V. 1. A psalm of David. Lord, who will dwell in your tabernacle? Who will dwell on your holy mountain?
1. this psalm follows in better order the previous one, for as in the latter the pattern or example of the wicked is described, such as the Jews gave in the time of Christ and
Even now, this Psalm describes an example of the godly, so that it may teach us in such a way not only to turn away from evil, but also to do good, to first strip us of the old man and his doings, and then to put on the new man, who is created according to God.
930 L. xv, 32i-32s. Interpretations on the Psalms. W. iv, nss-nss. 931
2) And 1) first it must be noted that it presents the image of a godless people in and of itself (absolute) by not showing where it must be taken from or where it comes from. Therefore, it happens that an unintelligent person could attribute what is said in this psalm to moral virtues and free will, which is all a work of grace, 2) so that this psalm is one of the easiest, since it depicts the walk in justifying grace, of which it is completely silent, At the same time, however, it is incomprehensible to those who are not well fortified by the knowledge of grace, just as the preceding psalm is exceedingly clear, since it condemns the walk of the wicked and the work of original sin, of which, however, it is silent; But very obscure for those who are without knowledge of this sin, and there see only the free will, to which they attribute that it can turn the captivity and the ignorance 3) in relation to God with the other evils.
But this psalm fights especially against the reputation of the persons and against those who look at the person. It also fights against the ceremonialists. For the Jews boasted exceedingly before other peoples with the twofold reputation that they alone were the descendants of the fathers and alone had the law of God. Thus, because of the glory of their lineage, because of their wisdom and righteousness, they presumed to dwell alone in the tabernacle of God, as the Baptist said to them Luc. 3:8: "Do not presume to say, 'We have Abraham for a father. God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones." And Rom. 2, 23. 18.: "You boast of the law and test what is best to do" etc.
4. from the presumption of these people wen-
1) Erlanger: Lx instead of: Lt.
2) Jenaer and Erlanger: Zratiaoperantis instead of: Zratias operantis.
3) It seems to us that iANorantiaru should be changed to iKnoruntE in the editions, depending on oonveiÄonein; according to this we have translated. This agrees also with what is said in Z106 of the previous psalm. In the reading: oni tridnunt ... i^norantiam vei, they ascribe to the: free will ignorance with respect to God, the godless would be right in this.
NUN the prophet sets his face to the hidden prestige (conspectum) of God, before whom there is no prestige of the person. Since the prophet wants to present the truth, he accuses them, but at the same time he has pity on their blindness and says:
(5) O Lord, how do those men boast of the glory of their race, of their wisdom and righteousness, which is of the law, and admit none but themselves into thy tabernacle? For thus they judge men; but thou, before whom there is no respect of persons, judge otherwise. "For what is high among men is an abomination in the sight of God" [Luc. 16:15]. But by the tabernacle of God and the holy mountain of God he designates the church of God, not only of the Christian, but also of all the righteous, even in the synagogue, but this doubling or repetition of the tabernacle and the mountain is not in vain, for the tabernacle or tent is a dwelling place of the warriors; so that he indicates that the people of God dwell in the church in such a way that they constantly have to struggle with the sins, the world and the devils, and in this piece are not without fear and anxiety. This belongs to the killing of the old man.
6. but "abide," which in the Hebrew is also to dwell, but peacefully and quietly, as in a city and in a camp, which our Latin interpreter has translated par excellence by requiescere, signifies to have a safe and quiet conscience through faith in Christ, even in the midst of the tumult of battle. This belongs to the justification of the new man, therefore [in the Vulgate] it would have been better to put the conjunct et, instead of ant, as it is in the Hebrew.
We see, then, that here the question is not asked with regard to anyone who is in the Church of God, since in the threshing floor there is much chaff among the wheat, but only with regard to those who are in truth in the Church, to whom the Church is the tabernacle of war and the mountain of peace, who always fight in it and always triumph. Let us hear, therefore, what his answer is to this exceedingly mean question, in which all ask what a good, just, and holy man is.
V. 2: He who walks without change, and does right, and speaks the truth from the heart.
8. namely, by their fruits you shall know them, of which he puts three after the division in the Hebrew in this 1) verse. The e^th is: "to walk without change." This is also how the 119th Psalm begins: "Blessed are those who live without change," that is, as Jac. 1, 27. says, "who keep themselves unspotted from the world."
(9) But he does not speak of carnal purity, which is kept in the garments, food, drink, members, and other righteousnesses of the flesh, whether in the Levitical priesthood or in the worldly trappings. For he speaks in the spirit of spiritual purity. Purity, however, is twofold, since Paul distinguishes between the uncleanness of the flesh and that of the spirit, and states in Titus 1:15 that both their minds and consciences are unclean, and because of this defect he announces that nothing is clean for them. This impurity is godlessness itself, a delusion, an erroneous opinion of God, namely, the scarf-eye, which makes the whole body dark, even their most apparent works, words, counsels, thoughts: such a powerful evil is this spiritual impurity. The other is the uncleanness of the flesh, unchastity and lust; although this stains the heart and will with unclean desires, it is called carnal because it comes from the evil lust of the flesh.
(10) These are contrasted with a twofold purity, of the spirit and of the flesh. The spirit is godliness itself, which Job and Baruch call wisdom, Peter and Paul faith. For so Peter says Apost. 15:9, "He purified their hearts through faith." For this makes the mind and conscience pure, and keeps right of God. Therefore the prophets mention fornication very often, because of which they punish the people of Israel, because they are stained, defiled, polluted, corrupted, become a whore, adulterous. Again, they call the people who stand in the true faith a virgin, so that chastity and defilement
1) Here in the Latin still primo is added. In the Vulgate only two fruits are indicated in this second verse, the third in the following verse.
of the flesh are generally considered to be an image of godliness and godlessness. For so the Lord in the first and second chapter of the prophet Hosea takes the image of a woman and a man as a likeness between him and the synagogue.
11. purity of the flesh is chastity or chastity itself, which is sufficiently sung about and known, and this also works through faith, as it is said in Isa. 11:5: "Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faith the girdle of his kidneys. This purity of the flesh is also called purity of the flesh, although it goes into the inner being and is especially in the spirit of man, because it expresses itself in things and works of the flesh, just as purity of the spirit is called purity of the spirit, although it comes out and pours itself out especially in all works, purifying the whole life, because it comes from the things and works of the spirit. Paul puts these two pieces together beautifully 1 Tim. 2, 2: "That we may lead a quiet and still life in all godliness and respectability" (castitate), Greek: εύσεβεία xa: σεμνότητα.
by which God is served and lived honorably.
(12) So then, he is silent about faith, but he praises its fruits, since no one can walk without change except the one who believes, and "walking without change" is the same as living by faith, thus beginning at the first commandment.
(13) "And does justice" (operatur justitiam - he does justice). Here the word righteousness stands without closer relation (absolute), without the pronoun your or my, because the righteousness that is valid before God is that (as we have said enough) by which we are righteous before Him by His grace, of which He does not speak here, but of the righteousness according to which we live among men, harming no one, giving to all what is ours, as also the apostle Tit. 2, 12. says: "Live chastely, righteously and godly in this world."
14 But note that he says, a doer of righteousness, but not, he who speaks, thinks, hears righteousness; for not the hearers, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
2) In the text here (probably only by mistake) ÜÜ6S is written instead of justitia, which is also to be read according to the Vulgate.
But what do we owe to others? That which Christ teaches in Matt. 7:12: "Whatever you want people to do to you, you do to them," even to your enemies. Namely, we should harm no one, repay no one for evil, come to the aid of those who suffer injustice, do good to all. But this (as I have said) is spoken more against the reputation of the persons, as if he wanted to say: Not because you are a priest, not because you are a monk, not because you pray much, not because you do miracles, not because you teach well, not because you have great prestige through the title of the fathers, nor as the doer of any work, except righteousness, will you dwell on the holy mountain of God. If you do not have it, all other works will not benefit you, not even indulgences, not even the way of help (suffragia), not even the intercessions of the saints. The saying is certain: "He who walks without change and does right shall dwell in the tabernacle of the Lord."
(15) For how many people are there who build, multiply and adorn churches, monasteries, monasteries, altars, vessels, garments, who in the meantime do not even think of righteousness, even, in order to do this, trample righteousness underfoot, and finally hope forgiveness for their unrighteousness through these works. To very many who are deceived in this trade, he will speak like this on the last day: I have been hungry, I have been thirsty, I have been naked, I have been imprisoned, I have been sick, I have been a sojourner, but he will say nothing of the works that will be highly raised and regarded today. Again, it matters not whether you are a layman, poor, sick, despised, and however small; if you do right, you will be saved. This is the only thing to which one must pay attention, that he may do right, since everything else appeals and entices in vain under the appearance of godliness.
16 "And speak the truth from the heart" (in corde suo). A beautiful order: first, a person is required who is pleasing through purity, then the work through justice, and finally the word through truth. Thus God first looks at Abel, then also at his sacrifice. And
He that is mighty in works is mighty also in words; and a tree that bringeth forth his fruit in his season, and his leaf also shall never wither, lest he be of them that say, but do not.
17 Speaking the truth in his heart, Augustine thinks, is spoken by him who speaks the truth without knowing it, while he wants something else than is indicated, like Caiphas Joh. 11, 50: "It is better for us that a man die for the people. For he wanted to create the benefit that the people would not be cut off from the land, even though he knew that this would not follow, or at least could not know it. So he spoke the truth with his mouth, not in his heart, but according to the heart of John, because John understood with a true heart what the latter said with a lying heart but with a true mouth.
18 Such people are also those of whom it is said in Paul 1 Tim. 1, 7 that they do not know what they say or what they say. This is an extremely common evil, which also happened to many holy fathers, in that they sometimes distorted the holy scripture, which is the truth itself, according to their inclinations. And who can boast today that he does not have this error? For there are more than many perverters of the word of God; not that all of them knowingly lie, but that they do not sufficiently recognize their heart, which holds just the opposite of what is spoken with the mouth in completely true words, and understands neither itself nor the words of its mouth. This happens because they speak things that they have not attained through purity of faith and through the life that does right; therefore it is necessary that they have only assumptions about all things and understand nothing.
19 The same must be said of those who do not teach, but only speak in conversation. For very seldom do we speak one to another as we mean, fearing to give offense, so that I do not know whether I can exempt even one man from this sin, except Christ, just as I do not believe that there is even one who has done right, or one who has done wrong.
I know that no one has led a spotless life without any fault, except Christ alone, who alone has not committed any sin, nor has any deceit been found in his mouth. For if we were all to speak, one against the other, as we mean, with how many enemies would we be burdened? how many friendships would be severed by this sword of truth, which now seem most closely united? Therefore, as much humanity remains in us, as much lies and vanity also remains in us. Therefore, no one is without dissimulation and flattery, not even without false delusion in relation to God's word.
20 Again, as I have said, here he punishes the appearance of the person, which deceives very many, so that they also do not realize that they have this defect in themselves. So no one is open and sincere enough. And yet we do not take care to put away this evil, but in the meantime do our miserable works, in which we trust, just as if we could dwell on the holy mountain of God with this defect.
V. 3: He who does not slander with his tongue, and does not do evil to his neighbor, and does not revile his neighbor.
(21) There is no doubt that what he said, "He who walks without change and does right," signifies the whole righteousness, which he then expounds in its parts. One part is that one speaks the truth from the heart, does not flatter, does not close one's eyes, does not let go; by this injustice we sin against our friends and comrades. The other part is that one does not act falsely with his tongue, which in Hebrew means: He who does not speak in a diminutive way or play the braggart. Jerome gives it: Who is not light with his tongue. But it signifies the wrong wherewith we sin against our adversaries, in that we bear to our friends that which we have only ever heard from the enemies of the same, and interpret this most grievously, and daily scout, that we may bear similar things. From this word [XXX] Joseph called his brethren spies [XXXXXX] of Egypt, Gen. 42:9. This is truly a far-reaching and quite common vice, which is
at the same time serves most powerfully to arouse dissension; then it sometimes adorns itself quite beautifully with the appearance and pretense of a counsel and a warning. It is, however, a very beautiful larva, since it pretends to be an angel of light, brags out of zeal for God, investigates, accuses the neighbor of heresy, error, ungodly life. For such a person expects a reward for having served God by killing the godly and condemning the godly teachings.
(22) So the prophet wants us to keep silent about the evil that is found in our neighbor, even if he is our enemy and deserves it for our sake [that we speak evil of him], and also to speak nothing but good of him, and only such things that serve to establish, maintain and increase harmony, because this is what we want to be done to us. Yes, we should take the utmost care not to condemn and condemn someone's word and work sacrilegiously, lest we violate the truth for which we seem to be making a special effort. Augustine writes that his mother behaved in this way with wives who were enemies of one another in the 9th book of his Confessions.
(23) Therefore, a great part of the wrong is done in this. There are many testimonies against this vice in the Scriptures, but we do not mention them, because this vice is exceedingly well known in itself, and is condemned even by the teachings of men.
(24) But there is not one man in this life who does not have this vice, so great is the misery of this life. For although there are people who do not demand that the evil deeds of their adversary be told to them, and that everything he does be interpreted in the worst way, yet they do not dislike to hear it spoken and interpreted to them in such a way, and they allow it to be said, nor do they reject it and resist the one who says it, nor do they interpret it for the best, and at least give room to suspicion. It is written that Gedaliah son of Ahikam excelled in this virtue, Jer. 40:13-16, and when he was followed by Johanan son of Kareah,
and said with truth that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah was after him to slay him, he would not hear it, nor would he believe him, but said, "It is not true that thou sayest of Ishmael." And because he persisted in this godly opinion, he was killed, preferring to risk his life rather than to suspect evil of his neighbor (which was true) and believe the boaster.
(25) "And does no evil to his neighbor," that is, causes loss or harm. If this vice is taken in its entirety, no man will be entirely free from it, any more than from the preceding. For even if there are people who do not give their hand to it, they rejoice that according to retribution (nemesi), the virtue of the peripatetic, evil befalls the wicked, do not hinder this either, yes, also praise the justice of God that he gives those who have deserved it the deserved punishment, but in doing so do not see how they would not want such a thing to be desired of them by any adversary. And this law of nature has not seen the famous light of nature, Aristotle, because he has sullied his moral doctrine with this retribution and with many other vices, which he has listed as virtues.
26. But even this abomination not infrequently puts on the garb of an angel of light, so that it cannot be recognized, since the saints of God are burned and killed, and truth and righteousness are persecuted in order to do God a service, and out of zeal for truth, as nowadays the sophists and the bishops, the idols, who do not care that they would not have such things done to them. Thus you see that the prophet particularly attacks the reputation of persons, because it is mainly those who presume to dwell in the tabernacle of God who are most defiled with these vices, deceived by the appearance of good opinion (intentionis), good name and high reputation, which they have in their own eyes and before men.
27. and does not revile his neighbor, (et opprobrium non accepit adversus proximos suos). The verbum accepit [he has accepted
men] would have been better translated by levavit [he has lifted up on high]. So also it is in Ps. 24:4 [Vulg.], "Who hath not accepted (non accepit, not lifted up, not exalted, not raised on high) his soul in the vain." So here: He who has not cried out, exalted, exaggerated, magnified, spread the evil name, dishonor, reproach, blasphemy against his neighbor, which enemies are wont to do against one another, but especially those against whom he speaks the most, who cover themselves (personati = verlarvt) with zeal for God and love of the truth, for he speaks in the spirit. For the rude reproachers soon realize that they have done evil, but those continue in the merit that is due to their zeal, and it would be heretical to say that they have not done well. Therefore it comes to them to cry out against their neighbors, to call them heretics, schismatics. Therefore, it is their duty to shout against their neighbors, to call them heretics, schismatics, to give them a thousand evil names and to spread and raise them among the people, to make them great before the great, to bear witness with their hands, with their voice and with all their strength, until they move heaven and earth, if they can, and stir up the depths of the sea.
28 But behold, the Spirit does not refrain from calling them "neighbors," even though they are enemies one against the other, calling them to peace and harmony by an exceedingly powerful word, and punishing their exceedingly great nonsense. For who should declare his neighbor, harm him, revile him, if he were not nonsensical? How should they excuse themselves for having done to the enemies what the latter deserved, and deny that they are neighbors, against the Holy Spirit, who claims that they are neighbors? But so it must happen that, forgetting the law of nature, they do what they would not have done to them.
29 Note also the beautiful order, for this whole verse is about enemies. For the first thing is to find out the evil of one's neighbor, to declare it, to accuse him, then, when he is accused, to harm him, to kill him, to burn him; finally, so that it does not appear as if they have acted or are still acting unjustly against him, to blaspheme him, to bring shame on him.
They raised him high, shouted out his transgressions, and thus showed that he had suffered the punishment he deserved. Thus they first found out false testimonies against Christ, accused him and brought charges against him, and after he had been accused and condemned, they crucified him; but they blasphemed the crucified one with the most shameful names. This is how the prophet actually, puffingly and briefly, depicted the life of the wicked.
30 On the other hand, it behooves a good man not to allow his neighbor to be insulted, to erase it, to praise the opposite of him, to protect him, and if he cannot protect him, to excuse him, or at least to suffer and have compassion, even for the enemy and the evil one; for this is what everyone wants to happen to him. Thus he will not only not harm or do evil to his neighbor, but also do good, whether he be friend or foe, according to Christ's saying Matt. 5:44; he will also not scout nor brag, but resist the braggart, shut the mouth of the ear-blower. This is great and difficult, because it must offend the mountains of Israel and the courts of Jordan itself, the highest bishops, authorities, rulers, sages and saints. For these are far more involved in these vices than the common people, and they also rage and do far more harm, because with them there is a beautiful appearance, and their power is to be feared. That is what he says:
V. 4: He who does not respect the wicked, but honors the godly; he who swears to his neighbor, and keeps it.
31 The prophet would have said, "A high priest, a king, a prophet, a prince, the elders, the scribes, the Pharisees, the bishops, and everything else that has a great name in his sight is not to be feared, if one does not have to distinguish between the persons and their faults, between the power and the abuse of power. For the names of the powers are to be feared, but their vices are to be despised; neither is it necessary, for the sake of violence, to conceal or approve of vices, nor for the sake of vices to insult or despise violence, since no violence is without
from God, and it does not belong to men, but to God, Rom. 13, 1. The vices, however, are not of God, but of men. Therefore, prudence is needed here, but also great courage, so that violence does not frighten the one who despises vice, but also so that vice does not trap the one who looks up to violence in foolish humility.
32 Thus the meaning is: Though the boasters, the wicked and the blasphemers are great, and though wickedness proceeds from the great men of Babylon, who, as is seen, rule the people, yet the righteous is not frightened by their greatness; he despises them as wicked and acts confidently in defending his neighbors, though he honors them as great men and humbly yields to their authority. If the Christians had kept this verse against the great men of Rome, the church would have less evil today.
33. the Hebrew text speaks more delicately [than the Vulgate] in this place: Despised is in his eyes the despiser, namely, by indicating the whole manner of the great and proud, who by the confidence in their power and by the glittering prestige of their person want to be puffed up, to be feared by all; but they themselves want to despise all, want that everything is permitted to them, but nothing is permitted to others without their advice, as in Rome our idols say of the Germans: How many grooms we have Romans! And again: You German beast! 1) For thus the most holy shepherds of Christ's sheep feed us for the pallia [which we must buy from them] and all our goods and chattels, which the exceedingly strong robbers seize. Are they not then also handsome and sure despisers of God, men, and all things? But who, in turn, despises these people? The flatterers? These even make it their business to claim that one has offended the violence [ordered by God] if one only punishes their vices. In this way, they make violence, which is a service to eternal bliss, a protector of injustice and murder and a workshop of ruin.
1) Cf. Walch, old edition, vol. XVII, 1287, § 15. St. Louis edition vol. XVIII, 1008, 8 7.
34) On the other hand: "But honor the God-fearing. A beautiful juxtaposition: those are despisers of God, these are God-fearers; those he despises, these he honors. Is he not moved by their low esteem, which they have because of their poverty, their small number, their lowliness, their lack of learning, their low status, their oppression? No, but [he does] like Moses, who, as it is said in Heb. 11:27, 25, 26. "forsook Egypt, and feared not the king's wrath, and chose rather to suffer mischief with the people of God, than to have the temporal pleasure of sin; and counted the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt," just as Ahimelech did not fear Saul and his princes, but spoke confidently for poor David, 1 Sam. 22:14 ff.
(35) There is a special emphasis in the fact that the prophet reverses the movement of the heart and gives honor to the small and despised, but contempt to the great and glorious. The great and those who are despisers of the small, he not only does not honor in their wickedness, but also despises them; The little ones and those who are despised by them he does not only respect in the good that is found in them, but also honors them, while a worldly-minded heart acts quite differently, since the vices of the great are praised as virtues, or everything is interpreted very mildly, while the virtues of the little ones are accused as offenses, or everything is interpreted in the worst way, as the little fable of the fox and the lion, likewise of the wolf and the sheep 1) illustrates very well. Therefore the courageous work of a bold spirit is necessary, that one despises the honored and honors the despised. Thus Elisha said 2 Kings 3:13, 14 fearlessly to Jehoram, the king of Israel: "What have you to do with me? As surely as the Lord lives, before whom I stand, if I did not look at Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor respect you."
36. "He who swears to his neighbor." Jerome translates: He swears so that he will be-
1) Cf. Walch, old edition, vol. XIV, 1371 f. and idiä.
Col. 1369.
clouds, and does not change it. The Hebrew word, since it is ambiguous and can mean both affliction and a friend, can be translated by affliction, but the sense of our translation pleases me better, since the psalm deals entirely with works against one's neighbor, except in the second verse, which dealt sufficiently with the works one should do on oneself to purify oneself.
(37) He touches on a common vice among men, about which everyone complains, namely, disloyalty, which comes from the root that everyone seeks his own, especially in commerce and business, without which this life cannot exist. For just as the desire for one's own advantage lies deep within, which no one recognizes enough in himself, because it is very cunning and false, so it is difficult and rare that one keeps and does not change what one has promised and sworn. Even if some keep it, they do not keep it with a willing heart, especially if something comes up that has happened in the meantime, which could result in either a profit or an opportunity for greater advantage, which at the same time causes one to regret having made the promise. But even if someone overcomes (although nature cannot do this without the grace of God), few overcome, even if the grace of God is there, either when they are forced to swear to an enemy, or when they have to keep an oath to one who has become an enemy in the meantime. Therefore, no child of Adam fulfills this commandment, and a child of God hardly fulfills it, or rather begins to fulfill it. Therefore, none of those dwells in the tabernacle of God, since the latter can hardly dwell in it either, and as Peter says [1 Ep. 4, 18.], the righteous will hardly be preserved.
Therefore, everyone should beware of the tasteless, even godless and heretical decrees under the title: Of Vows and of the Release from a Vow, where the Roman Pontiff, or rather some quite unlearned writer of the same, dares to declare that it is in his hands to dispense with vows and oaths and to change them, or (as some put it more mildly) to change them.
to declare which vows are or are not, by saying against the explicit text Deut. 23, 21. that he is not guilty of having violated his vow, who postponed the fulfillment of it by order of the Roman pope. He does this not as a shepherd but as a destroyer of Christ's sheep, citing as a cover for his ungodliness or as a reason for his statement what is written in Exodus 13:13 and 34:20, that the firstborn of the ass is to be killed, 1) or redeemed with a sheep. He is not satisfied with the fact that this scripture does not speak of an oath or a vow, then he also does not see that this change was not ordered by human arbitrariness but by God's command. So he twists the words of God to strengthen his tyranny, but he also defiantly boasts with the mouth that speaks great things, that he has shut the mouths of those who spoke ungodly things. With this he shows that in this piece, as if he were God in the temple of God, he is able to do the same thing of which he has read that it was in God's power, yes, he dares to dissolve what God has commanded. But if only an explanation is sought, then here it is not a power that is in place, but a knowledge that decides whether it is a vow or not. Therefore, some godly and learned man will give a better explanation than the all-capable (omnipotens) and all-willing (omnivolens) apostolic chair, which is mostly unlearned and ignorant of the Holy Scriptures.
39 Since the prophet in this passage requires the oaths taken by men as necessary for salvation, no one can break the vows or oaths taken by God. Therefore the children of Israel, Jos. 9, 9. ff., even though they had sworn to the Gibeonites and regretted it later, when the matter came to light, still kept their oath. On the other hand, King Zedekiah was severely punished by the prophets, especially by Ezekiel [Cap. 17:16], because he had not kept his oath to the king of Babylon, and was finally miserably imprisoned and blinded.
1) Weimarsche: mutanciura instead of: umetanäum.
and punished [2 Kings 25:7]. This also happened to the king of Hungary in the last century, because he had broken the treaty with the Turks at the behest of the apostolic legate. But even such great examples cannot take away the sharpness of this heretical saying (mitigant), and the heretical judges like to sleep here.
40 But I believe that what he commands here about keeping an oath must also be understood at the same time about any promise. For his intention is to teach faith among men; faith, I say, not with which one believes in God, but with which we must believe one against another and keep our promise, as Rom. 3, 3. says of God's faith: "Should their unbelief nullify God's faith?" Paul says this elsewhere, 2 Tim. 2, 13, in such a way: "If we do not believe, He remains faithful," so that in this way we may be God's children, and one another's God, faithful to the one who believes us, just as God is faithful to all of us who believe in Him.
41 But the prophet stops at the oath mainly because in this kind of work faith is kept or broken in a very special way; just as chastity is taught in the prohibition of adultery, and meekness in the prohibition of killing, and much more like that. But in all these things the grace of God is praised, for it is not in human but in God's power that one should not swear falsely, as also that one should not break marriage, not kill. For he has looked upon the common life of men, which Hosea, Cap. 4, 1. f., thus describes: "There is no faithfulness, no love, no word of God in the land; but blasphemy, lying, murder, stealing and adultery have abounded, and bloodguilt comes one after another." And who will boast today that he is safe from perjury, since we are bound, one to another, by so many oaths, first by the spiritual, then also by the temporal authorities? For who else has sworn to no one but a babe in the cradle? But who has kept all oaths? Thus it comes about that the great quantity of oaths truly floods the church with
Perjury, and the amount of laws is the cause of most sins. So there is no one who has not sworn, no one or only very few who do not repent of having sworn, or from the heart do justice to the oath. Thus, this life entangles us wretched people in sins from all sides.
(42) But here the question is raised whether a Christian may swear, since Christ teaches Matt. 5:34: "I say that you should not swear about anything. Many and great books have been written about this. Dangerously and all too slowly they give their decision, since we are all involved in oaths and caught in them, and in the common life of men the custom of swearing is so frequent that there is almost nothing that happens more often; and even today they do not agree on this. Certainly this verse indicates that it is permissible to swear, even to one's neighbor or friend, lest anyone think that one must swear only to a superior when the latter requires it. Nor does it speak merely of perjury or false swearing, by which one knowingly swears falsely, but rather of keeping the oath, which the Hebrew text expresses more clearly than our Latin interpreter, for there it says instead: Who does not deceive (non decipit [in the Vulgate]): who does not change, does not fall away, does not rebel against, that is, who does not break his word given on faith. Although Christ's words forbidding the oath are so obvious, since he says [Matth. 5, 37.Again, it is no less evident that he himself has sworn very often, since he says so often in the Gospel, "Verily, verily, I say unto you," and Paul so often swears, who has nowhere forbidden to swear, but everywhere commanded that one should keep faith and speak the truth; I know not what to say, or whom to believe.
In the meantime, I will indicate my low opinion, which is not far from the opinion of all others. I will first of all follow the common life and mind of men, then take the words of Christ as simply as I can. All men are so minded that they condemn many vices which they themselves do not refrain from,
as the conscience of each one testifies. So they also unanimously condemn those who swear easily in ordinary speech or conversation, which is difficult to guard against, as experience testifies. Moreover, no one condemns swearing that is not done in ordinary conversation, when it is a matter of covenants, treaties, or faith, so that in this way a distinction must be made between ordinary speech, narrative, or conversation, in which something is told, recited, and various things are said, and between agreements, treaties, covenants, promises, vows of fidelity (fidem), and the like.
44 Thus Christ and Paul swear as often as they persuade to faith and make the holy covenant of faith with men. But Christ speaks of ordinary speech, therefore he says quite explicitly: "Let your speech be: yes, yes, no, no", in order to prevent frivolity in swearing, since in ordinary speech there is no need to swear. I think that Augustine was also of this opinion, since he says that the inclination to swear is forbidden. Thus the word of Christ stands firm in the simplest sense: "That which is above is of evil," so that it is not necessary to invent this as an evil, that one does not believe him, since in truth the evil is on the side of him who in ordinary speech (where there is no promise, no covenant, no vow of fidelity, and therefore no necessity) is at hand with swearing.
(45) With this opinion we shall not entangle so many consciences, since, as I have said, it expresses the life or common disposition of men, from which the doctrine of Christ, if rightly held against it, does not differ much as far as morals are concerned, and agrees with the word of Christ, if it be plainly understood; but it also fits in very well with its original source, from which Christ took his doctrine. For it is said in Deut. 19:11, 12: "Ye shall not lie, nor deal falsely, one with another. Ye shall not swear falsely by my name, and profane the name of thy God." There he speaks, as one sees, of the speech in the ordinary life and in the contact,
948 xv> "38-340. Works on the first 22 Psalms. Ps. 15, 4. 5. w. iv, 1183-118." 949
since it deals with lies and false speeches (which are lesser sins, since they occur in ordinary conversation, than perjury and disloyalty in contracts and agreements).
46 But also this verse of the Psalm shows that he does not speak of ordinary speech, since he says: "And keep it" (non mutat, by obviously punishing faithlessness and perjury, since he has punished lying and false speech or false swearing in daily speech above [v. 2.]: "He who speaks the truth from the heart." Concerning the same swearing he says Ps. 24:4 [Vulg.], "And swear not falsely to his neighbor." Thus both opinions are certain that a Christian is absolutely commanded not to swear in any way in any matter, whether divine or human, in any speech, and yet the oath taken in any matter or contract is to be kept. Therefore, swearing is like the carnal work, which is not permitted apart from marriage, and is both required and rightly performed in marriage. Thus it is not lawful to swear where it is not a matter of contract and faith, but where it is, it is lawful and even beneficial.
V. 5 He who does not give his money usurpingly, and does not take gift over the innocent. Whoever does this will remain in good standing.
This verse does not need interpretation, but fulfillment, and Augustine says that this is not something great and only for the beginners, because the prophet started with the high and great things. The same opinion is St. Jerome and others. But if we take care that the prophet speaks in the spirit, what man is there who is not entangled in these sins? It may be that not all lend on usury, but all hate the fact that it is not permitted to lend on usury, and would turn themselves in if it were permitted, having in mind their own benefit and not that of others. Then, even if the wickedness of the old Adam is hidden here, there is no one who would not become a usurer if lack oppressed him and no other way were open to him.
48. Therefore all the verba of this psalm are: "He will dwell, he will abide, he will walk, he will do [right], he will speak, he will not slander, he will not do evil, he will not revile, he will swear, he will keep it, he will not give, he will not take, he will do," are to be understood in such a way from the works, that it may be seen that everything flows from a pure spiritual will, although the hypocrites can feign all this, or much of the like, for a time, but at the evil time they do the opposite. Otherwise this is indeed a very small work, that one does not give his money on usury, since we are commanded to do good even to the enemies and to lend to all for nothing.
49 But does not the prophet contradict Moses, who says to the children of Israel, Deut. 23:19 ff. [Vulg.]: "Thou shalt not usury thy brother, neither with money, nor with food, nor with anything that is usurious. All the stranger thou mayest usury, but unto thy brother thou shalt lend without usury all that he hath need of"? It cannot be denied that he punished the customs of his people, that, not content with usurping strangers, they usurped their brethren also. As this people was then, so it is still now the most avaricious of all, and exceedingly eager for usury. Therefore the prophets have attacked them in many ways, among them Amos, Cap. 8, 4-6.Hear this, you who oppress the poor and destroy the wretched of the land, and say, "When will the new moon 1) end, that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath, that we may sell corn, and wrestle the ephah, and increase the sekel, and counterfeit the scales, that we may sell the poor for money, and the needy for a pair of shoes (Hebrew: for grain), and chaff for grain?" Ibid Cap. 2,2 ) 6. f.: "You sell the righteous for money, and the poor for a pair of shoes (that is, for your grain). You tread the head of the poor in dung, and hinder the way.
1) Here all editions have: ruessis instead of: rneusis. It seems to be rnessis in some editions of the Vulgate, so Luther remarks in the second interpretation of the prophet Amos to the words: Huando transikit mau-.
2) In text: xrimo.
of the wretched" (declinant, that is, they invert it).
(50) But not only does the prophet have to deal with this (as I said), but all movements of the heart that are directed toward usury, even the most secret ones, he plans to eradicate, so that he can put goodness in the place of usury, so that they "give gladly" (as the apostle teaches 1 Tim 6:18) and lend for free, as Christ commands Luc 6:35 and Matth 5:42.
(51) But in our time, usury has an exceedingly blissful progress, since it has become a justice and a lawful contractus through the Roman Pontiff, in that the name usury has been eliminated and a new name has been attached to it, since it is now called a contract of redemption. For this is now called by a beautiful apparent name (figura), and by this righteousness the whole world is made righteous today, especially the clergy, and this abomination reigns quite securely, after the gospel and all its righteousness with the kingdom of God has been extinguished in this way; and yet no one wants to believe, although it is said that the Antichrist is present. Secondly, this same contract serves by a new miracle to make temporal goods no longer temporal, because the interest, which is the nerve, the essence and the power of this contract, is immortal, even with idle and unfruitful money.
How devoutly we allow this gross wickedness of Satan and worship it only because the name of the Roman pope is invoked! Therefore, it seems to me that among all the miracles that God works today, the one that stands in the first place is that the world can endure and endure the incomprehensible usury of this interest. So it may be something small that one does not give his money on usury, but nowadays it is certainly something great and rare, of which I have said elsewhere abundantly.
53. "And does not take gift over the innocent." This also seems low
1) In the two sermons on usury (1519). Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. X, 824 and 856.
But this is also something rare and great today, not to mention the Jews. Here the judges sin, and those who initiate, 2) defend, cause legal proceedings, that is, the pope, the bishops, the officers, the lawyers, the tongue-thrashers in the courts, and the yeast of men, which feeds on the sins of the people, as the harlots do on the ravishment of women. In general, it is easy for someone to give good advice, to make a judgment and to pass a sentence, just by the reputation (intuitu) of the matter, but when selfishness (affectus) sets in, namely the hope of gain, favor against a friend, hatred against an enemy, contempt for the lowly, fear of the great, you will not only see what Deut. 16, 19. and 2 Mos. 23, 8. is written: "Gifts blind the wise, and pervert the things of the righteous", and Is. 1, 23.: "They all gladly take gifts, and seek after gifts", but that also all the just mentioned movements of the heart (affectus) will do the same. No one but he who has experienced it knows how flattering and formidable an evil this is.
54. Now there are those who, even out of ambition, pervert the cause of another, that they may be thought the more shrewd and learned. But what is the matter if you take no gift over the innocent, yet take honor or vengeance or favor from it? Now if the princes and the bishops kept this verse, thinkest thou that the Roman furie (curie I meant to say) would give birth to so many monsters? But just as there all abominations of shameful deeds reign in the highest degree, so also this injustice must reign there, so that Satan again obtains his seat and the temple of all idols (pantheon), from where all evil floods the whole world.
(55) But lest any part of mankind be free from this vice, it happens that very many also condemn the cause of faith and the Word of God, partly by gifts and partly by favors,
Lexicon does not.
Envy, hatred, ambition, the desire for fame, not a few also out of fear of the great, some also out of contempt. Do not all of these do something against the innocent? Besides these, there are also some who do it out of ignorance, out of zeal for God and (as they boast) out of love for the truth. Who can free the monasteries, convents, high schools from this evil, which (let alone ignorance) also publicly confess that they would speak and do anything for the truth, if they did not fear to be deprived of their income, honors, favors or even life? What is this but that, while they do not take gifts over the innocent, they wickedly keep over the innocent that which they have rightly received? Woe to you!
Who would dare to say that the revenues, honors, dignities of all monasteries, convents, high schools have become gifts taken from the innocent because of the dreaded tyranny of one man, the pope? Already from this one piece you can see how dangerous it is to be a pope, then also how many shameful deeds in the whole world he is the author of, if he should have abused even once his power against the truth. But now, since he abuses it only for the destruction of truth, what else can we believe than that in Rome is the chair of Satan, and that the Antichrist is doing his business there, since only through the fear of him truth is extinguished in such a large area, and error and lies are established, through such easy and quick destruction of countless souls? Dear one, who should not fear to live in such great peril of these times, when souls are plunged into ruin in heaps? These are the times of which Paul foretold [2 Tim. 3:1], "Dreadful times are coming, for there will be men who think of themselves. "etc.
57 He concludes correctly: "Whoever does this will remain. Mark well:
"does". If he who says and teaches this but does not do it will not stand, where will those remain who, even though they know and think that this is true, dare not murmur? Where will those remain who, out of an incomprehensible zeal, act contrary to it? Therefore, in Hebrew the distinctive sign of this verse is set in such a way that the words: "He who does this" belong to the first part, namely, "He who does not give his money on usury, and does not take gift over the innocent by doing this; he will remain well. As if he wanted to say: Not he who knows or speaks of it. So that the last part of the verse belongs to the whole psalm, and the first shows how strange and difficult it is to live without usury, without blood money, yes, that this is not possible, unless someone is willing to give up his income, his honor and his life, and to suffer everything, even the utmost, for the truth.
(58) From this we see how false everything is that shines with a beautiful appearance and name. For today we are of the opinion that Christianity is primarily among the clergy, and behold, everyone in the whole world lives in usury and takes blood money out of fear of the Roman pope. In Rome they boast with unrestrained vehemence that the pope feeds all the sheep; and behold, he himself is the wolf that chokes all the sheep! See what the apostle said [2 Thess. 2, 11. 10.]: "Therefore God will send them strong error, that they may believe the lie; for that they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." In the meantime, we nevertheless read the seven times (horas canonicas), offer many masses, and do and say what can be said and done without danger for us; truth and faith with the Gospel may take care of their danger themselves. What is that to us, who instead of Christians have become Romans, from believers saints of works, from evangelicals decretalists, from spiritual people ceremonialists, and in general from a free people of God the servants of the most godless people!