in the number of one hundred and forty-third.
O God, hear my prayer; receive into your ears my supplication in your truth; hear me in your righteousness.
002 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for there may not be justified in thine eyes any that live.
For mine enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath humbled my life unto the earth.
4. He has laid me down in darkness, like the dead of this world.
005 And my spirit is troubled within me; my heart is grieved within me.
006 I have remembered the days of old; I have preached of all thy works, and of the work of thy hands have I taught.
007 I have stretched out my hands unto thee, my soul is unto thee, as dry earth.
8. quickly hear me, my god, my spirit has become dull.
9. turn not thy face from me, that I be not like them which go into hell.
10. let your mercy be heard early, for my hope is in you.
011 Teach me the way wherein I should walk, for I have lifted up my soul unto thee.
12) Deliver me, my God, from my enemies; in you is my refuge. Teach 1) me to do what pleases you, for you are my God.
13. May your good Spirit lead me in the right way for the sake of your name. O God, make me alive in your righteousness.
14. lead out my soul from persecution, and in your mercy destroy my enemies.
(15) And destroy all who dispute with my soul, for I am your servant.
1. all psalms, all scriptures call toa ) grace, praise grace, seek Christ, and praise God's work alone, all men's work.
1) Weimar and Erlanger: "Learn".
a) after
but rejects them. Therefore this psalm is easy to understand from the previous ones, because it is all one voice. [Here it is to be known that this Psalm is spoken and will be spoken in the person of the whole people of Christ, and of each one in particular, which people's daily enemies are the worldly wise and self-justifying, who neither know nor want to know about God's grace; yes, they think that no one thinks more of God's grace than they, in blind holiness and good opinion, are led astray.
V. 1. Lord, hear my prayer.
(2) The life of a holy man is more in receiving from God than in giving; more in desiring than in having; more in becoming pious than in being pious; as St. Augustine says that faith acquires what the law demands. Therefore, asking, desiring, seeking is the right nature of an inward man; as in the 34th Psalm, v. 11: "They that seek God always shall not lack any good thing." And in the 105th Psalm, v. 4. "Seek His face always." Again [Rom. 3, 11. and] 2) Ps. 14, 2. 3. of the hopeful saints: "There is no one who seeks God," because they have found Him.
Hear my plea for the sake of your faith.
3. notb ) because of my works which I do, but because of thy faith which thou givest me.
Answer me for the sake of your justice.
4 Not for my righteousness' sake,c ) for the same is sin and unrighteousness. As if he said, Make me faithful by graced ) and righteous; for I see some who are
2) Addition 1525.
b) Instead of the following in? 3: in my truth, for that is a vanity and falsehood.
c) in my justice,
d) true
1732 He). 37, 430-432. au[1. of the 7 penitential psalms. 1517 u. 1525. ps. 143. w. I V, 2365-2368. 1733.
by their own works and righteousnesse ) they want to be right and to be right; you protect me for that. They want to be something, but they are nothing, they are vain,f ) they are fools, they are sinners.
5 Here it is to be noted that the word "your faith"g ) and "your righteousness" does not mean the one where God believes and is righteous, as some think, but the grace that God makes us believei ) and righteous through Christ. As the apostle Paul calls Rom. 1 and 2 and 3 the righteousness of God and faithk ) of God, which is given to us through the grace of Christl ). m)
6. just as a penny or a painted florin is not a true florin, but a figure, yea, a vanity and deceit, if they be given and taken for true florins; but a true florin is truth, and without deceit: so, the life and work and righteousness of all the trustworthy saints, against the righteousness and work of the grace of God, is a mere appearance, and a deadly, hurtful falsehood, if they be taken for right true. There is no truth, but it is God who gives the right fundamental righteousness, which is the faith of Christ. n)
V. 2. And do not enter into judgment with your servant.
(7) If the servant of God, who is without doubt in grace, cannot stand before the judgment, but flees to mercy, where will the enemies and sinners remain? Yes, where will also the hopeful remain, who with blind presumption of their works and good life find merit, reward and favor, ando ) God's justice?
e) Truthfulness and justice, true and right
f) f are liars,
g) your currency
h) God with true
j) true
k) Truth
l) the faith of Christ
m) t Also, God's truth here is not the words alone, yes, more the works and fulfillment of His words, which fulfillment is the same grace and mercy.
n) f Therefore, this little word "truth" from the Hebrew may well be changed into üäs tni, that is, in your faith.
o) 's and thanks to
think that they do not fear God's judgment in good works, but only in evil ones, as if they knew what was good and what was evil in their eyes before God's judgment.
For before you no living person will be justified.
(8) As if he said, I may be justified in mine eyes, and in the eyes of men: but in thy sight there is none justified that liveth: but he that is dead is justified; Romans 6:7: "He that is dead is justified from sins." Which death begins in the life of repentance, and endures unto the grave. As he says Ps. 44, 23: "We are daily slain for thy sake."
V. 3: For the enemy persecutes my soul.
(9) This is my enemies, who always resist me by their wisdom and righteousness; for every Abel has his Cain, and Isaac his Ishmael, Jacob his Esau, and Christ his Judah, who strive against his soul, especially in the things that pertain to the soul, that is, in faithp ) and righteousness, since the hopeful will not suffer their worksq ) and righteousness to be nothing, and therefore persecute the truly devout, who live in God's faithq ) and righteousness alone.
And smashes my life to the ground.
(10) That is, they live in honor, and sit on high, rising up in the sight of men for the sake of their appearance; therefore I must be utterly abased in the sight of men, rejected and despised.
(11) For by these words the prophet means that a man who lives in grace and in Christ is a despised thing. No one honors him; indeed, everyone dishonors him, and he is considered a useless, unfit, harmful person in all the things that people do. And whoever has not yet come to this, and does not yet have such enemies, who consider all his good works, words, counsel, and opinion to be foolishness, wickedness, and unrighteousness, has not yet properly come to Christ.
p) in the truth truth
unless he himself becomes his enemy, and puts on himself what others should put on him, and in all good words, works, and life, considers himself useless and a fool 1) and recognizes thoroughly without all deceit of his heart.
V. 4. He lays me in darkness, like the dead in the world.
(12) That is, they are in the light and are known and famous to men, and appear and are pleasant. But he puts me completely in contempt and in disrepute, like a dead man who never appears before the world. So he also said above [Ps. 102, 7.], "I am become like a night trot, like a solitary bird in the wilderness." So it goes: the pious are not needed for life and office, even for that they are not remembered, they are not wanted to know or to be known; but the seeming saints are gawked at by everyone.
V. 5 And my spirit is troubled within me, my heart is troubled within my body.
This is the right sacrifice that pleases God, as stated above in the 4th Psalm of repentance [Ps. 51:19]; when a soul is desolate from all creatures, even abandoned and persecuted by itself, so that it waits for nothing but only God's grace; these are the blessed who weep, for they shall be comforted [Luc. 6:21].
V. 6. I remember the former times.
14) That is, the seeming [saints], 2) who are exalted and in the light of men, do not want to be grieved and saddened,r ) do not have their comfort and joy in the present walk and works of their own strength, wisdom, righteousness, may God. But I, who am completely destitute of these things, know no other consolation, except to remember that 3) God has made all his saints lack in time past, and has never yet made any of them lack by his own works, ability, knowledge, piety, or by his own strength, wisdom, and righteousness.
1) Taken from the old edition of Walch. In the editions instead of: "for a fool" stands "fool".
2) Missing 1517.
r) and shine in the light of men, are not grieved nor distressed,
3) Added by Walch.
as in the 44th Psalm, vv. 2-4: "O God, we have heard, our fathers have told us, the work which thou didst in their days, how thou didst drive out and smite the heathen, that thou shouldest set them in their land. For, verily, it was not with their sword that they possessed the land, neither did their strength avail them; but thy strength, and the gracious shining of thy countenance, because it pleased thee so, and they deserved not."
I remember the former times, I despise your works.
(15) I have not regarded the works and words of men, as they always shine and are loved by the world, because I know that they do not save anyone, nor are they useful except for false vain glory; but all comfort, help and salvation are in your works alone. If thou doest our works, and our works are not ours but thine, they are acceptable unto thee, right, true, and good. But these, the works of thy grace, know not them which do and magnify the works of their light, their strength, and their wisdom.
16 But that he says, "Ofs all your works," when God's works are innumerable, is to be understood in such a way that the works, so that he may be concerned, are all God's, and does not want to praise the work of a man. For no man's work, but only God's works are anything. Therefore, in these words he describes the nature of grace as opposed to the nature of nature. Item, the little word meditabar, which is here translated "to look at," often means in Scripture to preach or speak, as Psalm 37:30: "The mouth of the righteous shall consider (that is, preach thoughtfully and wisely) wisdom." For from this preaching of God's works and grace springs all the strife and persecution of which he lamented above 9. 10], that the hopeful leave themselves not in God's graces and works, but in their own works, help, counsel and fortune; these are their thoughts.
And talk about the business of your hands.
017 That is, I have told them, and made them mindful of thy works, that they should
s) in
1736 Eri. 37, 134--437. Au[1. of the 7 penitential psalms. 1517 u. 1525. Ps. 143. W. IV, 2370-2373. 1737
They did not esteem their works great, but they were displeased, and therefore became enemies to me. "The business of God's hands" are the pious, whom he gives birth to and creates by grace. This happens without any cooperation on their part, for they are and become new creatures in Christ. The works, however, are the doings and sufferings that God works through them, thus created, in which they are co-workers. These are the two works of God, since Ps. 28, 5. also says: "They have not understood the works of God, nor the business of His hands" 2c. Item, Ps. 19, 2: "The heavens preach the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the works of His hands," that is, the apostles preach only about the righteousness that God works in us, and not at all about the righteousness that men are able to work.
V. 7. I spread out my hands to you.
(18) That is, because it is so, that it depends on your work and grace, I do no more, for I seek only grace, and never be sure of my actions, as my enemies do, who do not stretch out their hands to you, even put them in their bosom, and desire nothing from you, but are pleased withs themselves. To stretch up one's hands to God means. Prayer to GOD (spiritually, however) that all our works may be attributed to GOD.
My soul thirsts for you on earth. Sela.
19. as a dry field thirsts for rain, so my soul thirsts for your grace; as in Ps. 63:2 [Ps. 42:3]: "my soul has thirsted for you." And this happens from the knowledge that all works are nothing without God's grace, that the trusting saints do not believe; therefore their thoughts, words and teachings stand in their works, and are completely full, not thirsting for grace, nor lifting up their hands to God, their life seems to them to be just enough.
V. 8. Hear me soon, O Lord, for my spirit is failing.
(20) As stated above [§13], a desolate soul that finds nothing in itself is the dearest sacrifice to God, especially when it cries out to His mercy, for God hears nothing dearer,
s) in
for crying out and thirsting for his mercy. But such thirst may not have he who finds in him much good life, andt ) does not fear God's judgments. Now he speaks: I have thirsted and longed for mercy until I can never. I am weary of persevering, therefore it is time, come quickly now, and hear me speedily. This is a lesson to us, that we should wait patiently for God's mercy, and not despair whether he will forgive.
V.. 9. hide not thy face from me, lest I become like them that go down to the pit.
This is what the delay of divine grace and help does, that the soul worries that it is abandoned and condemned, but for this reason it becomes so tense that it desires grace more and more thoroughly, and thus receives grace more fully. Now this is a Christian, truthful person, who is inwardly full of discontent and sorrowful spirit, in constant desire for God's grace and help. And yet, if he also wants to say this cross to others and teach them, he not only deserves no compassion or consequence, but also ingratitude and hatred, and is thus crucified with Christ inwardly and outwardly. For the hopeful stand in their presumption, that they are like unto them which go up to heaven; such fear of hell and thirst of grace have they not.
V. 10. Let me hear your goodness early.
22. as in the 4th Psalm of Repentance, [Ps. 51, 10.]: "Let me hear joy and comfort", let me hear your grace, which speaks into my heart: your sins are forgiven [Matth. 9, 2.]. Thus, God speaks peace into the heart of His people. And the "early", that is, hurry, do not consume; for I am weary and can never wait.
Because I hope for you.
Let this move you, that I seek no other comfort than you alone. That is a great thing, not to seek a shell from any man or creature in suffering, but to press on and suffer, humbly waiting for help in God's hope; there are few of them on earth.
t) t equal
V. 11: Tell me the way I should go.
(24) As it is said in the other psalm of repentance, (Ps. 32:8) "I will give thee understanding, and teach thee the way wherein thou shalt walk. For it is not possible for man to guide himself in his life. The reason is this: for he must become blind and leave God to himself in right faith; but faith sees nothing, but is the dark way, whereof Ps. 18:10: "Darkness is under his feet." Therefore they are horses and mouths that follow the light of reason, and no further than as far as it seems right, godly and good to them. But what they regard differently (than in faith), they flee from.
For I lift up my soul to you.
(25) That is, I am already surrendered, let into your will. For God can teach and guide those who surrender their souls to Him and allow themselves to be guided; but those who draw their souls into themselves and hide them, He cannot guide. Therefore it is to be known that the word, "to lift up the soul to God," is to sacrifice the soul; for the sacrifices in the law are lifted up to God. Now the meaning is: I do not offer you silver or gold, nor calves, nor sheep, but my heart and my soul, which you alone respect for your sacrifices; as Proverbs 23:26 says: Praebe, fili, cor tuum mihi, "Son, give me your heart"; the heart, the reason, is what God wants. u)
(26) This verse is a great prayer, but very useful, that a man may say to his God, Behold, receive my heart, and lead me according to thy will, and I will yield myself wholly unto thee.
V. 12. Lord, save me from my enemies.
27. these are the wise and the holy, that they overcome me not, and draw me from thee unto them; as Ps. 19:14: "If the strangers become not mightyv unto me, then will I remain pure." For, as I said before, the persecutors of the pious seek only how they will overcome them.
wois 8<Mpor, "My soul I offer to you always", always have it in my hands, that is, I give it over to you always, and do not put it in my bosom.
v) overpowering
lead them and drag them into their own way, which alone seems right to them. And therefore God's guard and help is necessary, that they may persevere in the persecution, as the Jews did to the apostles, who sought nothing else with all their storming, but to confirm their ways and manner according to the law, and to bring the Christians to them by force.
In you I have refuge. Teach me to do according to your good pleasure.
28. my enemies, they may not be your teaching nor yours, therefore they do not flee to you, yes, they teach and tell me what I should do, and want to be master of all; [but it] is vain deceit. w) Therefore keep me from them, and deliver me from them, and be thou my master thyself. Thus Ps. 120:2: "O God, deliver my soul from deceitful lips," that is, false doctrines and crafty tongues that teach error under the guise of truth. Which preachers also today exceed the measurex ) many are in Christendom, few who preach the reason.
For you are my God.
029 That is, I make no idol of my wisdom and righteousness, as mine enemies do; but I cleave unto thy grace, and take of thee wisdom and righteousness which is in thee, and abideth for ever.
V. 13. Your good spirit leads me on the level land.
(30) Let them not lead me, nor any man: for they lead crooked ways, and thy spirit, the evil one, leadeth them. [Here it is to be noted that both spirits are of God, the good and the evil; the evil one is given by God to the faithful, as it is written of Saul [1 Sam. 16, 14. 1 Sam. 18, 10.] that the evil spirit of God rules him, that is, the wrathful, raging spirit, so that they defend their rights and truth, and persecute the good ones; as also Rom. 11, 8: God has given them a 1) prickly spirit. Y) The good spirit is the Holy Spirit, which makes gentle, mild and
w) Fabulen.
x) everywhere
1) Thus, Wittenberger and the Jena (2); Erlanger: den.
y) the spirit of hatred and anger.
1740 Erl. 37, 439-442. au[1. of the 7 penitential psalms. 1517 u. 1525. Ps. 143. W. IV, 2376-2378. 1741
Kind hearts that walk in the right way, seeking nothing but God, and not themselves, in all things.
Lord, make me alive for your name's sake.
31 This is that your name may be honored; and he is honored when it is confessed that he gives life and righteousness by grace without merit. For so it may be said, God is kind, gracious, merciful; these are his names to be praised. But the self-justified honor their own names, they also want to be alive in their righteousness, therefore they do not respect God's righteousness, which He gives to the sinner by grace, and thus makes him alive in His given righteousness, in truth. z)
V. 14. Lead my soul out of trouble for the sake of your righteousness.
(32) Not only does he ask to be kept from his enemies, the righteous, but also finally to be taken away from them. For though the righteous are kept among the enemies, they are still captives among them, until they are carried out, or the enemies are converted. a) [And this for His righteousness' sake; not that He seeks His own in such redemption, but that it may be known how God confirms the righteousness of faith against works]. 1)
And destroy my enemies for your goodness' sake.
(33) This is because of your mercy and grace, that it may be praised and known; to which praise and knowledge my enemies, who praise their righteousness and boast of their wisdom, are always and greatly opposed.
V. 15. and kill all those who fear my soul.
34. these are the same self-same people who seek the souls of the righteous in their
z) f Therefore he saith not, Give me reward for my righteousness; but, Make me alive in thy righteousness. And so let every Christian pray who is otherwise a true Christian, knowing that outward righteousness in works is all deceit,
a) t and become friends.
1) Addition 1525.
Ropes and error, as Pf. 124, 7.: "The rope is broken, and we are delivered." b)
For I am your servant.
35 That is, in grace I live, and therefore all my life serves thee, and not me; for I seek not myself, but thee and thine own. But they that live in their righteousness cannot do this; but serve themselves, seeking their own in all things.
(36) If any man say unto me, Canst thou not speak more than of the righteousness, wisdom, and strength of God, and not also of [the righteousness, wisdom, and strength of]2 men, always expounding the Scriptures of the righteousness and grace of God, and so strum no more than one string, and sing but one little song? I answer, Let each one look to himself; this I confess for myself: As often as I have found less in the Scriptures than Christ, I have never been satisfied; but as often as I have found more than Christ, I have never been poorer, so that this also seems true to me, that God the Holy Spirit neither knows nor wants to know more than Jesus Christ, when he says of him John 16:13, 14: "The Holy Spirit knows no more than Jesus Christ. 16, 13. 14.: "He will transfigure me, he will not speak of himself, but of mine he will take it and proclaim it to you."
(37) Christ is God's grace, mercy, justice, truth, wisdom, strength, comfort and blessedness, given to us by God without any merit. Christ, I say, not (as some say with blind words) causaliter, that he giveth righteousness, and [as] he abideth without; for it is dead, yea, it is never given, Christ being there himself, even as the brightness of the sun and heat of the fire is not, where the sun and the fire is not.
038 Now there are some to whom these words of grace are thus lightly regarded, and say, Who knoweth not this, that without grace there is no good thing in us? And think that they understand it almost well; yea, more, if they be asked, Whether they regard their righteousness nothing? they go out quickly, and say, Eia, of that I am sure. That is a pitiful one,
b) f Therefore, the Hebrew (as St. Jerome holds): All who bind or saw my soul.
2) Inserted by us because the context seems to require such an addition.
grave blindness, that they consider themselves in the high degree of perfection, and have not yet understood nor 1) tasted the lowest. For how can a man be hopeful, for he who may say that he is pure from all hopefulness and all evil inclination. For spiritual hope is the last and deepest vice, if they do not yet find themselves pure from carnal and human inclination.
039 Therefore no saint hath ever been so bold as to say of himself, that his wisdom and righteousness are nothing before him; but in strife they lie, and dispute with themselves about things. So then these come2 ) with a deceitful word, Yea, but the inclination is not mortal sin; and hold it that they are not blind,
1) "yet" is missing in the Erlanger.
2) but - again.
but know well what daily or mortal sin is, and almost in the same blindness reach out to Christ for his judgment seat. For it is true that daily sins do not condemn. But sins are not daily sins by nature, only those whom God considers "daily" by grace; but He does this only to those who do not despise them.
(40) Therefore it is very dangerous to speak of daily sins, if one wants to receive security and false comfort from them, who strives against God's fear and teaches to despise God's judgments secretly. For if a man is to give an account of every idle word on the last day [Matth. 12, 36.], who will be so bold that he will not guard or mourn daily sin with fear, and thus in humble fear earnestly long for grace and mercy?