1. 1) The title of this psalm is: Pro susceptione. Augustinus has broken himself hard over this title; however, because it is not translated so rightly, he has erred. For according to the Hebrew text it reads: Of the Hind of the dawn, of the early Hind. For this is the title and content of the psalm. For he sings of the hind of the dawn, which is chased by the dogs. But he says of the hind, and not of the deer, for the sake of fertility and meekness, that she is not so cruel as the deer. For in this psalm he will describe the suffering and kingdom of the Lord Christ. There are also two parables in this psalm, one of which is quite consistent with this title. "Many dogs," saith he [v. 17.], "have surrounded me"; there are many dogs about the hind. For he compares Christ to a hind; as if to say, I will say of Christ how he will suffer, who like a hind will be chased by dogs. And this is one of the main psalms of Christ's suffering. For there is no other psalm to be found that describes the suffering of Christ so clearly as this one. But that he calls her "a hind of the dawn" he does to give her a distinguishing epithet; for he sets this hind apart from the whole priesthood and Israelite regime by saying that she is a hind of the dawn, that is, at the end of the law. Paul also speaks Rom. 13, 12. like this: "The night has passed, but the day is coming." Likewise [Gal. 4:4], "When the time was fulfilled." For where the law is, there is no light, but darkness; but Christ appeared when the end of the law was at hand.
1) Note of the original: "September 10".
The sun came forth. Item, Christ was to suffer in the time when the law was at its end and the beginning of the gospel was already shining.
It seems clear from this text and others that the prophet and the Holy Spirit deliberately wanted to keep this secret of the suffering of Christ from the carnal and unworthy, which is why he gave this psalm such a dark title. In finem means: to sing highly, as I have explained above [Ps. 9, 1].
V. 2. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
3. he soon brings him into the middle of the business, in medias res, as Horace says, and brings him quickly into the highest features of his suffering. For since Christ is in the highest distress of his suffering, and now wants to pass away, he cries out: "My God, my God" etc. [After that, he introduces Christ himself, as if he were narrating his suffering, like Virgil narrates Aeneas, and Homer narrates Ulysses. For he who tells his story himself can help things greatly with the descriptions and words that express his heart's emotions.
4. "My God, My God" etc. What this is about, being abandoned by God, no man can understand. I have written much about this in my Psalms; but what I have attained, God knows. A man's heart cannot comprehend nor understand this, it is too narrow for that. For "to be forsaken by God" means to be forsaken by everything that is God, by God Himself, by Life, Wisdom, and the
2) This refers to the interpretation of the 22nd Psalm in the next preceding scripture of this volume.
1532 xvii. 182-184. Short Au[1. on the first 25 Psalms. Ps. 22. W. iv, 2087-2090. 15ZZ
salvation rc. Therefore, in this word "to be forsaken" is the highest suffering, that he leaves the Christ stuck in guilt, sin, foolishness, etc., so that he is left in the hand of the devil. Thus it is said in the eighth Psalm, v. 6: "You will leave him for a little while to be forsaken by God." Then the devil blew, that he might bring him to despair. We cannot suffer such a violent feeling of suffering; he must deal with us more cleanly. But Christ himself suffered such things for us.
I cry, but my help is far away.
In the cross, every delay is insufferable and arouses impatience. Suffering is not difficult if you can see the end of your suffering. One thinks it is a matter of one bad hour, one bad day, one bad week, after that it will be better. But if one does not see the end, all suffering is unbearable, even if it only lasts a quarter of an hour. As he says here, "My help is far off"; there is no salvation, so I see no end to my suffering.
(6) This first verse makes the whole psalm clear, in which he complains that he is in the greatest suffering, and suffers without all cessation (aeternaliter). This is the highest suffering, that one loses God, after that it does not want to stop; that is why it hurts that he says: I call; but what does it help? There is no salvation, who knows when help will come? This is how it goes in all suffering, that there is no end to it. Our people now at Augsburg have also tried.
Rugitus [howling] indicates the fierce prayer of Christ and His inexpressible groaning, and yet it is in vain.
V. 3. My God, I call by day and you do not answer.
(7) Here he makes it greater by comparison, and makes it still more dreadful. This suffering of mine, saith he, hath no equal, that he seeth no saint suffer so. Then the devil blew: Why do you not despair, because you see no example of your suffering anywhere? No one has ever suffered so shamefully; God's wrath is heavy on you. We have a saying, which is common but very good, to the condemnor.
stand after: It is a joy to the wretched to have comrades in their sufferings. A poor sinner can still take comfort in this: I have sinned, but Peter also sinned, David sinned; you are neither the first nor the last. Such examples are comforting to us, but the suffering of the Lord makes all such circumstances even more difficult. This he suffered for our sins and for our sins' sake. This we should learn; so we must read the Aristotelem [in] the devil's name for it, and also pursue the doctrine of it most severely.
My God, the day I call.
8. my suffering is without end, and also without example, but I run in my suffering through all the sufferings of all men, and see that you have saved them. I alone cry out to you now and am not heard.
And at night I am not silent either.
9. "Silence" means that one is not despondent and dismayed in his heart.
V. 4. But you are holy, who dwell among the praise of Israel.
(10) This is a dark verse, which I understand thus: lest it appear that he blasphemes God, this word is added, by which he expresses his firmness: "Thou art holy," that is, thou art worthy of praise, thou art not to be blasphemed; it is not thy fault that I suffer thus; thou doest me no wrong either; if I die, yet thou remainest holy under the praise of Israel. Therefore thou shalt not be blasphemed, but I say that thou art the praise of Israel, and to be praised among this people Israel. So it is as it were a rectification of his previous complaint, "Why hast thou forsaken me?" which seems to read as a blasphemy. You have done right, as befits a right, pious, faithful God.
V. 5. Our fathers hoped in you.
He holds himself against others: It is not so with me. As often as the fathers called, they were helped; I also call, and yet am not saved. This holding against each other does not only make suffering difficult.
rer, but is also a half comfort with too. You have helped those who are stuck, you will help me too. Thus he overcomes the comparison that should frighten him, turns it around, and needs it for comfort. So does David also Ps. 77, 4: "When I am distressed, I think of God." Likewise Ps. 143, 5: "I remember the deeds of the Lord." We call upon the God who carried us out through the Red Sea. And in another place: Remember how our fathers were helped [Ps. 105:5]. Thus Christ turns this into a consolation in his wrestling and mourning. This is a high art.
V. 7. But I am a wnrm and not a man, a mockery of the people, and contempt of the people.
12 These are adventurous, strange words. Christ must be in the world not a man; that is, all men, the more godless they are, the wiser and mightier and more righteous they are; but Christ and his do not have to be men, they are badly thought to be shadows of men. And as one tramples an earthworm, so one tramples him. "I am a worm" is the name given to the work of our Lord God, sons and children; it has no standing at all before the world.
A mockery of the people and contempt of the people.
(13) Thus, when one wants to call someone shameful, he is called a Christian; just as I must now also be called so. They put me on the cross, he says, as one puts a worm on a fishing rod. So I also have no name, but my name is called "mockery and contempt," which is my honor; so he is despised to the highest degree. This is the account of the suffering he endured in his heart. In the following verses he goes around, and says of the external, finally also of the bodily sufferings and pains, that he has been completely exhausted.
1)V. 8. All who see me mock me.
(14) The highest suffering is followed by the blasphemy of the adversaries. For thus they say: Behold, have I not said it before?
1) Note from the original "September 13."
Thus our Lord God punishes him! But the cross becomes heavier; and because he feels that he has been abandoned by God, his enemies rejoice over him.
Unlock the mouth.
This ["sperren" (XXX)] is the same word which is found 2 Mos. 13, 12.: "All that is a male that breaks the mother" (XXX).
And shake their heads.
15 Awe yes! are you the man who can punish all the world? I mean, you have it.
V. 9: He complains to the Lord, who helps him and saves him, if he has a desire for him.
This is such a bitter mockery and scorn that it could not be more bitter. And these are actually the devil's words, as in the Gospel [Matth. 27, 43]: "He has trusted in God, who will now deliver him," so that the presumptuous victory of the adversaries and their sure boasting are next to each other. The pieces belong to each other, the highest suffering, and after that, contempt and blasphemy, rejoicing and triumph of the adversaries. This is the first part of the psalm, which contains the complaint of what he must suffer: Abandonment and loneliness without equal, blasphemy and rejoicing of his enemies. The word [XXX] which is translated in Latin by speravit means to roll, to promote a cause with a prince, to present etc. As if he wanted to say: He presents his cause before God.
V. 10: For you pulled me out of my mother's womb.
This belongs to Christ alone, to no one else, for we were all conceived in sins. /But here he begins to comfort himself. He has no consolation from outside, he has to take it badly within himself, and takes hold of our Lord God a little, and says: "I did not make myself, I know that well, it is not my will, nor my drive or cause, it is your cause. If one can say this, it is true; but because it is called "my" [thing], there must be hesitation. But if I think in this way: I am doing this according to the command of God, then it follows:
So God will protect me. So we have to comfort ourselves now to Augsburg also. But he says this with many words: It is your own business; what am I?
You are my God from my mother's womb.
(18) I have done nothing in my whole life without you; but from the first beginning of my existence I have served you. There is nothing in me that can be called mine, not even my birth itself. Furthermore, I believe that this is also indicated here, that Christ was not born in sins. I am drawn, 1) he says, out of my mother's womb, and, therefore to be reckoned, not born, but drawn out. For Christ came from the womb of the virgin alone, and not from the loins of man, and from such a womb that did not work, but rather suffered, because he was drawn out. So I am, he says, without sin, that I know. Thus he grasps God in the previous benefits, and more in the works, than 2) in his words.
You would be my confidence, since I was still at my mother's breasts.
19. you have been my defiance, that is, my life has been your gift, and you took pleasure in me as soon as I was born. When I was at my mother's breasts, you were my God, and I, as your servant, had given myself completely to you. But others, who are born of father and mother, do not do this; but they suck the breasts in sins, and all is sin until they are baptized.
V. 11. I am cast upon you from my mother's womb.
020 I have been accepted into thy protection, and have been delivered unto thee: there is none that hath taken me but thee. Others are cast into the world and into misery; but I am cast upon thee. Therefore I have not deserved such punishments and blasphemies; they are not as I am;
Instead of: natus is to be read: extraetus.
2) So the old translator. In Latin instead of: "denn" - "6t".
for I am holy from the moment I began to live. So he sets all this against his suffering.
You are my God from my mother's womb.
(21) With this he gives great comfort, because he has taken hold of our Lord God. You are my God, and I have been your servant. He says of the mother's body alone that he was born of a virgin mother. But here is also shown the way in which one should stand when one wants to pray, and make his conscience quiet. For before he asks, he remembers the benefits, as we also do in the Lord's Prayer: Our Father, you are a great and powerful Father etc.
V. 12. Do not be far from me.
(22) I beseech thee, let thy help come nigh unto me: now is suffering and anguish nigh unto me. This is almost the prayer of which the Epistle to the Hebrews says, Cap. 5, 7, that Christ offered it to His Father in the days of His flesh. And this is now the petition.
(23) Just as it is good to seek the favor of the judge in prayer, so it is also necessary to arouse disfavor against one's enemies, so that he may be tempted to be a judge and be inclined to show mercy to the oppressed. This also serves to make one pray the more earnestly; as we now say when we pray: Help, dear Lord God, because you see how they deal with us and know that they are wretches; so the prayer is finely strengthened and a right devotion is awakened.
V. 13. Great ferns have surrounded me.
24. parim (XXXX) are called farren, young oxen, breeding oxen. Rabbim (XXXX) means full,
strong, large.
Fat oxen have surrounded me.
25. abbire (XXXX) means angels, strong ones, and this name is also given to God, as in the 132nd Psalm, v. 2: "It swore [David] to the Mighty One of Jacob" (XXXX XXXXX) Therefore nen-
3) heal, that is, mock. In the Latin original: "verhaute". For the form, compare in this volume Col. 1455, Z18, and Col. 1506, § 90.
The Hebrews also call an ox Abbir (XXXX), of strength. But with this he indicates that his enemies are poking oxen (cornupetas), they poke, do wrong and do violence. These oxen are Herod, Pilate and the Romans. Thus he accuses his adversaries, and sets himself in favor. Oxen, he says, are against me; but I am a worm. They are fat, much, great, strong, and do violence; they are much mightier than I, and are pernicious, wicked, and ungodly, wanton, thrusting oxen. But he calls the kings and princes oxen, and as it were to disgrace he gives them the names of unreasonable beasts. Now it would be an insult if he did this out of such a mind that he wanted to offend them, but he does it so that the judge's heart will be moved.
V.14. They open their mouths against me like a roaring and ravening lion.
(26) This is a description of the terror they inflicted on him. They have come at me with the greatest desire, like a roaring lion.
V. 15. I am poured out like water.
27 This is the description of how they attacked him. A similar image, but in a slightly different meaning, is found in the first book of Moses Cap. 49, 4. of Reuben, for there it denotes recklessness: You are a reckless man, you are like water poured out. But here he says, "I am poured out like water," that is, I am poured out as nothing. Malmsey, [or] otherwise wine or beer is not poured out very much. But I am poured out like water, which is not noticed at all, there was no container, no one caught me.
All my bones have separated.
Thus they have stretched me apart. But one can also understand it from the inner suffering that the strength in the legs goes away, that one can neither stand nor walk.
My heart is like melted wax in my body.
What this is, no one understands, because who has tried it. In Latin it is called tabe
scere [fade away], so that one thinks that the heart is going out of his body with the greatest pain. Such things are high, we do not meet it, it is too high for us.
V. 16 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.
(30) The highest fright is followed by a dry tongue, as we see in those who faint, their hands and feet, like a potsherd, become completely powerless. The Medici say it comes from the fact that the blood recedes into the interior, and it may well be true. "Force" here means the activity of the limbs, or the action of the forces in the hands and other limbs. That is why it happens that people are given refreshment when they are led out for execution, and they also drink a lot. They also say of Thomä Münzer that he drank half a Stübichen 1). This is the result of the great terror that dries up and sucks out all juice and strength.
And you lay me in the dust of death.
31. What shall I say much, you have let me strangle badly. "To be laid in the dust means to be made nothing. Thou hast made me, saith he, nothing, and such a nothing as is of death. This is the description of the external sufferings.
V. 17. For dogs have surrounded me.
He accuses them anew and hits the title [of this psalm] with the figure: I have been chased like a hind. But by whom? Not by you, but by dogs. From this it is clear that he has now overcome his suffering, and that it has become better with him; for he turns his thoughts to the wickedness of his adversaries, and accuses them. But he praises God and comforts himself in this way.
And the Evil Rotte has made itself around me.
33. not [the assembly] of thy people. Now he adds clearly how they have dealt more with him:
1) A parlor is about a gallon.
They dug through my hands and feet.
34 He continues with accusations. I believe that it was already an old custom to crucify people, and that this kind of punishment was not first inflicted on Christ; as I hear that this way of killing people is still practiced by the Turks. But the Jews falsify this text badly, and because they lean with all their might on the letters, 1) they do not read: "They have dug through", but: Like a lion my hand and my feet. But it is a public falsification. "They have digged through," he says, "they have crucified me like a thief whose hands and feet are nailed through.
V. 18. I want to count all my legs.
35 We also say in German: One would like to count all his legs. Then it helps that he was dried up and exhausted. That they would have mercy on him! Yes, there is nothing but cruelty.
But you look and see their pleasure in me.
They confessed and saw their joy in him, and laughed 2) in their hearts; that 3) hurt him very much. The word Raah means: to look at a thing with diligence.
V. 19. They divide my clothes among them.
37 They could not make it worse, at last they also have to play for his clothes. Such wickedness is made very big here. Of gall and vinegar the prophet says elsewhere [Ps. 69, 22.]. But all the wicked, when the cause of the wicked comes before them, they do so to it: they are not satisfied with condemning it, but laugh at it, and take pleasure in it, so that in the same wickedness it is felt that the devil does it, and not God's order. For in other courts one has compassion with the condemned.
V. 20. But you, Lord, do not be far away.
38" This is the third and last piece, in which he asks and prophesies at the same time of his future...
1) Compare in this volume Col. 1283, s 180 ff.
2) In the original: lachtens.
3) In the original, thut.
4) Note of the original: "September 17".
kingdom. For until now he has told of his suffering; now he adds a prophecy of the resurrection and the kingdom of Christ. It is a very beautiful psalm, full of testimonies that Christ had to suffer and thus enter his glory [Luc. 24, 26].
Lord, do not be far away.
39. do not go so far away from me, but help me to rise again from the dead.
My strength, hurry to help me.
40. these words are signs of a heart that suffers; for in the cross, as I have gone above
5] Every delay is borne with impatience. So he now finely strokes it out with the words, as it is to one's mind in the cross.
V. 21. Save my soul from the sword.
41 He prays clearly for help that his soul may be saved from the sword, that is, from the power of those who wield the sword, from the tyrants who want to take his life.
My lonely one of the dogs (de manu canis).
42. He remains in the image of the hunted hind; of the hand of the dog, that is, of the dogs or of the canine hand. As if he should say: I am in the hunt, and they that pursue me press in upon me; but leave me not in the hands of the dogs. He wants to come out badly.
My lonely one.
43 That is, I who am lonely; as the Scripture often speaks, as Ps. 25:16, "I am lonely and miserable." For every one that suffereth is lonely, having no help nor succor. And this is also God's title, that He is a helper of those who are forsaken by all human help. This word also serves to awaken devotion in the heart, so that the prayer becomes strong: Dear Lord God, help, you see that I am otherwise completely abandoned.
V. 22. Help me out of the lion's mouth.
44 These are repetitions of the same thoughts (ingeminationes), words that indicate the fierce desire of a very ardent spirit.
And save me from the unicorns.
(45) These are four parables by which he confesses that he is under the sword, in the power of the dogs, in the mouth of the lion, and between the horns of the unicorns. But he says of many unicorns by which he is attacked with the horns. But the historians say of the unicorns that they are unruly and wild beasts that can be killed but not captured alive. So are the Jews and all persecutors of Christians. These are the angriest, most ferocious beasts, which the Holy Spirit cannot indicate otherwise than by such figures. When thieves and highwaymen are led to the gallows, one has some sympathy with them; but this is not granted to the Christians; they become dogs and lions, that is, they are unforgiving and insatiable enemies. This is the prayer in the hope of the resurrection. Now he prophesies of the resurrection as if he had already been answered.
V. 23. I will preach your name to my brothers.
46 What is this? Will a dead man preach, and a strangled man boast? This verse includes the resurrection in itself, for it speaks of his own person, and it is Christ himself who calls us brethren. But no one can sufficiently grasp with the mind how heartily and earnestly this is said: "To my brethren. That is what it means, "my brothers", who are the conquerors of death, hell, sin and all evils. The great God, who fills heaven and earth, says to those who hear him that they are his brothers. Whoever therefore loves the word, hears it, holds it in honor, hears here well what Christ holds him for. And this also comforts us against all tyrants. What can they do if Christ is our brother, if they are like unicorns? This word "brother" also implies that we also have what he has. But he is blessed, free from the devil, innocent of sin etc. This is all ours.
He also explains what Christ's kingdom is, that is, a brotherhood which has eternal life, salvation, redemption from sins, from the devil etc. In sum, it is the kingdom of heaven.
(48) He adds to this description of this kingdom the word, "I will preach. For he says that it is a kingdom of the word, which stands in preaching, and continues until the last day, until we also shall be saved. Thus the kingdom is briefly and masterfully conceived, as no Cicero, nor no poet could conceive that it is not the kingdom of the emperor or king of France, but of Christ.
Your name.
(49) This is a description of the gospel, what kind of word it is, of which he said that Christ's kingdom is in it, namely, such a word that "your name" is preached; as he said in the nineteenth Psalm, v. 2: "The heavens tell the glory of God," not of men's names, not of trust in our works, not of our wisdom, but of God's work, of grace, of life and salvation, which is given to us through Christ, of which he boasts. So the gospel is a narrative of God's glory, that God alone may be praised.
50. This sermon of the glory of God contains the sermon of our shame; for God's glory and our glory cannot lie together in one bed. So also God's name and our name cannot stand in one stable with each other. As Daniel Cap. 9, 7. also says: "You, Lord, are righteous, but we must be ashamed." Whoever therefore hears this sermon gladly is a brother of the Lord Christ. And indeed we also see who likes to hear it. Most of them also want to have their hands in the sode, and not let God praise them alone.
I will praise you in the community.
I do not want to be an angle preacher; as Paul also says Rom. 1, 16: "I am not ashamed of the gospel." And Christ [Matth. 10, 32.]: "He that shall confess me before men" etc. It is not to be a lurker.
52) To boast means to preach and confess that we are blessed by grace and not by our own merit, as Paul says [2 Tim. 1:9]. Now this is the ministry of preaching, and this is the kingdom of Christ, who is a king, who reigns by the outward and oral word; those who accept this are brethren. So then Christ is a preacher, and a word-
But in this word all salvation is included. Therefore these sayings should be well remembered against those who ridicule the outward word. "I will preach" is ever said of the outward word; likewise "in the church. One knows well what preaching means.
V. 24: Praise the Lord, you who fear him.
With this he further describes this kingdom, that this word will have its fruits, that the Holy Spirit will be present. He also exhorts here that we should accept this word, praise God, and believe Him.
(54) For they that fear him have such fear from preaching alone. But it is called "fear" when people are punished by the gospel (as Christ says: "The Holy Spirit will punish"), and despair of their works, and fear God's judgment, because our Lord God will not be satisfied with our works.
55. After such fear follows that one praises God. For Christ comforts [Matth. 12, 16. Luc. 10, 23.] and says: "Blessed are those who hear the word that you hear" etc. As if to say, Be of good cheer, ye that allow the word. It seems, because ye are without good works, as if it should be lost with you; but it hath not the opinion; it saith, "Glorify the Lord, ye that fear him." He is to be feared, but not despaired of. So also he connects these two things in the 2nd Psalm, v. 11. where he says, "Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice. "etc.
All the seed of Jacob honor him.
(56) The reason he adds "the seed of Jacob" is to indicate that the promise belongs primarily to the seed of Abraham, for they have the promise that the gospel will come to them. Therefore he repeats:
And before him all the seed of Jacob shall shun.
57 This word means "to be afraid," as it is written in the 2nd Psalm, v. 11: "Rejoice with trembling," that is, with fear and reverence, so that we may not be presumptuous about our righteousness, but accept the word of God with gratitude and humility. For he does not want such a hope, which makes presumptuous.
have. You shall humbly study the word and receive it with reverence. This is the preaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which he glorifies the Father and makes us come to the Father through him. For he is the way etc. [Joh. 14, 6.)
V. 25: For he did not despise nor disdain the affliction of the poor, and did not hide his face from him.
58 He adds this to the explanation of the kingdom of Christ as a characteristic, namely, that the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of the cross. He touches on this. We also have to hold out, as he does. He says much more in these negative words s: "He did not despise" etc.], than if he had spoken in an affirmative manner s: He regarded etc.]. As if he wanted to say: Love the God who comforts the miserable, justifies the sinners, makes the dead alive, helps the disgraced to honor, makes the poor blessed. Behold, as he hath done to me, he hath not despised me. It seems to me that our Lord God does not want to be his vet and his vet's vet. He raises us up against such fears and says that God is a God of grace. As if he wanted to say: "Do not trust in your own authority. You must be miserable, become children of death and hell, and then know that he is such a gracious God who cannot despise the miserable.
And crying out to him, he heard it.
59. Christ's kingdom is also a kingdom of prayer, as Zechariah says [Cap. 12, 10.]: "The spirit of grace and of prayer." For where the gospel is, there the two go. Prayer is the other work after preaching. Grace gives forgiveness of sins, which makes one able to pray. But before grace there is no praying, but weeping. Thus these two things are connected with each other in Jeremiah [Cap. 27, 18.]: "If anyone has the word of the Lord, let him pray for the vessels in the temple" etc. As if he wanted to say: The sign that one has the word is that he can pray. So he comforts us with this verse and says: God does not despise you, as you think, but is a God of grace, and a listener to prayer, as he calls him in another Psalm [Ps. 65, 3].
And has not hidden his face from him.
(60) By this he indicates the struggle of the flesh, that the devil would gladly make us not pray, that one might think, It is of no avail. Of such a God I preach to you. Therefore let my example strengthen you.
V. 26. I will praise you in the great congregation.
(61) This saying is similar to Psalm 118:15: "They sing with joy of victory in the tabernacles of the righteous." It is a realm of comfort and praise; 1) our Lord God, when he hears us, also comforts us, and does not leave us stuck in it.
You I will praise etc.
62. he will say what a great kingdom he has. Because you help people and hear them, they will thank you for it. For praise follows help, so that one must say: God has done this.
In the large community.
That is, all over the world.
I will pay my vows before those who fear him.
(64) He does not say of the vows of our monks, but of the vows of gratitude, which are made for the testimony and display of gratitude, not that they should be considered as merit. For this is how it was with the vows in the Law, that they were not vows of works, that is, meritorious, but to praise and honor God. For even the vows that were works were not vowed as works by which one wished to earn something, but as a sign of gratitude. To vow something to God, therefore, is to vow to Him the first commandment, that we will hold Him as a God who is to help us and give us all good things. Every vow belongs to the first commandment, for it is vowed for the sake of gratitude alone; as, that I do not drink wine because I am a Nazarene before God, 2) and thus testify of myself that I am a Nazarene.
1) Here we have omitted "that" which is in the original.
2) "Nazarene" (i'n) - a betrothed of God, Judg. 13, 5. lament. 4, 7.
wants me to think of God as my God. It is the same with the sacrifices.
(65) That he therefore says, "I will pay my vows," is nothing other than: I will praise him. I have vowed to him that he shall be my God, since I have everything from him. So when he preaches the same thing publicly and shouts it out, it means paying vows. Likewise, if I vow some work, if I put on a red skirt and say: I will do this as a sign, so that I will indicate to our Lord God that he is my God. But our monks make meritorious works out of the vows, which is ungodly.
(66) Notice further, however, that this is said only for example. For it would be ungodly to make any such vow, for it would be a work of one's own choosing, which from the beginning would bring with it such a delusion as if it were better than another work. Now all our works, by which we can praise God, are already prescribed and indicated to us beforehand in the Holy Scriptures. [As St. Paul says: "Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all with thanksgiving." [1 Cor. 10:31.]
V. 27. The wretched shall eat, that they may be filled.
67. It is also a realm of a delicious meal. As if to say, I will make a banquet, a good life. Then shall the poor eat, for it shall be a delicious Ahasverian banquet, that is, the word shall be so superfluous, that [it] shall give full charge of all that is to be had; as we see. For the gospel teaches us what is the office of the authorities, of the subjects, of the father and the mother, how to use the sun, the moon, and the air. This is a delicious meal, but he has prepared it for the wretched; those who are overwhelmed by their sins and death, they shall be filled.
And those who ask about the Lord will praise him.
The same wretched people will also praise the Lord. So the gospel is nothing else but this: "Praise the Lord, all nations" [Ps. 117, 1.]. Likewise elsewhere [Ps. 22, 26.]: "I will praise you", des-.
same, Ps. 145, 1.: "I will exalt thee, my God"; that gratitude might be there, for having given the word. But he added, which is well to be observed: "They that ask after him." They are not lazy Christians; they accept it 1) and ask for it, they do not yet have it in sight, but are only interested in the fact that they ask for it.
Your heart shall live forever.
The same food will give your heart eternal life. Even though the body dies, your hearts will surely have eternal life; this is a comforting realm. This he said of his seed, Jacob; now he will also come upon the Gentiles.
V. 28: Let the end of the world be remembered, that they turn to the Lord.
70. 2) This is what he says, that we Gentiles also should belong to the kingdom of Christ, even though this is not promised to us, as it is to the Jews; we do not have the power to wait for it, nor to demand it, yet he has also met us. Reminiscentur is not well translated: One will remember. It is Ps. 117:1, "Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles," and Ps. 2:8, "Cry unto me, and I will give thee the Gentiles." Reminiscentur-, that is, they will be remembered, they will be called by the word, as it says elsewhere, Ps. 87, 4.: "I will cause to preach (memor ero 4)) Rahab and Babel," and Ps. 16, 4. "I will not keep (non memor ero) their name in my mouth." So also here is reminiscentur: Our Lord God will also write them in the register, he will not forget them. For it reads stronger in our language when it is expressed in a negative way (negative).
71 "The end of the world," that is, not only the land of Canaan. Thus it is said in the other Psalm, v. 8: "Cry out from me for the Gentiles. The suffering of Christ will bring forth this fruit, and gather together the children from all kingdoms. And before him all the families of the Gentiles will worship.
72) That is, all peoples everywhere, that is, from all nations, will be at the service of Christ.
1) In the original: "sichs" - itself deß.
2) Note of the original: "September 18".
3) In the original: "Habens" - have deß.
4) Instead of Lorura, read 6ro.
Some say "worse" because that is how it is understood to speak; what two people do in any house, the house is said to do.
But the abolition of the law is also indicated here. For if all Gentiles are to be converted, and yet remain Gentiles, even if they are not called to Judaism, it necessarily follows that the law is abolished, and the kingdom is a spiritual one.
(74) "To worship" means, according to the Hebrew idiom, to bend the knees and pay homage, which we do with the gestures of the body, as we do to princes. This worship is a sign that we confess that God is our Father, from whom we receive everything. In the first commandment this word is also used [Exodus 20:5]: "You shall not worship them." There he speaks of the idols: you shall not consider them a majesty, you shall not pay them homage, and "you shall not serve them," you shall not do them any works or services.
V. 29. For the Lord has a kingdom, and he rules among the nations.
The Lord will become king himself. With this he indicates that he wants to destroy all the kingdoms of the idols; he wants to reign himself. These are strong sayings against the Jews; the devils still stand so firm and want to be the only people, although he clearly says here about the end of the world.
V. 30. All the fat people of the earth will eat and worship.
76] As he said above [v. 27] about the Jews, so he also says here that a banquet should also be prepared among the Gentiles. But there are three pieces in this verse. The gospel will be the very rich and delicious banquet. They will worship him, will show him honor, will recognize him for their God "all the fat ones", that is, all the mighty ones. But this Hebrew way of speaking is very frequent. [As, Ps. 78, 31. Vulg.:] "He strangled their fat ones." And above in the seventeenth Psalm, v. 10. "Their fats hold together." Not that all the fat men, and every one of them, shall worship the Lord, but that of all the fat men some shall do so upon the face of the whole earth.
All who lie in the dust will bend their knees to him.
He calls "those who lie in the dust" in general any low estate; this is in contrast to the fat. For "to lie in the dust" means to be in a lowly position and in the filth of some miserable life that one does not respect in the eyes of the world, a Cinderella. With this German word the Hebrew way of speaking is very well rendered. But he says "all", and does not look at any person. This is a secret stab at the Jews who boasted [Ps. 144, 13.], "Our chambers are full," God blesses His people etc. But here he says that he also wants to accept the wretched, that is, those who have a semblance before the world, as if they were cursed.
And those who live miserably (Et qui animam suam non vivificant).
78 By this image [animam vivificare] not only the despised, but also the afflicted people are designated. For to make the soul alive, he calls living joyfully. As he calls it in another place, "a light of the living" [Ps. 56:14], that is, the time of welfare, when one lives, when there is a blessed life. But those do not make their souls alive who are afflicted, but their life is rather a death than a life. He will not despise the prisoners, the afflicted, the afflicted, who are considered more dead than alive. He is a bishop of the poor and miserable, not of the rich alone. But such a way of speaking is taken from it: The word nephesh (XXX) means the sentient soul or the living body, as the Greeks and the Latins say: animal [a living being. Therefore XXX means to refresh, as one says: A good drink helps body and soul together again. And therefore one says: To make the soul alive. Now these are our Lord God's courtiers, rich, poor and afflicted people.
V. 31. He will have a seed to serve him.
79 Now he says what kind of king he will be, namely such a king who will have descendants; he will not be barren. Likewise, this king will not die, but he will not die.
dern will have abundant seed. But what kind of seed? "The one who serves him." Therefore, this is how he must live if he is to be served. This is a new kingdom. The king remains a king with his seed. All his children that he will ever have, they will serve him, as it says in the Psalm [Ps. 72, 5. 17.]: "God, give your judgment to the king" etc. His name will be planted or he will have children as long as the sun and the moon last. His seed remains forever; it does not follow after him, nor is it offspring, but it remains with him at the same time, it does not die.
The Lord will be proclaimed to children.
80. they will preach; as he says in another place: his name will have children as long as the sun lasts etc. 1) [Ps. 72, 5.], that is, from child to child one will preach of his name.
To Child Child.
(81) For and for is the time and duration, not the progeny. They must leave the seed as a child, that is, forever, as long as one generation stands here on earth.
V. 32. They will come and preach his righteousness.
82) To come and to go out and in (intrare), means to administer an office; as if I said, Pommer goes out and in at the church at Wittenberg, that is, he administers it. So also here: Those preachers, this seed, will come, administer, be sent, run, as Paul calls it, that is, they will teach. But what? "His righteousness," namely Christ's, not of works righteousness, but of faith. This will be preaching. This is a glorious contrast against the worldly righteousness and that of the Law of Moses, as it is written in the Evangelio Johannis Cap. 1, 13: "Which is not of the blood, nor of the will of man" etc.
1) Here it is written, just as in the previous paragraph: k'iliaditur nomen es U8 oorniu 8ole ete, while in the Vulgate it is written 72, 5: perraunedit enm sole. That this passage is meant is beyond doubt by the opening words of the psalm given above i?79).
1552 L.xvii.MS s. Short Au[1. on the first 25 Psalms. Ps. 22. 23. w. iv, 2N4-sn6. 155Z
To the people who are born.
This is to be preached to the people who are born. There is an emphasis on the word "born". It means a born people, not prepared and made ready by the law; but, as Christ says John 3:3, "Except one be born again." In our sermon it is valid to be born again and to be born anew, not to be brought together, formed and prepared by ceremonies and pomp.
That he does.
This is a dark resolution, and can be understood in two ways. First, that the Lord has done it, who now promises it, or that it will happen when our Lord God will intervene. For thus says Amos [Cap. 9, 12.], "This saith the Lord that doeth all these things." And Isaiah Cap. 60, 22. "Thus saith the Lord, In his time will I do these things shortly." The other view is that the Lord does this, that it is a divine work etc.