generally valid sentence that all worship outside that place of the Tabernacle would be idolatry. Thus the patriarchs could judge from the altars they erected in the places where the Lord appeared to them. For it was not to set up one temple against another, not one altar against another, but it was One Temple, One Ark, One Altar, as we have One Christ, in whom God dwells and is found.
Therefore he calls it with a glorious title: "The ark of power", that is, of the kingdom, as in the 110th Psalm, v. 2, sceptrum virtutis [the scepter of the kingdom] means. Likewise Ps. 8:3, "Out of the mouth of the young children thou hast prepared a power." Thus is the ark of strength or power where God mightily rules, helps, defends, and exercises his divine power for the blessedness of men by hearing them, forgiving sins, comforting, helping against enemies, the devil, death etc. This divine power, he says, is tied to this ark, therefore it is rightly called "the ark of power". It was tied to the altars of the fathers; now it is tied to the man born of the Virgin Mary. Whoever comes to him, he will be his-
If he dies, he will find life; if his conscience weighs him down with sins, he will find forgiveness of sins; if he is tormented by the devil, he will find peace; if he is opposed by the world, he will find safety and victory. For Christ, whose kingdom is, does not reign for the sake of lavishing us with goods, of making us rich in oxen, horses and fields, for these we have from the first chapter of the first book of Moses, but that he may demonstrate his divine power and deliver us from the evils from which we cannot save ourselves with our strength, just as he delivered the believers of that time from all dangers. For the ark was to them like a heaven, where they found salvation from all calamities. Therefore the people were the kingdom of heaven, and the saints among the people were the stars of heaven, as the Scriptures and the prophets gloriously adorn the religion of that people, and here the ark is called "the ark of power," that is, of divine power. For where God dwells, there is the kingdom of God. But He dwells in this ark and in this people, therefore the ark is heaven, and all who are in this people, where GOd has His abode, are the kingdom of heaven. Therefore Daniel [Cap. 8, 10.] says of Antiochus that he casts down the stars. For it is rightly held that wherever the Word of God is, there is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of Life, which triumphs over death, sin and all evil. In this way, one must exalt the word that is held in contempt in the world.
V. 9. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and your saints rejoice.
This prayer is the same as the one we use in our sermons when we pray that the Lord may give holy and good ministers of the Word, and grant that godless teachers may not take place among us. For God is, as it were, an emperor in His kingdom. As the princes of the emperor are servants, and as it were the most distinguished part of his kingdom, so in the kingdom of Christ are the angels of peace [Is. 33, 7] or the servants of the Gospel. The therefore for God's kingdom
must necessarily pray that God will give faithful servants, as He says elsewhere [Matth. 9, 37. f.]: "The harvest is great. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest." The work of these laborers is that they administer the sacraments and lead the teaching, comfort, threaten etc.
Now, in order that this may be done properly, it is necessary that the workers be clothed with righteousness, not only with the special (privata) righteousness that belongs to an individual person, but especially with the public righteousness that belongs to the office or the word, which can never be corrupted; for even if a person can be evil, the administration of the word and the sacraments is not itself evil. For the Word does not take anything from the person, neither do the Sacraments. Therefore, if I were the most wicked person, and yet baptized according to my office and profession, baptism would not have been defiled for the sake of the wicked person, but would retain its purity and be purer than the sun. Thus, the Word, because it is the Word of God, is also purer than the sun, however stained and sinful the one who teaches it may be. Thus the sacraments are entirely holy and entirely pure, even though they are administered by an unworthy man. In this way he speaks of the righteousness that rules and reigns in this kingdom, not of the personal righteousness by which we as individuals are righteous in our works. For since this righteousness is never without blemish, according to the saying [Ps. 32:6], "For this shall all the saints pray thee," therefore another righteousness is needed, which never has blemish. This is the righteousness by which the kingdom of Christ is governed, namely the word and the sacraments.
Therefore, it is easily recognized how childishly the Jews disputes about this righteousness, who understand it from righteous garments and the splendor of Aaron. For even though the priests were not allowed to dress differently than was ordained by God's word, this was not the kind of righteousness by which this kingdom is promoted. But then the priests are clothed with righteousness when they administer a righteous office that is
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means, if they teach the word purely, as Peter says [1 Ep. 4, 11]: "If someone speaks, he speaks it as God's word", if they administer the sacraments correctly, so that everything they speak and do is either God's word or God's work. When someone baptizes, he does not do something that is his own work or that he himself has invented or thought up, but he baptizes in divine power. Thus he who comforts a sorrowful soul does so not according to his own will or choice, but according to a certain precept of the divine will. Therefore, he who hears this word must not receive it as the word of a man, but as a voice that sounds from heaven. Thus the ministry of preaching is righteous, because it is in truth directed in divine power, and this is true righteousness.
On the other hand, those who teach in such a way that they command to trust in their own merits and works, so that they prescribe a certain way of dressing, eating, fasting etc., as then the righteousness of the Papists and the Turks consists entirely in these outward things: such priests are clothed with wickedness, unrighteousness, blasphemy and profanation of God. For they have lost the noblest adornment of their office and the right dress, because they do not teach rightly, nor govern rightly, but rather deceive men by the appearance of government and their preaching office, driven by the devil, who hates this righteous administration and perverts the priests. This misfortune takes place in the kingdom of Christ; as we see, also in the kingdom of the world. For even though Carl is emperor, in some places sedition and wars are instigated by those who prefer tyranny to righteous administration. But in this way it also happens that good citizens love a just administration all the more and pray for it all the more diligently. The same happens in the kingdom of God.
The sum of this prayer is that those who are with the ark of power may rule righteously, lest the most beautifully ordered worship of God fall away, and so the fruit of the Word may endure and the timid hearts be lifted up, the necks of those who have been in the ark of power may not be destroyed.
The weak are strengthened, the simple and inexperienced are taught, as this is diligently done with us by God's grace. This does not happen with the Anabaptists, the Sacramentarians and others; because they have corrupted the doctrine, they lack this holy ornament of righteousness. And it cannot be otherwise than that where the shepherds err, the people also follow the error of the teachers. But this is the greatest wrath, when the priests, who should be clothed with righteousness, are clothed with an ungodly nature and blasphemous doctrine, just as it is the highest gift to have priests clothed with righteousness.
What now follows: "And your saints rejoice," shows quite nicely what God has in mind for us or what His intention is with us, namely, that God does not delight in the unrest or sadness of the heart, that is, in an evil conscience, which produces sin, and the fear that naturally follows sin, just as, on the other hand, a good conscience is joyful and cheerful and produces a heart that is secure in a godly way. Since there are two kingdoms, the kingdom of death and the kingdom of life, or the kingdom of hell and the kingdom of heaven, he desires that the saints may be preserved in the kingdom of life and enjoy a good conscience, which is primarily brought about by the righteous administration of the priests. The apostolic prayer with which the apostles generally begin their epistles agrees with this prayer: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father" etc. [Rom. 1:7, 1 Cor. 1:3]. "Grace" is the forgiveness of sins; this is necessarily followed by peace or a good conscience, which David here calls "joy." The meaning is therefore this: Your saints, that is, the people together with the priests, after they have heard the right word of the righteous preaching ministry, should be joyful in this word, they should be secure, triumphant etc. But he calls them "saints" because of the use of the word and the preaching ministry, which is holy. Thus the Jews were called holy because, as I said above, they belonged to the people who had the ark and the word of God, truly holy and sanctifying things. Thus
He also calls our church holy, not primarily for the sake of personal holiness, which must necessarily be there, but rather for the sake of the holiness that the Word and the sacraments confer on those who use them properly. For these he asks for joy, that they may be glad and confident in the Lord.
Therefore, the meaning of these words ["Let your saints rejoice"] is this, that our King Jesus Christ has given us the word for this reason, has commanded that we should be baptized and use the sacrament of his body and blood, not because he wants to kill us with poison, as it were, or make us sad, but so that we may be joyful, confident and secure, having peace and a good conscience through his merit. Therefore Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of joy and salvation, as another Psalm [Ps. 118:15] also indicates, "In the tabernacles of the righteous"; that is, in the church, "they sing with joy," because they know that this is what their King Christ wants, that through him they should have comfort, life and security, and victory against death and the devil. Now this is the Christians', or, as he calls it here, the saints', joy and triumph. For why should a Christian be sad or grieved, since he is called by the gospel to the kingdom of Christ and grace, baptized and refreshed with the body and blood of the Lord, and daily raised up by the word against despair and despondency? Therefore, if there is still sadness left, it is not the fault of this kingdom, not of the Word and the sacraments, but my fault and the devil's fault, because I do not take hold of the Word in true faith and do not believe it completely. For why should I be despondent if I truly believe that I am baptized, called, communicated, and thus transferred into the kingdom of life, received into grace and enclosed in the mercy of God? These are therefore the tricks of the devil, who does not allow us to see our riches and our glory, but invents temptations and crosses where there is no cross, but salvation and victory.
Therefore, that maiden is rightly praised who, when challenged by Satan, answered that she was a Christian, and was thus satisfied in this man, Christ.
For you do not have to give the devil many words. If he accuses you of your sins, it is just enough 1) if you hold your baptism against him, of which he cannot deny that you have it. Likewise, if you hold up to him the word by which you are called into the kingdom of grace, how could he deceive you, because this word is the word of God? In this way, sadness cannot take place in the believer, because he has baptism, the word, the fellowship of the body and blood of Christ, the grace, favor and mercy of God. How then should he not rejoice and be glad? But because we often let ourselves be deprived of the word and these gifts of God and turn our eyes elsewhere, fear, sadness and despair must arise. But this happens partly through our fault, partly through the fault of the devil, who leads us away from the Word without us even realizing it, so that we think either of our merits or of our debts, likewise of the raging of death, of the burning of hell. When we think of these evils, we must perish without Christ, consumed by sadness and sorrow. For that is to lose the ark of the covenant. Those who speak out again in such dangers are saved, and, following the example of David, they say to themselves in amazement at these things [Ps. 42:6], "Why are you grieved, my soul, and are so troubled within me?"Since I am in the kingdom of Christ, that is, in the kingdom of peace, gladness and eternal joy, only that it is hindered to some extent by the devil and our flesh, which regards sins and our own unworthiness more diligently and makes them greater than baptism and the very sweetest promises of God. This is the wisdom, or rather the plague, that is hidden in our flesh, that we are more moved by our impurity than by the purity of the Word and the Sacraments. Therefore, those who remain firm in the Word, in truth, make their voyage in the harbor, safe from these storms and terrible tempests.
1) Instead of: rscte satis in the Erlanger, which we consider to be the correct reading, the Wittenbergers and the Jenaers have: rsote kaeis.
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Therefore, we must pray that we have good pastors and faithful stewards over the Word of God. For these provide us with such good. For this is the order of Christ's kingdom. Christ sits as an emperor in the church as in his temple or on his throne, the teachers are, as it were, the princes of his kingdom and administer the word loudly and teach rightly. Their office or government is not in vain. Therefore, the church triumphs, defies death, sin and the devil, because she knows that she is in grace under the Emperor Christ. This is the true peace, namely the peace of the heart. For in the world she is afraid. In this way the prophet asks as the highest gift that the priests clothe themselves with righteousness and that the people rejoice. This is the first part of this psalm; now follows the second part.
V. 10. Do not take away the regiment of your anointed one for the sake of your servant David.
This is a new prayer, which he undertook entirely in reliance on the promises. For here, as above, "David" does not actually mean the essence (substantiam), but rather a quality (qualitatem), that is, the David who is clothed and adorned with the promises of the kingdom, as if to say: I pray thee also to preserve and bless our kingdom, and to succor us; but this I ask not for my own sake, as if I were worthy that thou shouldest bestow it upon me, but in reliance upon the promises which thou hast made unto David my father, saying [2 Kings 8:19] that the house of David should not lack a lamp etc. But this belongs to the example and to the teaching that also we, if we want to pray, should look mainly to the promises, as we have already reminded a few times above.
Furthermore, this passage reminds us of the difference between the spiritual and the physical promises, because the condition of our works is attached to the physical promises. Thus, the kingdom of the flesh is promised to David if his descendants would abide in the word and will of God. The other promises of the law are also like this. For they are based on it:
if the people were to keep the covenant of God, as seen in the books of Moses. The spiritual promises, however, are not based on the condition of human works, but par excellence on the mercy and truth of God. Therefore, even though the people of Israel are deprived of the kingdom and expelled from their land, the promise of the seed of Abraham is not annulled. For thus says the text [Ps. 89, 33. 34.], Though I cast them out and destroy them, yet will I not turn away my grace from them. So also Isaiah says [Cap. 10, 23.]: "The Lord will let a destruction go, and yet he will control it," that is, the Lord will make an end and destroy the people because of their sins, and yet he will preserve the remnant because of his mercy, from which a new church will arise. Thus the promise of the house of David at this point is a conditional one, and the outcome shows that the whole kingdom is destroyed, and yet what the angel says [Luc. 1, 32. f.] is also true: "He shall sit on the throne of David forever." This contradiction can never be balanced unless we make such a distinction among the promises of God. But all the error of the Jews lies in this difference. They see the glorious promises of the land and the kingdom, then also what is promised of the spiritual kingdom, and refer the latter to the physical kingdom. Hence arise with them the joyful expectations to which they so stubbornly cling, that the kingdom shall be restored, but it is easy to see how grossly they err. But now let us return to the psalm.
Why he remembers David, we have said. So he asks, for the sake of the promises made to David, that the regiment of the Anointed One (Christ), that is, the King, may not be averted or taken away. For it is [the anointed one, Christ] a generic name (appellativum nomen), which simply signifies a king or anointed one, as David says [1 Sam. 24:7.], "I will not lay my hand on the anointed one (Christ) of the Lord," that is, on Saul, who is anointed according to the word or by the command of the Lord. Furthermore, faciem regis he calls the presence-.
The king's authority or the regiment (regnum) itself, which is given and instituted by God, as if to say: "Preserve, O Lord, your people, justice, righteousness, equity and the whole worldly administration, so that everything is done in proper order, so that peace is not disturbed by sedition and discord within (intestina odia), so that discipline is not disturbed or defiled by adultery and other offenses. For this and similar things belong to the regiment; for to desire the kingdom is not merely to seek the crown, but to want to have a beautiful and well-ordered regiment, in which innocence is safe, while shameful living and crimes are severely punished. The psalm demands all this, asking that the regiment of the anointed one (facies Christi) not be taken away.
The reason why he asks this in the first place is that in this people is the church and the word of God, which cannot stand in honor, where everything burns with murder, wars and contempt of the laws. So Paul also commands that we pray for the kings [1 Tim. 2, 2.], so that we may lead a calm and quiet life. Nowadays, under Emperor Carl, we have some well-ordered churches, in which the wholesome doctrine and the right administration of the sacraments are going on. Therefore, we must pray that God will not take away the regiment of His anointed, and will not let the Church be harmed by wars. For if the emperor is at peace, the Church is at peace. To this prayer we diligently exhort our people. How can ungodly people presume to accuse us as if we were disturbers of peace? I have no doubt that if peace and tranquility are maintained through anything, it is primarily through the prayers of our churches. For what should the adversaries pray, or what should Christ grant to his enemies, and to his persecutors? for they do not even know how to pray.
V. 11. The Lord swore a true oath to David; he will not turn from it: I will set on thy throne the fruit of thy womb.
We have said that the second part of this psalm began with prayers for the temporal kingdom. For these two kingdoms, the temporal and the spiritual, although they are very different from each other, are so connected with each other that one can hardly exist without the other, or not at all. For where peace is lacking, godliness cannot be cultivated without the greatest danger; on the other hand, where the word is not, one must err without end. Therefore, prayer is necessary for worldly peace and government. When the Word of God comes to it, there is all the more reason why we should give thanks to God. We have said, however, that this prayer, too, is based on the promise of God, for in prayer one must primarily see to it that nothing is asked for but what is certain and can be obtained. Because of this certainty, not only is the commandment given that we should pray, but also a certain form of prayer and formulated words, concepta verba, as it is called, are prescribed, and also certain things are indicated in regard to which, if we ask for them, we can be certain that the prayer is pleasing to God, as when one asks for the sanctification of God's name etc. Here it belongs that in this place the promise is strengthened by an oath, so that it would be all the more certain.
As this promise of the temporal kingdom is very glorious, it has also been the cause of death for many holy prophets. For as the promises in their right and proper use raise up the afflicted and godly minds, so also, when they are misused, they inflame the sure and presumptuous, who, trusting in these promises, afterwards persecute the godly, as is clearly exemplified in the prophets. Since they punished the idolatry of the kings and condemned the ungodly worship, and therefore threatened the kingdom and the people with ruin if they did not abandon it, they were condemned to the death penalty as heretics, because they spoke against these and other promises. And according to their reputation, this was a very strong reason for them to contradict the prophets: If the Lord has promised that the
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If the sons of David are to sit on David's throne forever, it is impossible for anything of this kind to be done by the king on account of which the kingdom should be destroyed.
Truly, the kingdom of the pope did not have such a glorious appearance, even though he also abused the promises of Christ in the same way in order to strengthen his tyranny and his idolatrous abominations. With how great pride they have boasted that Christ said to his church [Matth. 28, 20.]: "I will be with you until the end of the world", as if this in truth referred to the fact that the tyranny of the pope would never end. Thus the exceedingly beautiful consolation [Matth. 16, 18.]: "The gates of hell shall not prevail against them", has become a cruel and bloodstained word, and has been the ruin of many saints, because the pope claimed the same for himself and his tyranny. For this was the only reason by which they proved that the pope, as the head of the church, could not err. In this way, the godless and secure people of the promises with which God wanted to establish His own, misused against the right church. This was the reason why the priest Amaziah did not like the prophet Amos, and said, Amos 7, 10. 11.: "Amos makes a commotion against you in the house of Israel; the land cannot stand his words. For thus saith Amos, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall be carried away captive out of his land," as if this were indeed impossible, and the king, because he was king, could sin with impunity. But afterwards experience taught that this was a vain confidence, but that the prophet had spoken the truth.
In this way, the wicked misuse the promises of God, presume to have them, while they belong to the true church, and become presumptuous and sure. They do not think of their sins, not of God's judgment, but they certainly rage against the saints, as we see today in the papacy. Thus, of course, the true church is oppressed, harassed by tyrants, challenged by false brethren, has to suffer from the contempt and hatred of the world, and looks quite as if
it would already perish. Here it would be necessary for the godly to stand up in the trust in the mercy and the promises of God, because for this reason the promises are given. But here we see a strange reversal. Those who should believe and be comforted and uplifted do not, because the weakness of the flesh does not allow it, which the devil increases by making the dangers and terrors great. On the other hand, the Church of the wicked, which should be afraid because of its sins, is presumptuous, hopes for the best, lives without any fear in the highest security. Thus the pope stubbornly holds on to those promises with which Christ comforted his own, that he would be with them until the end of the world, that the little ship of Peter, even though it was in danger, would not sink [Matth. 8, 24. ff.]. But the true church, to whom alone this is said, does not believe this in such a way, nor does it set itself up in such confidence in these promises. This is the same fate and the same situation of the true church at all times.
But just as the godless persistently hope as long as things go well, so they also despair most shamefully when things go badly. On the other hand, the godly keep hope even in misfortune, however much it may seem that there is nothing to hope for. So this promise of the kingdom of the Anointed One was prevented in many ways by rebellious nations, by enemies and godless kings, until at last, for sin's sake, the city and the temple were laid waste and the people were led away captive, leaving behind only husbandmen and the lowest yeast of the people. At that time, the word, the worship, the customary judgments, in short, the church and the whole world regiment were in ruins. Who could hope that David would not lack descendants? as this Psalm promises. Therefore, this promise was necessary, with which the saints could comfort themselves, namely that it would be impossible for this kingdom to perish before Christ, the true seed of David, appeared. Therefore, at the time when everything seemed to be in desperate straits, God raised up the highest prophets, placed Daniel also among the highest princes; Jeremiah set the number of years to
seventy strong [Jer. 25:11], the remnant of the royal tribe, that is, the seed of David, were preserved even in captivity. In this way, the kingdom, which was in truth forsaken by outward appearance, was not forsaken, and the godly retained the hope of salvation where the wicked despaired and perished.
In this way we glow and comfort ourselves today that Christ will stand by His kingdom and His Church until the end of the world, even if the Antichrist, the Pope, triumphs and sits in the temple of God, and it seems as if he will completely suppress the Church. For God has given His promises to the Church for the sake of these dangers and hardships. Although the church cannot believe them completely, it does not deny them outright. But Christ tests faith, even if it is like a grain of mustard seed. It is useful to do this reminder, especially since it will happen, if we are not otherwise surprised by the last day, that the devil, through his own, will do and try everything that serves to suppress the doctrine. Even if we see here only a captive kingdom and ark transplanted elsewhere, like the people of the Jews, we must nevertheless keep the hope that the Lord will give prophets and not leave the abandoned church. For the word of the promising God should move us more than the existing or threatening ruin. For if God, out of great patience, has preserved the Church under the Pope, if He has borne the use of only one figure and many abuses that godless teachers have brought into the Church, if He has finally, when everything was in despair, allowed the exceedingly bright light of His Word to shine forth in the densest darkness, then why should we despair? The mercy of God is greater than heaven and earth and can swallow up the errors into which the elect are sometimes deceived.
There is no one who does not wish that the secular government be quiet, the people obedient and holy. So it would be desirable that the church would be united, that no aversions would be seen either in doctrine or in life, that the princes would keep the word to the people.
They would not hate it nor persecute it. But such a world regiment and such a church may be painted by a skillful artist, but they cannot be found anywhere in this world. Therefore, we should be prepared in such a way that we will never have the sight of such a pure church and such a calm world regime, but we should be satisfied that the church and the world regime (although there are some disturbances and damages) are not completely destroyed, that some majesty is seen in the worldly rule, but pure doctrine is seen in the church, and that a few highly esteem the word, use the sacraments, pray, although the greater part do the opposite. These consolations serve this purpose, so that we do not throw away all hope when it seems as if everything is about to collapse. Now, of course, the appearance of the church is miserable, since the pastors and ministers of the Word, as you can see, can hardly protect themselves against hunger, given the great hatred of the peasants and citizens. Therefore, I often think that the whole preaching ministry would perish by itself, even if it were without tyrants, but the promise should be respected more highly than all appearances that come into our eyes. For behold all history, whether the church was not always hidden by the tyranny of princes and the lies of heretics. In addition, there were the own temptations of sins and the torments of the devil, with which the godly are constantly plagued. If someone looks at this and fixes his eyes on these evils, he will judge that neither the church nor God is anywhere.
But you do not have to judge by this appearance. For you will never see such a shape of the church, in which there should be no offence, no irritation, no discord, and not various weaknesses and, as it were, diseases. It would be desirable that these things were not there, and that the church had such an outward appearance as is described here and in other places, where it is compared to a beautiful bride, in which not a spot nor a wrinkle is seen; but you will never see that it is so constituted on the outside, but it is always oppressed by tyrants, contested by heretics, plagued by
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of inward and outward tribulations, of disobedience, contempt of the peasants, disloyalty of false brethren etc. In all these dangers the consolation is to be held fast that even the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and one must continue to teach, exhort, punish, and in other things belonging to the ministry of preaching with great courage. If then some are disobedient, let them go their way and depart; but let it suffice us that there be some to whom Christ and the ministry of the gospel are profitable for the resurrection [Luc. 2:34].
This is how the holy prophets acted, who saw that the Babylonian captivity was imminent, that the temple and the city would go up in flames. This was the outward appearance of an empire that would perish altogether. There was therefore nothing with which they could comfort themselves except this and other promises that it would come to pass that a king would be appointed who would come from the body of David [2 Sam. 7:12], and that God had confirmed this with an oath. And it is truly a glorious promise that He indicates a certain person and does not let the succession be indefinite in such a way that the person would be uncertain. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob also had the promise of Christ, but in such a way that the person was not certain, looking at the amount of descendants. But in this promise there is a certain description that a certain person is named, so that even if the whole people were to be led away captive, they could still keep the hope of the kingdom as long as there was still a descendant of David left. The papal kingdom has no such promise, as if it were necessary that such a pope be in the church, as in that people all were commanded to set their hearts and eyes on the one seed of David. This was, as I believe, the reason why the genealogical registers were kept accurately by the godly, namely so that the succession in the lineage of David would be exceedingly certain because of this hope for the fulfillment of the promise. For this lineage was, as it were, a star in this people; as long as the descendants of the
When the Lord's presence was seen with eyes, it granted a certain hope of future salvation through Christ, even in the Babylonian captivity and all other dangers.
For even though the Babylonian captivity was terrible and bitter, it was far less so than the misfortune in which the Jews lived after the destruction wrought by the Romans. For even though the people were captives, even in the captivity they had a king to whom the eyes of the godly were directed as a pledge that the promise of Christ would be fulfilled. For God testified through the remaining king that there was still a fruit of the body of David. Then the Jews in captivity keep the word and prophets, Daniel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, and no doubt many others. But who does not see that the kingdom was not yet completely deserted and desolate, since there were still people left who were destined for the kingdom and the priesthood? Thirdly, the number of years was also fixed, how long the captivity should last. What can the Jews show today that would be similar to this? Not only do they not have a kingdom anywhere, but they do not even have persons destined to the kingdom, except that they have neither a certain number of years, nor the Word, nor prophets. How glorious remains the people had in captivity! Therefore, it is certain that the Jews have completely perished, and that the present calamity should not be called a captivity, but a destruction altogether, as Daniel also says [Cap. 9:26]: "And after this shall be the end. For how can this people of God, if the promise stands, be altogether without a king of the body of David? For in the Babylonian captivity, though they were without a kingdom, yet they had royal persons, as it were, as a speck of the kingdom, as it is said that there remained then a speck, as it were, of the lamp of David. The Jews do not have anything like that nowadays, so the thing proves that they are damned with their whole religion, or this present promise of the Psalm is null and void.
lying, since it confirms that David will not lack descendants until Christ, whose kingdom is eternal.
Furthermore, we have spoken above of the presumption of the wicked, which has caused all these promises to be stained with blood. For although they actually belong to the godly, the wicked always presume to have them. When the godly contradict them, and God's wrath and destruction threaten them, the godless use force. Therefore, one must learn that under the name of the church, the devil is up to and causes all kinds of harm. Thus we see what the pope has done in the church under this pretext alone, that he has persuaded the whole world that the church cannot err, that the church cannot perish. This word is true, but one should also have added this, that it would actually be described what the right church is and where it is. This description must be taken not from the decrees of the popes, but from the Gospel, in which Christ demands confession as a certain characteristic of His own. He says [Matth. 10, 32.]: "Whoever confesses me before men, him will I also confess before my heavenly Father." Therefore one must look mainly at the word. For there is no confession, nor can there be, where the word is not. Hence it follows that wherever the confession and the word are not there, nevertheless the church is not there, even though there is the great multitude, the power, glorious titles, the appearance of holiness. etc. In this way, this Psalm must also be applied to our affairs and brought into present use, and the promise of the bodily kingdom must be transferred to the church. Although she is plagued by heretics and tyrants, she will not perish, but remain steadfast even against the gates of hell.
V. 12 If thy children keep my covenant, and my testimony which I will teach them, their children also shall sit in thy throne for ever.
This promise is not an unconditional one (absoluta), because it has a condition attached to it. There is therefore a difference between
between this promise and those that are without condition, as they occur in the Psalms "the Lord spoke to my Lord" [Ps. 110] and "God, give your judgment to your kings" [Ps. 72, 1.]. There the kingdom is promised to Christ in an unconditional way, but here the kingdom is not promised to the descendants of David in an unconditional way, but with this condition: if they kept the blind of the Lord. Therefore the kingdom came to Solomon, who was born of Bathsheba, but afterwards almost his tribe died out with Ahaziah, whom Athaliah had brought up [2 Chron. 22, 3.], since Joash alone was left after all the others had been killed by Athaliah. For with this the devil went about, whether he could not in some way hinder the promise of Christ. After that the kingdom came to Joash, who was also of the seed of David, and was protected by the care of his sister, so that he was not killed by Athaliah [2 Chron. 22, 11. f.]. Thus the descendants of David were promised a lasting kingdom, but in such a way that God threatens them with destruction if they do not keep His testimonies. Therefore, the kingdom of the descendants of Rathaus was finally snatched away and taken by the foreigner Herod, until, when the wicked ruled, Christ was born of Mary, who was from Bethlehem (Bethlehemmitide). Thus, for the sake of sin, one descendant after another was destroyed by the devil, and yet there is an unbroken succession or lineage until Mary.
It is useful to consider how the kingdom promised to David was granted to his son Solomon, but is taken away from him again because of sin. The same happened with Nathan, and yet God preserved the little spark from which this kingdom shone forth like a torch. But this happened in order to dampen our destruction. Thus the promise of the Church is there: I will be with you until the end of the world, but the condition is added: If ye will walk in my ways. For those who neglect the Word, God lets go again, and raises up others to be the Church. Thus John says
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[Matth. 3, 9.]: "God is able to raise up children to Abraham out of stones." For since the promise had happened to Abraham, the Pharisees thought that since they were children of Abraham, they would surely be heirs of the promise. This confidence made them puffed up so that they lived securely and without fear of God. Therefore John says, "It is certain that the children of Abraham will be heirs of the promises made to Abraham. But if you want to be sure and disobey the commandment of God, I tell you, it is easy for God to reject you and to bring forth a descendant to Abraham from stones. So the pope is not pope for the sake of it, because he sits in regiment and in great dignity. For if he will not obey the word of God, God will easily find and raise up a church elsewhere. Thus, this promise depends entirely on the condition added against presumption.
"The covenant" is the promise of mercy through Christ. "The testimony" is the will of God, which is revealed at all times through Moses and the prophets. Therefore he demands faith, then also obedience to the law. But he explicitly says: "Testimony I will teach", namely through the priests. For although they had the office of preaching, yet the Lord himself wants to be the teacher, and wants to be heard; he does not want the conciliar to be heard, not the teachers who teach such things as he himself has not taught. In this way, then, we also say of the Church that wherever one believes the promise of God and obeys His word, there is the Church. But those who do not believe the word nor obey it are not to be considered the Church; even if they have titles, professions and other things, they are in truth rejected by God and are not to be considered the Church. For who would believe the pope because he is pope? But for the sake of this name alone, he demands that one believe him, and does not want one to dispute whether what he commands is true and right doctrine (sana); he simply wants one to believe him, because the Holy See cannot err. Those who contradict and contradict his decrees
The people who try to adjust themselves according to the word and will of God are subjected to punishments of every kind. Nowadays, the spirits of enthusiasm claim the same thing for themselves; everything they dream, they want, is spoken from the Holy Spirit. But Basil has said very well: Whether παν Ινΰπνιον ώ&υς προφητεία [not every
Dream is also immediately a prophecy].
Therefore, just as these people among the people of Israel perpetuated and defended their errors and ungodliness through the prestige of the kings on whom this promise seemed to be based, so the false church is wont to do at all times. But we answer that the promise is true, but it is a conditional one, and it is said, "If they keep my blind and testimony." For God did not anoint them as kings in such a way that they should do whatever seemed good to them, or that God would approve everything they ordered and taught because they were kings, but He attached the condition to it: If you will keep my testimony. So in the New Testament we do not deny that this word of God is true [Luc. 10, 16]: "He who hears you hears me," but we deny that it is to be understood by all who teach in the church. For some teach not Christ's word, but their own; that these should be heard, as himself, Christ certainly will not, but he also forbideth that they should be heard, saying [Matt. 7:15.], "Beware of false prophets."
Thus Moses commanded in the fifth book of Moses [Cap. 4, 1. 6, 7.] that he [the king] never put the book of the law out of his hands, that he constantly practice it by reading, learning and doing. If this was commanded to the kings in the law, what shall we think of the words of the New Testament? There the popes will surely boast of their conciliarities, fathers, church and dignity, which they have held for so many centuries. All this may be valid in such a way if they teach according to the rule of the Word. For the church that enjoys divine prestige is only that which follows the voice and the word of the Lord. According to this rule, examine the pope who protects himself with the name of the church, and see if the pope teaches according to the law that is prescribed for him by God.
If a man teaches against the law and does not walk in the right way, and yet sits in the regiment, he shall not be put out of his position for that reason, just as Ahaz should not be killed by his subjects for that reason, because he was an idolater; but you shall do this, that you do not follow his rule, that you do not approve of his ungodly teaching, that you do not do what the Roman bishop commands to be done against the Scriptures. For in this case God absolves us all from obedience, for He says thus [Deut. 18:15, 18, 19]: I appoint you a shepherd, and you shall obey him as you obey me. So it can happen that he [the Pabst] wants to abuse the order of God against the word; then I leave you this protection and give you this means in your hand, that you say [Apost. 5, 29.]: "One must obey God more than men." Let them therefore be kings, let them be popes, so far shall they be heard and obeyed, as they walk according to the rule of the word.
Furthermore, we learn from experience that nothing is more frequent and more common than the abuse of power, both in the secular regiment and in the church. Therefore, those who rightfully use their prestige, which they have either in the church or in the secular government, are very rare. The reason for this is that the majority of people serve their lusts and let themselves be ruled and guided by the devil. Hence we see that the pope and the bishops do not care at all about doctrine, but turn all their care to increasing their honor, their dignities, their wealth, their prosperity. What should the subordinates do here? Shall they drive them out by rebellion or kill them? No, but they should let them rule, and only be careful and beware of their mouth, as Christ also says in Matthew [Cap. 23, 2]: "On Moses' chair they sit" (although there is a great difference between those and our popes). Here he allows them to sit and teach, does not want them to violate it, and grants them the key of knowledge 1). But this he condemns, that while they have the key of knowledge and in the
1) Compare St. Louis Edition, Vol. XIX, 932, § 58.
Nevertheless, in addition to not teaching themselves, they also seduce others, although the rest of the church should also be mindful of their right. For since our bishops do not teach themselves, nor permit wholesome teachers to teach, and yet enjoy the benefices of the churches and abuse them for their exceedingly shameful lusts, many assert in a very good and true way that the income (beneficium) should not be separated from the office. 2) Therefore, the rest of the church, according to its rights, can take so much from the goods of the papists that godly teachers can live on it. For this must be prevented in every way, so that the ministry of preaching is not completely taken away.
Therefore, the error that the impious teachers of papal law (canonistae) impose in the most impudent manner must be rejected, since they presume to say that one should not take it into one's mind that the great majesty of the pope can err. 3) This is, as it were, the first commandment of the foolish canonists, from which this abomination arose, which we now see and curse in the papacy, that they have unashamedly set up as articles of faith everything that has only occurred to them and has served to bring money. But we say thus: It may be called this tyranny, after all, the summit of the majesty (apex celsitudinis) which he arrogates to himself against Scripture and all equity; and, to ascribe still more to him, we will suppose (fingamus) that he is also pope according to divine order, and occupies the highest position (primatum) in the church. I will add more to him: if the pope demands it, let us make him an angel from heaven; what more glorious can I think of him? But even if he were an angel, Paul pronounces (Gal. 1, 8.] that he is accursed if he preaches another gospel.
Thus, a priest by the grace of God (divinitus) is a priest, a king by the grace of God is a king. We want to concede this also to the pope in such a way as if
2) That is, only the one who pays the office should have the income.
3) Compare Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XXII, 894.
he is in the first place by right power (praesit). But the condition of which we have said entails the necessity that we must distinguish between the thing and its use. "The thing" I call the divine power (autoritatem); though I concede the same to the popes, yet I do not concede to them the use of it, because they evidently draw the divine thing to their abuse. They use their power not according to the will of God, for the glory of the Word, but for their own glory. Therefore, their power does not bind us, even if, as I said, it were the power of an angel from heaven, but with a good conscience we step away from them, so that we do not disobey the supreme power and majesty, which is God. Now if the popes did not fight against the teaching of Christ, if they held firmly with us that we are justified only by the ransom (pretio) of the blood of Christ, and did not teach men to trade on their own merits and works: then I would gladly acknowledge their power, and confess that they also used the holy cause sacredly. But since the abuse is obvious, it does not help them that they have the holy cause, as they boast.
For this is summa summarum, that the pope is bound to God's word no less than all other men, if he had the dignity of an angel. Since he now obviously challenges this, defends his godless nature with the utmost cruelty, not his chair, not his dignity, not his power protects him, but he is cursed, as Paul says. For it is quite generally assumed among the teachers of the papacy that the pope is above the Word or above the Scriptures, and can dispense as he pleases in the divine law. Therefore, he has decreed from the church and from cases of conscience what he only wanted. Since we condemn this in confidence in the word of the Lord and, forced by the command of the Lord, seriously refute it, we are banished. From this opinion we are not to give up, but say with this psalm: If the popes keep the covenant and the testimony which the Lord teaches, we will hear them; if they do not keep it, we will not hear them, will also have a
The church will not hold in honor (venerabimur) even the most sacred thing in them, which they abuse in such an abominable and ungodly way. For even if the popes are not, there will be some who will keep the covenant, so that the church will not be completely eradicated. Thus, a hundred years ago, when the popes rejected the covenant of the Lord, John Hus was found to hold it with the greatest reverence. So also today: since the Bishop of Mainz, as the highest in dignity, does not want to keep the covenant, there are others who keep it; and in the eyes of God, the parish priest of the most despicable village is far more pleasant and greater than all the bishops in all of Germany with all the cardinals and popes. For God does not concede to men any power over His word. Those who honor it, follow it, and keep it are the Church, however despised they may be in the world. Those who do not keep it are the church of the devil, and the greatness of the title does not help them.
And this is also the reason why it is expressly written in the text: "The testimony that I will teach them". For thus God wills to use in the church the office of teachers, but that he himself be the supreme teacher, and all the ministers of the church, even the pope, even the church itself, be governed and directed by the word; for thus these things must be applied to the present use. For this is not a trade (disputatio) that belonged to a particular and certain time, but it continues to all times. In the people of Israel, the kings and priests, puffed up by their profession, thought that everything was up to them. So today the popes do not think that they are subject to the laws of the Word, but they are subject to it, that they arrogate to themselves the power over the Word and the Scriptures. The matter is entirely the same. Therefore, we must be fortified here that we can say: I believe a council, I believe a pope, I believe princes and kings, I believe a holy and universal church, but in such a way that this holy church, let alone the bishops and popes, is in all things subject to their God and Bridegroom Christ and his word, without any exception. And this I believe in such a way that it is not necessary that
God from heaven speaks to me and reveals it to me in a sensually perceptible way. This word, which the prophets and apostles spoke, is the word that must be believed, to which the pope with the whole congregation of saints must be subject, and may not do anything without this word, much less against this word etc.
In this way the pope must be brought back to order; but we learn that he fears and hates no poison so much as the Scriptures. That is why he opposes with all his strength, even if he is of a different opinion, that a synod or concilium should take place, only because he fears this question, that it might be asked in the synod whether the pope is to be judged by the Scriptures or the Scriptures by a concilium? For the evil conscience that the pope has always calls out to him that the Holy Scripture is the Word of God, therefore it will happen that the Word of God will prevail, and the concilium will decide that the pope is necessarily under the Scripture. If this happens, then it is over for the pope. For what will the pope be able to maintain in all his decrees, ceremonies, and doctrine if he is judged according to the Scriptures? He therefore foresees in his mind a reformation which would be intolerable to him, and therefore he does everything in his power to prevent a concilium from being assembled, although in the meantime he puts himself in such a position, judging by his words, as if he desired nothing more than a synod. But while he is throwing this high, he is entangling and captivating the minds of the kings in such a way that they have more time and desire for all other things than for holding a concilium. O for the malice that would be worthy of eternal fire and the hatred of all good, that the popes want their tyranny to be strengthened to such great detriment of the church!
We have said all this because of the similarity of the trades that are presented to us in this Psalm, that God restricted His kings, who had great divine prestige, and bound them by His laws, so that even though they had greater power than all, they were still subject to God and His word. They had to obey this word, even if it was proclaimed by a lesser one.
as Nathan punished David, and David listened, not because Nathan himself, but because he presented God's word. Whose disciples we must all be. Therefore, when I say to the pope that he should place himself under the mercy of God, which alone is necessary to justify us before God, the pope should submit to the word, not for my sake, of course, who proclaims this, but for the sake of the word. If he does not do this, he abuses his authority, and no obedience is owed to him in the things he commands or teaches against the word.
This conditional statement is made against the ungodly, so that they do not assume an unlimited power against the word. For an unrestricted promise is the one that understands Christ in himself. For this he does not promise under a certain condition, but promises absolutely that he will come from the seed of Abraham. But because, while this promise was fulfilled by Christ, the bodily kingdom continued, it was so fortified by the word of God that a certain condition was nevertheless attached to it. Therefore, many ungodly kings and their entire lineage were destroyed from the foundation and others were put in their place, so that the temporal kingdom would continue in some way until the Most Holy One would come [Dan. 9:24] and the King of kings [1 Tim. 6:15], who has continued this kingdom until now and will continue it for eternity. Therefore, the attached condition serves against presumption, as if he wanted to say: "My promise will come from Christ, and certainly I will secure my David his throne, but you, who meanwhile sit on this throne and administer this kingdom, do not believe that you cannot err, or that God will approve your errors and not rather condemn them. Therefore, either rule your kingdom according to the word, or I will overthrow and destroy you. This promise he now continues in a glorious way.
V. 13: For the Lord has chosen Zion, and is pleased to dwell there.
This is another execution of the promise, as if to say: You have the promise, but now let this be done to you.
2120 A- XX. 27"-278. Au[1. on the 15 songs in the higher choir. Ps. 132. w. IV, 2014-294." 2121
that you may be righteous and keep my covenant. For then it shall come to pass that this kingdom shall remain, and I will dwell with you; as he also saith in Isaias [Cap. 31:9], "I will have a hearth in Zion," that is, I will be a householder in both spiritual and corporal kingdoms, and will give all blessings, but so, if ye obey my voice etc.
But he uses in a special intention the word, which Moses also used Deut. 16, 2. and 26, 2.: "In the place, which the Lord, your God, will choose, that his name may dwell there. For in the beginning the tabernacle had no certain place, but wandered about, not only through different places, but also through different tribes, Ephraim, Manasseh, Dan etc. Further, by this word he rejects all that men undertake of their own choice, or as Paul calls it [Col. 2, 23.], sselbsterwählte Geistlichkeit), of which there were innumerable among the Jews. For they thought thus: If the priests are free to take the tabernacle from one place to another, why should we not also be free to sacrifice in more than one place? This was surely idolatry; for since God had bound Himself to the mercy seat by His word that He would be there and be found, it was idolatry to believe that He was elsewhere or to seek Him in another place. That is why the prophets fight with all their might against people choosing anything other than what God chooses. For God curses nothing so much as that one should undertake or use something as a service of God which He has not commanded. Therefore, with us there should not be choice, but obedience, otherwise what Jeremiah threatens [Cap. 23, 33.] will happen to us: I will throw down what they have chosen. This serves to refute the self-chosen things we have seen in the Pabstthum. For that one vows himself to this order, another to another, that one keeps certain fast-days, has certain saints whom he calls upon etc.: if you ask him who commanded it, his conscience compels him to answer that he has so chosen it himself. But this does not mean GOtte, but serving the devil. For
One does not serve God in any other way than by doing what He has commanded. Therefore, the choice is not ours, but GOtte's; but the obedience is for us to carry out what GOtte has chosen.
Then the word "choose" also serves against the presumption of merit. For if he said, I restore you to Zion, or I give you a reward, he would indicate that it was by our merit. But when he says, I choose according to my will, he indicates that he does it without regard to any merit, so that he at the same time condemns the worship that is feigned and the reliance on merit. Therefore, the self-chosen spirituality (xxxxxxxxxxxxx) or, as Anselm puts it The factitiae religiones (self-made worship) is called the theology of the devil. For it does not help us that it was performed in good opinion. For this is not a good opinion, which is not based on the Word, but on one's own opinion. Therefore what Ambrose says, that the opinion decides about a work (intentionem judicare opus), is rightly spoken, but it must be rightly understood. For the final intention (intentio finalis) must have the word of God as its foundation and be based on it. For only he has a right opinion who can prove that he is compelled by God's word to undertake this or that. If someone does not have this word, beware of joining him or following him, even though everything would be angelica. This is therefore a very sure rule; if we follow it, we will never go astray; namely, that we should always ask whether God has chosen this. If one answers that Benedictus, Augustine, Franciscus chose it, which were also dear to God, let it flee as a plague and an extremely harmful poison, for it is certain that God does not approve of anything unless He Himself chose it. This is what I wanted to remind you with a few words about the word "choose".
V. 14. This is my rest forever; here I will dwell, for it pleases me.
This is truly a glorious promise, such as he never made about any other place.
has given. Therefore, we see that Isaiah [Cap. 33, 20] and the other prophets conclude that Jerusalem will last forever, that is, until the Messiah comes, who will make the temporal Jerusalem an eternal one, just as the angel says to Mary [Luc. 1, 32. f.] that Christ will sit on the throne of his father David forever. Furthermore, note the implication that this promise clearly entails. Jerusalem lies desolate today, and yet this promise evidently says that this will be the residence of the Lord forever; therefore it follows most certainly that he has come who has made this Jerusalem or this kingdom an eternal one. For though Jerusalem was laid waste in the Babylonian captivity, yet there remained remnants; the time was determined how long the captivity should last; there remained kings and prophets. Nothing of this kind exists now, as we have also shown above.
This is therefore a glorious promise that this Jerusalem would serve the Lord as a dwelling place forever and that it would never be destroyed. Trusting in this promise, they crucified Christ and committed all the atrocities, thinking that this would never happen, that Jerusalem would perish, because of the promise of eternal duration that it had. But we have heard that this was promised conditionally, namely if they kept the covenant and the testimony of the Lord. Therefore Jerusalem remained until Christ; after that it suffered the punishments of its sins, like other godless cities and godless kingdoms. So the prophets promise for sure that the gospel will come out of Zion and a new kingdom of Christ out of Jerusalem, but afterwards they add that this Jerusalem will be greater than the whole earth, its walls will be the ends of the earth etc. This cannot be understood of the fleshly Jerusalem, which gave its beginning to the kingdom of Christ. But afterward it was desolated, just as the godless descendants of David were cut off; the godly remained until Christ was born.
Furthermore, it is known that this election began under David. For the city of Jerusalem had belonged to the Jebusites before that time,
But under David it was chosen by the promise of the Lord to be the royal and priestly city, so that as before the persons of the priests were not uncertain but certain, so also the persons and succession of the kings would be certain, and not as uncertain as before the judges and leaders were not fixed in a certain tribe. But he also uses the word "choose" here, 1) to punish the trust in merit, which generally clings to the hearts at all times, so that they recognize that by divine grace and the good pleasure of the Lord this city was destined to be the seat of divine service and of the temporal government. For the Jews especially suffered from this devilish vice, that they boasted of their works, their merit and their worship, just as Moses chided them for it, reminding them not to think that they had been granted such glorious benefits because of their righteousness, but because the Gentiles deserved such punishment and the Lord wished His people well. He says: "The Lord brought you into this land, not because of your righteousness" [Deut. 9, 4. ff.]. So we also see this diabolical trust in the Pabst, although under much worse circumstances than in the people of God, who used the service commanded by God. In Pabstism there is nothing but human choices, which are idolatry.
It seems that nothing great is said that God promises that he will dwell in Jerusalem, but one must look at the greatness of him who dwells there, then the place, no matter how lowly and despised, will become exceedingly exalted. For of him whom all heavens cannot contain, the word promised that he would surely be found in Jerusalem. Therefore, it is a glorious promise that one knows and has a certain place where God can be found, so that hearts do not wander in doubt, and everyone chooses a god or a place of worship according to his will. For this undistracted wandering, when the hearts of the
1) Namely in the Vulgate the words: "For it pleases me well" are given by: Hnoniarn "Is^i earn.
2124 xx, 278-280. Au[1. on the 15 songs in the higher choir. Ps. 132. w. iv, e-mw. 2125
The people who arrange a place and a service for themselves, like Jeroboam, are nothing but idolatry. Therefore, it is an infinite mercy that God has appointed a certain place for the word and the whole service. Therefore, the glorious title was attached to this place that it was called the holy city, not because of the holy people who dwelt there, but because of the holy Lord who dwelt there and sanctified everything through the Word.
The Church of the New Testament also has this glory, namely, that he is its head; not the pope, as the godless papists say in an ungodly way, but Christ, who sits at the right hand of God, who is with his word and sacraments. This is an immeasurable glory and cause to be proud (superbia), which does not come from our righteousness, but from the mercy of God, who accepts, approves and praises everything for the sake of His Son, our Head. But the city of Jerusalem also had the devil as its fiercest enemy for this reason, because it was, as it were, the workshop of God, in which God daily bestowed benefits of every kind and performed holy works. But it was nevertheless miraculously preserved and defended by God, so that it would not be uncertain where he was, where God wanted to be worshipped and heard. Again, we are reminded here that all this comes from His gift, not from our merit, from His mercy, not from our works, since He Himself chose this "rest" and it pleased Him to dwell in this place. So it is not from our merit that we have the gospel, baptism, private and public absolution; all these things are gifts of the merciful God who wants us well for Christ's sake. Now he moves on to worldly or temporal things.
V. 15. I will bless their food and give enough bread to their poor.
Our Latin translation [the Vulgate] has viduam ejus ["his widow" instead of victui ejus], but perhaps this is an error of an ignorant scribe. For the word actually means prey or hunt. But why does the scripture call our food like that?
Of course, for the same reason for which Christ calls our bread daily, that we, just as the animals daily pursue their prey and find it, do not sow, do not work, but everything falls to them, as it were, as prey, likewise also do not accumulate food for many years out of avarice and unbelief, but daily expect and receive the same from the hand of the Lord, but by the means of our work, and be satisfied with what falls to us daily, like the prey given to an animal. For avarice and unbelief are not satisfied with what is present, however faithfully God promises to feed us and give us what we need to live. In this way, Scripture very appropriately and characteristically calls food a prey that falls to us without our providing for it, but by working and leaving the care to our God, as Christ also exhorts in this way, Matth. 6, 25. ff. He commands us to work, to do and carry out everything that our profession entails. For the Hebrews call that work which every day has and brings with it. But he commands that we leave the worrying and the care to God, and he promises that we shall not lack food any more than the birds and other living creatures. For it is not intended that we should be insatiable in this life; for even if we had all the goods of the whole world, we must leave them all behind us with this life. But just as life is not certain, but like a kind of robbery or booty, which we enjoy as long as it seems good to the Lord, so also food is like a kind of robbery, with which we must live contentedly, but not be anxious about the future. Thus, this expression condemns ungodly worry and anxious unbelief, through which nothing is accomplished.
What follows: "I will give bread enough to their poor" is a familiar figure of speech, that "bread" is called what we are also accustomed to call food, that is, everything that belongs to subsistence, food and drink. This he promises, but "to the poor"; so calls
1) Instead of destia in the editions should probably be read dsstias. After that we have translated.
But he looks at his people. For he sees his church as it always is, that it alone hungers and thirsts in the midst of the riches of the world. Thus the Levites lived in a peculiar poverty in the beginning, until they finally sought dominion, just as our popes do. For the devil rules these things in such a way that he seeks to suppress the preaching ministry through hunger and contempt. Because many refuse to suffer this, they fall into the trap of preferring to teach what is pleasing to men rather than to starve, and thus come to great goods and dignities. Therefore, the godly must hold fast to this promise that the Psalm says the Lord will give bread to his poor. For both will happen: they will have bread, and yet they will be poor, because the kingdom of Christ is not of this world. Therefore, those who are in the preaching ministry and the noblest part of this kingdom must bear shame, hatred and contempt, or abstain from the preaching ministry. For the godly are promised a certain and eternal inheritance, not of this world, but of the life to come. Therefore Christ praises those who are spiritually poor, but at the same time have to endure a lot of misfortune. On the other hand, he says of those who have abundance and are full, that they are unblessed, because it will happen that they will have to weep. Therefore, we must make our reckoning in such a way that, if we want to be God's people, we will be content in this life if we have food and clothing, but bear everything else with equanimity and overcome it through the hope of the glory that will be revealed in the children of God.
V. 16. I will clothe their priests with salvation, and their saints shall rejoice.
This promise is far more delicious than the one we have already spoken of, because God promises that He will govern the priests in such a way that they will be pure and holy through the Word, and have a good conscience. If we could have this against the small lack of bodily things, we would bear the same more patiently. I have been a monk and I have lived in a lot of misconceptions and snares of conscience because of the amount of people.
The first hour gave birth to the second hour. Against nature, I was bound to the impure celibate state. If someone had told me at that time how dear I would have been to purchase peace with Christ and the great glory that we have today through the Word and the Spirit of God, I would have humbly prostrated myself to the ground and would have gladly given my life, and would have asked that only my conscience be made free. But now that we are clothed with salvation in truth, because of the exceedingly rich and clear promises of the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, we forget this spiritual riches and complain that we are not also kings in this bodily life; we do not prefer our eternal and spiritual glory [to the bodily one]. But this is great ingratitude, that one takes such offense at outward poverty, and does not rather rejoice and be glad in so great spiritual goods. For who, having such great gifts of the spirit, would not rather beg for bread from door to door than be bishop of Mainz or even pope, of whom it is known that, being enemies of the Word, they are extremely unhappy with the goods of the world? For they lack the forgiveness of sins, the hope of eternal life, the knowledge of Christ, and all other things which we have abundantly through the Word.
Therefore, even though we are despised, afflicted, sorrowful, afflicted, detestable, and poor in the sight of the world, we take comfort in the fact that we have the gifts of the kingdom of heaven, that through faith in the Word we become victors over sin, death, and the devil, because we are clothed wholly in salvation. How many were seized with despair before this happy time! Now, if they had had this knowledge of the grace of God and this comfort of the Word, do you not think that they would rather have suffered the loss of all the goods of the world? For when one feels the wrath of God and despair, then even immeasurable riches are considered nothing. For then what do arts, what cities, what kingdoms and principalities count for? For who would not gladly throw all this away in order to have only a calm heart?
2128 XX, 282-288. Au[1. on the 15 songs in the higher choir. Ps. 132. w. IV, 2M-2037. 2129
Therefore Paul rightly calls this [1 Thess. 5, 23.] a complete part (όλοχληρίαι^, because everything is based on this knowledge. For if we have to live here also on begged bread, is this not beautifully made up for by the fact that we are fed with the angels with bread [Ps. 78, 25.], and with eternal life, Christ and the sacraments? Whoever does not like this, may at least follow the pope and seek a cardinal's hat with the devil's forges 1). I pursue other goods, which the wise, who are either epicureans or academics, perhaps despise, but I prefer to all the precious stones of the world and all gold. Thirty years ago, if I had had the right understanding of even a single psalm, I would have felt like a kind of god, for at that time everything was full of the most shameful ignorance, abominations and endless idolatry. But now that the Lord has opened up to us a flood of heavenly wisdom and knowledge, we ungrateful people seek worldly goods and are so tender that we do not want to be deprived of what the world has. But in Isaiah [Cap. 28, 20.] it says that the bed is narrow, therefore there cannot be room for both. But we do not reject the goods, for they are God's gifts; therefore those to whom they are given may enjoy them with thanksgiving, and without giving offense to their neighbor. But to those who do not receive them, let them bear poverty with equanimity, as Paul says [Phil. 4:12], that he is able to do all things, to have and to lack, to eat and to hunger, to be praised and to be blamed etc., namely, because we have another kingdom in heaven and are waiting for the Savior, who has begun to give us these things through the Word and the Sacraments. Let him leave us only the word and the priesthood pure and intact; we do not want to care much about the other things.
This is therefore an excellent promise and consolation, namely that the church and the Word shall remain until the end of the world, and this not from human counsel or
1) is perhaps an allusion to Johann Faber.
wisdom, but by God clothing the priests with His salvation. Therefore, although under Ahaz and other godless kings everything was full of idolatry, there were certain prophets through whom the word was preserved. And in Christ's time there was an incredible blindness, the like of which, I believe, has not been seen among this people, and yet Hannah and Simeon were there at that time, who recognized and preached the newborn Savior. This is in truth God's gift and work, who in this way clothes His priests with salvation, that is, with the victorious word, with the right and holy service, so that we may hear from the mouths of men our salvation and our glory. These are more splendid garments than those of Aaron in Moses, that the teachers are clothed and adorned with the words of salvation and the doctrine of truth, with which they can not only teach their own in peace, but also refute the opponents. For here belongs also the garment of salvation, that is, of victory, which is obtained by the pure word and the wholesome ministry of preaching.
The second is that he also promises prosperity to the word, namely that all who hear those priests and believe the word will be sanctified, and their hearts will be filled with peace and joy, providing themselves with good things to God, which they know are pleasing to Him, and thinking that He is favorable to them. This peace of heart is our kingdom of heaven, which we have in this life. For it is an inexpressible treasure, in comparison with which the kingdoms and goods of the world are dung and dirt. Thus this Psalm connects these two pieces, that God will give the victorious word through the priests, and faith to those who hear us, so that all may be saved, and in the joy of the heart praise and glorify God for being so kind. If someone follows the outward appearance, he will judge that this is wrong, because these are spiritual words, which do not have to be understood according to the flesh. For if someone follows the appearance, he will rather judge from the pope and godless church servants that they are clothed with salvation. For these are sure to triumph, even when they set themselves against Christ and the true church;
On the other hand, the Christians or the true church are plagued by the devil inside and out, by heretics and persecutors. Of course, no one will call this salvation or joy, but rather misfortune and constant sorrow. But turn your eyes from the outward appearance, and behold that majesty of which he speaks to you in word, and promises that it will be gracious to you. Therefore, if you are in favor with God, if He does not hate you but loves you, if He is favorable to you and protects you: Dear one, what then are all the misfortunes and hatred of the world? Are not all adversities, however great they may be, swallowed up in the abyss of God's mercy? as Paul also concludes [Rom. 8:31.], "If God is for us, who may be against us?" What harm can the devil do me with all the raging of the world, if God is favorable to me, if he receives me as his child and showers me with all spiritual blessings through the word of his victory?
V. 17: There shall the horn of David arise: I have prepared a lamp for mine anointed.
He still keeps the promise of the kingdom and the priesthood, that not only the salvation and the joy of the priests and the saints in the people should be preserved against the fanatical spirits, which were always present in this people, but also that this kingdom should be preserved outwardly against foreign enemies and the pagans, but at home against the rebels. For as among the Levites there were many seditionists and heretics, so among the rest of the people there were many rebels, as the histories show. How many did Saul have who did not recognize him as king, but disgraced and despised him! When he was killed and David was welcomed as king by the tribe of Judah, all the other tribes fell away from him in revolt and followed the surviving son of Saul [2 Sam. 2, 8. ff.] This discord was in truth a revolt, and it lasted seven years and six months, as 2 Sam. 5, 5. is clearly indicated. Who does not know, however, how many adversities through turmoil and wars David afterwards
in his kingdom? After Solomon's departure, Jeroboam again caused a tremendous uproar. Against these evils, this psalm fortifies the people and promises that the horn of David will remain there, brought forth, as it were, by the Lord. This was the fate of this kingdom: the holy and pure priesthood was tainted by the devil through mobs that challenged the pure doctrine; in the secular regime he awakened rebels and disobedient citizens. In this way, the devil rages against the spiritual kingdom through lies and against the secular regime through murder, so that there is no shortage of lies and murder.
Just as this kingdom must not be regarded and judged according to outward appearances (for then it would appear as a weak, rebellious, powerless kingdom), so also the church has the promise of peace, but in such a way that it is troubled to its greater part by troubles, persecutions and other tribulations. Therefore, one must cling to the greatness of the promise, to the majesty of the word and the power (auctoritate) of the Promiser, who promises salvation in such a way that nevertheless rebels remain in the secular regime and angry heretics in the church. Here we need a strong heart to firmly believe that the world would love us if we were of the world. For if we wanted to flatter the pope and teach what he approves of, he would love us, not persecute us, not pass the sentence of excommunication on us. In the same way, the heretics and the mobs would not hate us so bitterly if we approved of what they like. For this is the constant course of the world, that those who want to be in the church are disposed to tolerate and overcome these annoyances with great courage, trusting in the promise of God. The promise, however, is entirely based on the fact that we should take comfort in the fact that we have a God who is favorable to us, and that the enemies of the Word should not overwhelm the Church, no matter how much they rage against it, namely because the Lord will bring forth the horn of David there, or as it is called in Hebrew, will cause it to sprout.
2132 xx, 287-28p. Au[1. on the 15 songs in the higher choir. Ps. 132. w. iv, 2M0-2W3. 2133
Well known is the passage in Zechariah [Cap. 6, 12.] of "Zemah" or the sprout. Therefore, some think that the word "shoot forth" is used here to indicate Christ in a hidden way, in whom the kingdom of David is confirmed in truth, and I do not argue very much against this; but I will still prefer to stick to the simple letter, that it simply promises David a certain place and certain descendants. But he uses the word "sprout" for the sake of indicating growth, just as in our way we call the emperor an increase of the empire (augustum) from "increase" (ab augendo). For if the empires were not preserved, they would perish; and to grow means to be preserved. Thus the church sprouts, even though it seems to be diminished because of persecutions, because the Lord sustains it and increases it daily through the Word and His Spirit. The meaning therefore is that the Lord will bless the horn of David, that is his kingdom, its power and strength, that he will rule it and preserve it. For he hath first of all made known the person, that the seed might be sure of the generation, and of the person, and of the place of the kingdom.
What follows: "I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one" is a Hebrew way of speaking, which is approximately the same as when we say: John Hus is the light of the Bohemian church; Leonhard Kaiser 1) is the light of Bavaria 2c because of his glorious confession of faith and his constancy. About the same the Hebrew calls "a lamp". But this image is used 2 Sam. 21, 2) 17: "Lest the lamp go out in Israel", and 2 Chron. 21, 7. of Joram "But the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he had spoken, to give him a
1) In the Latin editions here is reader, while in the great interpretation of the Genesis and elsewhere our way of writing is found. In a letter to him Luther writes: Leyser (De Wette, III, p. 179.].
2) The old editions correctly: 2 IleK. 21. Walch has erroneously 2 Kön. 8, 19. Nevertheless, the Erlanger has corrigirt darnach: "2 Resr. 21. [8.^'.
3) The old translator, who was also followed by Walch, did not recognize the following as a scriptural quotation, and even started a new paragraph with it.
to give light, and to his children for ever." For Joram was the last of the descendants of Solomon. For those who ruled after him were of the descendants of Nathan. This seemed to be very close to destruction under the Babylonian captivity, since the city was destroyed and the king was held in bonds. But the Lord chastised both the place and the person, but changed and did not reject them. At the time of Christ's birth, the dominion had passed from the tribe of David to the Maccabees and the Romans. Therefore, as far as the matter was concerned, this lamp was almost extinguished, but nevertheless, according to faith, it was still intact. For there were certain people from the tribe of Judah, from whom Christ was born afterwards.
"A lamp" he therefore calls the preservation of the kingdom, at least as far as the outward appearance was concerned, although as far as the thing itself was concerned, both the place and the person were in danger. For God was compelled to destroy and exterminate them because of their idolatry and presumption. Therefore, in Christ's time, the kingdom was taken away from the tribe of Judah. But it was followed by Christ, who built the New Jerusalem, which will never cease. A similar way of speaking is 2 Sam. 14, 7. "They will quench my spark," that is, my heir, that all my posterity may perish. Hence Solomon says in Proverbs, Cap. 31, 18: "Their lamp does not go out at night."
But it is also an emphasis on the word "I have prepared". For it indicates that this kingdom is fortified, not only against the enemies within, but also against all devils and the gates of hell, until Christ, and yet history teaches how it has been humbled by many a calamity. Thus we have the promise of the church that it shall remain until the end of the world, and that the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and yet everyone knows very well how the church was humiliated and almost destroyed under the pope. It was preached and worshipped, not Christ, but Mary and the apostles. Therefore, if according to Christ's word, the days would not have been shortened,
no man would have been saved [Matth. 24, 22]. This is what we must always do, that we esteem the greatness and the power of the Promising One greater than the aversions of the world and of the devil, and not allow ourselves to be deprived of courage when the pope rages against the church with the ban, the world with the sword. For although the church is no match for the adversaries either in number or in power, it will nevertheless remain, but the adversaries will perish. For He who is in us is greater than He who is in the world [1 John 4:4], and the Word will easily overcome all the raging of hell, because it is the eternal power of God.
V. 18. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but over him his crown shall blossom.
Not the king of Babylon, not the king of Syria, not Edom, not Moab, not Egypt, in short, no enemy will be subject to this kingdom, but this kingdom will endure until Christ, but all enemies of this kingdom will be clothed with shame. This light will not be extinguished until he comes who will fulfill everything. This throne, however despised and hated by the whole world, will remain in honor, not only before me, but also before the world. For even the devil, though he dealt solely with it, could not bring it about that the posterity of David should be cut off until Christ was born. The saints leaned on these promises as on a firm staff, yes, as on a rock, in the highest misfortune with which the devil plagued this people in his effort to prevent the promise of Christ. And truly, Antiochus Epiphanes, in front of others, with great difficulty, undertook to exterminate this people, but as this psalm promises, he was clothed with shame because he was an enemy of the holy people.
What the Latin [in the Vulgate] has translated by sanctificatio mea, that should have been translated: "His crown". For this is what he calls the kingdom. And from this word the Nazarenes have their name, of whom 4 Mos. 6, 2. is said. These had a peculiar worship, not unlike that of the monks. They abstained from wine
and all strong drinks, they did not shave, either for a certain time, or during their whole life. Although this worship was at the will of the people, it was not of their own choosing, like that of the monks, but prescribed by God. Hence the Psalm takes the likeness; and as such men were Nazarenes, so, he says, shall David, or his kingdom, I say, become a Nazaraeolus, or a little crown, which he shall preserve, and so fortify, that it shall flourish as a kingdom very pleasing to God, and exceeding profitable to the world. For he intends that it will be despised in the world as a small and weak kingdom. But, he says, let not this vex you, 1) for to me it is a deliciously flourishing and fruitful crown, both in spiritual and bodily administration. In this way I understand it simply from the kingdom of David to Christ.
Those who prefer to follow the secret interpretation, and transfer all this to Christ, can do it without effort. For otherwise it is customary in the prophetic writings to add prophecies of Christ at the end, who is the right womb or sprout, and the right Nazarene, who is prepared by God to be an eternal light, which the devil cannot extinguish. For it is known without a doubt that this whole kingdom was a figure of Christ and his kingdom. For it is this one whose eternal throne is confirmed in the house of David, best reign lasts as long as the sun and the moon keep their course etc.
So the psalm contains a prayer for the word and preservation of peace. For this, if we do not want to be ungrateful, we must mainly ask of God in our prayer. The hearts must be instructed in this way, so that they do not take offense or become angry when either the worldly government is challenged by the disobedience of the great crowd or the inequity of the authorities, or when the church is challenged by the false
1) Erlanger: 8ie iin^nit, ne nos 6te. Wittenberger and Jenaer: 8^6, in^uit, ii6 vos sie. We have followed the latter reading.
2) Erlanger: vex^ntur instead of: vexatnr in the other editions.
2136 " soi-s "r. Au[1. on the 15 songs in the higher choir. Ps. 133. w. rv, "M-rm." 2137
Brethren and heresies. For it will not be otherwise: wherever there is the word and peace, the devil, the spirit of lies and murder, will try to disturb both. For this is the cause of turmoil, wars and mobs or heresies. Therefore, we must be fortified so that, since our adversary does not sleep, we may lay ourselves heartily against such aversions, considering them to be a kind of remembrance, often also ruths or punishments, which the Lord sends to make us amend,
not that we should perish. For it is better to be plagued by the wicked mob than to be condemned. Therefore, the word and the laws remain, but the greater part of the people follow their lusts and do not care about the word in the church and the laws in the secular government. When we experience this, we have to bear it, because our sins deserve even more severe punishments. May God have mercy on us and bless us. Amen.