in the number of the thirty-eighth.
1. O God, do not punish me in Your anger, and do not chasten me in Your wrath!
002 For thine arrows are thrust into me, and thou hast fastened thine hand upon me.
3. there is no health in all my flesh before the face of your wrath.
4. there is no rest for all my bones before the face of my sin.
5 For my sins are upon my head, and as a heavy burden they are heavy upon my strength.
6. it have been stinking and festered
my scars, in the face of my foolishness.
(7) I have been sick, and bowed down; all the day long I have walked sorrowfully.
008 For my loins are full of all shame, and there is nothing wholesome in all my flesh.
I am full of sorrow and very humiliated. I have cried out with great groaning of my heart.
10. O God, all my desires are revealed to you, and my groaning is not hidden from you.
11. my heart mutters, and all my strength has left me, and the light of my eyes is not with me either.
12. my friends and my neighbors have withstood this plague of mine.
013 And my hearers stood afar off, and did violence to them that sought my soul.
014 And they that wished me evil have preached vain doctrines, and have spoken deceitful words all their days.
015 But I, like a deaf man, have not listened to them, and like a mute I have not opened my mouth.
016 And I am become as a man that heareth not, and hath no gainsaying in his mouth.
017 For in thee have I hated, O my God, that thou wouldest hear me, O my God and my Lord.
018 For I have said that mine enemies shall not rejoice over me, and that my feet shall stumble, that they shall not glory over me.
019 For I am made to suffer, and my sorrow is always before my eyes.
020 For I will declare that I am not justified, and I will diligently remember my sin.
021 But mine enemies that live, and have strengthened themselves, and they that hate me unreasonably, have increased.
22. and those who return evil for good have promised me, because I followed the good.
23. Do not forsake me, O God, my Lord, and do not depart from me.
24. Make haste to help me, O God of my blessedness!
1.a ) This psalm paints most clearly the manner, word, work, thoughts and gestures of a true repentant heart.
a) f Christ prays this psalm in his suffering and atonement, which he did for our sin. Yes, this is the right rule, whoever hears all the psalms as if they were spoken from Christ's mouth, and so speaks after him, as a child prays after its father; but he cannot pray after him, unless he is conformed to him in repentance and suffering. Therefore, this Psalm 2c.
V. 1. Lord, do not punish me in your anger.
2. the punishment is understood in words, as one scolds an offender.
And do not chastise me in your wrath.
This happens with works, as in the other Psalm, 1) v. 5: "Then he will speak to them in his anger (that is, punish in anger), and in his wrath he will terrify them," that is, punish with deeds and works.
V. 2. for your arrows are in me.
(4) The words of God, in which He reproves and rebukes in the Scriptures, are the arrows; whoever feels them cries out, "Lord,b ) do not punish me in Your wrath." But no one feels them, except the one who has them thrust into his heart, terrifying his conscience; these are the fearfulc ) people to whom God shoots them into the heart. But to the fearless, who are hardened, they fall off, as from a hard rock; and this happens as long as the words are spoken through the sermons of men, without the cooperation and inward infusion of God.
And your hand presses me.
(5) That is, not only your angry words and your wraths go deep to my heart, but also your angry works are constantly upon me and press me. d)
V. 3. There is nothing healthy in my body [before your woe]. 2)
6. that is, as in the first [penitential] psalm [Psalm 6:3], "Have mercy on me, for I am weak."
1) Here the Weimar edition misunderstood "2. psal." for the second penitential psalm and therefore in the margin: "Ps. 32". To prevent such misunderstandings, the Wittenberg, the Jena edition and Walch have in similar cases always put "penitential psalm" where the first edition offered only "psalm".
b) Oh God.
c) soft-hearted.
d) f These are the two kinds of sufferings: outward works, that is, persecution of the body, and inward fright of the soul from the words of God. For every outward affliction brings with it an inward one, so that when *) God attacks outwardly, the heart fears to have earned God's wrath with sins. And so, when the outward one is susceptible, the heavy sayings and words of imprecation come to pass. Therefore, he rather prays for the internal suffering,
2) Addition in the Jena (2) and in the Wittenberg.
*) Weimarsche: wen.
because the flesh is weak and sick to suffer, and cannot bear the hand and works of GO1t's punishment).
V. 4. And there is no peace in my bones.
7.f ) For God's wrath so terrifies that even the legs tremble, and flesh and marrow disappear.
Before my sin.
8. beforeg ) the knowledge of my sin. For the arrows of God and wrathful sayings make sin present in the heart, and from it there is inward disquiet and alarm of the conscience and all the powers of the soul, andh ) makes the corpse quite illi ). And where it is so, there it is right with man; for so it was with Christ.
V. 5 For my iniquities have passed over my head.
9 That is, they have completely oppressed me, and are more and stronger than I am. All this comes from the arrows, which make sin so much, so great, so strong, that man himself can neither help nor advise him, but lies down.
Like a heavy burden, they have become too heavy for me.
(10) This is more grievous than I can suffer, as also Ps. 65:4: "O Lord God, the deed of our sin hath overwhelmed us; thou wilt be gracious unto our iniquity." So sin tramples us underfoot until grace comes, and trample sin underfoot, and lift up our heads above it, that we may be mighty over it, and not it over ours, and reign. But they that are in sins, dead, or too holy, feel none of these things.
011 Therefore it is a marvelous thing: he that hath no sin feeleth it, and hath it; and he that hath sin feeleth it not, and hath none: for it is not possible that he should be above and beyond sin.
e) f Before the face of your wrath.
That is, before the presence of your punishment. For by the face is signified the presence in Scripture, or the sensibility of a thing.
(f) Instead of § 7: That is, to the inward powers of the soul, as also in the first [penitential] psalm [Ps. 6:3.], "Make me whole; for all my bones are dismayed."
g) 1 of the sensitive presentness, and
h) s the hand of God, the work of punishment by heart i) f and suffering
against sin, if he did not live in righteousness and grace. For one devil does not cast out another [Luc. 11, 18.For one devil does not cast out another [Luc. 11:18], nor does sin accuse its own kind, nor does one wolf accuse another; and yet it is impossible that he who cries out against them should be without sin; for he must ever speak before God not with fictitious words, [it] must be true that he has sin when he says, and yet also true that he is without sin; and so just as Christ was true both alive and dead, so at the same time they must be full of sin and without sin who are true Christians.
V. 6. My wounds have become fetid and rotten.
(12) As sores and swellings rot, fester, and stink in the body; so also the evil infirmities of nature corrupt and become stinking, if they are not daily attended to, and healed with the ointment of grace, and with the water of the word of God. k) Now they go safely, and take no heed of the same breaches, just as if they were healthy. Therefore follows:
Before my foolishness.
13. before presence; for wisdom is the salt and water that cleanses the wounds; which wisdom is nothing else than a thorough knowledge of oneself, as Proverbs 11:2: "Where there is humility, there is wisdom. For knowledge does not permit man to let himself be so corrupted. But "foolishness" is when a person does not see himself, but thinks he is completely healthy. But the "arrows" reveal this folly, that man recognizes how blind he has been in his own knowledge. Therefore the meaning is: When I recognized my foolishness and my own ignorance, then I also recognized how miserable my wounds are corrupt and stinking, which I did not see before in my foolishness. Therefore:
V. 7. I bend and stoop almost very much.
(14) Like a man who is in distress and in a bad mood, who has a miserable disposition by heart, puts down his head, and does not lift up his head, or hear, or speak, but 1) bows his eyes to the earth.
k) f Prayer and repentance washes them.
1) Jenaer (2) and Erlanger is "also" added.
All day long I walk here sadly.
15 These are true signs of thorough repentance for sin, when the publican in the Gospel was not allowed to lift up his eyes [Luc. 18, 13.], he was in a bad way, and bowed down to the ground, more with his heart than with his body.
l) V. 8. for my bowels are all withering away.
16. that is, I am so full of fear inwardly that I would die of thirst, so dry does such suffering make me; as then happens to all who are in the highest terror and fear, Proverbs 31:6: "Pray wine to the afflicted."
And there is nothing healthy in my body.
(17) As above [§§ 6. 7], that the body also cannot bear such anxiety of conscience, not even the legs.
V. 9. I am all too bruised and battered.
18. as a sorrowful heart, that is, completely crushed before such terror of conscience.
1) Instead of s 16 to s 18: v. 8. For my loins are full of all shame.
Should I not feel evil, if I see that I find nothing but sin and evil inclination within me, of which I have only shame and mockery before God? For through the "loins" *) he presses out of the hearts and evil thorough uncleanness. And just as purity is an honor, so impurity is a disgrace. But this inward disgrace is not considered great by those who are pleased with the outward purity of themselves, when it should and must be completely pure before God.
And there is nothing wholesome in all my flesh.
The apostle Paul also says: "I find in myself, that is, in my flesh, nothing good," but only shame and sin. Therefore, that the same wounds, pus, stink, sin 2c. might be taken away from us, Christ also made his flesh like unto chastisement, as ours is like unto iniquity and sin, and so spoke of **) both these verses. For the apostle says in Romans 8:3 that his flesh is like our sinful flesh; his in bodily pain, ours in spiritual harm.
V. 9. I am full of sorrow and very humbled.
As a sorrowful heart that moves to and fro, and finds nothing but misery and wretchedness in him, and is completely crushed and humbled in his eyes.
*) In the Weimar edition: "leyden"; Jena sl) and Erlanger: "Leiden"; however, the reading "Lenden", which we have taken from the old edition, seems to us to be correct, "leyden" is probably a printing error of the original edition instead of: "lenden". The word "loins" in the text needed an interpretation.
**) Erlanger: before.
I howl with the restlessness of my heart.
19) As a lion cries and roars, 1) that is, when the heart is so full of sorrow and sighing that it cannot contain itself, it bursts forth with a lamentable howling. m)
V. 10. All my desires are before you, O Lord, and my groaning is not hidden from you.
20 That is, my desire is so great that I cannot say it with words, I do not know how to ask, my heart you see, what more can I say? Greater is my sorrow than my lamentation can be. So has the first [penitential] psalm [Ps. 6, 7.], "I have labored in my groaning." n)
V. 11. My heart prays.
21.o ) These are all signs of great terror, when the heart throbs and trembles with the great wrath of God.
My strength has left me.
That is, all my strength is gone, and I am weary and despondent in all things. p) So also Christ speaks Ps. 22, 15. 16.: "My heart is like a flowing wax, and my strength withers. All this is caused by the arrows that work this inner sorrow.
And the light of my eyes is not with me.
23.q ) That is, my countenance is not bright and cheerful, but looks sour, sorrowful and gloomy.
1) 1517: ruyget ruZit, roars.
m) f This is even a perfect repentance.
n) f As if he said: I have been full of sorrow and lamentation with groaning.
o) Instead of § 21: A steadfast heart is one that is in good spirits and secure; but the one that is faint and sorrowful, it proves itself, and unsteadily writhes here and there, and is like a barrel that is shaken and turned to and fro, and is all in turmoil, because there are many causes of sorrow and great ones that move it from one to another.
p) Instead of: "This is... despondent": That cannot bring my heart back to silence and tranquility out of my strength.
q) Instead? 23 to § 34: That is, I cannot advise myself either. Before, when my heart was firm, I could only help with my strength, and advise myself with my reason, and comfort myself with my heart. That is now gone, without comfort, without help, without counsel I am now. For your wrath, your hand and your arrow are upon me. Now,
V. 12. My loved ones and friends stand against my plague.
24. that is, I have also become an abomination to my friends, that they may hear my lamentation.
flee, as he says elsewhere [Ps. 31, 12.]: "My relatives flee from me"; because they are afraid of the wrath of God against me, that they may not comfort me either.
These two sufferings are not enough; the third and the best must also come, which the sufferer must suffer in suffering.
V. 12. My friends and my neighbors have been against my plague.
A suffering person deserves compassion, mercy and support, especially from his best friends. Now enemies are not worse than friends. For who is the closest friend to righteousness, truth, and wisdom, and who helps them more cheaply than the righteous, the wise, and the truthful? Now no one is more opposed to true righteousness than the righteous (as they are called, and think). No one is more hostile to true wisdom than the wise, who cannot stand the words, works and life of the righteous man. For they do not want to be sinners or fools. This is what he means, that they have been hostile to his plague, that is, to his suffering life, they have been enemies and persecutors, have considered it foolishness, and have wanted to destroy it.
V. 13. And my hearers stood afar off from me.
These are the same friends who should be near, they depart far from him. For they are hostile to the cross, and persecute it in all who bear it, thinking that they do well by it. This is what is meant in the life of Christ, whom his natural friends persecuted, the Jews. Therefore the 109th Psalm, v. 16, speaks of them: "He hath not shown mercy, but hath persecuted the poor and needy, and he that is of a grieved heart hath sought to slay." And Ps. 69:27: "They have added more afflictions above the pains of my wounds." For it cannot be otherwise, the rich-minded must persecute the poor-minded, as Esau did Jacob [Gen. 27:41 ff].
V. 14. And they did violence.
That is, they have tried all their power and art, saving nothing, neither *) word nor work.
Who have searched for my soul.
Who have sought the ruin of my soul, with works to hinder me, and with words to seduce me, as follows:
And who have wished me ill.
That is, those who sought to harm my soul, even though they thought to promote my salvation in it. For this is why the Jews disputed with St. Stephen [Apost. 6:9], and always persuade and contradict the true righteous, that they may destroy their speeches, and confirm their own words, which is evil and hurtful to the soul.
Have preached vanity.
They do not want to talk or teach the way of creed and unsealed humility, but the works and righteousness of themselves, which is vain and useless teaching.
*) In the old editions: still.
are. For they do not make wise nor righteous people, but rather hinder and persecute the wisdom and righteousness of God.
And deception they have acted all the days.
They teach nothing but against grace, but under the appearance of truth and righteousness. Therefore it is a deception of souls and vain, without fruit of that whose appearance it presents. And that is to lay ropes for the souls, and to seek their misfortune and evil with all their might. For they are more diligent to preach their deceit than others are to preach the truth. And that means that they do violence and use all their power. "Deception" means that which seems good, and is not good; as all doctrines of good works, without the grace and mercy of God, are preaching.
V. 15 But I, like a deaf man, did not hear them.
That is, I have not taken in their false words that seem good, I have stayed with your truth, when Christ John 10:5, 16, 27 says that his sheep hear, not the voice of the foreign teachers, but his voice.
And like a mute, I have not put out my mouth.
I have held my peace, and have not pleaded with them, because they have done their things with violence and with all their hardness. "For the sanctuary is not to be thrown to the dogs, nor the precious stones to the sows" [Matt. 7:6]. Even where no one listens, do not speak the word, said Solomon.
V.16. And I have been like a man who cannot hear, and as one who cannot have speech in his mouth.
These two verses lament that those who teach against the sound doctrine of right truth always prevail and are more respected and have more listeners than the right pious. For the less part follows the truth, and the more part follows the appearance of truth. Therefore the meaning is: Is this not a miserable thing, that truth must be silent, which alone should speak, and deception does not want to suffer objection, punishment nor contradiction. It wants to be heard, and speak alone by force. That is why I have become a mute and deaf man, for I am not allowed to speak, nor do I want to hear its words.
But that these two verses are not spoken of Christ hanging on the cross according to the written sense is clear from this: for he also does not hear deceit and vanity, which always have an appearance, but obvious blasphemy and evil words without all good appearance. For "to hear" and "to speak" in this place is to be disciple and master. "Not hearing" is, not wanting to be a disciple. "Not speaking" is not being a master.
V. 17. For in you I have hated, my God.
Therefore I do not hear them, and keep silent. Because I do not want to rely on my wisdom, piety, truth, as they are.
1688 Erl. 37, 37S-381. au[1. of the 7 penitential psalms. 1517 u. 1525. Ps. 38. W. IV, 2301-2305. 1689
And my neighbors step far away.
(25) They watch the way it goes out, and do not take care of me, for fear lest they also be punished by the tyrants who persecute me.
I will not teach or do anything, but will put my trust in you and in your grace.
You will hear me, my God and my Lord.
You will not abandon my hope; you will answer my desire well and do enough. It is mine to ask, and wait for thine and thy mercy. But it is thine to hear me, to answer my supplications, and to be sufficient for my hope. But they that are full, and desire nothing, wait also for nothing, they hope also for nothing, therefore no man heareth them; no man answereth them, no man may suffice them, they have enough already.
V. 18. For I have said.
My concern has been, and I have thought to myself: O would God that they did not experience joy in me!
That my enemies did not rejoice over me.
That they are not finally right, but, as in the first [penitential] psalm [Ps. 6:11], that they would become ashamed, and be ashamed, if they recognized the right truth, which they pursue in me, and their deceitfulness, which they vigorously raise.
And so my feet would stumble, boasting about me".
That is, I said and feared lest my feet should stumble, lest I should stand with the truth. For if that were to happen, they would boast and glory and glorify themselves greatly over me. Therefore, since my hope is in you, hear me, my God, and do not let them experience joy and glory in me. Let it be enough for them to attack me and persecute me for the truth's sake, lest they also be justified in doing so, which they do not have, because they hope in themselves and not in you.
V.19. For I am ready to suffer, and my pain is always before my eyes.
I do not refuse suffering and punishment, I am willing and ready for it, yes, it is just and right, because I only suffer, and am prepared, born and ordered to suffer, because I am full of sin. A sinner deserves his punishment and chastisement from God; I only ask that they not be right who are hostile to the suffering, humble and crucified life, just as if they were righteous, and deserved not suffering, but peace and honor.
But how is the pain before his eyes at all times? That is, I have that before my eyes, from which I bear pain and suffer; these are the sins.
V. 20. For that I am a sinner I will proclaim.
I will confess and not deny that I am a sinner, and will not impute righteousness to myself. And this is the cause that I suffer always, that I am full of sin.
V. 13. And those who are after my soul, place them before me.
26 Then he shows where his suffering comes from, namely, that he is outwardly touched by the tyrants and the wicked for the sake of God's word and right. And from this he is inwardly terrified and fears God's wrath. There all old sins come out, which he never felt nor thought before, and have become rotten. For no misfortune alone.
And those who wish me ill, speak and write falsehood daily.
27 That is, they attack me with lies and false accusation, and plot on me to kill me.
V. 14: But I am like a deaf man who does not hear, 1) and like a mute who does not open his mouth.
28 That is, I must let them be right, and be silent as a stick; for my speech and answer is valid and does not help.
V. 15. and must be like one who does not hear, and who has no back talk in his mouth.
029 For this also I must let them go unpunished, and shut their mouths, and be wrong: for they hear not, neither rage, nor let them be told.
V. 16 For I wait, O LORD, for you; you, O LORD my God, will answer.
(30) These are words of a fine, firm faith, which in time of need forsakes all, and adheres to God's word and grace, and does not doubt that God will hear him and help him. But he does not agree with him in time or manner, but says badly: "You will answer me well, I will hope and not stop.
V. 17 For I think that they will not rejoice over me. If my foot wanked, they would boast highly against me.
(31) My sorrow has been, and I have thought with myself, O God, that they should not have joy in me; that they should not at last be justified.
1) So the Wittenbergers and the Jenaers (2). Erlanger: and do not hear.
1690 Eri. M, ZS1-ZS4. Interpretations on the Psalms. W. iv, Wos-ssos. 1691
but, as in the first [penitential] psalm [Ps. 6:11], that they would be put to shame, and must be ashamed. To "falter" is to fall and not to stand still; that is to say, "Therefore I hope in you, for necessity compels me; if they gain, I must be their mockery forever, and they be right; for this I take care, and am afraid of it. For then your word would also have to become a mockery.
32 This verse shows how a suffering man worries and cares that the wicked come up so high, and thinks that they will go on like this, that it will be all over for him. But God does not let it happen, but when they come up, thinking they have it, He overthrows them, making the righteous happy again.
V. 18. For I am made to suffer, and my 1) pain is always before me.
Thus a heart that must suffer much always speaks and thinks one thing over another: Dear God, there is no cessation of suffering; when one thing ceases, another begins; I see that I am made for suffering, and must always have sorrow before me, Ps. 34:20: "The righteous must suffer much, but the Lord helps him out of all of it."
V. 19. For I denounce my iniquity.
34 That is, such suffering is also not unjust; for my old Adam must be cleansed of his sins and killed by it.
And am careful for my sin.
35. that is, as in the fourth next following [penitential] psalm [Ps. 51, 5.]: "My sin is always before my eyes, and my sin I will confess." That is equal One meaning with this verse. Now as the wise, righteous, hopeful saints, 2) mader ) are to receive peace and quietness, chamber and honor, and have nothing before their eyes to grieve or hurt them, but are themselves merry and well pleased; for they hide not and declare not their sin, neither do they think of it, but of their piety alone.
1) In the Erlanger "my" is missing.
2) Erlanger: "righteous, holy, worthy of hope." For the reading we offer, see ß 39.
r) ready.
and other people's sins, as the following verse says: a truly thorough person is the same as these two verses say. For thus also the holy apostle Paul says Rom. 7, 18. f., that sin dwells in him, and that he is imprisoned in sins, although he did no evil, but much good outside. Christ also commanded all his own to hate their souls [John 12:25]. Now there is nothing to hate but sin alone; where then do sins come into the pious, that they should hate them? For he saith not that they should hate the past sins alone, which are now forgiven and atoned for, but the soul and the life which is without doubt still in them. These sins the trustworthy saints regard as nothing at all, and go about safely, saying: They are daily sins, and not against the commandment of God. If this is true, why is he called to hate them? and the apostle complains [Rom. 7:23] that he is caught in it? For against daily sin there is no commandment, neither do they catch any man, as they say.
V. 20. But mine enemies live, and are mighty; and they that hate me without blame are many.
(36) That is, I suffer much and am in pain, but my enemies are well, as Jer. 12:1 and Habak. 1, 2. ff. For to live here means to have good days and to live well. s) They are mighty and strong, I am oppressed without ceasing; they are honored, I am disgraced; they are at peace, I am at peace; they multiply and have many who are favorable to them, who praise them, who keep company with them; I am alone forsaken, and no one keeps company with me or is favorable. So a true saint is quite unequal and different from the seeming and false deceived saint.
V. 21: And they that pay me good with evil are against me, because I follow after that which is good.
(37) The self-wise and self-justifying cannot but return evil for good. For the right teaching, which mau gives them, and tells them the best and well
s) Instead of: "for ... well live": You live, I die without ceasing.
1692 Erl. S7, ZS4-Z8S. Au[1. of the 7 Bllßpsalmen. 1517 u. 1525. Ps. 38. 51. W. IV, 2308-2312. 1693
serves, which is good thing after all, they pursue and give hate and torture for it. For this they promise and persuade all who seek the same good and follow it. This makes that the same good is not revealed, but is hidden in God under the cross and will be destroyed. But they do not want to be destroyed in their life and good appearance, they also want to be something, or want to be angry and cause misfortune, and yet in it they think they are following the good. But it is truly evil and their own destruction; from it the pious man departs, and is therefore promised by them.
V. 22. Do not forsake me, O LORD my God, do not depart from me.
(38) I am a lonely one, forsaken and despised by all, therefore receive me and do not forsake me. God's nature is to make something out of nothing; therefore, whoever is not yet nothing, God cannot make anything out of him; but men make something into something else, which is a vain work.
39. Therefore God does not receive except the abandoned; does not heal except the sick; does not give sight except to the blind; does not give life except to the dead; does not make pious except sinners; does not make wise except the unwise; in short, he does not have mercy except on the miserable, and does not give grace except to those who are in disgrace. Therefore, no trustworthy saint, wise man, or righteous man can be
God's matter, and obtain God's work in him, but remains in his own work, and makes a fictitious, seeming, false, colored saint of himself, that is, a hypocrite.
V. 23. Make haste to assist me, O Lord of my salvation.
40. hasten thou to help me, for all others hasten to destroy me. For God's help is not where man's help is, yea, where man's persecution is not, or of himself against himself. For GOD is not a Father of the rich, but of the poor, widows and orphans; the rich He has left alone fLuc. 1, 53.]. "O GOD of my salvation," that is, that I seek no salvation nor help ^) neither in myself, nor in anyone else, but in You alone. So also in the 4th Psalm, v. 2: "God of my righteousness has heard me," that is, he who gives it. But the trustworthy have salvation, help 1) and satisfaction from themselves: Their help is not God's help,t ) they have prepared it for themselves, so that they are not condemned, nor do they want to be. u)
t) Bliss.
u) But God only blessed the damned; not as some say that they consider themselves damned, and yet are blessed, but they are damned, and there is no fictitious considering. For with God one cannot "mirror", it must be as it esteems itself; and not be otherwise, and esteem otherwise; that is hypocritical and lying before God's eyes.