V. 1. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is kind and his goodness endures forever.
This verse is a common thanksgiving for all the benefits that God the Lord shows to all the world, daily, without ceasing, in all things, both good and evil men. For this is the way of the holy prophets, when they want to praise and thank God in special things, they look upon Him highly, and bring it far, praising Him at the same time in general in all His miracles and benefits. So here, because this psalm especially praises God for the highest good deed shown to the world, namely, for Christ and his kingdom of grace promised to the world and now shown, it begins with common praise and says: "Give thanks to the Lord"; for he is a hearty, gracious, pious, kind God, who always and forever shows us good deeds, and pours out one goodness upon another with heaps upon us.
2. For you must read these words: "kind and His goodness," not so coldly and crudely read, nor run over, as the nuns read the Psalter, or as the canons and choirboys bleat and howl such fine words in their churches, but think that they are living, excellent and rich words, which comprehend and conceive all and everything, namely, that God is kind, not like a man, but, who, from the bottom of his heart, is always inclined and favorable to help and to do good, and does not like to be angry or to punish, because he has to do so, and is forced and urged to do so by the unremitting, unrepentant, obdurate wickedness of men, so that where he has to be angry and punish, a man could not wait so long, but would punish a hundred thousand times sooner and more severely than he does.
3. and such kind and gracious favor he proves abundantly and mightily beyond all measure with his daily and eternal goodness, as he says here: "his goodness endures forever", that is, without ceasing he always and always does the best for us, creates body and soul for us, protects us day and night, keeps us alive without ceasing, lets the sun and the sunshine shine on us.
Moon shine to us, and the sky, fire, air and water serve us, from the earth wine, grain, fodder, food, clothing, wood and all need grow, gives gold and silver, house and yard, wife and child, cattle, birds, fish; Summa, who can tell it all? and all this the abundance and exuberant, all years, all days, all hours, all moment. For who alone can reckon the goodness that he gives one and receives a healthy eye or hand? When we are sick, or have to do without one, we first see what a blessing it is to have a healthy eye, hand, foot, leg, head, nose, fingers; item, what a grace it is to have bread, clothing, water, fire, house etc.
If we humans were not so blind and so weary and careless of God's goods, there is certainly no man on earth who has so many goods, if it should come to a change, he would not take an empire or kingdom for it, and would be deprived of the same goods. For what treasure can a kingdom be against a healthy body? What is all the world's money and goods against one day, which the dear sun makes for us every day? If the sun did not shine one day, who would not rather be dead? Or what would help him all his goods and dominion? What would all the wine and malmsey in the world be if we were to lack one day of water? What would be all the beautiful castles, houses, velvet, silks, purple, golden chains and precious stones, all the splendor, jewelry and court, if we should be deprived of the air of a father-uncle for a long time?
Such goods of God are the greatest, and the most despised, and because they are common, no one thanks God for them, take them and need them every day as if it had to be that way, and we had every right to do so, and should not even thank God for them. In the meantime, we have to suffer, worry, quarrel, fight, and rage for money or goods, for honor and pleasure, and all in all, for that,
which could not hold a candle to the above-mentioned goods, and which may not be of such use to us in the hundredth part, but rather prevents us from the joyful and peaceful use of the common goods, so that we cannot recognize them, nor thank God for them. This is done by the wretched devil, who does not want us to need or recognize God's goodness and the rich, daily benefits; we would be all too blessed.
006 Behold, now say thou, how many are there on earth that understand this verse? True, no boy is so wicked when he sings or otherwise hears such a verse in church, he makes himself believe that he understands it exceedingly well, and has drunk it down to the ground, who has never thought of it all his life, nor given thanks for the milk he sucked from his mother, let alone for all the goodness of God, which God has shown him so innumerably and unspeakably all his life, that he has probably done more sin every hour, just because of his ingratitude, than there are leaves and grass in the forest, where God would be a usurer, and would demand an exact account.
7. Therefore, this verse should be in the heart and mouth of every man daily, yes, every moment, as often as he eats, drinks, sees, hears, smells, walks, stands, or how, where, when he needs his limbs, body, goods, or some creature, so that he remembers that if God did not give him such to need and keep against the devil, he would have to do without it; And besides, exhorting himself and accustoming himself to a cheerful heart and merry faith toward God, with thanksgiving for such his daily goodness, and saying: Well, you are a kind, gracious God, who eternally, that is, always and forever, without ceasing, shows me unworthy and ungrateful such abundant kindness and good deeds; praise and thanks you must have.
8 And this also serves to comfort us in all accidents. For we are such tenderhearted and soft martyrs, that if a leg hurts us or a little leaf comes out, we can cry out to heaven and earth with lamentations and weeping, grumbling and cursing, and not see.
How small an affliction such a little leaf is, compared to the other innumerable goods of God, which we still have in full. Just as if a king wanted to become insane, that he had lost a penny, regardless that he had almost half the world, with countless money and goods, and wanted to torture over it, veitstanzen and pestilences, God desecrate, and thunder out with other curses, as now the torturers prove their manhood with curses.
(9) Now the pious God allows such minor afflictions to befall us only to awaken us snorers from a deep sleep, and to drive us to consider the great, innumerable goods that are still available, and what would become of us if He were to turn His goodness away from us and take it away. As the pious Job did when he said [Cap. 2:10], "If we have received good things from the Lord, why will we not suffer evil?" Behold, he could sing this beautiful confitemini and verse very finely, saying, "As it pleases God, so it goes, "the name of the Lord be praised" etc. [He does not fall only on the evil, as we puppet saints do, but keeps before his eyes all the goodness and benevolence of the Lord, comforts himself with it, and overcomes the evil with patience.
(10) So we should not look at our misfortunes in any other way, nor accept them, but as if God were lighting a light for us, so that we might see and recognize His goodness and mercy in all its innumerable parts, so that we might think that such a small evil had hardly been a drop of water in a great fire, or a spark in a great water, so that the verse might be known and loved by us: "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is kind, and His goodness endures forever. Which in German is said no differently than this much (for I did not want to go too far from the Hebrew words in the interpretation): Oh, how faithful, heartfelt, pious Lord God you are, who always do me and all the world so great and much good! Thanks be to you etc.
(11) For the Hebrew word Chesed, which in Greek is Eleemosyne, and hitherto in German has been called "Barmherzigkeit", but I
In German, "Güte" (goodness) actually means that which we call Wohlthat or Gutthat, as Christ Himself used Matth. 12, 7: "I delight in Wohlthat and not in sacrifice. And St. Paul, 1 Tim. 6, 2, says: "Servants should serve their believing masters all the more gladly, as they are partakers of the good deed." And Matth. 6, 1. Christ says: "Take heed to your good deeds" etc., which we call alms according to the old custom from the Greek eleemosyne. Although the word alms has come into disuse over time, being called nothing else than a piece of bread given to a beggar at the door, it is actually called Eleemosyne, Chesed, Wohlthat or Gutthat, as God does us good, and again, we should also do one to another.
12. and the word "eternal" is not to be understood only of the goodness in heaven after this life, since there will be an eternal life, but the Hebrew word olam means, which we say in German, immerdar or for and for, it is eternal or temporal; as one speaks of a restless man: Ei, des ewigen Umlaufens, was soll doch das ewigen Umlaufen etc.
(13) I have had to interpret and interpret such words, so that this verse may be well understood, for it is often used in Scripture, especially in the Psalter. And it is he who teaches us the right sacrifice that is most pleasing to God, for we can do no greater or better work for God, nor render any service to God, than to give thanks to him; as he himself says in Ps. 50:23: "The sacrifice of thanksgiving is my glory," or service to God, "and the same is the way that I make my salvation to be seen." Such sacrifice pleases him above all sacrifices, offerings, monasteries, and whatnot; as he says Ps. 69:31, 32: "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will highly honor him with thanksgiving. This will please the Lord more than a farrow that has horns and claws."
14) Again, just as praising God and being thankful is the highest worship of God, both here on earth and there eternally, so also ingratitude is the most shameful vice, and the highest dishonor to God, to whom, after all, the world is
is full, full, full, all the way up to 1) heaven. But God is such a kind Lord (as this verse sings) that He does not cease to do good for the sake of such ingratitude; but, as He says here, "His goodness endures forever", always lets His sun rise for and on both the good and the evil, and lets it rain on both the grateful and the ungrateful, Matth. 5, 45. Gives boys as much goods, children, power as the saints, and much more, always protects from war, pestilence, theurung and all plagues of the devil. This is and is called a divine goodness, which does not cease or grow weary for the sake of any wickedness. A human being is not capable of such goodness. For no man can suffer ingratitude, and many have become furious, mad and senseless over it, as the Histories of Timon write. It is too difficult for human nature to do good and receive evil in return.
V. 2. Let Israel now say that 2) his goodness endures forever.
(15) Then comes the sacrifice of thanksgiving, especially for the temporal government and for peace, which is a great gift from God and, of course, the greatest of all temporal gifts. For where there was no regiment or peace, we could not remain at all. Israel was the kingdom, established and ordered by God, and had commanded it to King David, as the 78th Psalm, v. 70. f., says: "He has chosen His servant David to feed His people Israel" etc. Therefore he also gives thanks to God for such a kingdom, and admonishes everyone that they should give thanks with him; he also gives an example and a lesson to all kings, princes, lords, countries, people and subjects, that they should praise and thank God, so that there is a regiment and peace in the countries and people, each for his own, and every community, as well as Israel, for their own.
(16) For it is not always without ceasing that there is vain war, strife, tumult, bloodshed, riot, murder, and lamentation in lands, cities, villages, and all manner of craft, trade, and commerce.
1) Wittenberg and Erlangen: gen, instead of: den.
2) So in the original edition and in Luther's first Psalter edition. In the Wittenberg and Erlangen editions, this is changed according to our Bible.
del and estates of food remain, that is just as great a miracle and power of God, as that he has made the world out of nothing, and still maintains it daily. For the world is full of devils, and, as we see before our eyes every day, among the peasants, citizens, nobility, lords and princes there are so many wicked, wanton boys, who have a desire to steal, rob, lie, deceive, wage war, do harm, and cause misfortune, that with human wit and power it would not be possible to have peace for one day, and to maintain a regiment or authority, if God did not control, help, and ward off the devil here with all his might. Therefore, it is not for nothing that St. David exhorted that one should thank God for worldly peace, authority and government.
(17) And here the lords and rulers, as well as the subjects, should learn that to govern the land and the people, and to have them in obedience, is a pure and simple goodness and gift of God. For with our sword and wisdom there is nothing, as some foolish princes and lords presume, as if it were they who force the land and people with their power, or rule with their reason. And especially the Scharrhans among the nobility, and masters of the cities, they do not allow themselves to think otherwise than as if it were they in whom all power rested, and God could not advise them. But sensible lords and nobility know otherwise. And David, a crown of all kings and princes, also testifies otherwise here, and whoever does not want to believe it, let him read all histories, both in the Scriptures, and in the Roman and Gentile Scriptures, there one will find it with heaps.
In the next upheaval, God showed us clearly enough that neither power nor art rules the world, but God alone. For the very same villains who now steal His honor, boast and brag as if they had done it, were at the same time such pusillanimous rascals as I have seen my day. Now they forget God, who at that time saved them, since they so shamefully shat in their pants that it still stinks where a Scharrhans walks or stands. The chivalry had, unfortunately, at that time neither heart nor courage. And their pawing and throbbing looks at me the same, as if they wanted to defy God and try for a new riot,
that he let them see once again whether Scharrhan's or God's goodness and power hold the rabble. Well then, if one comes to shake the tree, the little hens shall tumble down to me with a vengeance. For they are ripe out of measure, and they are also beyond measure woe with the dear little peace, which God still so graciously, and, as He looks at us, with force and puny preserves.
19 However, I like to see them throbbing and pawing so proudly, because it serves to make sure that people do not forget how chivalrously they feared and fled from the powerless peasants during the uprising. Otherwise, I would have had to carve such a story in a stone or write it in a book for eternal remembrance. Now I save the cost and effort. For wherever one sees or hears such a Scharrhansen, such a turmoil is vividly painted on him that everyone must think: Dear, isn't this the one who was called Defiance Emperor? who gave up their strong castles for a straw mop and firewood, the undaunted heroes and manly iron eaters, who now thunder St. Veiten, Potzmacht, St. Quirin, St. Antoni and further, so at that time nothing but Ach and Awe could sing?
20 The Scripture says that God gives both lords and subjects, and that the temporal government is even his, as David says Ps. 18, 40, 49: "Lord, you make me subject to the nations"; and of his own people he says Ps. 144, 2: "You make my people subject to me. Here he does not boast much that he would rule his own people by force or wisdom, even though he had at his disposal the most beautiful rights and customs set by God Himself through Moses, and the prophets who had anointed and confirmed him as king by God's command. He was well aware of the power and wisdom of kings and princes among the people, where God Himself was not in charge. His own son Absalom, and after him Bichri, 1) taught him who would be king in the land. Thus also David speaks Cap. 4, 14. and Cap. 5, 18. 19:
1) Thus, correctly according to 2 Sam. 20, I., Walch and the Erlanger. In the other editions: Sichri. To "Bichri", by the way, "son" must be added from your previous, namely Seba.
"The Most High in heaven has power over the kingdoms of men, and gives them to whom he wills"; not to whom we will or think. That is so much to say: worldly rule is a mere, gracious gift and goodness of God, which no man can attain nor maintain by his wit and strength.
(21) Therefore it is nothing to force subjects, whether peasants or citizens, to fight, for a peasant can also throw down knives and strike, as well as a nobleman, but God does it, who lets them say Rom. 13:2: "Whoever resists the authorities shall be punished. Such words do it, and God also holds over it, and must happen as He decrees. Therefore, when the subjects are ripe, as the peasants were in rebellion, God decrees that they cause rebellion or disobedience, so that they are beaten on the heads. Although the lords are also punished with such rebellion, because they are so ungrateful to the goodness and benevolence of God, they do not give Him the honor of preserving and protecting peace, obedience, justice and government without ceasing, as this verse sings, that Israel should give thanks and confess that God's goodness endures forever, that is, always and forever preserves peace and government, however ungrateful and unworthy we are; or else there should be murder and war in the lands, rebellion and disobedience in the cities.
22 And especially he now keeps peace in Germany with excellent force, however little there is of it. For it must be grasped that there is now no man among the Germans who would preserve the authorities against such disobedient and thieving nobility, and protect the lords against such disloyal and thieving subjects. There is such robbery and stealing among each other, then many strange assassins with strange practices, agitation and irritation, and yet no one makes no conscience of the fact that such things are sinful before God, that I consider our present peace and state to be hanging by a thread of silk, yes, it is floating badly in the air, only in God's hands, over and against remote wills and thoughts, and against all devils' raging and raging. For, where human wisdom and power should now govern Germany, it would lie
tomorrow in one heap. Therefore, let us give thanks and pray that God's goodness will remain with Israel forever.
V. 3. Let the house of Aaron say that his goodness endures forever.
This is a thank offering for another special piece of God's goodness, namely, for the spiritual regiment, for priests, preachers, teachers, and in sum, for the dear Word of God and for the holy Christian church. What this gift is, this whole world cannot understand or comprehend. For the fact that there is not only error, sectarianism, heresy in all the world, but that there still remains something 1) the word, faith, spirit, baptism, holy scripture, sacrament, Christians etc., that is also not of human power nor wisdom, but pure and simple grace and gift of God. Otherwise the devil would throw it all into one heap and destroy it all. As he has almost done with the Turk and the Pope, and now with the red spirits, and a long time ago with the heretics. The world would not suffer it either, and the flesh would tire of it, God must preserve it Himself.
(24) For Aaron was the high priest, commanded to preach the Laws of Moses, and to rule the kingdom of Israel in spirit and before God; even as David had to rule outwardly over body and goods. But as little as David could rule his physical government with his power and wisdom, so little and much less could Aaron maintain his spiritual government over spirit and soul by his own wit and power, although he had for advantage in the most abundant way in the Law of Moses all that he was to teach and how he was to govern. The Holy Spirit also had to help him with housekeeping, as he experienced when Korah wanted to take away his priesthood and stirred up the whole nation against him and Moses, Numbers 16:1 ff.
25 From this you can see the great wisdom of the pope and his uncle, who first want to destroy the Christian church with their wisdom, with external laws and banishments,
1) "etwo" (that is, somewhere) put by us instead of "about" in the editions. In Latin correctly: utieubi.
without God's word, without prayer and teaching, and then defend them with worldly violence, with burning, murdering and persecuting. And they do not need God's goodness at all, but sing this verse thus: Give thanks to our banishment and sword, for their power endures forever. True Christianity preaches God's word, but does not force anyone to do so; whoever does not want to believe it, they let him go and separate themselves from Him, as Christ teaches in Matth. 10, 14 and Cap. 18, 17, and St. Paul does everywhere in the Acts of the Apostles, leaving them in command of God's judgment. But our bloodhounds and murderers keep silent about God's word, make up their own articles according to what they want, and whoever does not want to believe them must burn. This is the tender new Christianity, since neither God nor the Scriptures know about it.
But let the unfaithful go, they are not worthy to be remembered in this fine psalm. We are to praise and thank God with this verse, that he lets his word and holy kingdom come to us, and also keeps it with us, against the devil, the flesh, the world, out of pure grace and goodness, even though we are all too ungrateful, lazy, careless, and despised, and are not worthy of all things of such great treasure, eternal life. Christ brought the word himself, and we did not invent it; he must also receive it himself, we will not do it with our power and art. Christ Himself founded, established and built Christianity; He must also guard and promote it Himself; our wisdom and power, or sword and fire, will not do it. As St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 3, 5-9: "You are God's building, God's work in the field, we are the servants of it; but it is neither he who plants, nor he who waters, but God who gives it to flourish.
V. 4: Those who fear the Lord say that his goodness endures forever.
27This is the fourth sacrifice of thanksgiving, for the rightful multitude, namely, for the elect children of God and all the saints on earth, which are the true Christians, for whose sake this psalm was made in the first place, and also speaks of the same until
to the end. For in the previous three 1) groups, as in the spiritual government and preaching office, there are many who abuse the same for their avarice, lust and honor, such as the heretics, the mobs, and our present clergy. For this reason, the ministry is nevertheless good, holy, and a divine gift, and is not condemned for its abuse, just as the whole world abuses the holy name of God, baptism, sacrament, gospel, and even God Himself and all His gifts in the most shameful way, and fears God for nothing everywhere. So, in the other bunch, the worldly regiment, which abuses several parts of such gifts for their defiance, splendor, lust, iniquity, and all will to courage, without shyness and fear of God. But nevertheless it remains God's goodness, and useful gift and benefit to Himself. And in the third group, the congregation, there is almost nothing but vain abuse, since every one of his profession, craft, art, money, goods and whatever he has, uses it against his neighbor, or does not use it for the good and benefit of his neighbor, as God would have it, and therefore gives and preserves everything. But there is no fear of God, nor shyness before men; yet God sustains them all, and is therefore to be praised and thanked.
(28) But this group fears God and is pious, and is gathered from the three previous groups. For one still finds pious, God-fearing, right bishops, priests, preachers and pastors; one also finds pious, God-fearing princes, lords, noblemen, councillors, judges, and also many a pious, God-fearing citizen, craftsman, farmer, servant, maid, etc., no matter how few they are. Yes, for the sake of these, God sustains the former three tribes, and the whole world, and dares so much goodness and gifts to them; and if the same would do, 2) the world would perish from that hour, like Sodom and Gomorrah.
29. for the holy prophet david segregates
1) In the editions: "in the previous three heaps". We consider "the" to be a printing error. Compare K 28 and § 29 at the beginning. The Latin translation offers: in [npsrioridus trikns orctinibus.
2) thäten - would not be there. In Latin: non ossont. Compare about this use of the word in this volume Col. 251, tz 27; Col. 668, i? 34; Col. 864, tz 157; Col. 877, 188.
They are quite different from the other three Hansen, so that he shows how they do not respect, nor fear, nor serve God, but serve themselves, and seek and have their own in this life. Above this, they persecute this small group to the utmost without ceasing, and cannot and will not suffer the same, for this reason alone, and for no other reason, except that these fear and trust God, that is, that they honor and teach God's word, which those do not like to hear or see. For "to fear God" in Hebrew actually means that which we Germans call serving God, and fearing God, serving God. Now one cannot serve God visibly and physically on earth, for one does not see Him, but spiritually, when one honors, teaches, confesses, and lives and does according to His Word. Therefore, the cross and suffering, all the misfortunes of the devil, the world and our own flesh are lifted up.
(30) Dear one, what eternal benefits may these have from God, for which they should give thanks? It cannot be the spiritual office alone, for God gives this in the third heap; nor worldly glory, honor, power, peace, obedience etc., for God gives these in the other heap; nor money, goods, house, farm, health, wife, child etc., for God gives all this in the first heap. There must be something higher and nobler that surpasses all these gifts of temporal, perishable life by far, far. For he speaks of it to the end, even though he speaks of the three heaps in only three verses. What is it then? He himself will say and tell it abundantly enough, namely, comfort and help in all kinds of suffering, distress and fear. This is nothing else than a beginning of eternal life, which the world in all three places (where the godly turn 1)) with all its goods, power and art is not able to give a drop. For it is a poor consolation to sing of dance, joys, goods, honor, power, art, woman and child to one in distress of death.
(31) For because they want to honor God's word and serve God, they truly have to endure and suffer ridicule from the three tribes,
1) "turn" is here in the meaning: to get lost, not to be there. The Latin translator offers: si ttmvMes veuw d^iÜLrantur et Ü68iint.
Disgrace, harm, hatred, envy, blasphemy, fire, sword, death and all misfortune, plus from the devil and his angels much poisonous, dangerous, evil malice, and from their own flesh and sin trouble and heartache enough, as St. Paul speaks [2 Tim. 3, 12.]: "All who want to live godly must suffer persecution." And Christ himself [Luc. 9, 23.]: "He that will follow me, let him take up his cross." And Apost. 14, 22. "We must go through many a tribulation into the kingdom of heaven." And the wise man, Sir. 2, 1.: "Son, if thou wilt serve God, prepare thy soul for tribulation."
Therefore, the good deeds of God done to this group are completely hidden from the world, and cannot be seen in any other way than as eternal wrath, punishment and plague from God Himself. And the wicked among the three groups, on the other hand, seem to be vain children of God, because they are so full and rich in the visible, temporal, manifest benefits of God. Therefore it is art and grace to see and know this secret, hidden "good deed," especially because He boasts that it is everlasting and everlasting; and therefore it costs so much and so many words, as we shall hear. For though the spirit is willing and ready, yet the poor flesh is weak and unwilling, and would rather have apparent, temporal comfort and help, and be delivered from anguish and distress. But it must be, and will not be otherwise, there is no other way to eternal life than this narrow, narrow path, which few can find, Matth. 7, 14, and only this small hand finds it. And summa, the three heaps of good deeds are this temporal life and being; this heap of good deeds is eternal life. This is the real difference.
V. 5. I called upon the Lord in anguish, and the Lord heard me in a wide place.
Here you hear where this heap lies and is. It does not float in apparent joys before the world, but fear is the name of its dwelling or lodging. There he paints for himself how it is about him, namely, that he is in various sufferings, and here he summarizes with brevity (as is proper when one begins to speak of a thing) all kinds of sufferings in one heap, and calls them "anguish"; but here he is in anguish.
Afterwards he will continue to tell and interpret it, just as I might say: "How much St. Paul had to suffer! There is still no interpretation, but it is generally indicated that he has suffered, but not yet what he has suffered. In the same way, he first indicates the comfort and help of God in a general and brief way when he says: "The Lord has heard me. This means: I always have to suffer, but I am also always comforted. How this happens and what the comfort or hearing is, he will also tell soon after.
34 "Fear," in Hebrew, reads as the narrow, as I consider that in German also fear comes from it, is the narrow, in which one becomes afraid and woe, and is immediately oppressed, pressed and squeezed, as then the temptations and misfortunes do, according to the proverb: The wide world was too narrow for me. On the other hand, in the Hebrew he says here, "in wide space"; that, just as narrowness or anguish means affliction and distress, so wide space means consolation and help; that this verse is so much said: I called upon the Lord in trouble, and he heard and helped me comfortably. For as trouble is our narrow space, which afflicts and constrains us, so the help of God is our wide space, which makes us free and joyful.
(35) Notice here the great art and wisdom of faith, that in trouble it does not run to and fro, complaining to all its ears, cursing and scolding its enemies, nor grumbling against God, Why does God do this to me? why does he not do it to others who are more wicked than I? Nor does he despair of God, who sends him such things, and therefore does not consider him angry or an enemy, as the flesh, the world and the devil enter so powerfully, but rises up against and above such things, and can see God's fatherly heart through such an unkind sight, and recognize the sun through such a cloudy, thick, dark cloud, and so on, and may call heartily on the one who strikes him and is so very angry with him.
This is art above all art, and the work of the Holy Spirit alone, known to the godly and true Christians, of which the saints of works know nothing, and meanwhile chatter about good works, none of which they themselves have ever known, nor done, nor can do.
For this art is impossible for human nature. As soon as God touches her a little with a need, she is frightened and despairs, and cannot think otherwise than that all grace is gone, and that God's wrath is against her. Then the devil helps them to be overcome 1) with all his power and cunning, until he drowns them in doubt and sorrow. Also, the annoying sight of the exuberant benefits of God in the other three heaps helps perfectly; she makes herself believe that there is only grace of God and no wrath with them. Then the stupid conscience becomes weak and sinks where help and comfort do not come from God, or through pious pastors, or otherwise through the word of pious Christians, until some hang themselves over it, drown themselves, stab themselves, or otherwise go to waste and wither away.
Therefore, let everyone who can learn learn here, and let everyone also become a falcon that may soar on high in such adversity. And know for certain at first, do not doubt, that God does not send such distress to his destruction, as we will hear later, in the 18th verse, but that He wants to drive him to prayer, to crying and to fighting, so that he may practice his faith, and learn to recognize God in a different way than he has done so far, and also get used to fighting with the devil and sins, and to be victorious through God's help. Otherwise, we would never learn what faith, word, spirit, grace, sin, death or the devil were, where there should always be peace and no temptation; thus we would never get to know God Himself. In short, we would never become true Christians, nor could we remain Christians. Necessity and fear force us to do so, and keep us firmly in Christianity. For this reason, tribulation and the cross are as necessary to us as life itself, and even more necessary and useful than all the world's goods and honor.
38 It is said, "I called upon the Lord." You must learn to call (you hear that), and not sit there with yourself, or lie on the bench, hanging your head and shaking, and with your thoughts bite and devour you, worrying and seeking how you will get rid, and looking at nothing else but how bad you are, how
1) to push - to push.
Woe be unto thee, how wretched a man thou art; but howbeit, thou foul wretch, fallen on thy knees, lifted up thine hands and eyes toward heaven, made a psalm or Our Father, and set forth thy affliction with weeping before God, lamenting and calling upon Him, as this verse teaches, and in 142. Psalm, v. 3, also says: "I pour out my prayer before Him, and show my distress before Him"; and Ps. 141, 2: "Let my prayer be offered to You like an incense offering, let my lifting up of hands be like an evening sacrifice." Here you hear that praying, offering of needs, and lifting up of hands are the most pleasing sacrifices to God. He desires it, he wants it, that you should present your distress to him, not leave it on yourself, and drag, gnaw and torture yourself with it, so that you make two, yes, ten and a hundred out of one misfortune. He wants you to be too weak to bear and overcome such adversity, so that you may learn to be strong in him, and he may be praised in you through his strength. Behold, they are called Christians, and nothing else, but vain washers and babblers, which speak much of faith and the Spirit, but know not what it is, or what they themselves say.
(39) Neither must you doubt that God sees your need and hears your prayer, and you must not pray so on the ebb and flow of the wind, for by doing so you are mocking God and tempting Him that it would be better not to pray at all, as is the prayer of priests and monks. For thou must also learn to praise the piece in this verse, "and the Lord heard me afar off." He confesses both that he prayed and called, and was certainly heard.
40 And if it should occur to you from the devil that you are not as holy, worthy and pious as David, and therefore you cannot be so sure, put the cross before you and say, "Let him who is pious and worthy be so; but I know well that I am the same creature of God that David is, and David, however holy he is, nevertheless has no other, better, greater God than I do. There is only One God, both of the saints and of the sinners, both of the worthy and the unworthy, both of the great and the small; and summa, however unequal we are among ourselves, He is nevertheless the same for all of us,
some God, who wants to be honored, invoked and asked by all. What more did the holy and worthy have than I, before they became holy and worthy? or, did they themselves become so holy and worthy? Did they not receive it as the unworthy and sinners from God before, from whom I now also seek and want to receive it, as an unworthy, poor sinner? He who gave it to them 1) also promised it to me and commanded me to ask, seek, pray and knock, Matth. 7, 7. On such a promise and commandment I kneel down and lift my eyes to heaven and ask for comfort and help. Thus he is honored as a true God, as one from whom I ask for help and comfort, which is fitting for a true God to do. Thus I will be esteemed worthy before him, and he will also show himself to be a right God, for which he sees himself kept by me, and will not let his divine honor and name remain above me alone, that I truly know. For he who does not pray nor call upon God in his distress certainly does not consider him a God, nor does he give him his divine honor, which we owe him as his creatures, of which much has been said elsewhere.
V. 6. The Lord is with me, therefore I fear nothing; what can man do to me?
(41) Then he walks in spiritual leaps and eternal joys, showing how it will be when his call is heard, and says, "It will be like this: first, he will give me comfort inside my heart, which is spoken of in this verse, and then further in the 18th verse; then he will also give help by heart, and deliver from trouble, which is spoken of in the following verse. Thus he speaks of comfort, "The Lord is with me." As if he should say, "My cry is heard in such a way that, although the distress does not yet subside, I still get a mighty, powerful, strong support who is with me and helps me, so that it becomes sweet and easy for me to bear such a yoke, Matth. 11, 29. Who is he? Oh, it is the Lord Himself whom I call upon; He fills my heart with His eternal Word and Spirit in the midst of my distress, so that I hardly feel it. For we must not, as
1) Erlanger: him.
the spirits of the wicked, that God comfort us without means and without His word in the heart; it is not possible without outward words, which the Holy Spirit knows well how to remind and inflate in the heart, even if it was heard ten years ago.
(42) From such comfort, behold, how bold and courageous he becomes, and may boast and boast, "I am not afraid," I am undaunted and undaunted, I am not in pain, I am of good cheer, and I care for nothing. For there is affliction and sorrow, which look upon me sore, and would that I should be afraid of them, and they pray for mercy; but I refuse them the figs, and say: Dear Potzmann, do not eat me, you look truly awful enough, who would be afraid of you; but I have another sight, which is all the more lovely, which shines for me like the dear sun, even into eternal life, that I do not respect you small, temporal, dark little people and angry little wind.
After that he defies and throbs the whole world with great pride and arrogance in God's consolation, saying, "What can man do to me? This is called defiance over defiance. Kings, princes and lords should become mad and senseless at this, that a poor sinner despises them so highly, and throws them all into a heap and kicks them, walks and looks over them as if nothing but straw hulls were lying there in the way; opens his mouth against them and says, "Who lies there? For do you not know what "man" means? It is the whole world, all that men are, Turkish, Tartar, Roman emperors, popes, kings, princes, bishops, lords, with all their power, wisdom, wealth, land and people etc., and summa, what the whole world, together with its god, the devil and his angels, is capable of. They should be justly cruel; yes, before one a wretched, abandoned man should be justly terrified. He still speaks against them all: "Dear, what do they want to do to me?
They will strangle you. What will they do after that? Perhaps they will wake you up again and kill you once more? Or perhaps they will eat the body in the flesh, the cute little bit? Even though they cannot kill, nor should they, my Lord allow them to do so.
beforehand, and tell me that he will allow them to do so, or else they will be struggling year and day, plunging knives, gnashing teeth, biting their mouths and looking sour, and yet they will hear Ps. 112:10: "The ungodly must look on, and be angry with him, and gnash his teeth, and nothing will come of it; for what the ungodly want, that need not come to pass." They insist on their power and good, that is their god and defiance; but my defiance is called: the Lord, to him will I let them rub themselves. I mean that they shall rub themselves against the cornerstone, 1) that they may stagger and be crushed, while I sing, "What can man do to me?"
For what is emperor, pope, kings, princes, and all the world against God? Isaiah says [Cap. 40, 17.], they are a marriage [XXX], that is unum sic, a little cliff, so one strikes with the finger. And in another place he saith [Isa. 33, 111: "They go with straw with child, and shall bring forth chaff"; that is, great and excellent is their dread and terror, their belly panteth horribly, as if they would bring forth mountains, that the dread is terrible to behold, and yet is vain straw, and good fireworks; and when it is born, and well directed, it is chaff. This then is the wrath, and the fruit of their woe. It is chaff that the wind weaves. For as long as the Lord is with us, so long will we abide; and if they kill us for it, well then, they have not yet killed the Lord who is with us. But if he abide, and where he abideth, there will we abide also: as he saith Jn 14:19, I live, and ye shall live also: and afterward watch with joy how he shall deal with their straw and their chaff in the day of his great fire: and it shall come to pass, what is said, What can man do unto me?
V. 7 The Lord is with me to help me, and I will see my delight in my enemies.
(46) This may be a fine and lovely God, who not only helps in times of need, but also comforts and strengthens through His Word and Spirit.
1) Rahm sah - übel ""run. Wittenberger: rham; Jenaer: rhom; Erlanger: Rom. See Walch, St. Louis Edition, vol. XX, 2399 8. v. Ram.
The game is not only so difficult that we can endure it, but also helps us to finally win and win, and puts an end to the game in such a way that we see more revenge on our enemies than we might have wished or asked for in the time of need. This happens in two ways: first, with grace, that those who are hostile to us, and (as the text says here, orunt) are at last converted, and become our friends, which is the highest pleasure and joy of all the saints on earth; on the other hand, who do not want to become different with grace in God's name, so that they have to go down with wrath in the devil's name, and still let the Christians live behind them without their thanks; as has happened to the Jews, Romans and all Gentiles before, and before King Pharaoh and the enemies of the people of Israel, and now in our times, praise God! has already happened to many, who wanted to devour us completely in three weeks, and yet now lies there, rotting under the worms, and we are still alive.
(47) Just as it will finally come to pass that the princes, bishops, priests and their companions will rage, so that they will perish and leave our teaching behind them. For if our doctrine is the word of God, then this verse is ours, and whoever takes it for the word of God shall have no doubt about it; they shall not carry it out, what they think; we shall see. But whoever does not take it for God's word, there is no power in what he experiences or dies. From the beginning of Christianity many a plot has been made by all the world, emperors, kings, lords, wise men and sages; but this verse has remained before them all, has kept the field, sings and mocks them freely and cheerfully: "I see my delight in my enemies." But the enemies, where are they? Where is their wrath? Where are their attacks? Why have they not blotted out this verse? And, where are now so many attacks that the pope with his clergy has lost now at ten years one over the other? But the best is, that they have hard foreheads, and do not consider, that they have so often missed, and have praised and sung Hui in vain, so that they hardened, at last completely fulfill this verse, that nothing more remains there. As the Psalter abundantly testifies in many places.
V. 8, 9: It is good to trust in the Lord and not to rely on men. It is good to trust in the Lord and not to rely on princes.
(48) He spoke of the comfort and help that God gives in the next two verses, but here he speaks of the comfort and help of men and mocks them; indeed, he speaks as if he had mercy on the wretched people who rely on men for comfort and help without God. For it is a miserable, uncertain comfort to stand on people who are not even sure of their lives for a moment, as Isaiah says. And David Ps. 146:3, 4: "Rely not on princes, nor on men; for they cannot help: for their souls must depart, and they return to the earth; then are all your counsels lost." And this is quite true, that one should not rely on holy men and pious princes, much less on tyrants and despots. For the pious, God generally likes to take away soon, so that the attack and comfort that stood on them falls away, and lets evil tyrants live long, as Solomon says, so that the faithless in God become all the more hardened in human comfort.
When Duke Frederick of Saxony lived, the noble prince (who should not be forgotten), both ecclesiastical and secular tyrants consoled themselves at his death, saying: It is a matter of two eyes, if they are closed, so is Luther's heresy. They have had nothing more certain in their lives than their own prophecy; they hold it in their grasp, like the fiddlers. For they did not think otherwise, that our doctrine was based on Duke Frederick, and that our comfort and help was human comfort and princely help. They took this from themselves. For just as they, despairing and apostate from God, put all comfort and help on princes and lords, so they thought that we also did so, because they knew no other comfort or help. Nor have I ever heard that any of them have let it be known that their consolation was in God, but all their crying, throbbing, pawing and defiance has so far been the emperor, the princes, the lords, and they brazenly write it out in public for the praiseworthy benefit of God.
They know their holy faith, which they have in God. Yes, behind them!
50 So they still go along in such confidence, and all their thoughts, words, counsel and suggestions are nothing else day and night, but how they want to dampen us by force; they comfort themselves no more than that they see how much they are, and how little we are. But that they also call upon God and ask for help, they do not even think of; they do not need him for that, they can do it well without him. It is enough for them to say, "We will do it this way and that way, we will do it this way and that way; then they will certainly have it, and they will not lack it. For how could God manage that so many mighty, wise people should be lacking? You may think it is not possible; they are far too wise and too strong for Him.
051 When Pharaoh the king pursued after the children of Israel by the Red Sea, he would not have looked to God to say with one word, O Lord God, give counsel and help; but: I will draw my sword (he said), then they are already dead. But, of course, he did not miss by a hair's breadth, so that on the morrow he lay in the Red Sea, drowned with all his people, and not one of them escaped. This is the end of human comfort and princely help, where God's comfort and help are despised.
52 Therefore he says here twice, It is good to trust in the Lord. As if to say, "Men cannot comfort or advise, so princes cannot help or save. For men do not have the word and the spirit to comfort and sustain a sorrowful heart; neither do princes have the fist to help a miserable man or to subdue his enemies. But it is God alone who has both words of comfort and the fist of help, no matter how great and diverse the distress and enemies may be.
53 Experience also shows this. For if a man is truly sorrowful in his heart, tell me, how will all emperors, kings, princes, and the whole world's power, art, goods, and honor comfort him? They are all less than nothing, even against a small challenge of a small, daily sin, where God's word does not give advice and comfort. So also, if a deadly disease
If there is danger of death, what good is all the world's power and force? And even if they could help, what would that be, if it is all uncertain, and they themselves die daily, and yet must finally give up their help and comfort to death?
All this is seen before our eyes, yet the devil is so strong and does not let us believe it; and it remains such a strange, great art, that one should not trust in men and not rely on princes, and the whole world is no different, and remains no different, but to trust and build on men and princes, that is to despair of God and to trample His first commandment underfoot. All false gods can be trusted without this one, the right, faithful God.
55. Therefore the prophet not only comforts us, but also almost laments the calamity in these two verses, that such poor miserable people are, and have no God; but emperors and princes (who are not for a moment sure of their lives) are their gods, in whom their hearts trust, comfort, defy and throb, and the same openly and insolently, that they also boast of such shameful idolatry, as the nonsensical Philistines boasted of their mutilated Dagon, of whom they should nevertheless be ashamed to the highest degree. But it serves them right, they want to have it that way, that they also leave an eternal shame behind them, like the Philistines [1 Sam. 5, 6. Ps. 78, 66.].
(56) This would be the time and the place for me to give proverbs and examples, both in and out of the Scriptures, of how those who have relied on men have always perished and been crushed. How the dear prophets preach here and call all together against their people Israel, who always and always made a covenant, now with the Egyptians, now with the Assyrians, now with this king, now with that one, so that they would not have to rely on God, but would trust in men; and yet they were always miserably destroyed. The pagans themselves write many stories, fables and histories about it. And I wanted to bring a sack full of examples, just for the time of my life, only to the German lands, since I have seen, both in high and low classes, what alliance, company, and comfort may have on people.
and how shamefully it has been destroyed. And this verse remains true: "It is good to trust in the Lord and not in men or princes. And again, Ps. 146, 3: "You should not trust in princes or in men, for they do not help" etc. As the wise man also says, Sirach [Cap. 2, 9.]: Whoever trusts in men will fall; God also does not suffer it, should not and cannot suffer it, for it is idolatry that wants to take away his divinity.
57 Therefore let him who would begin a good thing see to it that he begins it from God, and venture on His goodness, and by no means on human comfort or help; again, fear not men, nor the whole world. For this verse will not lie: It is good to trust in the Lord; and Jesus Sirach, Cap. 2, 10. 11., says: "Look, dear children, among all the generations of men, and you will learn that no one has ever been put to shame who has trusted in the Lord." And Ps. 25:3: "All they that wait upon thee shall not be put to shame." But whoever does not want to, nor can, dare to trust in God, let him rather wait, and do not look at anything that is divine and salvific, for human comfort.
(58) When I first attacked the indulgence, and all the world shut out their eyes, and thought it was too high, my prior and subprior, moved by the clamor, came to me and were very afraid, and asked me not to lead the order into disgrace; for the other orders were already leaping for joy, especially the preachers, 1) that they were not alone in disgrace; the Augustinians must now also burn and be bearers of shame. Then I answered, "Dear fathers, if it is not begun in God's name, it will soon fall; but if it is begun in his name, let the same be done. Then they were silent, and so far, if God wills, it will continue until the end. Amen.
59 I have heard say of the fine Bishop Frederick of Magdeburg, who was a Count of Beichlingen, not long before this time. Against him was a prince of Saxony, Her-
1) That is, the Dominicans.
Frederick, willing to fight as his enemy, sent a scout to the bishop's court to see how he was arming himself and putting up a defense. He came home to his prince cheerfully, showed him that the bishop was not preparing anything, all things had already been won. Then the prince asked: "What did the bishop say about the war? He answered that he said nothing more, because he wanted to go and wait for his office, visit monasteries and listen to poor people, and wanted to let God fight for him, who would however conduct the war. When the prince heard this, he said, "If the bishop says so, let the devil fight against him in my stead," and he left the war pending, fearing to fight with God. Then behold, who helped the bishop so soon and so easily, and turned the prince's heart so completely? Only the name of the Lord, the impotent little word. God accomplishes such great things so quickly and powerfully and easily. I will keep silent about the hostile examples of how those who relied on men fell; there are too many of them before our eyes every day.
60. Because God is such a Lord that He allows the pious to suffer hardship and the wicked to rage, but does not leave the pious unsoled in their hardship, and finally overthrows the wicked and helps His own, He wants to have kindly admonished and enticed us here, with His example and experience, through these verses, that we should learn to trust and hope in God, as the first commandment teaches; For such is good, fine and wholesome, here temporally and there eternally, for which God is the most beloved sacrifice, and the most beautiful service and honor done.
61 Again, he wants to deter us and faithfully warn us that we should not take comfort in men and princes, defy, hope and insist, as the world and the devil's children and servants do, who despair of God and fall away against the first commandment. All this is evil, shameful and harmful, here temporally and there eternally; in addition, God has done the greatest dishonor, dishonor and robbery.
2) In the original and in the old editions: "he"; probably a misprint instead of: "the". The Latin agrees with the reading we offer.
62. But lest here a spirit of the mob should lead and suck from this beautiful rose of the holy prophet his poison and teaching that one should strike the princes dead, or despise the authorities and not be obedient, because David sings here, one should also not trust in pious princes, whom he here calls Nedibim, that is, as Christ himself interprets it, benefici vocantur, "gracious lords", that is, who by their office are ordained to do much and great good by God; as is said enough elsewhere. Princely office and worldly rule are to be used and enjoyed for physical nourishment, protection and peace here on earth, for which God has ordained it. But one should not trust, defy, hope and insist on them; just as we need other temporal goods, money, cattle, house, farm; but one should not trust, hope, defy them. Trusting and needing are two different things; trusting belongs to God alone; needing belongs to the creature.
V. 10-13 All the nations surround me, but in the name of the Lord I will cut them down. They surround me, they surround me, 1) but in the name of the Lord I will cut them down. They surround me like bees, and dampen like a fire in thorns; but in the name of the Lord I will cut them down. They thrust me to fall; but the Lord help me.
In these four verses he tells who they are that persecute him and where the trouble comes from that he said above [v.5]. And herewith, as with his own example, he wants to prove mightily the fine teaching and admonition, since he has called us to trust in God and not in men. As if to say, "I will show you my own example and experience, so that you may see how good it is to trust in God and beware of trusting in men. Behold, all the heathen, with great power, diligence, anger, wrath, cunning and deceit, have attacked me at every turn; but they have not yet accomplished anything with all their raging and blustering, but by all this they have proved and confirmed that God
1) So has the original edition of 1530 and so must also be read according to the Vulgate and according to § 66. The editions have changed the text according to the Bible; only the Jenaer has kept our reading, but has inserted "allenthalben".
comforts, sustains and strengthens the pious in all distress by his Word and Spirit, and does not forsake them, and also destroys and disturbs the adversaries, so that at last he also helps us out of distress and saves us by deed.
64 Whether the prophet is actually speaking of himself or of Christianity, because he says, "All the Gentiles surround me," as some argue here, is not in my mind. It is an example that is the same for all saints, whether they were before or after Christ. But now I take it as spoken in David's person and of his people, as he addresses Israel and Aaron in the beginning of the psalm. For all the heathen around and about the Jewish kingdom were exceedingly grieved, seized it, and also oppressed it on every side where they could, especially in David's time. But David again did not miss it, confidently threw himself around, and struck at them, but by God's command, until he overpowered and defeated them with God's help, as he says here: "In the name of God I will smite them" etc., and thus sets himself as an example to all believers, who also suffer such things, but shall finally be victorious; but now no longer with the sword, but by the word and sword of God, for Christianity does not fight with the sword of the flesh.
(65) Now behold, how great is the trouble, and how manifold are the enemies. First of all, he says, "All the Gentiles," for they are exceedingly many and mighty compared to the small multitude. But it must be that all of them set themselves against God and His word, so that it may be clearly known how the defiance and comfort of men is nothing against God, as the other Psalm also says, v. 1: "The nations rage, and the kings set themselves against Christ" etc. All other doctrines and gods can be suffered, so that no nation nor country sets itself against them, but when God's word comes, then all the world is uplifted, there is raging and raging at all ends, and it is said, "They surround me." "Me, me," he says; it is I alone whom they must surround. The Romans had all the gods of the world, several hundred, which they could tolerate; but they could not tolerate the one Christ. Just as now all the teachings of the monks and priests, how shameful they have been, although they have maltreated all the world to the ridge, in addition body and soul plagued and tortured.
They still let it all go. But now the word of God comes, and teaches peace and grace, and delivers them from their drudgery, then everyone must cling, blaspheme and persecute. Why? They have nothing to do (he says), because they have to surround me, me who has the word, the devil has to cling to me; as Christ says John 15:19: "If you were of the world, the world would love your own; but because I have chosen you from the world, the world hates you.
(66) Secondly, not only are they many, but they also need their power, and do it with all their might, earnestness, diligence and labor, and attack it. For he speaks twice in the eleventh verse: Circumdederunt me, circumdederunt me, "they surround me, they surround me." With this he shows how they persist, continue, do not cease, do not tire, drive and drive without ceasing, do not stop until they perish. Even if they are often absent, they do not turn back, always one new advice over the other, one premeditation over the other. For the devil, their God, who thus drives them, does not let them celebrate or rest as long as they are able. For what such heathen rage against Christ and his word, that is the devil's doing; otherwise it would not be possible, if it were only a matter of men, that they would soon grow tired and weary, especially when they felt that they had often started and failed in this way, and had become disgraced, as always happens to such persecutors.
Thirdly, they are not only serious, active and restless, but also bitter, hateful and poisonous in the most severe way, which also makes them so restless. And again, their lost restlessness and futile raving, that they do not accomplish so much, or ever so soon, as they would like, but are often absent, and have to abandon and drop many a counsel and noble idea, that makes them even more fierce and violent. The more they are absent, and the longer they are consumed, the more foolish they become, so that they should be admonished to repentance, and so one vice is always sharpening another, and one vice is sharpening another. Restlessness makes them angry, and anger makes them restless, and so they must go to the devil.
Service run along, storming and rumbling, as he drives them and chases them, they cannot desist nor endure. That is why he speaks here: "They surround me like bees." A bee is such an angry, fierce little animal: when it is enraged, it sticks its sting into its enemy and leaves it inside, regardless of the fact that it leaves life over it, or that it can never make honey. For if a bee loses its sting, it does not die, but it no longer makes honey, and has thus shamefully lost its noble, sweet craft through its anger and revenge, and must henceforth be a water bearer and supply the other bees with water, so that it may also eat, and is now a servant in the house among the other bees.
(68) So the enemies of Christ are also so vengeful and hotly poured out that they will perish before they do any harm or take revenge; yet they lose all grace in eternity to do good and become true Christians. They also scrape and drink with their fists, and thrust their sting into the Christ, thus cooling their little mill with their eternal harm and destruction, both here and there. So the 8th Psalm also gives them the name, that it calls them, v. 3, avengers, and says: "Out of the mouth of the young children and infants you have prepared a power, so that you execute the enemy and avengers." But it is a strange vengeance, not human, but evil devilish, because they have no cause for it, since the word of God does them no harm, brings and gives them all good, grace, peace, salvation, life and bliss. But, as I said, such vengefulness comes from the fact that they are absent and cannot do what, how and when they would like to. This prevented and stopped restlessness and malice inflames them to such devilish revenge.
69 Fourth, because they must be ashamed in their hearts that they are not only so often absent, but also feel that they have no cause for their anger, rage and vengeance, they go on, preening and adorning themselves, inventing a cause, namely, that God's word causes turmoil and is harmful to the common peace. When they have invented this cover of shame, they must no longer be so ashamed, whether they are
They often lack and have no cause; they can now boast and say, "The devil thus hinders them in their godly, holy conduct," and for this reason they henceforth have great, just cause for anger, raging, murder and vengeance, as they are now vain children of God, doing great divine service in keeping peace and unity, punishing the rebels and blasphemers. Poor Christ, then, is shamefully and wickedly deceived; for how can he know that they invent such things, and are such knaves and husks in their hearts, because they turn such a fine nose at him, and weave such a beautiful brazen beard? He must surely make them saints, he is so simple-minded and foolish against these over and above but exceedingly clever people. Just as the council of Jerusalem, when they had undertaken to kill the Son of God, and had often failed to do so, and had become more and more angry about it, and yet had no cause for such wrath or for such a thing to be done, Mr. Caiphas began, and also made God a nose and a brazen beard, and said [John 11:49, 50]: "Ye know nothing, and think nothing: it is better that one man should die, than that a whole nation should perish." Where was God going to take the poor man? He had to wear the nose and the beard, and badly believe that it would be well done and his highest divine service that his son was crucified without all guilt, so that peace and unity would remain in the land, and his people would not even perish, as Mr. Caiaphas foretold and prophesied to him.
70 Therefore he says here in the 12th verse:- They dampen or extinguish, like a fire in thorns. If a fire breaks out in the field in the hedges or fences, everyone should run to help extinguish, quench and save it, as against a common plague and damage, because otherwise it could seize the grain in the field, vineyards and gardens, and ruin the land and people. Moses also gave the Jews their own right to punish and atone for this fire that rises in the hedges or thorns around the fields, vineyards and gardens, according to Exodus 22:6. The same is true of the fire that rises in the woods or in the heath and copses. The one who runs toward it does a praiseworthy and good deed. Such work (he says) is a good thing.
they equal their raving and raging, so that if someone teaches God's word, he has (as they say in German lands) burned the Rhine (which in Hebrew means burned the fences or hedges), then one must run and fight, kill such heretics and rebels, and thus defend and save his people and his honor to the dear God. Thus, it is not only a good, but also a praiseworthy and honest thing to murder and rage against God. And where it fails, one has double honor: as that they are holy martyrs in such good work, and must suffer great hindrance from the devil. This helps and is a deliciously good recipe to make a hardened, unrepentant heart.
(71) Now you know who they are, who cause the pious to fear and be troubled, and to afflict, so that they must cry out and pray to the Lord. 001 Many are they, even all the heathen with all violence, that is, the whole world with all devils. 002 They are fierce, earnest, and turbulent, and neither slothful nor idle. 003 They are also bitter, hateful, and fierce, that there is no hope of mercy nor of atonement. 004 And last of all, they are the greatest of saints in heaven, and the most pious of men on earth. Dear, what is forgotten of this painter, who herewith so painted the persecutors? But which piece among these four is not enough to cause a Christian pain and suffering, to make him afraid and anxious? With the Christians these four pieces go counterintuitively. 1. for they are single and few. 2. they are weak, and their actions are impotent. 3. gentle and patient. 4. the worst heretics in hell, and the most harmful people on earth.
How then will a Christian resist such enemies? Where is the victory he can hope for? According to appearance, it is all far and away lost. For there they are above, as has been said. But here stands our defiance, as he says, "In the name of the Lord I smite and bruise them." This he answers to all four pieces, and with one kind of weapons he will meet them all. This is too much, the poor hope is truly too great, that he not only wants to be saved and defended, but also to force all the world, together with its violence, wrath, holiness; yes, force it, smash it.
He wants to smash them and do the same with the same pieces. This should make the devil angry, and all his angry nobles, if they knew it. What then is such a rifle or sword, so that you, poor courtier, would do such a thing? I would like to hear the Carthaginians or singers, it must be a worthy piece! I will tell you (he says), it is called: "the name of the Lord". Well, this is a Karthaun made of twisted paper, a Scharnützlein 1) (say Scharrhans). Come on, let it be paper, you shall know it well in time. Dear, how do you load this rifle? or how do you shoot it? how does it burst? what kind of bullet does it carry?
First of all, we all know that God is almighty, and all the nations are nothing against Him, as the first commandment teaches. That is one. Then it is impossible for him to put his name to shame, just as it is impossible for him to abandon his divinity. For he said in the other commandment that he would not let his name be taken in vain, or that he would not let it go unpunished. This is the other. Now if we honor and call upon his name, but our enemies blaspheme against us: Dear, whom do they persecute or blaspheme? Is it not God Almighty Himself, and His name? Do you see the guns loaded? Since God Himself does not want His name to be blasphemed, and we also cry out and ask that His name be sanctified and honored, do you not think that such a prayer would set fire to the cans? The bullet, however, may be the Turk or some other wrath and plague of God that brings death and destruction. Then it will burst, that here a prince, there a bishop, here a lord, there a priest, here a disciple, here a monk will lie, crying and lamenting, that [it] will resound in heaven, 2) and on [the] earth. That is what they want to have. The Jews, who also would not desist, he thus shot with the Romans, the Romans with the Goths.
1) Scharnützlem - a container for storing all kinds of rarities. The Latin translator offers: oneullus 6mpor6tian8, ant aromatarius, ant elrarta, c^ua involvitnr tNu8, that is: a merchant's bag, or em spice packet, or wrapping paper in which one wraps incense.
2) galten - resound.
and Wends, the Chaldeans with the Persians, the Greeks with the Turks. He will also find us Germans a bullet that will hit us and not miss; for we have the upper hand and have not yet stopped.
74 Therefore it is said that we Christians smite the heathen, because God does it by our calling, for His name's sake, which we have and honor with us. For whoever accomplishes something through another's counsel, hot words or pleas, is rightly regarded as if it had been done by the hotter, counselor and bitter one; so that we can say with a clear conscience: I will smite all the world, that is, I will ask God with firm faith to sanctify His name, and I have already done so, for He will hear me (says the Psalm in verse 5). So also David, who struck his enemies with his bodily sword, did nothing by the power of the sword, as he also abundantly shows Ps. 18 and in more places, but that he honored, sanctified and called upon God's name, and prayed for his God's glory; so his sword must have been more than a hundred thousand swords. "The name of the Lord does it, if he is called upon and honored. For where he is not called upon, he does it nevertheless, but there we have nothing of it, nor does it apply to us, because we do not suffer over it and call upon it. Just as he otherwise punishes the heathen, since he does not redeem anyone among the pious, as when the Romans beat themselves among themselves and carried out God's punishment, and the like.
75 Yes, you say, you praise the name of the Lord; but that part also wants to have sought the name of the Lord, and to do worship with it, as said above. For here lies the knot, which part of the Lord's name rightly means, otherwise your speech is nothing. I answer the first, "Let every man examine his conscience, and God will not be deceived. Then, lest men be deceived, look at the fruit, and you will know whether the tree is good. For we in our part have no comfort in men, nor can we have it; we are too few, too little, and too weak, and must walk and stand in fear, sorrow, and trembling, and with all humility ask and entreat both God and man. So we murder no one for their
We teach, take nothing from anyone, let everyone believe what he wants, do not force them, do not push them, let the authorities judge and punish riots, discord, discord, have no thought nor counsel to harm anyone, but fight them all where and how we can, teach and keep peace most diligently, but suffer murder, blood, poverty and persecution most horribly. Which are signs of a right spirit, and agree with this Psalm and all Scripture.
76. But that part have their comfort and defiance on men, and their help with emperor and princes; stand secure, without worry and without driving, are not afraid of us nor of anyone, do not call upon God, much less humble themselves before men, but drive along in pride, security and arrogance, force and drive to believe what they want, murder, plague, take, chase away without all mast; In addition, day and night, they plot and strive in the most meticulous way, as they may only do harm and harm, inflict trouble and damage, and cannot nor will not have peace, as all this is clear in the daytime. This and the like cannot be signs of a good spirit, and goes against all Scripture. For it will not be proven for a long time yet that Christians should murder, or even kill with judgment, or do so with counsel and help; it belongs to worldly authorities in worldly matters, as the pagan Gallion also says in Acts 18:15. 18, 15. The Christians have a different judgment, sentence and punishment, Matth. 18, 15. ff.
In addition to this, our diligence is that a wild, lewd, and desolate life is punished and not suffered; public immorality, fornication, lechery, cursing, and the like (in praise of God) cease, the married state is held in honor, and the dear youth is finely trained in God's word and Christian discipline with all diligence. On the other hand, one can see what shameful, lewd, impudent avarice, hopeful behavior is going on among the papists, with all kinds of great annoyances in the whole world, most of all among the highest. There is neither punishment nor shame; there one neglects the noble youth, and lets them miserably perish, one teaches them neither to believe nor to pray. And those who are in the place of the teachers cannot themselves be ashamed.
It is also that they should learn from us such things and take examples; so that it remains after.
(78) But this is the greatest of all: We are not ashamed to freely confess publicly and to give glory to God, where we have erred before in many a misbelief and abuse against God's word, and we do not hide and adorn our iniquity. But there is only silence, recovery, deceit and adornment; and all their cries, thunders and blasphemies against us are directed to this end, that the beams in their eyes may not be seen, and only the splinters in ours may be shown and mastered, although they themselves know and hold that we teach the very best in many things. For they know well how shamefully they have acted and committed treachery with the mass, how abominably the pope, cardinals, bishops, canons, parish priests have plagued the world with all immorality, avarice, fornication, and hopefulness, yes, with false and erroneous doctrines of indulgences, purgatory, pilgrimages, and such public abominations. All this they cover up, and there is not one who would confess such things to God's honor, or punish them. Just as the preaching monks cover up their virtue to God, they go about in sure impenitence, thinking neither to atone for it nor to amend it, but only to us they are heated: they shall be dead, and their shameful, erroneous, evil nature shall remain free and right. This is called sin in the Holy Spirit. With such fruits everyone shall know how they mean the name of God in earnest. Let this be said of the three, 10. 11. 12. verses.
79 The thirteenth verse now says, what such heathen, who are so many, so mighty, so wrathful, so holy, mean by their surrounding and persecuting, how far they bring it; and says, "They push me, that I should fall. That is, they want badly, I should lie down, and be purely off with me, so that nothing remains standing, with roots and with everything uprooted; as Jeremiah forewarns his people, Jer. 11, 19. Now, that they push me, drive me out and chase me away, that is done by force; nevertheless, they bring it so far. But God still protects me from their thoughts and sets a goal for their intentions, so that they will not do it,
1) Compare St. Louis Edition, Vol. XIX, 1346, § 3.
what they have in mind. They can push, but they cannot cut. They can torture, but they cannot spread. They can push, but they cannot force. They can hinder, they cannot defend. They can bare their teeth, but they cannot eat. They can murder, burn, execute and drown, but they cannot dampen. They can chase away, rob, take, but they cannot be silent. And summa, something they shall do, but their heart's opinion they shall not do. For there is the purpose: "The Lord help me." Who are they that can do anything against the help of the Lord? It shall be said, "The word of God endureth for ever" [Isa. 40:8], unless God Himself and His name endure not, let them become foolish and foolish alike.
V. 14. The Lord is my power, my psalm, and my salvation.
80) On such miracles of God, so that he comforts and helps his own, he sings here with joy a beautiful, short song of thanksgiving and praise, in defiance of all his persecutors, scorn and mockery, and in praise and honor of God, that they must hear, without their thanks, that his God, and he himself, nevertheless remained, and still live, above and against all their raging and raging. And this is the same verse that Moses, Book 2, Cap. 15, 2, sings in his song in defiance of the drowned Pharaoh; likewise, Isaiah, Cap. 12, 2, sings it, so that it seems that the verse was a common song and proverb among the people of Israel; and it is also still worthy of being a common song or a glorious saying among us, as often as we are delivered from hardships. As we have sung many times before, but will sing more as time goes on, and will sing to the end, amen.
81 And behold, how finely he grasps it all, and divides it into three parts: "The Lord is my power, my psalm, my salvation. The first is that he trusts purely and completely in God, that God works, speaks and lives everything and everything in him, and that he does not insist on his own strength, ability, reason, wisdom, holiness or work; he wants to be nothing, so that God may be everything in him and do everything. O this is a high song,
1) That is, shutting people up (Walch).
and a strange song on earth, which neither defies nor relies on any man or prince, on any power of the world, wealth, friends, alliance, support, wisdom, work, comfort or help, but only and loudly on God, even against himself, against all the power, wisdom and holiness of the world; this is sung even higher, God alone shall be its power, comfort, defiance. The other is that he cannot keep silent about such things, makes a psalm out of it, sings it, preaches it, teaches it, confesses it, and says it of God as he believes. For faith does not leave it alone. He confesses what he believes, Rom. 10, 10. The world cannot suffer this, nor hear that its power, wisdom, holiness, works, counsel and deeds should be condemned and be nothing, that the salvation and comfort of men and princes should be rejected and despised, that its teachings should be vain and false. Then the singer of this psalm must stand up and suffer that his psalm is not a praise of God, and his sermon not the glory of God, his confession not the truth, but blasphemy, heresy, error, lies, sedition, and seduction of the world, that no more shameful song has come on earth, and nothing more harmful has been preached under the sun; and quickly with him to the dungeon, to the fire, to the land out, cursed, damned, and God to great service killed, burned, drowned, hanged, or otherwise murdered, and all misfortune laid on. Then follows the third, that God is his salvation, who finally does not abandon his singer and his psalm. He helps out, whether by dying or by living, and gives the victory; and should all hellish gates and all the world become mad and foolish, then God becomes our salvation at last, so that we and our psalm or teaching remain, and all adversaries go to ruin. For "God's word remains forever", no raging, nor blustering, nor blaspheming, nor condemning will help.
82] Therefore he holds it finely against each other, as if he should say: The power of that part is themselves, the power of men and princes, there they trust in, as is said above 76]; but my power, in which I trust, is the Lord. But what the power is, that is also the psalm, praise, glory, honor and thanksgiving. Therefore they must praise, honor and glorify their gods, namely, themselves, men and princes, as they then
do so publicly and insolently, and thus steal and rob the highest good work and worship, namely the sacrifice of thanksgiving, from the right God, and blasphemously turn it over and sacrifice it to mortal, wretched men. Mock now, whoever can mock, the wretched, stubborn people who have such wretched gods, and must show their worship to a maggot sack and bellows, since they are not helped by anything. For as their power and psalm, that is, their confidence and praise, is lost, so there is neither salvation nor victory, but vain error and destruction. For "in men there is no salvation," says the 146th Psalm, v. 3. But my victory and salvation is the Lord, who helps and can help. "Salvation" is to be understood here as victory or help, so that God finally gives us the victory in His name and word, and helps us to prevail and remain, since the persecutors perish and become ashamed.
V. 15. They sing with joy of victory in the tabernacles of the righteous.
So far he has spoken and testified about his example, how God has helped him; now he goes on to the common example of all the saints, and says: it happens to all the righteous that they are persecuted for the sake of God's word and name. But because they trust in God and do not rely on men, he helps them to sing such a song and praise God. Moses sang like this with the children of Israel, Ex. 15, 1. ff. Deborah sang like this, Judges 5, 1. ff. 5, 1. ff. So sang Hannah, 1 Sam. 2, 1. ff., and so on, all with one another. It is One Voice etc., that is, when I watch all the saints, especially in the New Testament, it is the same with them; so I also hear in their tabernacles such a voice of joy, that is, a joyful song and song of salvation and victory, how God helps them. That we may agree in singing, praising, and giving thanks, just as we are also of one mind in believing and trusting in the same God, and are also of one mind in suffering all things. In the same way, St. Peter 1 Ep. 5, 9 comforts us: "And know that your brothers in the world have the same suffering.
If it were not a special consolation to know and see that all the saints are like us, St. Peter would be the one to say it.
have not so attracted, and this psalm also does not speak so diligently of it. For it must comfort and strengthen a heart when I see how St. Paul and the apostles had just the word, God, faith, the cross, and all the same that I have; as one says: Gaudium est miseris, socios habere poenarum, it comforts the miserable when they do not suffer alone. This is first of all a very fine word, where it is really needed, and leads here among the Christians. For an unheard affliction frightens a man very much, that he should feel himself thus excoriated, 1) and suffer a special thing in the sight of all men. Again, it is comforting when many suffer in the same way; there is not such a terrible thought as if he alone had been rejected 2) and rejected. But it is even more comforting when they all suffer in the same way and no one remains free, as is the case among Christians.
But the psalm does not speak of the suffering of the righteous, but of victory and joy, so that the consolation may be all the stronger when we see them before us in a joyful image as the redeemed, and we may be sure that it will come to us and all the righteous that we also sing so joyfully. He nevertheless indicates the suffering of the righteous with the little word "salvation" and then with still more words, in which he gives to understand that the righteous have suffered honestly and have fought in the battle of faith. Otherwise it would not be called salvation or victory, if there were not such a joyful song. But now, just as there is always much suffering (as St. Paul [2 Cor. 1:5] says, "that the sufferings of Christ are much in us"), so there is always much salvation and victory, singing and rejoicing, praising and thanking, where the righteous are. So I think it is obvious to almost everyone that the righteous in Scripture are called the believers who trust in God, Rom. 1:17: "The righteous lives by faith. But he who trusts in rulers and men is unbelieving and godless; therefore there is no song of joy of salvation and victory in their tabernacles, but shouting, cursing God, reproaching, blaspheming, and then weeping and lamenting,
1) ausschelen - to segregate, to put out of the loop (bow in the wreath).
2) abfeimen - to skim off.
and gnashing of teeth in the hull. What then is the song of the friars, and the song of praise of the righteous in their 1) tabernacles? So it reads:
V. 16-18. The right hand of the Lord keeps the victory. The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord keeps the victory. I shall not die, but live, and declare the work of the Lord. The Lord chasteneth me, but delivereth me not unto death.
This is the joyful song of the righteous, and so all the saints sing in their tabernacles, that is, where they are together and dwell. And especially the righteous in the New Testament, when the gospel is preached in the churches from time to time of the great miracles wrought by Christ. And mark well that it is a song, not of the ungodly, but of the righteous, that is, of the faithful. For he that believeth not, but trusteth in men, cannot sing it, understandeth not a word of it, though he chatter it with his mouth; as in churches and monasteries this beautiful psalm is so shamefully howled at and profaned every Sunday. For their heart sings thus: The right hand of men proves strength, the right hand of princes goes up high. For they must sing as their beak is grown, kind does not leave kind.
(87) "Singing" is not only the sounding or shouting, but also any sermon or public confession, by which God's work, counsel, grace, help, comfort, victory and salvation are freely praised before the world. etc. For such singing is meant by the Holy Spirit, where now and then in the Psalter and in the Scriptures it is said of singing, songs, psalms; as above also in the 14th verse: "The Lord is my power, my psalm, and my salvation." For God wants to be praised, extolled, honored, and known by us in His works and miracles, as faith does, and cannot be silent, it must say and teach what it thinks of God and knows how to honor God and teach people, as the 116th Psalm, v. 10, says:
1) In the editions "their". Only in Latin is the plural.
"I believe, therefore I speak." And if he did not lead out, speak and confess, it would not be a true faith; although he must suffer from it, that he is cursed and persecuted, as soon follows in the same Psalms: "But I am greatly humbled." On the other hand, he has a helper who is his salvation, as the 14th verse above says, that such persecution must not harm but promote salvation, so that God is defied and blasphemed, that he must help, and the righteous are compelled to call upon God and pray; so it is fine and right.
From the 14th verse, interpreted above [§ 80 ff.], one can almost understand the whole song of the righteous; For it is of one mind with the same, namely, that the righteous in their gathering do not sing, teach, preach, confess, or boast of man's works, holiness, wisdom, nor of princes' power, consolation, help, as the hypocrites, the pious, the self-growing saints, and the godless, apostate Christians do in their gathering, but reject and despise such stinking, own holiness, and such loose help and consolation of men, princes, and the world; But they live by God's grace, works, words and power shown in Christ, which is their preaching, singing, praise and song. For this verse sets: Dextera Domini, the right hand of the Lord, to diligence 2) contra dexteram hominum, against the hand of man, so that one should know that nothing is valid before God that the hand of man is able to do. The work of man does not serve righteousness, does not eradicate sin, does no good work, knows and understands nothing of the truth and right nature of salvation; much less can it advise and help out of troubles, journeys, death and hell, nor give life and salvation.
But "the right hand of God" is the one that does it. First of all, it proves power, of which power it is also said above [§ 81] how it comforts, but here it wants to be interpreted a little more narrowly. But this is the power of God, that whoever believes in him and trusts in him is thereby saved from all sins, evil, and evil.
2) "to diligence" with diligence, intentionally. JmLaMnischm ktuäioso, data opcra. In the Jena, probably because this idiom has not been understood, in the margin is the conjecture: "more" before "to vleis".
We have been delivered from conscience, sorrowful heart, error, lies, deceit, darkness, and from all the power of the devil, and have been brought to grace, righteousness, truth, knowledge, comfort, and to the right light, so that henceforth God is our power, and we do not live in ourselves, but in Him, and He does and speaks everything in us. But these are all great, mighty, divine works and miracles, of which none of man's reason, strength and power understands anything, let alone that they should help anything, but rather lead away from it by their false comfort, teachings and promises, and drive the longer the further into error; although before the world their thing has great, excellent appearance, and lets itself be seen as if it were vain power, and soon helps to heaven. But he who believes in God's power sees that it is the work of men and a false, loose, vain deceit, and he who trusts in it builds hell for himself.
90] On the other hand, "the right hand is exalted," rises high, is on top, and is always victorious, that is, the faithful not only have the comfort of God, that they are free from sin and righteous before God, but also have help from Him, so that they are finally victorious against the devil, men, and the world, and are thus delivered from death, hell, and all evil, without the help of men or princes. It is also of no use, and is not able to do such high, great works and miracles, but the high, glorious hand of God therefore goes in such high miraculous works, and helps out of all troubles. But if we die over it, then it brings us all the more to life, which has no end. For this right hand is too high; neither tribulation nor fear, neither sword nor hunger, neither angel nor prince can pull it down, Rom. 8:35. sf. If then we cling to it with firm faith, as all the righteous do, we are just as high, and neither tribulation, nor fear, nor ruler, nor devil, nor fire, nor water, nor any other creature shall oppress us; the victory shall be ours. Again, he who hangs on the arm of man, and takes comfort in the hand of princes, must descend into the abyss of hell, even if he were above the clouds or sitting in heaven.
91. thirdly, he repeats the first part again, saying, "The Lord's right hand.
The hand shows power; for a good song may well be sung twice. It is also the way of all men, when they are cheerful or merry in their hearts, that they repeat a word two or three times, and cannot say it enough; what they encounter must hear it. So it is also said here that the dear saints are so heartily glad and merry over the great miraculous works that God does for them, that he redeems them from sins and death (that is, from all evil, both body and soul), that they start their song over and over again with joy. As if they should say: The hand of the Lord proves power; indeed, the hand of the Lord proves power. So nothing can help, nor comfort, but only God's right hand. Oh, what do the wicked do, who stand on their own, relying on their own work and wisdom, relying on men and princes for comfort and help.
But whoever desires to do so, may draw these three pieces to the three works of Christ, that he has redeemed us from the law, sin, death, as Isaiah on the 9th, v. 4, and Paul 1 Cor. 15, 55. relate the same three. But, as I have said, there is the art of knowing how these words are all spirit, and must be heard, sung and understood with faith. Otherwise, whoever with reason, according to the bodily eyes, wants to have his mouth open here and gape, will be annoyed and see the contradiction in the righteous and the saints, namely, that they must be nothing but the devil's own before the world; no one less righteous and holy than they, no one greater sinner and heretic than they, no one more deeply condemned to death and hell than they; that their right hand must be called the devil's right hand. But again, their counterparts, who alone are holy and blessed, there goes the right hand of God with power, and soars, conquers, and lies above, for they are God's children, and no one else.
The 17th verse of this song: "I will not die, but live" etc. touches and confesses the trouble from which God's hand helps the saints, namely death. They truly feel death when they come in death's way, and isn't the flesh a sweet little truffle when death comes under eyes; so death doesn't come, it also brings sin and evil.
with them. Therefore, it can be seen from this that the saints must be martyrs, for they must be in the throes of death, wrestling and struggling with death. If it is not done by tyrants and the wicked with fire, sword, prison and similar persecutions, it is done by the devil himself; he cannot suffer the word of God, nor all those who keep and teach it.
He afflicts them, whether in life or in death. In life, he does it with the high temptations of faith, hope and love against God; there he can so besiege and storm a heart with fright, doubt, despair, that it shuns God, becomes hostile and blasphemes, that the wretched conscience has no other choice than that God, the devil, death, sin, hell and all creatures are one thing, and all have become his eternal, unrelenting enemy. The Turk, not yet an emperor, can never storm a city with such force 1) as the devil can storm a conscience.
When he is dying or in his deathbed, he can also do it, if God gives him room. There he is a master with blowing out sins and showing God's wrath. It is a strange, powerful spirit that can cause such fear and build such hell from a small sin. For this is certainly true, that no man ever sees his true capital sins, such as unbelief, contempt of God, not fearing, trusting, and loving God as he should, and such sins of the heart, where the right knots are inside; nor would it be good for him to see them. For I do not know if there is any faith on earth that would stand before it and not fall and despair. Therefore, if God gives him room for the more serious sins, he will soon give you hell and damnation, because you have had one drink too many, or slept too lazily, so that you become ill from great pleasures and sadness: You will be sick with great pleasures and sadness, and you will die of sorrow.
96 And, what is worse, he shall take thy best works and put them into thy conscience, so shamefully destroyed and damned that all thy sins shall not trouble thee so much as they shall trouble thee.
1) Walch and the Erlangers: "Gestalt".
now do thy best works, which are indeed good; but now wouldst thou have done great sin instead of such works. And with this he seeks that you should also deny them, as not having been done by God, so that you should blaspheme God; then death is also not far away, yes, hell as well. But who can tell all his art, how he can make sin, death and hell? It is his craft, and he has practiced it for more than five thousand years, and can do it all too well for a master. He has also been a prince of death for a long time; he has certainly tried it often and practiced it well, as he should teach a poor conscience a little bit about death. The prophets, especially the dear David, have well felt and tried, for they lament, teach, and truly speak of it, as if they had often been there, now say of the gates of death, now of hell, now of the wrath of God.
Now, come what may, we hear here that the saints must wrestle with the devil and bite with death, if the persecutor creates war 2) or pestilence and other illnesses and dangers of life. In such a battle, however, the best and closest thing to victory is to learn to sing this little song of the saints, that is, to deny oneself and cling to the right hand of God. In this way a great mischievousness happens to the devil, that he finds empty straw to thresh; namely thus: I will be nothing; all my power shall be the Lord, as it is said above [§ 81]. If I do this, I am purely emptied of myself and all that is mine, and can say: What do you see, devil? do you seek good works, and to reproach my own holiness before God? Ever, I have none; my power is not my power, the Lord is my power. Rather, call me in the hand, or count money out of empty: bag. But do you seek to accuse my sin? I have none either. Here is the power of the Lord, which you may sue until you are full; I know neither of sins nor of sins.
2) "War" was added by Walch and included by the Erlanger; in all other editions it is missing, also in the Latin. The Latin translator has translated ^schaffe" by oooasinnoin Uot: there is now the occasion of the persecutor, or pestilence etc.
nor of holiness in me; nothing, nothing do I know but of God's power in me.
I say it would be fine who could thus leave himself and mock the devil with the empty bag, just as that poor landlord mocked the thief whom he caught in his house by night, saying, "Oh, you foolish thief, will you find something in here in the dark of night, and I can find nothing in there in broad daylight? For what will the devil do when he finds such a living soul that will not answer him for sin or holiness? There he must leave all his art, both sin blow out and good works desecrate, and is pointed to the right hand of God, which he must leave with peace. But if thou fall from this song, and he seize thee in thy sins or good works, and confess to him 1) his disputation, that thou wilt watch and hear him; then he shall judge thee according to his desire, so that thou shalt forget God with his right hand, and forsake all things.
99. But, as we have heard 35 ff.] we have heard, it is an art to deny oneself. We have to learn it, because we have to live, as well as all saints before us, beside us and after us. Therefore, as we still feel sin, so we must also feel death. And just as we must struggle to be rid of sins and cling firmly to the right hand of God, which proclaims His word to us, so we must also struggle with death and the prince of death or the officer of death, the devil, until we are rid of it altogether. For, behold, as this verse indicates, the devil or persecutor also presses on the saints with death. But what do they do? They turn away their eyes, yes, even themselves, empty themselves completely, and hold on to the hand of God, and say: I do not have to die, as you devil or tyrant pretend, you deny; I will live, for I will not speak of my works, nor of the works of men, I know nothing now of myself nor of my holiness, but the works of the Lord I have before me, I will speak of them, I boast of them, I rely on them, I am the one who is holy.
1) Thus the Wittenbergers. Jenaer: in; Erlanger: ihm in. The reading of the Wittenbergers is correct, because "gestehen" is construed either with the dative and genitive or with the dative and accusative.
is the one who helps full of sins and death. If you can overthrow these works, you have overthrown me.
100 Thus this verse summarizes the above-mentioned two pieces in the 6th and 7th verse, "comfort" and "help", so that God may benefit the pious and righteous. For here you see how the right hand of God aligns the heart and comforts in the midst of death, so powerfully that it can say: "Even if I die, I do not die; even if I suffer, I do not suffer; even if I fall, I do not lie down; even if I am disgraced, I am not disgraced etc. This is the consolation. Further, of the help he thus says, "But I will live." Is it not a marvelous help that the dying man lives, the suffering man rejoices, the falling man rises, the disgraced man is in honor? Just as Christ also says John 11:25: "He that believeth in me dieth not, though he die, yet shall he live." In the same way St. Paul speaks 2 Cor. 4, 8. 9.: "We are afraid, but we do not despair; we suffer, but we are not forsaken; we perish, but we do not perish" etc. These are all words that no human heart can understand.
And here you see that this comfort and help is eternal life, which is the true, eternal good pleasure of God. This is what the whole psalm reveals. For since he separates the pious multitude from the three multitudes, and yet gives to the same three multitudes all that is in this life on earth, namely worldly dominion, spiritual rule, and the goods, benefits and customs of all creatures, it is necessary for this small pious multitude to have the benefit of another life, namely eternal life, since the three multitudes grant him and do not leave him their benefit of this life. Therefore this comfort must be the eternal comfort, and this help the eternal help. And what can it be otherwise in himself, because he boasts of the Lord himself, above and apart from all the goods of princes and men, which they have? For the Lord is an eternal good. So everyone can count on it, where the heart feels a gracious God, that there must be forgiveness of sin. When sin is gone, death is also gone, and there must be comfort and assurance of eternal righteousness and life; this cannot fail.
Therefore let us notice here in this verse a masterpiece, how powerfully he puts death out of his sight, and wants to know nothing of dying nor of sins; again, he forms life so firmly before him, and wants to know nothing but life. But he who does not see death lives forever, as Christ says John 8:51: "He who keeps my word will never see death." Thus he sinks into life, so that death is swallowed up in life and disappears completely; this makes him hang on the right hand of God with firm faith.
Thus all the saints have sung this verse and must sing it to the end. But we see it especially in the dear martyrs, who die before the world, and yet their heart speaks with firm faith: I will not yet die, but live etc.
104. and here we are to learn the rule that where in the Psalter and in the Scriptures the saints thus deal with God about comfort and help in their troubles, that there certainly eternal life and resurrection of the dead are dealt with, and that such texts all belong to the article of the resurrection and eternal life, yes, to the whole third part of faith, as of the Holy Spirit, of holy Christianity, of forgiveness of sin, of the resurrection, of eternal life. And everything flows from the first commandment, when God says [Ex. 20, 2]: "I am your God" etc. This word gives the same third part of faith powerfully. For since they complain that they die and suffer misery in this life, and yet take comfort in another than this life, namely God Himself, who is above and apart from this life, it is not possible that they should die altogether and not live again forever. Not only because God, in whom they cling and take comfort, cannot die, and so they must live in Him, but also because God cannot be a God of the dead, who are no longer anything, but, as Christ says, He must be a God of the living and not of the dead. Therefore they must live eternally, otherwise he would not be their God; nor could they cling to him if they were not alive. Therefore, death remains no more than a sleep for this multitude.
If it is true that they live in God, it must first be true that they have forgiveness of sin. If they do not have sin, they certainly have the Holy Spirit who sanctifies them. If they are holy, they are the true holy Christian church, and the small group, and rule over all the power of the devil, so they must rise again and live forever.
Behold, these are the great and high works of the right hand of the Lord. What are the works of all men and princes, on which all the world builds and defies? They are cobwebs (says Isaiah [Cap. 59, 6.]), which neither serve to clothe nor to adorn, without that the false, mad gnats and flies, the reckless souls, are caught therewith and strangled forever. Now such saints do not live in that life alone, but begin it here in faith; and where there is faith, there is also eternal life begun, and the texts in the Scriptures about faith also belong to all the cancelled articles. For of faith there is nothing everywhere in the three heaps of this life, since the ungodly have this life the most, and faith also cannot hang on or cling to anything that is valid in this life, but breaks out and clings to that which is above and apart from this life, that is, God Himself. But that the saints begin such eternal life here, and yet live in death, this verse testifies, saying, "And I will tell the work of the Lord." He who is to preach the work of the Lord must be alive; even though they are dead, their spirit and blood preach, just as Abel's blood speaks against Cain, Gen. 4:10, and Hebr. 11:4 says that Abel, who died, still speaks through his faith.
(107) And this is the most grievous and vexatious verse to tyrants and murderers of saints, as I know of scarcely any in Scripture, that the dead saints, whom they think to be finely curved and subdued, have first of all to live, and to speak. Krodenteufel 1) It is not good to argue with the saints when they are
1) So in the Wittenberg and in the JMMt Erlanger: Krotenteufel. In Latin it is expressed nßM. Perhaps: Krotenteufel (?) or: Kraue 1 "en Teufel! (?) It is an exclamation of scorn against the tyrants Like: Yes, behind!
First of all, after death, they want to begin rightly the very thing for which they are killed, and after that they do not want to cease or desist for eternity, and they also want to be unkilled and unsilenced from now on, but to tell the work of the Lord forever. The pope has burned John Hus and many saints, now recently also Leonhard Kaiser, and many others; but how dreadfully he has done it and kept them silent, so that their blood is now always crying out against him, until he has lost all his power, so that he must now go begging, and call upon foreign authority, as emperors and princes, which he previously trampled underfoot by his own power. If they did so now, 1) the poor beggar would long since have been eaten by moths. However, even such beggar's help helps him little, and he is finally abandoned, and Johann Hussen must let his master remain.
The 18th verse is also a masterpiece in this song, and needs a rhetoric art, which is called, confutatio, tapinosis, interpretatio [refutation, diminution, interpretation), and speaks: "The Lord chastises me well, but he does not deliver me to death. What is this? He has boasted, "I will not die, but live." Thereupon flesh, world, men, and princes speak, and would make him soft and feeble: Is not this called died, when thou art burned, beheaded, drowned, strangled, damned, cast out? I mean, you should feel if this is called a life. Where is your God now? Let him help you. Awe yes, Elijah will come and take you away. He answers, remains firm, and comforts himself thus: "My dear, it is not dying, it is only a fatherly rod; it is not anger, it is the fox's tail; it is not seriousness, he chastises me thus, as a dear father chastises his dear child; it hurts a little, and is not vain sugar, but it is a rod; but it does not kill, but rather helps to life. Well, this is a good interpreter, and a strong confutatio, who can make a salutary rue out of the word "death"; the Holy Spirit and the right hand of God must teach the art. For it is extremely painful to blaspheme, to mock, to make fun of the head
1) Compare Col. 1191, § 28.
2) as the Jews did to Christ on the cross. Flesh and blood do the opposite, make death and hell out of a salutary rod, because it wants to despair and despair so soon, where it also wants to lack one bread; that does not interpret itself well. 3)
But much greater art is he that can sing this verse, when the devil doth such abuse that death is there; as he did to dear Job, and to other saints much. He can make a heart think of death in such a powerful way, not badly, as a man says, you will be burned, drowned, etc., but can blow it out, how a terrible, horrible, eternal thing death is, and drive God's wrath with it, and press and push it with powerful thoughts into the heart, that it is untrustworthy and insufferable. Here, then, it is truly up to a good interpreter to overrule and overcome the devil with this verse, and say: Nevertheless it is not death, nor wrath; nevertheless it is merciful chastening and fatherly punishment; nevertheless I know that he will not deliver me up to death, and yet I will not believe that it is wrath, and because all the devils in hell said it in one heap; yes, even if an angel from heaven said it, let it be accursed, and if God himself said it, yet I would believe that he tempted me like Abraham, and acted so wrathfully, and yet would not be serious; for he does not revoke his word. It means: He chastises me like this, but he will not kill me; I stand by it and do not let it be taken away from me, nor interpreted, interpreted or interpreted differently.
He feels death, but does not want to feel it, and should not be called death, but holds on to the gracious right hand of God; does not deny that God sends him such death, but he has one mind with God, that they both do not want to call it death, nor let it be, but should be the father's ruth and child punishment. Well, these are all high words, which are not in men's or princes' hearts, nor can they enter them, as St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 2, 7. 8.
2) disrespect - to be disrespectful, to blaspheme.
3) The meaning of this sentence is: This does not want to be interpreted well. The expression "interpret" goes back to the word interxretatio.
of the secret hidden wisdom of God, which no prince of this world knows". Let this be said this time of this beautiful song of the dear saints. Follows:
V. 19. Open the gates of righteousness for me, that I may go in 1) and give thanks to the Lord.
How? Has he not hitherto given thanks through the whole psalm, and been vain in thanksgiving? What then does he ask here, to open the gates, that he may give thanks? It is all spoken in the person of the dear fathers in the Old Testament, who heartily longed for the kingdom of Christ and the revelation of the Gospel, as he prophesied about it in the next song, and thus wants to say: Oh Lord God, that I also would be among the multitude, where one will sing such a song about the works and benefits of Christ, and would have to help give thanks, praise, preach! Oh how joyful I would be! Oh, who will open the gates for me and help me in, where first of all the right, free, joyful thanksgiving and praise are to be found! But now it is all still closed, and the gospel and Christianity not revealed, just as the 42nd Psalm, v. 5, also says: "I would gladly pass over with the multitude, and go with them to the multitude of God, in the tone of praise and thanksgiving, among the multitude that celebrate." So also Christ says to his disciples [Luc. 10, 23. 24.]: "Blessed are the eyes which see that ye see, and the ears which hear that ye hear: for I say unto you, that many kings and prophets would gladly have seen that ye see, and have not seen it; and hear that ye hear, and have not heard it."
So this verse is a fervent prayer for the kingdom of Christ and the gospel, and that the heavy burden of the law of Moses may cease, of which Peter says Apost. 15:10: "Which neither we nor our fathers were able to bear." He calls the New Testament "gates of righteousness" in the Hebrew way, because gates are called town halls, schools, synagogues, judgment houses, and such public places, where one holds public meetings in front of the community, as Proverbs 31:23: "You are the people of the Lord.
1) "da" is missing in the Erlanger.
A man is honest when he sits in the gate among the rulers of the land"; and the same is found now and then much in the Old Testament. Therefore, the gates of righteousness are nothing other than the church districts or bishoprics, where the offices of Christianity are publicly performed, such as preaching, praising God, giving thanks, singing, walking, giving and receiving the sacraments, punishing, comforting, praying, and everything else that belongs to salvation. For there sit the rulers of the spiritual kingdom of Christ, that is, pastors, preachers, bishops, teachers and other pastors.
He calls them "gates of righteousness" in contrast to the Old Testament, because in the New Testament there is only the teaching of forgiveness of sins, of grace, of faith that justifies and sanctifies, and nothing at all of works of the law or of one's own works. But the law in its gates and schools drives on works and makes sinners, increases sin and wrath, as St. Paul says Rom. 4, 15. and Gal. 3, 11. 12. and cannot help to righteousness, so that it may well be called gates of sin or unrighteousness. For law is not grace. But since grace alone makes righteous, it is impossible that law should make righteous, but must make sinners, and provoke wrath, Rom. 3, 20. 28. Therefore also St. Paul 2 Cor. 3, 6. 9. may boldly call the law of Moses "an office of death," and Gal. 2, 16. "an office of sins"; and 1 Cor. 15, 56. he says: "The law is the power of sins, and sin the sting of death." So even now our teachers of works (of which the world is full), almost all bishops and clergy, belong to the Old Testament, and have also closed these gates of righteousness again, and made gates of sins out of them. And they are still nowhere as good, because they weigh down and confuse the consciences with false, unnecessary, invented sins through the vain law of men, as Christ and the apostles prophesied about them; but still there remain some gates of righteousness.
V. 20. Here is the gate of the Lord, where the righteous enter.
(114) Just as he separated the Old Testament from the New in the next verse, and raised it to the level of the New Testament.
He also separates it here from the same after the service, when the Jews were very proud and could boast of nothing but their holy temple and their sacrifice and incense, for which the whole priesthood of the Levites was appointed. Here, here (they said [Jer. 7, 4.]), at Jerusalem, "there is the temple of the Lord", that is the right gate, where one must enter to the Lord, sacrifice, burn incense, serve God and become pious. For since he does not call it bad gates, but "the Lord's gate," and speaks as of one gate, he means the gate of the temple, where the Lord dwelt specially (as in his palace or council house), and where worship was most highly and most extensively practiced. But it is untempered and unburned and unoffered; here is the right temple, the right gate, the right worship, the right sacrifice, which is called the peace offering, of which he says in the next verse, and will say more hereafter.
(115) Even so there went in unto the gate of the temple many wicked men, hypocrites and sinners; but here, unto this gate of the Lord, go in all the righteous and holy to serve God. For no one is or can be in the Christian church or a member of Christendom unless he is a true believer, that is, righteous and holy; as the article of faith testifies: "I believe a holy Christian church." But he who is not a true believer, nor holy and righteous, does not belong to the holy Christian church, and cannot enter this gate of the Lord, nor can he pray, give thanks, praise, or serve God, nor does he know God, even if he lives among Christians in a bodily way, or even if he has an office among Christians, as a pastor, preacher, bishop, or even enjoys the sacrament outwardly; as also 1 John. 3, 6. says: "He that abideth in him sinneth not: but he that sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him." And again v. 8: "He that committeth sin is of the devil."
And this is the article condemned in the praiseworthy Concilio of Constance, together with this verse and the whole of Holy Scripture. For John Hus confessed at that time that
1) "rechte", which is also expressed in Latin, is missing in the Erlanger.
If the pope was not pious and holy, he could not be a member, much less the head of the holy church, even if he had the office inside; therefore he must burn as a heretic and be cursed. But much more cursed is St. Peter, who calls them 2nd Ep. 2, 13. "disgrace and vice" of the holy church. If he were alive, the devil would enter him with these holy murderers. And John also, who freely says [1 Ep. 3, 8.], "He that committeth sin is of the devil." But they oppose this, and say, "If the pope, bishops, and all of them alike sin greatly, yet they are not of the devil, nor of his synagogue, but are of Christ and of God, members and heads of holy Christendom. Yes, they are members of the church, just as saliva, snot, pus, sweat, dung, urine, stink, germs, leprosy, glands, and all the pestilences of the body are members; the same are also in and on the body; yes, like stains and filth, which the body must bear with great driving, toil, and unwillingness.
(117) Now I hope that almost everyone knows that whoever wants to boast about a Christian should also boast about himself as a saint and righteous person. For a Christian must be righteous and holy, or is not a Christian, since Christianity is holy, and all Scripture calls Christians holy and righteous, as this verse does, and is often called so in Daniel, Cap. 7:27, and that such is not a hope, but a necessary confession and article of faith. The hypocrites in the papacy, with their false, blasphemous humility, boast that they are sinners, do not want to be called holy, and yet boast that their estates, orders, rule and life are holy, and also sell their works for holiness. Although they do not lie in this, that they consider themselves sinners, when they said it with sincerity of heart, when they do not; but they lie against themselves; they are sinners before God, and all their things are wrong. But they do not want to have this, but to be holy, and yet to humble themselves as sinners with their mouths; this is a twofold lie and blasphemy against God.
118 But we should know that we, as Adam's children, are condemned sinners in our own right, and have no righteousness of our own.
have holiness. But because we are baptized and believe in Christ, we are holy and righteous in Christ and with Christ, who has taken away our sin and graced, clothed and adorned us with his holiness. So the whole Christian church is holy, not in itself, nor by its own work, but in Christ, and by Christ's holiness, as St. Paul says Eph. 5:26, 27: "He hath cleansed them by the bath of the word of life." He who is afraid to boast and confess that he is holy and righteous, does so as if he said, "I have not been baptized, I am not a Christian, I do not believe in Christ, I do not believe that Christ died for me, I do not believe that he bore my sin, I do not believe that his blood has cleansed me or can cleanse me; in short, I do not believe a word of what God has testified about Christ and what all Scripture says. But what kind of man is this who thinks or speaks such things? What Turk or Jew is such a desperately wicked man? Zero think and believe certainly all those who want to become pious and blessed by works, like the monks, priests, with the whole papacy; because they deny Christ, says St. Peter 2. ep. 2, 1. and Paul Gal. 6, 15.
(119) Besides this, he touches all other outward respect of person, that in Christianity there is no respect of person, but whosoever believeth and is righteous entereth in at this gate, whether he be Jew, Greek, man, woman, virgin, married, bondman, bondwoman, rich, poor, king, prince, noble, commoner, peasant, strong, or weak. For the Jews boasted that they were Abraham's seed and had the law, as if for that reason they should be next; just as now our clergy want to be the best, and the nuns special brides of Christ. But it is said that the righteous enter here, monks and nuns do not enter, they become righteous and Christians first. The kingdom of Christ is not in outward ways and beings, says Christ Luc. 17, 20. and it is not necessary to say here [v. 21.], "Behold, behold it is there; inwardly it is in the heart." But it is also hard to believe that such is true, and is also one of the damned heresy articles.
V. 21. I thank thee that thou hast humbled me, and art my salvation.
These are the sacrifices and services that are practiced in the New Testament, in the gate of the Lord, by the righteous and Christians, namely, that they thank and praise God with preaching, teaching, singing, confessing. And these sacrifices are two: one is our humility, of which David says Ps. 51:19: "The sacrifices of God are an afflicted spirit; God, an afflicted and a sorrowful heart you do not spurn. This is a great, because long, daily, and eternal sacrifice, when God punishes us by His word in all our works, and leaves our holiness, wisdom, and strength to be nothing, so that we must be guilty and sinners before Him, Rom. 3:23.He presses after the word, and terrifies the conscience, and afflicts it with all kinds of afflictions, so that we grow weary and stale after the old sinful Adam, until our pride, comfort and confidence in our doings and knowledge are all dead; which is accomplished at the end of life. Behold, he who can suffer, endure, hold fast and persevere in this, and praise and thank God in this, as one who means it heartily well, behold, he sings this verse: "I thank thee that thou hast humbled me." He does not say, the devil humbles me, but, you, you, it is your gracious will, for my good; without your will the devil would probably leave it.
The other sacrifice is when God, on the other hand, also comforts us and helps the spirit and new man to increase as much as the flesh and old man decreases, gives us the longer the greater and richer gift, and always helps us to conquer and prevail, so that we may rejoice before him and in him; as he says Ps. 50:15, 14: "Call upon me in trouble, and I will help you, and you shall praise me. Offer sacrifices of thanksgiving to your God, and pay your vows." Whoever does this, sing this verse: "I thank thee that thou art my salvation", helper and savior. This is also an eternal, great, daily sacrifice with the righteous in the gate of the Lord. And herewith he rejects and sets aside all the sacrifices of the Old Testament, which were images and figures of these sacrifices of thanksgiving, and both may have been done by the pious and the wicked. But these peace offerings no one can do, except only those who have made them.
Pious, righteous, or Christian. This can also be seen in the experience of how the Jews raged in the apostles' time, just as our works saints do now, that their works and wisdom are rejected; they want to be humiliated, blaspheme for giving thanks, shout, persecute, murder, and think that their rage is the most pleasing sacrifice to God, John 16:2.
So this verse is joyful, and sings with all delight: Are you not a strange, lovely God, who governs us so strangely and so kindly? Thou exaltest us when thou bringest us low. You make us righteous when you make us sinners. You lead us to heaven when you push us into hell. You give us victory when you put us low. You make us alive when you let us die. You comfort us when you make us mourn. You make us glad when you make us weep. You make us sing when you make us weep. You make us strong when you make us suffer. You make us wise when you make us fools. You make us rich when you send us poverty. You make us masters when you let us serve. And the like innumerable wonders more, all of which are comprehended in this verse, and are praised in Christianity in one heap with these short words: "I thank thee that thou hast humbled me, but also help me again."
V. 22. The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Here he comes to the head of holy Christianity, and presents him 1) also as an example to us, that he also is humbled and exalted, more than all the saints, so that we should not have strange or miraculous things, even though we suffer tribulation and temptation. "If they have called the father of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they so call his household? A servant is no better than his lord" [Matt. 10:24, 25]. But in this verse he recently summarizes the suffering and resurrection of Christ. For in that he is rejected, he indicates 2) his suffering, death,
1) namely Christ.
2) "an" is missing in the Erlanger.
Shame and mockery, under which Christ is situated. In that he became the cornerstone, he indicates his resurrection, life and reign forever; and brings it in under a likeness of a building. As if a stone does not want to fit into the wall, nor rhyme with the other stones, but disrupts the whole building, and is an ineffectual, useless stone, that it must be rejected, and if another, foreign master would come, who would know how to use the same stone, and would say: "Harret, you great fools, are you master builders, and do not like the stone? It is good for me, it shall not pay for the gap, nor give me a filling stone, nor be so small as a workpiece, but be a corner stone in the foundation, which shall carry me not one wall, but two walls, and do more than no other stone, and more than all the stones in the whole building.
So Christ did not want to rhyme with the Pharisees' character and holiness, nor with the whole world; they could not stand him, he disfigured all their buildings, punished and scolded their beautiful, outward, holy character: then they were angry, condemned, and rejected him, because they did not know what he was good for. Then God, the true builder, accepted it and made it a cornerstone, the foundation on which all Christianity, both Jews and Gentiles, stands. And so it is still. For the stone is rejected, is called rejected, remains rejected. But nevertheless it is and remains precious, noble and valuable to the righteous and faithful, who do not build on their own human work, nor on the power of princes, but on this stone.
But notice who they are that reject this stone. They are not bad people, but the very best, namely, the holiest, the wisest, the most learned, the greatest, the noblest, they must reject the stone. For the wretched, poor sinners, the afflicted, the erring, the despised, the lowly, the unlearned, will be glad of it, and have it heartily. But those are called "builders", that is, those who build, improve and govern the people for the best, with teaching and preaching. They do not have the name that they would be destroyers, harmful, unprofessional, but they are builders, who
1240 Erl. 41, 78-86. interpretation of the 118th Psalm. Ps. 118, 32. 23. w. v, isoo-isos. 1241
They are the most necessary, useful and best people on earth, so that if they were not there, heaven would surely fall before evening, and the land and the people would be destroyed. These are rulers, both in the spiritual and secular realms, who have seized the land and the people by their rights, so that it stands, and want to rule over it even God Himself. These were the same among the Jewish people, the chief priests and princes of Jerusalem, Pilate of Rome, Herod of Galilee: they had to reject this stone and not suffer in their building or government, for they knew better.
Therefore, whether kings, princes, bishops, lords, holy, wise, prudent, rich, learned men pursue the gospel, what wonder is it? Who should do it? No one else can do it. If it is to be persecuted, then these must do it, because they are the "builders". And they do it ex officio, because they must see to it that their building does not gain a gap, crack or deformity. Therefore, they should not and cannot suffer God's word and those who speak it, for he disfigures their building, makes gaps and cracks in it, is a rebel, and deceives the people, whom they have so beautifully built, ordered, and restrained, making them completely different from them.
But take great comfort in the fact that here are two buildings against each other, one rejecting the other. But the one that is rejected has a mighty master builder who erects two solid, eternal walls instead of one stone. Meanwhile, where are the building and the builders who reject it? They are completely silent here, God knows nothing about them. This is a sign that they will be destroyed with their building, for he speaks only of the rejected stone and building; he takes care of it. Therefore beware, and be not found among the buildings that are willingly condemned, rejected, and laid up. Neither be thou afraid that thou art among the building that is rejected. For God will have thee unrejected, and will not know thy rejecters, that they perish, and thou remainest for ever. There shall be no righteousness, no works, no holiness, without the one who is Christ, this cornerstone; for there is no other cornerstone. Our own works,
You have to build on it forever, not this cornerstone, but chaff before the wind, nothing else will come of it. It is said that this rejected stone is the cornerstone, or first foundation stone, 1 Cor. 3, 11. ff. [1 Petr. 2, 7.]
V. 23. This was done by the Lord and is a miracle before our eyes.
The Lord Himself, he says, is this strange Master Builder, who makes fools of all the world's wise men and builders, choosing and exalting what they reject, as St. Paul also says in 1 Cor. 1:27: "What is foolish in the sight of the world, God has chosen, that He might put to shame the wise." And Habak. 1, 5: "Look among the Gentiles, and marvel: for I do a work in your days, which ye shall not believe, when it shall be told of it." Although, as this verse says, God always does such works, which no godless person believes, and must become fools about it, this is nevertheless a peculiar thing, that he here makes this rejected stone the chosen cornerstone. This is such a great and strange work that not only all the Gentiles, with all their wisdom and reason, have become fools about it, but also his own people (the Jews) have been so offended and angered by it that they have completely fallen to the ground over it, and have lost both kingdom and priesthood, as well as heaven and earth, and have not been preserved with any miraculous sign, however much and tangible they may have been, and still cannot be brought back by such a long punishment and plague.
And what is causing such discord, so much heresy, and so many factions even among us Christians today? Who is making the papacy so raging, furious, blind, mad and foolish that they do not like the teaching that faith without works makes one pious, blessed and free from sins, death and the devil, who nevertheless confess with their mouths that Christ is this rejected and chosen cornerstone, and yet do not want to let it come into the work, and in fact admit it? And what wonder is it that carnal men and false hypocrites take offense at this? David says here that it is strange even to our own eyes. For though
the dear saints and Christians do not resent it, it is nevertheless strange in their hearts, and to believe it, they have to learn all their lives that they believe it. What others feel, they know best; but I still consider myself a Christian. I know well, however, how sour and difficult it has become for me, and still becomes daily, that I take hold of this cornerstone and keep it. One may call me Lutheran; but one does me almost sheer injustice, or am ever a lowly, weak Lutheran. God strengthen me!
Yes, these words, Christ is our salvation, he is our righteousness, our works do not save us from sins and death, the one rejected cornerstone must do it, etc., are soon learned and said; and how finely and well I can also do them, my little books show and testify. But when it comes to a meeting, that I have to fight with the devil, sins, death, misery and the world, that otherwise there is no help, advice and comfort, without the one cornerstone, then I find what I can do, and what art it is to believe in Christ. Then I see what David means by this word: "It is a wonder before our eyes. Yes, of course, it seems strange to us, and almost annoying, and nothing everywhere in addition. But my papists sing thus: And it is a small and light thing before our eyes. What faith, faith, they say; thinkest thou that we are Gentiles or Jews? So soon no one can speak this verse, they have believed it out purely in an instant. Yes, unfortunately, too purely from, that they neither us nor nobody have left anything to it.
All Scripture says that God is wonderful in all His works, and calls Him the Wonderworker. But the world does not believe it until it learns of it; rather, every man makes up in his heart about God, as seems right and good to him, that God will do thus and so, thus painting before him all the words and works by which he should abide. No one thinks to himself: "Dear, if he did as I think and understand, it would not be miraculous; how if he did it much higher and differently than I think? No, there is nothing, says Isaiah, they do not let go of their thinking; they carve out and jeer at a God as they would like him to be.
A monk creates for himself such a God who sits above and thinks thus: Whoever keeps St. Francis' Rule, I will make him blessed. A nun thus carves: If I am a virgin, God is my bridegroom. A priest thus: Whoever offers Mass and prays Horas, God will give him Heaven. No one does not think that God chooses the rejected cornerstone alone, and condemns all their rooms and buildings. Thus, God must always allow Himself to be carpentered, mastered and guided, from the beginning of the world to the end; the cornerstone, on which He builds and carpents us, may not be liked.
V. 24. This is the day that the Lord is making, let us rejoice and be glad in it.
This is the time of the New Testament, a different day than the sun makes every day; but the Lord himself is the sun here, and makes this day with his light and splendor, and is such a day that is not followed by night, nor does it shine into the physical eyes, but into the heart. Nor is the light of reason, which is also a sun, showing and teaching outward works and rights before the world, but this light teaches grace, peace, forgiveness of sin before God, since no reason knows of. So Christ is called sol justitiae, Mal. 4, 2: "Unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise, and salvation under his wings." This sun shall bring forth righteousness in the daytime, that is, it shall redeem from sins and make righteous all who believe in him, and it shall give salvation or deliverance from death to all who take refuge under his wings or glories. And such brightness is no other than the clarity and revelation of the gospel in all the world, which proceeds from Christ, shines and enlightens the hearts of believers; just as the brightness proceeds from the sun, and enlightens the physical eyes and the external world.
133. and is also a joyful day, as he here boasts, saying, "Let us be glad." For such light and doctrine of grace gives peace, rest, and joy to the heart in Christ, because it thereby realizes that its sin, without its merit, is forgiven, and it is redeemed from death, and for evermore it has a
gracious Father in God through Christ, as St. Paul says in Romans 5:1: "Now that we have been justified by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc., where he goes on to say that this joy and peace endures even in tribulation and makes us brave. Of what joy and peace no unbeliever can know, nor all those who strive by works to become godly and to put away sin, though they almost howl this beautiful verse, especially at Easter, and yet understand nothing by it but the bodily outward Easter, when they are merry with eating pancakes, and not of the grace and redemption of Christ.
(134) But the prophet may well praise this day as the Lord's own day, and exhort us to rejoice. For according to the outward appearance there is no darker day, and shines (as they say) as a dew in the lantern. It must also be called darkness, error, heresy, and the devil's night in the sight of the world, and be evil rejected, just as its sun, the noble cornerstone, must also be rejected, from which it derives its splendor. Therefore also the joy and peace, of which he sings here, is more a tribulation, discord, and all unhappiness, because he is so shamefully hated and persecuted by all the world, as he himself says, Christ, our dear sun, Matth. 10, 22: "You must be hated by all men for my name's sake." Therefore, as this day's light is secret and hidden from the world, so also its joy is spiritual and unknown to the flesh, even though it is the noblest light and the highest joy. For what can be better and nobler than a heart that is enlightened, knows God and all things, and can judge and speak rightly of all things before God? And where can there be greater and higher joy than a happy, secure, courageous conscience that relies on God and fears neither the world nor the devil? Again, where is there greater sadness and melancholy than an evil, despondent, guilty conscience? And what is more wretched and miserable than an erring, uncertain heart that cannot rightly judge of any thing?
V. 25. O Lord, help! O Lord, let prosperity come!
135 This is the place where the people sang Hosanna to Christ as he rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. They took this and the following verse from this psalm at that time, so that it seems that this psalm was well known among the people. So Hosia means: "Help" or thue Hülfe; the "Na" behind it is pleading, and means a heartfelt desire, as we say in German: Ach hilf! Dear, help, help! just as with the same "Ach" or "doch" we indicate our pleading heart, and with it would like to move the one we ask. The "Na" in Hebrew does the same, where it is added to Hosia, and is then called "Hosia Na, HErr," which is, O HErr, hilf! or, oh dear HErr, hilf! And from the same word Hosia comes the name Jesus in Hebrew, which means a helper or savior, as the angel Matth. 1, 21. says to Joseph: "You shall call his name Jesus; for he will help his people from their sins", that Hosia and Joshua and Jesus are almost the same, and Joshua is the same name that is called Jesus. But in the course of time such word Hosia was changed, and they made Osanna out of it, at last also women and bells baptized and called Osanna.
This verse is therefore a prayer or wish of joy, just as one wishes someone happiness and salvation when he starts something new or has received something good, as the women did when Elizabeth, the mother of St. John, happily wished happiness for the young son, Luc. 1, 42. 58. and as she herself wished happiness with great joy to the Virgin Mary when she came to her. So also here, because the joyful day of the Gospel is dawning, and the kingdom of grace is approaching, in which sin and death cease, and righteousness lives and reigns, he leaps up with joy, and pours out his heart, and says: "Hosia Na, HErr. Oh, God, praise be to God! Blessed and blessed be the day in which the light rises! Now sing and leap with us heaven and earth and all that is within, that we have experienced this etc.
137. besides this, he desires and asks that [it] continue as it began, saying:,
"Oh Lord, let it prosper," as one is wont to do in such a joyful wish, and to say: Oh God grant that [it] remain and endure in this way, that [it] go forth well, and never be changed. For the kingdom of Christ must suffer much adversity from the devil, the world, the flesh, and always stands as if it were about to fall and perish when the angry tyrants prevail. But against this, this word stands firm: Hosia! Hosia! Hosia! Help! Help! Help! and the other: Hazlicha! Hazlicha! Hazlicha! let it succeed! let it succeed! let it succeed! These words hold, and the desire for joy must remain and triumph.
And we may sing such Hosia Na against our Papists and Turks, and against our mobs; yet no one else sings it but we; for they have no need of Hosia, nor of Jesus; they have fists and art enough for themselves; they rather sing the word, Heach; Heach, Ps. 35, 21. Da, Da! Heha, Heha! Down, down with the heretics! Yea, yea! won, won! Well, let ye rejoice; I have not lived long, and yet such rejoicing much see last howl, and the Hosia Na pass with honor.
V. 26. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, we bless you from the house of the Lord.
139 All this belongs to the desire for joy, that the King of grace, Christ, rides along through his gospel and comes in the name of the Lord. And once again such a desire for joy is necessary. For many come trolling in their own name, bringing not the word of grace, but the doctrine of the works and dreams of their head. All of these, together with the whole world, received this king thus: Cursed be he who comes in the name of all devils; dead, dead with him, as the Jews shouted: Great, great, gone, gone, and quickly crucified. For he must be the rejected and damned cornerstone, and his word a cursed heresy of the devil. So now the monasteries and convents sing this verse. Only the faithful sing thus: "Praised and blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
140 That's exactly how it is with such singers,
as follows: "We bless you, from the house of the Lord", that is, such a joyful wish we do not only to the king, but also to all of you, who are his household, who believe in him and accept him. Blessed, blessed, blessed, and full of all graces and blessedness are you, that you are of the king's house. "Ye are not sojourners nor strangers, but the household of God" [Eph. 2:19], who let yourselves be built upon this rejected cornerstone. Whether you are rejected for it, and must be called the devil's servants, it does no harm; let them blaspheme and curse, and be content that we bless you, and call you blessed and rich. Our testimony is the testimony of God, of all the angels, of all the saints, and of all the creatures of God; why do you ask about the devil and the world?
But I observe that it is well known that "the house of the Lord" means where he dwells, and that he dwells where his word is, whether in the field, in the church, or on the sea. Again, where his word is not, there he dwells not, neither is his house there, but the devil dwells there, even if it were a golden church, blessed by all the bishops. But where his house is, there must be blessing, grace and life, as he says here: "We bless you from the house of the Lord." Because you are in the house of the Lord, you are blessed. He also says in Exodus 20:24: "In the place where I set the remembrance of my name (that is, my word), there will I come unto thee, and bless thee." From which text this verse also flowed, that where God sends His word, thereby His name and work is praised, not our name and work, then He certainly follows, and comes with vain blessings and all graces, as is now said from Moses. But where the devil sends his word and is accepted, he follows with a curse and eternal destruction. Although the world does not believe in any of them, and considers the curse as a blessing, the devil as God, and the lies as truth and praises them.
V. 27. The Lord is God, who enlightens us. Adorn the feast with may, even to the horns of the altar.
142 Here he names the child and freely expresses who the king is who rides in like this.
in the name of the Lord, saying: He is God the Lord Himself, who thus appears and shines for us. It may be a rejected stone, but it is still God, for it speaks of the one who appeared and enlightened us, whose gospel we feel in our hearts with its radiance. This same Illuminator is God the Lord Himself, and is no other God. What else could he so gloriously boast, "the Lord is God," because no Jew doubts it, unless it is said by a man? But here it is the time of faith to say: The rejected cornerstone, who enlightens the world with a new day, the same is God and Lord. If he were not a man, he could not be the rejected cornerstone, for God is not sworn in him; and yet he is not only a man, but also God Himself. And herewith meets the disgust and anger of the Jews, and all who are horrified to hear that a man is true God, and are afraid of idolatry. As if he should say: Do not be afraid, there is no idolatry here; he is the right God himself. For no one can bring or give the blessing of sins and death, nor enlighten the hearts, without God himself, so that the work also testifies that he must be God.
143) After that it is called, "this feast," and the new day, "adorn with may;" thus it refers to the Old Testament. For the Jews had a feast called Succoth, or Tabernacles, in which they celebrated for eight days, in remembrance of the fact that the children of Israel had dwelt in tents in the wilderness for forty years, Deut. 23:42. He touches on this here, and wants to say: Why do you continue to flaunt your Mayans and Tabernacles? There is now another, your way has an end, here is another day, another house of God, another altar, another feast, another being. Come here, and adorn this feast with May, as the new King and God Himself rides in with graces and blessings, and appears to all the world through His Word. Here put up May, not outside on your field, or in your courts, but in the house of the Lord, yes, up to the horns or corners of the altar, that everywhere may stand full of May and merry. For now there is no more distinction between the Levites and the people; let every one that believeth believe,
The first step up to the altar did not have to be in the law.
144 He also indicates the meaning of the May trees and foliage, namely, that God's name should be adorned, praised, adorned, and praised with joyful, fresh, green, beautiful sermons and songs. These are the maybes, taken from the beautiful trees, that is, from the prophets. And in addition (he says) to the place or corners, which are called the horns of the altar, that is, the altar of thanksgiving, that one offers thanksgiving sacrifices with such May trees, and no longer slaughters calves, sheep, birds on it etc. Now everything is done with thanksgiving and praise, preaching and teaching, which was done externally by the Levites in the past.
V. 28. You are my God, to you I will give thanks. My God, I will exalt you.
Here he concludes this psalm with a strong confession and resolution, against all the agitation and examples of the unbelievers, and thus wants to say: "Well, one does not want to think of you as God, you must be called the rejected stone and a crucified mischief among the scoundrels, your word and service must be the devil's word and service, and I must suffer all disgrace and fare because of it. But let it be, nevertheless thou shalt be my God, nevertheless I will believe in thee, and truly know that thou art my God. Therefore let the law, the temple, the altar, and all the worship of Jerusalem depart; let friend and foe depart; let all wisdom, holiness, strength, good, honor, and that which will not remain, depart. You alone I will have; you shall be more than enough for me for all these things. I will be your poor little priest and priest, and perform the right sacrifice and service, namely, the sacrifice of thanksgiving and praise, that shall be my priestly office, my May festival or tabernacles, that I know nothing to preach nor to praise, but you rejected stone and crucified God. That is where I want to stay, that is the end of the song, that is what I have sought and meant with this psalm. Let no one tell me otherwise, and let me not be sworn (says St. Paul Gal., 6, 17.): I will bear the scars of my Lord Jesus Christ on my body. Amen, Hofia NaAmen.
V. 29. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is kind, and his goodness endures forever.
When the good songs are over, they are lifted up again at the front, especially when they are sung with love and joy. In the same way, a bride ties her bridegroom's wreath, the front and the back together, so that it is a lovely wreath and adorns the head. So does David with this psalm. When he has sung all the benefits of God, and especially praised the last and eternal grace, he says: "Oh, who can ever thank the Lord enough for his goodness? It is as I said in the beginning 3] that "His goodness endures forever", and especially it endures forever over the fourth poor little group, who could only believe it.
(147) Men also do good, but there is no good deed that can last forever. For human nature cannot suffer ingratitude; nor does any man do good for the sake of God, or for the sake of virtue, but all for his own sake. You can see this if you pay attention to someone who does good to some people; if they then become ungrateful, or speak and do something that annoys him, you will see how he will untie sackcloth and rope, and burn brightly, shout, judge, move up, and say, "Well, I have done this and that to him; let him go, he will not come back. After that, if there is cause for him to take revenge, or if he realizes that he is needed, he stands like a stick or a steady horse; if he can no longer do so, he hinders where he can, and leaves in the queue what he could do for him. Nevertheless, he thinks he is pious, does right, and has no conscience about it; he cannot raise himself so high that he thinks: Well then, I have the good
I have not begun because of my wickedness, nor will I cease because of it; how daily God is pleased with me, if I have done nothing all my life but what has displeased him. No, he does not see such thoughts from the example that his ingrate sets before his eyes, and calls him to take himself by the nose and think of his ingratitude as well.
What, then, is human good deed in essence, but a threefold evil deed? because they seek gratitude, honor, even dominion over those whom they do good, and is a haughty, glorious, revengeful, selfish good deed, whereupon they are enraged and do eternal suffering and harm wherever they can, so that this verse may well be inverted by men: Fie on men for being so wicked; for their harm endures forever, and their good deeds are short-lived, temporal, and done to no one but he who worships and celebrates them, and they do not want to lose any good deeds, nor do they want to do evil.
But God and His children do good in vain, gladly forfeiting their good deeds to the ungrateful, as it is written: "The Lord does everything for His own sake" [Proverbs 16:4]. Therefore he does not desist from the wickedness of men. Thus he also proves that his goodness is naturally good, which does not stand or fall according to another man's virtue or vice, as a man's goodness stands on another man's virtue, and falls for the sake of another man's vice, and becomes worse than he. This is what the whole 37th Psalm says. So also this verse above [§ 3 ff.] is interpreted enough for this time. Christ, our Lord, make of us men true perfect Christians; to him be praise and thanksgiving forever and ever! Amen.