of riches, honor and pleasure, as the righteous make good use of them and the wicked abuse them.
Preached and gone out Anno 1526.
1.1 ) This psalm was made and is to be sung so that the pious may be comforted against avarice, temporal honor and pleasure on earth. For the prophet has seen how the heart of man strives day and night for good and honor, how it leads up by force, and seeks how it may have pleasure and joy here. For the three things are common on earth, as St. John also says in his first epistle in the next chapter, v. 16: "All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of goods."
Item 2: The prophet sees further how it has a beginning and an end with those who are so covetous without all fear of God, who want to strive and exalt themselves, and who live against God in the lust of the flesh. Likewise, he also sees how it is with those who do not touch such things with iniquity, without the will of God, as riches, honor and pleasure, but wait and receive them from God.
3) But the contradiction can be seen at once, for here the psalm says, and reason cannot send itself into it; it looks upon the pious as beggars, as those who must starve, and are the footcloth of all the world, who live in no pleasure and joy, but in everything.
1) In the original, the title is set here once again, and the text of the whole psalm. We have omitted this, as has Walch, because the title is already given above, and the text precedes the interpretation of each verse.
Unpleasantness, shame and disgrace lie. And the prophet touches this also in the text, when he speaks of the enemies, that he will have enemies who will be displeased. That is a bad property, which one has among the enemies; he is not safe, must stand all hours in Fahr Leibes and the property, which the ungodly may not possess theirs well with peace; as a common saying is: The worse rogue, the better luck; and: The pious must suffer much.
4th Now cometh the prophet, and sings another little song, and saith, It shall be well with him that is devout; and yet he is looked upon differently in the world. But these are words of the spirit; reason might well say, it is a lie; one sees that the pious are oppressed. But reason cannot judge the words of the Spirit; it must be grasped with faith, not groped at with the hands; it must not be looked at as it stands before the eyes, but held from the beginning to the end, and then it will be found to be true, as the prophet says, that the righteous lack nothing, neither in riches, nor honor, nor pleasure; and again, that the wicked do not lose their privileges.
First, let us look at avarice. Even if the rich rally around each other for a long time, their possessions will still melt away in the end. We have experienced this in many examples, including our own.
*Luther preached on this Psalm in 1526, as Mathesius ("Mathesius", St. Louis edition, p. 87) also testifies. The Wittenberg edition notes, "Whoever copied the interpretation and put it into print is unaware, for he does not indicate his name." A single edition was published by Hans Weiß in Wittenberg under the title: "Der hundert vnd zwelsfte Psalm Dauids, von reichtumb, ehr und lust, wie die gerechten der wol gebrauchen, vud die gotlvsen misbrauchen, gepredigt durch Mar. Luth. Wittenberg 1. 5. 26." At the end: "Gedrückt zu Wittemberg durch Hans Weiß 1526." The Erlangen edition notes yet another edition that has essentially the same title, but gives neither place nor printer nor year of printing. In the collections: in the Wittenberg (1553), Vol. Ill, p. 260; in the Eisleben, Vol. I, p. 222; in the Altenburg, Vol. Ill, p. 320; in the Leipzig, Vol. VI, p. 459 and in the Erlangen, Vol. 40, p. 240. This interpretation is not found in the Jena. Presumably this is the reason for the oversight that it was included in the Eisleben edition, as it had not been printed in the collections before, although it is found in the Wittenberg edition. The text of the latter, which is based on the same postscript as the one reproduced by us according to the original edition, is very much altered, especially with many additions, so a comparison with it is pointless.
Times that many great, powerful and rich men have come to great poverty. How has it happened with some princes in our times, as with the princes of Bavaria, who have collected large, powerful property, and yet not used; yes, when they laid down the head, there was a quarrel and war over the property. This is how it usually happens when people scrape, scrape and scrape out of avarice, and bring large nuggets of gold in heaps; he who gathers it has nothing to gain from it but toil and labor, and is a servant of money; when he lays the head, there is a war over it; this is the fruit that comes from such avarice. Now you may think whether it is riches to have boxes and chests, all barrels, floors and cellars full; yes, it is rather all heartache and misfortune. For they do not really need it. So does the pope with his cardinals and courtiers, collecting great goods and money. What comes of it? Nothing else, except that they cause trouble and all kinds of misfortune.
(6) So also: A citizen has some son, to whom he collects money and property, house, fields and meadows, and says: Now my son is provided for, has enough. Then the father dies, and the son goes there, takes the property in hand, and comes, that he himself does not know where it has gone; so it goes there, as it came here. So it goes in the world, the good has no continuance. For the Scripture cannot lie. But we are so blind, we cannot see it; we look only at what exists, we cannot compare the end with the beginning. We only look at the guilders that are in the treasury, but do not see the misfortune next to it. For where we have wealth, we must have enemies with us, and be in great trouble; we must worry here, worry there, and look into every corner of the house; we must worry that it will not be stolen, that the moths will not eat it, or that the fire will come and consume it. This is indeed a bad wealth, since the heart has to stand in worries and does not have a quiet hour; and even if he brings something in heaps, the heir will cause misfortune because of it in the end.
(7) So then, when the prophet sees how things are in the world, that all the world is struggling in this way
If we want to be rich, he suggests a proper way for us to become rich, and sings us a fine song, if only we would listen to it.
8 Secondly, it is a vice here to strive for honor. Many are found who study to become great doctors and want to come to the courts of princes and be highly respected, which hardly one among ten succeeds in doing: so the effort and work that he and the schoolmaster have had with him is lost. And even though some of them succeed in becoming great lords, the majority of them become boys, or finally fall out of favor with their lords, and even fall into ashes. Why is that? They did not start out right. For those who start a thing on their own initiative do not even ask the one who is above us about it, since all things are his, and it would be fair to welcome him for that. But the journeymen want to climb up and not ask God for advice or wish Him good morning. Thus says God: If you will not ask me beforehand, I may well push you down.
(9) Thus it often happens that a man comes to great honors and rises high, but afterward he is beaten down and so despised that his shoes are hardly wiped on him; and even if he remains in such honors, he will see so many enemies and opponents that he cannot have a safe hour, and in the end he will become a disgrace to his children or heirs. For we shall never be able to remain in honor by our own conduct; God cannot suffer it, he will blow into it, and it will spill out at the window, at the door, and at the store, so that no one will know where it goes. David and the other patriarchs and prophets did not seek their honor in this way.
Third, the air is there. It is also not good if one wants to reach for it and not ask God for it. [It happens that a young journeyman takes a fine young maiden in marriage to him, so that he may have his pleasure with her, and it is reversed for him; such displeasure occurs that they do not have a good day with each other, but heartache.
1102 Eri. 40, 215-248. interpretations on the Psalms. W. v. isoo-iooz. 1103
So also: two companions go to the dance, want to have a good courage; [it] happens that they disagree about things, and hit each other over the heads. This happens because we do not ask God before; he wants to be welcomed, that is bad. If a citizen could not bear that someone should enter his house uninvited; if someone wanted to go into his cellar, pierce and serve him the very best wine, sit in his chamber, drink, sing and shout, he should watch him for a while, but at last take him by the throat and lead him out of the house, and say: You should have asked me earlier to give you a good drink, it should not have been denied to you. So God can much less suffer that one sits in lust without his will; he wants that one tells him a bonum mane beforehand [Is. 57, 11.]. So we go here, do not pay attention to him, consider him a painted or dead idol. And even though God will watch for a while, at the end he will throw it in so hard that you will wish you had never started it.
(11) Therefore, we must not look at the three things as they are going on now, but look at the beginning and the end, and we will know that this is how things are in the world: what we do not begin with God must fall apart and will not succeed. But if we seek riches, honor and pleasure with the fear of God, it shall go well and prosper. Let us now see how the prophet speaks of it, who says thus:
V. 1. Blessed is he who fears the Lord, who delights in his commandments.
(12) This is a fine verse, wherein is written this opinion of the Spirit: If thou wilt be great, look to God. One must first understand the words. So he says, "Blessed is he who fears the Lord." As if he wanted to speak: Let them not prosper, nor be rich, nor be highly esteemed, that think they have riches, and honor, and pleasure; but they are not. It may seem so, but look at their heart and the end, and it will be much different. If they
If they had no other misfortune than 1) not to be defrauded of riches, it would be misfortune and heartache enough.
(13) We see this in princes and lords. One has a good land, but is not content with it; he would like to have two more. Another also has a land, but is not satisfied with it either, hates another who also has something, and would like to have it for his own; so they saw a quarrel, seek a cause as they can. Hence it comes that the princes of the matter are not one. Squire avarice does it, they cannot get along, there is no satisfaction. They would all have enough, each in his own country; but there the heart cannot have rest, they think and think again how they can bring it about, and yet they cannot; for God does not want to grant it to them, refuses them; thus they never become happy nor cheerful. So did the great Alexander. Once he came to a sermon, where he heard a philosopher say that there were so many people in the world; then he sighed in his heart and said: "Oh God, there are still more wagers, and I have hardly brought one under me, how will I get the others? The stingy belly could not be satisfied with one world, he had a wide heart, wanted to put more bets in it, and yet could not really use what he had.
(14) As we all do, we turn our heart from that which we have to another which we have not; so neither have we that which we possess. For the heart stands not on that which it has, but on that which it has not; therefore he hath, and hath not. For that which he has, he can "lightly use; and that which he hath not, he cannot have. So he sits down between two chairs, so that he gets none. So it happens to him like your dog there in the Aesopo, 2) which had stolen a piece of meat, and ran through a water, and saw the bill in the water, and thought he saw a right piece of meat, snatched at your bill and lost the piece of meat, which he had in his mouth, and the bill with it. This is what happens to all those who are not satisfied with their possessions, who want to reach further and have more.
1) Original: when.
2) küneclrus, lid. I, knd. IV.
They have stolen the first, like the dog the meat, with avarice to itself, robbed, or with deception to itself brought; they have not yet enough, want to snatch further, and lose both. That which they have they do not need, they do not want, 1) and the other they cannot obtain; and it serves them right. Therefore, they must not be envied for what they have, for they are hard enough hit, the wretched people, and they still do not want to recognize it.
15 But the prophet says, "Blessed is he who fears the Lord. What is fearing God? Fearing God is the right service of God, as he says in the next Psalm [Ps. 111:10]: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," and is really nothing else than having God before one's eyes. He who does this has enough temporally and eternally; for he keeps his commandment, gives his honor to God; he exalts God as he is to be exalted, so God cannot refrain from it, he must exalt him again; as he speaks 1 Sam. 2, 30.: "Whoever honors me, him I will also honor; but whoever despises me, he will be reviled." We have experienced that if we fear and honor God, the way is prepared for us to be rich and blessed, and to have enough for this purpose. The children of the world cannot do this; they take hold of God's office and seek only their own within it. But those who fear God do not take possession of goods without His will. This is the difference between those who fear him and those who do not.
16. the right service of God is not that you want to sacrifice calves, he does not like them; that you give him a penny or three, he is not allowed to her, he does not want to be paid with a party; he does not respect such sacrifices; he wants to have the whole heart [Ps. 50, 9. ff.] Therefore the fear of God is nothing else but service. With this we take hold of God's heart, that we fear Him and have awe of Him, and honor Him in all things; fearing that He may see all that we do; holding nothing else but that He may have His eyes upon us. So I do nothing, but remember, O Lord, that it may not displease thee. A
1) That is, it does not benefit them.
Such a heart would gladly do nothing to displease God. And if such a one stumbles at times, he goes back and says, "O Lord God, I have done evil! Such a person is always in fear and awe of God. Thus, his whole life is bound up in the fear of God. Such a man must not make any rules, for he wants all his life to be directed according to the will of God; and even if he forgets God at times because of the weakness of his flesh, and stumbles a little, he does not remain in the mud, but turns to God, and says: "O Lord, cover up until you are merciful; I should have done better, but unfortunately I did not. If, then, we fear and honor God, we leave avarice alone and do not attack anything, for we have leave from God, and say: O Lord, if it pleases you, let it be done; if it does not please you, let it remain. Thine is too much wealth, honor and pleasure.
17. but the wicked, who does not fear God, thinks that God does not see him, that he has gone to the land of the moors, that he has other business before him; he does not care where it comes from. He doesn't ask GOtt about it, doesn't offer him a good morning; just rips raps into my sack, there's no bottom. God watches; but in the end it certainly goes to failure, it cannot last. And even if it remains the same to him, it still goes over the children, who have to become beggars. We have seen many examples of this, and the saying remains true 1 Sam. 2:30: "He who honors me will be honored; he who despises me will be reviled." He must be put to shame, and no one can defend him. He who honors God and delights in His commandments has the fruits that follow here in the text.
V. 2: Its seed will be mighty on earth, the generation of the upright will be blessed.
18 This text is clear, it needs no gloss. It describes the fruits of the godly, what they should expect, and says: "His seed shall be mighty in the earth." The kingdom and regiment of the Jews at that time had such a form that they all had to become married; not as under the pope, who had the married state under
They sang and read this verse and did not understand it, because it did not want to rhyme with their status. But the prophet was referring to the Jewish people with this verse, and not to the Pabst's spiritual state. For this is a useless people, they do not concern themselves with anything, they can do nothing, their mind is set on having good days here for a while, they do no trade, work nothing, do not plow, do none of the things that God has commanded. They should preach and teach the others who work, but they do not; they are an idle people, therefore they can neither govern nor keep house; they do nothing but whine in church, eat, drink, sleep, and are like fattening pigs. Therefore they remain sticks, coarse dolts and lazy rascals.
Nineteen: But he that hath an office, and doeth any trade, must know many things. If he is a farmer, he has his hands full in the field, in the house with the maidservants and with the farmhands. And when he is happy, people become angry with him, gain enmity; then one takes a maid from him, the other a servant; and so it is no different than that: Resist here, resist there; laziness will probably prevent him from doing all that. So it is in other trades and crafts, 1) also with negation and housekeeping, they have enough to do. Experienced people can talk about things and teach other people. The papacy cannot do that; they lie in the mud like a pig on the Kobe.
(20) But the Jews were well acquainted with all things. Of this David says: "Those who fear God, their seed shall become mighty on the earth, their goods shall gain a continuance; for they have not sought good and honor without God's will. So they are blessed; and the children also received the blessing, so that they become much greater and mightier than their fathers. Why? Because they have given glory to God. Again, there is no continuation not with those who so oppose God.
1) Erlanger: Craftsmen.
God is stingy, scratch, scrape and scrape; their children shall not enjoy it. Keep it together, so the beginning will not rhyme with the end. They plump into it without all fear of God, that is not the point, as they had it in mind; there are few of them who accept it with fear of God, who trust in God. For the whole world is possessed with avarice [1 John 5:19], only rips raps on my heap; let them not tell, believe it not, till it come into their hand, and become beggars. It serves them right; they want to hurry, and do not ask God for it. Therefore keep still. But if thou wilt ever so journey without the fear of God, well then, if thou wilt become a poor bungler, only remember that it shall be done unto thee; and though the text may seem to thee to be false, yet in the end it shall come to pass that the words cannot lie. Continue in the Psalm:
The lineage of the sincere will be blessed.
21. why will the seed of the godly be mighty on earth? They have the blessing of God, they shall be blessed; the blessing of God will be in the house of the godly, Proverbs 10:22, therefore the father will be blessed, the son and the son's son. The children must have enough, even if they do not have a penny, even if there is not money and goods in store every hour, it must still come in its time; and if the whole world is already suffering from hunger, they must be full. For it is written in another place, in the 37th Psalm, v. 19: "In the time of trouble they will have enough. Item, there, v. 25, David speaks further: "I have been young and have grown old, and have never seen the righteous forsaken, or his seed going after bread"; it does not have to come to that, that his seed has lack.
(22) Now consider and calculate for yourself which of the two you would prefer to have, a house full of money, a large treasury, and in addition a restless miser's heart, which could not use its treasury, but always strives for more goods, gathers and picks in heaps, and could not be happy, or, would you rather have nothing at all in the treasury?
How would you like to have a good life, and at the same time a cheerful, calm heart that relies on God, would be sure that God would be his, and would give him enough that he would have no doubt about it? Yes, if one should also answer according to reason, then reason would say: I would rather have nothing, and yet be certain of food every day, because 1) that I should have a hans full of guilders, and at the same time not have a happy and calm hour.
(23) Thus the miserly are minded; they have no need of their goods. If a man has ten thousand guilders, he says, "I must keep them for my son; where will I get them to eat? That is a poor man, must not use it. 2But a Christian does not paw at himself in this way, he has laid up his treasure in heaven in the treasury of God [Matth. 6, 19. ff. Luc. 12, 34.] and says: Dear Lord, I know that you have even more, you have much more than you can ever give, I will not lack in you; for if it were necessary, the heavens would still have to rain guilders; be you my chest, cellar and basement, in you I have all treasures; if I have you, I have enough. These are true Christians.
24 But where are they? They are sown very thinly. The tares grow enough, but they are cut off; but the generation of those who fear God must rise, will come up, will be blessed, and must have enough. We have many examples of this, as in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, in the patriarchs, in Moses. They became great men; so also Gideon and his like. David was a bad man, and became a king. The prophets Helias and Heliseus were bad citizens, they became great men, that they ruled kings and princes; and yet they were poor, went astray in the world, and yet had enough. So was Paul, who had no house of his own, had nothing, and yet said, "We have all things" [2 Cor. 6:10], could be poor and rich [Phil. 4:12], he gave to everyone; with the word he fed the soul, and when it was necessary, he also gave the bodily bread. Thus God has always exalted those who fear him and delight in his commandments; but theirs are
1) In the original , when.
2) Erlanger: "the".
very little. This is the first fruit given to those who fear God. To the second he speaks:
V. 3. riches and abundance will be in his house.
25 Here you say: How are they rich, when Paul, Helias and Heliseus were poor? David was driven out of his kingdom by his own son [2 Sam. 15:14], and other saints have lived in great poverty? Answer: They have placed their treasury, chest and cellar with God, in such a place that no thief can steal; they know that they have enough in God. And even if they do not have it in such a way that the bag breaks, 3) and boxes are full, they are sure that God will feed them; and even if they suffer a shortage for a while, and God tempts them, God does not remain outside, must have food, and should heaven rain bread.
026 Helishaeus was once to feed an hundred men, 2 Kings 4:43, 44, and had no more than twenty barley loaves; and the servant murmured, saying, What shall I give an hundred men of this? And Helisee said, Give unto the people, that they may eat. For thus saith the Lord, They shall eat, and be left over. And he set it before them, and they did eat, and there remained more." Item, in the same place, v. 1-7, is written about a woman who complained to Helisee how her husband had died, and the debtor wanted to take away her children because of the debt. She answered: a jug of oil. He said, "Go outside and ask all your neighbors for empty jars, and not a few of them. And go in, and shut the door behind thee with thy sons, and pour into all the vessels, and when thou hast falleth them, give them. So she did, and poured into the vessels. When they were full, she said to her son, "Give me another vessel. And he said unto her, There is no more vessel here. And there was the oil. She told the man of God, and he said, "Sell the oil, pay your debtor, and feed on the other with your sons. The
3) Breaks - bulge, full, be thick.
closed easily. If only we could believe, there would be no lack. Our Lord God is a good goldsmith, he can forge more than a hundred thousand florins from one florin; it does not depend on the amount of money. A man with a thousand florins cannot get as far with an unbelieving heart as a man who trusts in God with one florin. Item, in the same book of the kings [Cap. 4, 38. ff.] stands also such a beautiful example. The prophet commanded his son to boil a great pot of vegetables; he gathered herbs in the field, which were bitter; and when they had boiled them, and eaten them, they cried unto Heliseo, O man of God, death in the pot; for they could not eat it. He said, Bring flour; he had no other apothecary to make it sweet. When the flour came in, it tasted good; it was a small addition, but by the prophet's faith it almost helped.
27 Therefore the verse is true: If they have nothing, they must have enough. The text cannot lie. They also miss it. It must come to them by miraculous signs or be brought to them by other people. So Christ also says in the Gospel, Matth. 6, 33: "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. As if he wanted to say: "You must not seek other things, they will be brought to you, they will come to you; but fear me, have awe of me. If this does not help, nothing else will. Follow on:
And his righteousness endures forever.
028 Then he put in a spiritual treasure, saying, His righteousness shall be for ever. He separates this righteousness from the fleshly righteousness. For there are two kinds of righteousness. The first is a worldly righteousness; it is only a hypocrisy, valid only before men, as if one keeps the Emperor's commandment, the Saxon seal and other books of law, yes, also the divine law, according to the rote larva. So if one does not do wrong by heart before the people, justice does not last longer than the body, dies with the man.
29. but the righteous justice, since
of which he speaks here, does not cease, endures forever; for it is valid in the sight of God, who has no end, is blessed here, blessed there. This is what Paul is talking about, and I am led to believe that he is looking here at this verse, where he says 1 Tim. 4:8: "Godliness is useful for all things, and has the promise of this life and the life to come." As if he wanted to say: Godliness is useful for all things; it gives honor and good, there is wealth, security, joy and courage enough here and there. But we only look at the full pockets and bags; but if we believed, we would not see whether we had it in the box or in the fist, it is enough that we believe it in the heart and have it in God. It is the same for the pious, they have it in the bag or not. If he has it in his storehouse, he gives thanks to God and sees to it that he invests and spends it properly; but if God does not want to give it to him in his storehouse, he is still happy. Furthermore, the Psalm says:
V. 4: The light rises in the darkness for the upright.
(30) This is the third piece, namely, of lust. The light, he says, dawns, not on the hypocrites, but on the sincere. The righteous have riches, they have honor, thirdly, they also have pleasure, which is why they greet God earlier. The youth, even if it is pious, still wants to have lust and courage. Now, if they want to have it right, without harm, they should ask God beforehand and say: Dear Lord, give me pleasure and joy; it is not mine, I will not have it without your will. If thou wilt give it me, I will have it; if thou wilt not, let it remain. So if we ask God for it before, we must have it; he will gladly give it to us. Now if someone wants to eat a good meal, seeking pleasure and joy, and does not offer God a good morning because of it, God shall confuse his heart so that no morsel will not taste good to him. Another, who has God before his eyes, even though he does not have a delicious meal, it shall taste better to him than to the richest of all. Therefore, let us only look upon him with fear, and so form him before our eyes, and he will give us enough. But if we want to throw the fear of God to the wind, nothing shall be allowed for us.
and we would have a hundred thousand guilders worth.
But the righteous shall have joy and gladness, as he saith here, though they be in the midst of darkness; and in their affliction and in their displeasure shall the sun rise. For God knows the art that His own must have pleasure in the midst of unpleasure, in affliction, comfort and joy. So it happened to Heliseo. Since it was expensive in the country, the king blamed the prophet, the word of God had to be the cause of it; as it happens with us, when there is a misfortune, the gospel has to do it. Then the king swore that he would have the prophet's head cut off. When the prophet was in the midst of danger at home, with his elders, the king sent his servant to the helisaeo before him. The prophet did not let himself be challenged, he said to his companions: The servant of the murderer comes and wants to cut off my head. Then the king came, and the prophet said, Tomorrow a bushel shall be worth three pennies. Then answered a knight, and said, If the Lord made windows in heaven, how could this be done? And the prophet said, Behold, with thine eyes shalt thou see it, and shalt not eat thereof. It happened. In the morning they gave a bushel for three pennies, and the knight saw it, and he was trodden down by the people [2 Kings 6:31, ff. 7:1].
This prophet was in the midst of danger, a great tempest came upon him, the king raged and raged, was mad and foolish about the word of God, and therefore wanted to slay him; then the sun rose for the prophet in the midst of darkness. The king could not harm him, he was safe in danger. This is what happens to all Christians. So also now, the emperor and his princes are sitting in a chamber, discussing about the gospel, how they want to suppress it; they are wise and angry, let God sit above, do not think about him, do not even ask him for advice. So God watches them, laughs at them, and says: "Dear princes, shall I not also know what you are dealing with, what you are proposing? You do not ask my advice about it; see to it that you do it well [Ps. 2:4, Isa. 7:7]. The good people do not think that God knows their plot, they think that it is good.
Calakutten or into the land of the Moors, hold any collatie with the Moors; he does not take care of our thing. So when they counsel long, he takes away their heart, and so nothing comes of their counsel, and they can do nothing against us [Isa. 40:13, Ps. 76:13P The prophet Helisee knew that the king could not lift a finger against him without God's will.
(33) This is the comfort of the righteous, that in poverty they are rich, in shame they have honor, and in the midst of unpleasure they have joy and gladness. These three things the world seeks. But the prophet teaches 1) how we should use them rightly. St. Paul puts all this together in one sentence, and this is the gloss and the whole summa of this psalm, as he says 1 Tim. 4:8: "Godliness is useful for all things," as said above [§ 29].
So you have four verses in which the Holy Spirit teaches us how to become rich, glorious and mighty, and thirdly, to have good days, joy and gladness. The world also seeks these three things, but in a wrong way; not with God, therefore it does not find them. But Christians do not seek them elsewhere, but only in God, where they find them abundantly and constantly. This is the opinion of the fourth verse.
(35) "To the upright there ariseth light in the midst of darkness. That is, they must have light, even though they are already in the midst of darkness. This cannot be understood according to the world; for the world cannot understand it, nor can it be guided by it, that there should be pleasure when things are evil. Therefore there is nothing but darkness in the world; such light does not dawn on it in adversity.
(36) "In the darkness" is a Hebrew way of speaking. "Darkness" means affliction, trouble, when things are not going well; as also a German proverb is, when misfortune comes, to say, There is great weather. And when the misfortune has passed, one says: The weather is over. Thus the Jews speak, it is dark, if it does not go well. And again, when it goes well, when there is pleasure and joy, they call it "light"; because it also goes naturally thus
1) In the original: lernet.
that we may be more bold and courageous by day than in darkness and by night. There is no man so bold that is not afraid in the darkness, especially when he is alone; there is no heart, he is despondent; but in the light, in the sun, he is courageous. So when it is dark and the weather is cloudy, a man is sadder than when the weather is fine, or when the sun is shining. All this comes, he says.
From your gracious, merciful and just.
(37) "The light," this pleasure and joy, riches, power and honor, he has from him who is gracious, merciful and just to him; so he knows that his heart is well pleased with him who is gracious, merciful and just; he has no doubt about it, he is sure of it. The hypocrites and the wicked also call God gracious, merciful and just, but they do not understand it; they read it, sing it and preach it, but there is a great difference. It is much different to preach, sing and say that God is gracious, merciful and just, than to feel in one's heart a gracious, merciful and just God. The pious and righteous have it not only in the tongue, but in the heart; the tongue and the heart must agree, and then it will be right. But if it is in the mouth alone, and the heart is a hundred thousand miles away, it is in vain. The Christians feel it and experience it in their hearts that such things do not fall by the wayside or come from men, but feel 1) such things in their hearts, are certain and do not doubt.
(38) He who feels these things in his heart must have enough, and light comes to him in the midst of darkness; and when the darkness passes away, he must also be rich and rise high, though he be poor and oppressed. For he has him who is merciful and gracious. If then he has him who has all things, who is a fountain and a well of all things, what can he lack? As God Himself boasts Jer. 23, 24: "I fill heaven and earth", that is, heaven and earth are full of Me. Is. 66, 1.: "Heaven is my chair, and the earth my footstool"; so
1) In the original: "fühlet"; the two following verba are also in the singular.
I am great, and have thighs so long that I sit in heaven, and stretch out my feet on the earth, and still reach far beyond heaven; that is, I am everywhere, I fill heaven and earth with me, and am not comprehended by the whole world, I reach far beyond the world.
39. if therefore one has him who thus fills all things, he has more than the whole world has [Ps. 73:25.] For he has the right spring, not a spoonful, as the world is against that spring. If God gives the same amount, a kingdom, Persian land, papacy, emperorship, it is only a backbite, 2) a morsel of bread, a spoonful, a mouthful; is not yet the right source, but only a piece that he gives to all, which he throws into the rapuse. But if he has the one who has more than he can forgive (as is a common saying), he has such a heart that he knows he has a gracious God, and all things in him. What should such a heart always lack?
40 The prophet gives three titles to God for the sake of the three pieces he has given him, as stated above 37 ff]. is said, gracious, merciful and just. "Gracious" he is, for he forgives that we have sinned. "Merciful," that he spares the rest that we still live, and supplies us where we still lack. Third, he is "just," that what we do must be well done. This means gracious, merciful and just. So our case is that we are conceived and born in sins; hence it belongs that he is gracious. Then I say, Depart, sin, thou shalt not hurt me. And that I shall live yet is not altogether good; that the merciful God will credit me with. He is also just, for everything I do must be good and right, even though it is not as perfect as it should be.
41. When the heart is thus established toward God, knowing that it has this in God, what can it lack? He knows that God is pleased with him, will not remember what is past, will also spare what is to come, and what he does, whether good or not, must be righteous and valid before Him. There then is
2) That is, a small snack.
our title is that we conceive and are born sinners; so I must be the dear child, must be in the bosom of the Father; I shall lack nothing, must have enough here and there. And even if there were a misfortune, and he wanted to show me the rod, it should only be a fox's tail, he will not mean it seriously [Isa. 54, 7. 8. Habak. 3, 2. Ps. 78, 39.] All this, as you have heard, is said by him that we should know how to keep ourselves before God. Now he also goes forth and teaches how we should live before our neighbor, and tells the fruits of the righteous, so that they may also be known before men, and says:
V. 5: A pious man is merciful and glad to lend.
The righteous and pious man is also merciful, like his God; he gladly lends, gladly gives, gladly helps his neighbor. But who is he? Where can one find such a one? You have heard above [16] that before God no one is pious and righteous, he is as holy as he always wants to be, but only by faith, that he trusts God, and believes that his sins are forgiven, and that he has a gracious God who credits him with everything. The others at all, who do not trust in God, are hypocrites and peelers in their skin, and there is nothing good in them, even though they pretend it deliciously, and lead a good appearance, and present themselves as the most pious people.
43. but a righteous man, who fears God, and has awe in the eyes of God, so paints God for him, as he sees all his words, works and thoughts [FPs. 139, 1. ff]. He, in turn, is also gracious and merciful to his neighbor, as God has been gracious and merciful to him [Luc. 6, 35.]. By what, then, is he merciful? By doing to his neighbor as God has done to him; just as God has given him his sin, so he gives and forgives everything that his neighbor has against him. This is easy for me now, when I look into the springs, into the wells, from which so much has flowed to me. When I know and feel in my heart what God has given me and credited to me, then I am willing to credit my neighbor also and to give what he has against me.
I do not remember how great a sin he has committed against me, and I do not measure it out to him as from a table; I give it to him freely from my heart, and I think, "If God has given you so much sin and so great a sin, and has given you credit for it, what is it that your neighbor has done against you? It is nowhere equal to it [Matth. 18, 33]. For one sin done against God is greater than all the world sins against one man.
For sin must be measured, not according to itself, not according to its greatness, but according to Him who has been injured and reviled by sin. Now God is immeasurably greater than all men. If I feel what God has done to me, I will gladly do it again to my neighbor; but if I do not feel it, I will not do it to my neighbor.
45 If I do not want to confess my sin before God, if I do not want to consider it sin, but want to defend it as good, like the Pharisee in Luke [Cap. 18, 11. 12.], if I do not want them to be punished for sin, but consider it a good work, there is no hope that God will forgive me. For if he is to forgive me, I must feel it in my heart beforehand, and consider it sin, and complain to him of my distress, and come before him as one who is sick; there is then a confidence that he will credit me with it.
46 So also, if my neighbor does not want to recognize his sin, but still defends it and believes it to be good, as now and our red spirits do not want to confess their error, want to be right; if one wants to punish them for it, they do not want to suffer it: one cannot forgive them either. They must be let go when they are admonished once or twice and reminded of their error [Matth. 15, 14. Tit. 3, 10.]. But those who recognize their sin should be merciful to them, having compassion for them inwardly in their hearts and also outwardly. Just as God has helped us inwardly to wealth, honor and goods, pleasure and joy, so I should help my neighbor with goods, save him from his sorrow, protect his honor, defend him when he is treated badly, and the like.
(47) The temporal goods are in three Christian customs, and over the three there is a secular custom. The first Christian custom is, if I let myself take the goods, let myself be deceived, fooled and faked. If a rogue comes and steals or robs me of what is mine, or deceives me with good, sweet words, and deceives me, he has done me bad harm, has only taken away the crusts from my bread, but has not yet taken away the one who sits on top. He does more harm to himself than to me; he takes away the crusts from me, a badly plated loaf, and makes himself an ungracious and angry God, and I still keep him who is in heaven, who has all things, since I have my right treasure, which no thief can steal.
The other custom is to give and give to the one who asks [Proverbs 3:27]. But one should give in such a way that one does not give away other people's goods. For one should not steal and then give it to other people.
The third custom is that if I lend what is mine and do not ask for it back, it will come back or not. But how mean these three pieces are, one is well aware; they are unknown to the world, few people know about them.
(50) Above the three customs there is another worldly custom, as selling and buying, giving one for another; this belongs to the lawyers. But the prophet speaks here of lending, the least custom of the Christians, which is felt least of all among the Christians.
51 Now this is what the prophet says about the Jewish people. For he saw how it was among them that they were more stingy than other nations; as it commonly happens where the gospel is preached, that they are much more angry than if the gospel had not been preached there [2 Cor. 4:4]. This is because where God is with His word, the devil is angry and cannot bear it, and his kingdom is diminished. But where he is alone, where the word of God does not go, he can well be pious, does not need his treachery so much, pretends and adorns himself so finely that one might well take him for the Holy Spirit. He lets his people do many good works, pray, fast, build churches,
He pretends that he is completely holy and pious. But when the word of God comes to light again, and he is betrayed and stripped, he rages and is mad and foolish, cannot stand it, becomes angry, and also awakens his members [Luc. 11, 26]. Those who were pious before, he stirs up with all kinds of sins, with avarice, envy, hatred, wrath, heresies, and of the ulcer without number; is thus awakened and where the word of God goes in the swing, there he stirs up the most.
52 Thus it came to pass among this people, which had the word of God, the law, and the prophets, that the devil was busy, and made greater idolatry than among the heathen. For where the Gentiles had an idol, the Jews had theirs in abundance, and there was no village or town; they had an idol in it [Jer. 2:5 ff]. For they provided for the belly.
(53) Therefore the prophet takes the least custom of the three, and would gladly have them lend one to another. For there was great avarice and usury among them; whoever could overshadow the other and deceive him with lies had won. This is what the devil does when you ask him for his kingdom with the word of God. Thus Christ speaks in the Gospel of Luke, Cap. II, 21. 22.: If a strong man (that is the devil) has his court in his hands, and is kept safe, all things are well. But when the word of God comes, which is stronger than he, he rumbles, and all things go up. When the word is gone, then it is still, then he can finely lead his own, as we have seen under the Pabst's kingdom. He let them sit finely with peace, because there was no one to wake him up. But when the light of the gospel went out, behold how he stood, how he lived; he moved his hands and feet, as in the gospel [Marc. 9, 17. ff.], when Christ wanted to cast the devil out of the possessed man, he tore, raged and raged, foamed, stood up horribly, and did not like to be cast out. As in our times, when one wants to cast him out through the gospel, he resists on all sides, stirs up, awakens sects and raving spirits; item, makes people angry, stingy, envious, hateful.
and carefully for the belly. Since one could give a hundred thousand florins to the monks and priests before, even to the devil himself, one can hardly give a florin now; if one could take it from them now, one would. The gospel teaches that one should give; the devil teaches that one should only take. Where does it come from? It is not flesh and blood alone; it is the living devil that has been awakened; he worries that he must come out of his nest, he knows well what it means to him.
54 And now this is a great sign that the doctrine is righteous. For if it were not just, he would leave us well satisfied. But it is a proverb, and even the papists have used it: The saints must have much contestation. Before, when the works were going on, he left his saints in peace and let them go; but now, when the word goes forth, it will not go, it has no power in all, for he hinders it. But he cannot hinder it; it must continue in those who accept the word; there it bears fruit, which never fails. The prophet continues:
He is quite correct in his words.
It is a Hebrew speech. We are not yet proficient in the Hebrew language; it has not been pure since the time of Christ, therefore it must always be tinkered with. Since the Jews were led to Babylon, their country was destroyed; where now a country is devastated and destroyed, there also the order of a country disintegrates; from it follows also that the language perishes. Thus it happened to Greece and the Greek language; thus to the Latin language; thus it would also happen to the German language, if the country should be devastated. So also the Hebrew language has fallen away, therefore one must have great work with this language.
56 Now the word dabar, which the prophet uses here, means a word, a thing, or a thing; therefore it may be interpreted in two ways: First, "he doth rightly divide his words. Secondly, "he gets right into the matter, deals with the matter in the right way. I almost wanted to hang there that Dabar was called a thing.
57) First, the prophet says that he gladly gives what is his and that God has given him.
He needs his neighbor for what he has. On the other hand, he acts uprightly and honestly, cheats no one, hurts no one, does what is right, offends no one, but is good to all at the same time; he works hard so that his cause is righteous. It is not good for me to steal from my neighbor and give it to God; as God Himself says in Isaiah 61, v. 8: "I, the Lord, love justice, and am hostile to the sacrifice of robbery." It is also a proverb that one should not uncover one altar and close another. It does not rhyme that one would rob and steal, and then give a penny or three for the sake of God; as is the custom nowadays, to steal secretly with false weights and measures, to be stingy and to scrounge; as also the craftsmen who cannot give their goods at a high enough price. The peasants have also learned this; if someone has only two eggs or two pieces of wood, he makes such a mess of it that no one can get along with him. And therein lies the whole world. There you see how people scrape to themselves, so that they bring it all together in one heap; then they want to speak: Oh God, I am a great sinner, I have been stingy, I want to do this, I want to do that; so then give some party for God's sake, and it shall be done. But God calls it a robbery sacrifice. Thus says Christ Matthew 5:23, 24: "If thou bring a sacrifice, and there think that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave thy gift there before the altar, and go first, and be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift." As if he wanted to speak: I do not want your sacrifice, which you offer to the detriment of your neighbor. If thou wilt sacrifice, give that thou hast with a good conscience. But where are they? This is the first mind, since Dabar is called a thing.
58 Secondly, Dabar is a word that I have translated here: "He divides his words rightly"; that is, he does not speak too near or too far, he looks at no one, he despises no one, he is free in speech, he does not look at the rich to speak for his sake, nor at the poor to despise him. This is a beautiful virtue, you can see how it is.
the devil attacks them and takes us captive. We are free to punish; if the person is small, and we despise him, there is so much talk and reproach that there is no end to it, then I shower him with whole loads of reproaches; but if the person is great, a lord and mighty, or my friend, has to worry about an offense or harm, fearing he would be angry, then I whittle the words thin, make it milder, can well read with a feather and with the truth under the bench. But of the righteous man it is written in the 15th Psalm, v. 4: "The unrighteous are despised before him, but he honors those who fear the Lord"; for he does not look at the person. If he sees someone in need of punishment, he punishes him, whether he is great or small; he does not look at whether he is a ruler, master or servant; he shuts his eyes, looks neither at sister nor brother, neither at friendship nor authority; he looks only at him who is in heaven. Therefore he does not care if the devil is angry. If he is angry, he will become angry again; if he does not want to laugh again, he will be angry forever. He goes through, he does not pretend, so he despises no one. A great and strong faith is needed for one to be free in speech, so that he does not fear that the sack of maggots and the basket of bread will be harmed; faith must be courageous for such upright words. These are the two meanings of the word Dabar, namely, that the righteous may be right in words and right in works. Follow on:
V. 6. for he will remain forever.
He knows this well, that is why he relies on it. He looks at this life like a vapor of smoke; today we are healthy, tomorrow we die [Ps. 90, 3. ff.] God has thus ordered our life that we are not safe for a moment, and the uncertain moment we invest so shamefully; what would happen if the bad guys were safe for twenty or thirty years? There they would go through, and think: 1) I want to live a year or eighteen in the hustle and bustle, and after that I will mend my ways. But we are uncertain, and
1) In the other relation, in the Wittenberg one, this is expressed thus: "I still have more than thirty or forty years to go before I become pious."
Yet we live as shamefully as if we were sure to save piety until we die. The pious man does not do this, he does not put his good in this world; he does not see the perishable life, he sees the eternal, because he will remain forever [Col. 3, 2]. For there he has him who cannot die, who is gracious and merciful to him, who abides forever, on him he relies; and even though he dies, he passes through death into such a life, where he shall abide forever [Jn 11:25, Jn 11:25].
His will never be forgotten.
How does this work? So, if the people forget the righteous, God does not forget him. Look at Abel, who was the first to go; Cain, his brother, beat him to death [Gen. 4:8]. Cain wanted to forget his; but God does not forget his. He lay there, neither moving his hands nor his feet, neither able to speak nor to see; Cain considered him dead; yes, dead! He had only just come to life, and was known throughout the world. Cain could hardly look around when a voice came down from heaven and said: "Where is Habel? Then Cain might well have said: Where does the devil lead you from? I wept, you would have been dead long ago. Then Habel comes to life and is carried into the whole world; and again, his brother Cain finds the whole bet too narrow. For God takes care of Habel as if He were Habel Himself; and as God is everywhere, and fills all things, so must Habel also be made known, and must come forth. Therefore he said to Cain, "Where is Habel?" This was a shameful question. Someone else (like Cain) should tremble, if God wanted to ask him exactly that question [Ps. 130:3]. Should God also inquire of us, where would we stay?
61 Thus it went with Habel. Cain said: He shall die; so God says: He shall live, and if the devil should be sorry; you have brought him from a perishable life into an eternal, imperishable life. This is how it is with all righteous Christians; the world wants to destroy them, so they will come to life. It was the same with Christ, who had to die. Item, John Hus was strangled by the pope, and other pious men more, they must be damned; but God does not forget you, they
must come forth, indeed, the pope himself must proclaim them in the bull on Green Thursday.
(62) So it will be: as the emperor and the lords are ungracious to us, so ours will not be forgotten; they will sing to them a little song, saying: "He will remain forever, and his will not be forgotten. They will not oppress those who preach the word of God. God will say to them: You will let him remain for me as long as I and my word remain; if I and my word perish, then he also perishes. But you will be well aware of it; I will watch you to see if you can drive me out. The Christianity is often touched, have the word and the Christians want to dampen that they should not speak; but they remain well, they have not been able to bring it there. We see this in the first patriarch Habet, in Christ and in all the martyrs; they have remained and are remembered. So he who trusts in God knows that he will live in God forever.
63. But that we regard it so little is the fault of our belly; but he who fears God knows what it is to live in God. Where could Habel and John Hus have gotten to, that they should be in all places during their lives? But now, when they have died, they must be in all places; on all preaching stands one must blah with him: he must be in my mouth, in your mouth, in all books, in all ears. This is a wonderful thing, that all creatures must know that Habel and John Hus were pious people; the stars must worship them, and those who strangled them must fall at their feet, and yet have no thanks.
V. 7. He is not afraid of evil gossip.
Here the prophet looks into the life of the righteous. First, he sets the fruits and the works he does, is merciful, and lends gladly; then, the words. For he is useful with words, serving everyone with speeches and punishments. On the other hand, he puts the other part of his life, that is, on the left side, the repugnance; one wants to put him down, but he must remain forever, he must not be forgotten. And whether an evil rumor
goes out over him, yet he shall not be afraid of it. He does not say: He shall have no 1) evil cry; yea, he shall have an evil cry, the world shall reproach and esteem him for a bad fellow, for a heretic, and for a seducer. The title shall all Christians have, which Christ carried on the cross, he is hanged between two murderers, he is proclaimed for the very worst scoundrel and knave, as an arch murderer. So his title was: "A king of the Jews" [Luc. 23, 38], that is, he is a disobedient one of the emperor, wants to fall into the emperor's power, he is a rebel, who wants to revolt against the emperor's country, wants to hang the people on him; he had to use the title and had to be called rebellious. Now there is no more wicked man on earth than a rebel. For much blood is shed through rebellion.
So Christ dies as a heretic and a seducer in the midst of two murderers. To the emperor he must be seditious, to the Jews a seducer and heretic. That is a lot to die for. That would still be to suffer, that one would be accused and brought to trial as a heretic and a seditious one, then one could still answer for himself; but to die then, and to take the title with him, that is disgraceful. He had to have it both ways, that he was considered spiritually and physically the greatest evil-doer; spiritually a deceiver and a heretic, physically an inciting one, who corrupted both body and soul. All Christians and pious people must have this title, and if we do not have it, we do not belong to Christ. It is not good for a preacher if he has peace and is not challenged by anyone; it is a sign that he does not have the right doctrine. For the nature of this doctrine is that it must be challenged.
(66) What is the advantage of the righteous who are thus reviled and defiled? They will not be afraid of evil gossip. He lets them shout, wash and talk, he lets Pilate write the title; he knows that it is not true and that they are doing him an injustice. Pilate wrote the title, and knew that they did him wrong. For so it is written in the Gospel, Matt. 27,
1) Instead of "one" in the outputs, we have put "none".
1126 Err. 4o, S73-Z75. Interpretations on the Psalms. W. v, wM-isn. 1127
18: "Pilate knew that they had delivered him up out of envy." The righteous man does not care what the world says about him; he takes comfort in the fact that he knows it is a lie and is sure of his teaching and his faith. The only thing to do is to let the world cry out for a year or four, let it rebuke: Heretic, rebel, apostate, seducer and the like, if only it is not true, if only the consciences do not agree. So Paul says in the other epistle to the Corinthians in the sixth chapter, v. 8: "We are held as deceivers, and yet are true" [Matth. 5, 11. 1 Joh. 3, 19. 20.]. It is right that we should be given such titles, that we should be thought to be knaves and deceivers; it is right that we should be snatched up and have our heads cut off; but that the conscience should remain innocent and not be willing to doubt God, that it should be pure and innocent before Him, so that their cries and blasphemies will not stick.
John Hus has lain there a hundred years and more, has had the cry as the most wicked man. Why? He attacked the three crowns. If he had denied God and done other vices, it would not have been so violently attracted as when he attacked this three-crowned man, it would have been easier for him to be forgiven; nevertheless, his song has remained, and one has always murmured how he was wronged. Yes, they also had to confess in the high schools that he was right, and his enemies had to say that he had not been overcome, but that they had used force against him. What harm has it done him that he was burned? He now stands with great honor; God comes now and says: Where is John Hus? He must come forth, he must be holy, and all his enemies must be sorry; and those who strangled him must have the name that they were murderers of him. So the prophet says: "Those who fear God are right in word and deed, but the world must pervert it and make heresy of it; but the righteous is not afraid of such cries, he knows that it is good and just; but the evil worms must defile and defile it. Therefore he further says:
His heart is ready to hope in the Lord.
68) That is, his heart is prepared against all misfortune; whatever adversity may befall him, he does not pay attention to it, but his heart is finely prepared to hope in God, not in honor and goods, power and favor of lords; not in those who may lend and give to him. Nor is he disgraced, 1) if he is in disgrace; for he hopes in him that giveth him a rule, that he may go up: but few will go up. It is a fine art to hope in God, who could, if the whole world defiles him, and he is in disgrace, let it go, let it go one, two, or a hundred years, and think, God knows it well, he will do it well. So he is confident, he is of good cheer, he is not afraid. Why? Hope is in him, he fears neither death nor shame, he knows that God will pull him out, as follows in the Psalm:
V. 8. His heart is confident and does not fear until he sees his delight in his enemies.
(69) Our hearts are too narrow: we cannot grasp God, we cannot understand when He will punish our enemies; we would like to set a goal for Him, but it is far too high and too great for us to know how He will deal with them. Therefore, let us put it in his hands; he knows well how to do it, and he will do it in the best possible way. We do not know how God will avenge, but when he comes and attacks the enemy, we will say: I never meant it that way. It is natural that if we have enemies, we would like to be smelled by them; but when we bring it home to Him, He will do so strangely to my enemies, He will strike them so finely, that I could never have wished it so, nor could I have thought it so.
70 Thus God speaks in another place in the Psalter, Ps. 91:8: "You will see the vengeance of the wicked. Scripture shows us many examples of this. So Habel smelled Cain. Habel died bodily, was strangled by his brother Cain, and lives in
1) entrüchten - to come from rumor, the opposite of berüchten. Missing in Grimm (Dietz).
2) Erlanger: those.
God; he has lost an uncertain life, and has regained a certain one in God. If Cain had known that he had fallen into such a life through death, he would have desired with all his heart that his brother had beaten him to death, so that he would have come out of this miserable life into such a beautiful and delicious life. Again, Cain is so severely punished that he must be disgraced before the whole world, and the wide world becomes too narrow for him.
The same thing happened to John Hus; he was the first to call the pope an antichrist, so we must give him credit. Now he smelled so fine of the pope, if his heart should wish, he could not have wished it so. The pope was held in such high esteem that, if only he complained, the emperor and all princes had to bow down before him and fear him. This tickled him and did him good; but after the death of Hussein, all this was well smelled. For the papacy soon began to go up again, and was torn away one by one, until he [the pope] was greatly despised. What is now lesser and more despised than the papacy, and especially among Christians? And the longer it goes on, the worse it becomes, until nothing more will be thought of it. So John Hus could not have been better smelled by the pope than this, and if he were still alive, he would have left a hundred necks behind, so that he could have brought it to such an end with the pope, and it will probably become even more.
Thus it happens to all who trust and wait on God that they are smelled more strongly than they would have thought, and the vengeance becomes so strong that one can no longer defend oneself. If now the wicked do wrong to the righteous in their bodies, goods, houses and farms, when it is only a party, they cannot be harmed much, and they, the wicked, will be disgraced, and stink before the whole world, and yet must finally stop, and be smelled forever because of it. Therefore let us pray for them beforehand, that they may not thus come into the hand of God. For when they come into his vengeance
he shall not cease [Heb. 10:30], and the saying shall come true [Ps. 91:8], "Thou shalt see the vengeance of the wicked." Further the prophet says:
V. 9: He scatters and gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted with honor.
(73) The wicked scrape and snatch to themselves, they cannot be filled, they also take from the poor. Again, the righteous not only suffers harm from the enemy, but is so lenient that he also scatters his goods. For he himself has enough in God, in whom he hopes. He does not regard the other as anything else, but as seed, which he scatters and casts out without distinction; but so that he gives it to the poor and not to the rich, as the wicked do, who also give and give among themselves, but for the sake of retribution, that they may get the more, as Christ rebukes the Pharisees for not inviting the poor to the table. etc. [Luc. 14:12.]
74 This little word: "He scatters", St. Paul looked closely at the Corinthians [2. Ep. 9, 6. 9.], when he admonishes them with this verse, that they should give milderly, so that there is a blessing. As if he were saying, "Do not clamor and clatter with brightnesses and partisans; if you want to give, give honestly, reach out as if you were going to scatter it. Just as the poor widow did with her two pennies [Luc. 21:2], she scattered them freely. But the rich did not take hold of it in this way, but made merry with what they had left over. It should be said: scatter, reach out, "God loves a cheerful giver" [2 Cor. 9, 7], so God will scatter again, that you all may have abundance for all good works, says St. Paul [Eph. 3, 19].
For he that doeth these things, and bringeth forth the fruits of faith, his righteousness shall be everlasting. For it is a righteousness that pleases God, because no one does this unless he is full of faith. Now therefore let it be that thou shalt be poor, and that temporal goods shall perish: but righteousness, being practiced in temporal goods, abideth for ever. Not so with the wicked, who are righteous in the sight of men, but their righteousness dies with them, and abideth not in the sight of God.
76. for this "his horn is lifted up in honor," that is, he will not only be righteous forever, but will also be praised and honored forever. For though he be persecuted and condemned, blasphemed and ravished and oppressed for a time, yet at the last he must arise, and lift up his head, and lift up his horn, that he may have a glorious shout for ever. Behold all the prophets, apostles, and saints, who in their day were nothing, and were despised of great men; but now they also celebrate and honor all kings, and their horn is in everlasting honor, more than any king or lord on earth. What "horn" means in Scripture is otherwise said enough. It is a strong, glorious power or dominion, but not bodily in this place, but spiritual. For as I said, St. Paul, Peter, Titus etc. are now more glorious and in greater honor and power than all kings on earth.
(77) These are two great things that become the reward of the righteous. First, that they are certain to remain righteous before God and man forever, no matter how highly they are condemned. Secondly, that because of such righteousness they will be more glorious than any king on earth. What king would not give ten of his crowns to be like Paul, Titus, Ananias, etc., who in their lives were a shabbat and the refuse of the world, and not their honor but their shame was high?
(78) But again, as the righteousness of the wicked perisheth with them, so shall their temporal glory fall to the ground from the righteousness that now soars on high, and shall be turned to ashes. Therefore the Psalm further says:
V. 10 The wicked shall see it, and it shall grieve him; he shall gnash his teeth together, and perish. For the desire of the wicked will be lost.
70 That is, such justice and honor of the righteous, the wicked would like to dampen, but he can not. That is why he does not succeed, because he has to see it like this, and he is annoyed, grits his teeth, and still has to let it go, and he himself perishes.
For there is the verdict: "The lust of the wicked is lost", that is what they want, that does not have to be. And there is not the least torture, that they must not do what they cannot let, want to curb it and must let it remain.
80) See the examples when Paul and his like, all the saints, were destroyed, what happened? After their death, people said and sang about them, praising their righteousness with great honor until this very hour. The tyrants were annoyed, but what good did it do? The more it annoyed them, the more it went on, until they themselves perished, and yet the saints remained in high honor.
(81) So it is with our tyrants, and so it will be with them; for they oppress, and press hard upon them that have the gospel. O woe, press hard, dear sirs, and press confidently; what you will, that will be done. Yes, behind you, as the cancer goes. Your nobility together with you shall perish, and those whom you have killed shall come forth with honor. And if ye be destroyed, and become mad and foolish, they shall hereafter honor and praise you as the righteous and holy for ever; and they shall mock and laugh at you as fools and wicked. Just as we see that John Hus is now blowing his horn with honor, even though the papists are angry about it and grit their teeth. But they are allowed to be angry and annoyed, but nothing is done about it. They must see it, and may not resist it; they must hear it, and may not suffer it. This is the beginning of the vengeance of God upon the wicked, that their desire must be nothing, and that they must see all that vexeth them in the righteous.
So we see how in this psalm we are not only taught finely to be pious, but are also abundantly comforted and provoked to remain in righteousness, and to bear the misfortunes of our enemies with confident patience, certain that we will be smelled all too well, and will see all too much pleasure in our enemies, that they will have to grit their teeth, and yet will not be able to do more. May God's grace help us to live and experience such things. Amen.