This is the last sermon of the prophet, and the last threat of the future desolation of the synagogue in the time of Christ, and of the calling of the Gentiles. For these prophecies consist of different sermons, which were not preached at one time. So also we teach in our sermons sometimes faith, sometimes love, sometimes the last future of Christ 2c.
V. 1. I am sought by those who did not ask for me.
This passage seems to argue with the saying in Matthew [Cap. 6, 33]: "Seek first the kingdom of God", but it does not argue against it. For the seeking is done in a twofold way: First, according to the precept of the Word of God, and thus God is found. Secondly, He is sought by our actions and suggestions, and thus He is not found. Therefore, he does not condemn the gross sins here, but that they were committed by God.
seek the word] of God and religion. Religion is the best of all human works, and yet it is condemned if it is not based on the Word of God. For God does not want to be sought through our actions, indeed, He cannot be found at all through our actions. Therefore, we should put aside our speculations about His majesty and leave our works behind, and instead take hold of the word, or rather let ourselves be taken hold of by the word. And apart from the word we shall neither speak nor think nor hear anything of God. For God wants to lay the first stone, and then He will be happily sought and found when He knocks on our hearts through the Word. As Paul says, "I pursue after him, whether I will take hold of it, after I have been taken hold of JEsu Christ" [Phil. 3, 12.].
3) Therefore, the entire papacy is condemned here, and all religions in the world, except the one that is called the "religion of the world.
818 k. xxin, W7-2SS. Interpretations on the prophets. W. vi, isig-isie. 819
is based on faith in Christ. For the pope and monks also seek God; but dear one, where is it written that God wants to give eternal life for such works? For the text says: "He who believes in Him shall not be put to shame" [Rom. 9, 33. Ps. 25, 3.], not he who puts on a monk's habit, who says mass 2c.
I am found by those who did not seek me.
4 That is, I was found by the pagans who did not bother to seek God because they were without the Word. Thus he not only condemns the works and deeds of the religious, but he also freely offers himself to those who live very wickedly. He must do this partly because of the wickedness of men and partly because of his goodness. The wickedness is that the Jews despised the Word and the prophets, and provoked God by that which was not God. That is why he tempted them again on the one who is not a people [Deut. 32, 21]. On the other hand, the divine goodness also requires God to make Himself known to the erring; but He does this through the Word. Thus, the Jews had to be rejected because of their excessive religion, and the Gentiles had to be accepted because of their excessive emptiness (inanitatem).
(5) Just as the seeking is done in two ways, so also the service is twofold. One kind of service is done by us without the word of God; and this service is not a service of God, but of the devil, which is done by lying and glibness [1 Tim. 4:2]. The other kind of worship is done according to the precept of the Word, which consists in believing the Word that offers us Christ who died for us, and this is followed by outward good works.
V. 2. For I stretch out my hand.
6 This is the cause of the so terrifying anger and threat. The fault is not in GOD, but in those who seek Him. "I stretch out my hand," I offer myself, I do well, I ask, I threaten, and
indeed "daily." But they mock the hands that are stretched out, kill the prophets, and "walk in a way that is not good, according to their thoughts," that is, not according to my word; not only in omission, that they do not believe the word, but also in action (positive), that they do the opposite of the word.
V. 3. A people who outrage me is always before my face, sacrificing in the gardens.
(7) Here he adds, what are the ways according to their thoughts? For he does not condemn adultery or theft, which reason also disapproves of, but the burning of incense and the sacrifices which were brought to the God who had brought them out of Egypt, namely the greatest and most holy works. What then is the defect of these sacrifices? Certainly this, that he adds, "in the gardens." For they had the command that they should sacrifice in the temple. They had no command to sacrifice in the gardens. So now we also condemn the whole way of life and all worship that was done without God's command.
They smoke on the bricks.
8 In a disparaging way (per tapinosin) he calls their altars "bricks". As if he wanted to say: You praise your altars highly, but what are they, but bricks, which are carried together on a heap? Here the hypocrites object: the altar in the temple is nothing but wood and brass. Therefore, a distinction must be made, namely, that the altars which are outside the temple are nothing but mere bricks. The altar in the temple is not only mere ore and mere wood, but (that I say so, verbatum aes et verbatum lignum) an ore and a wood, which is connected with God's word, that is, which is erected according to the word and by divine command. So also the temple has the word; the gardens are without the word.
9 We answer our heretics in the same way today, that holy baptism is not only water, but water with the word of God.
820 xxiii, 25S-26I. brief interpretation on Isaiah, cap. 65, 3-11. w. vi, isis-ims. 821
Thus, in the Holy Communion there is not bad bread and bad wine, but bread and wine with the word of God.
V. 4. Dwell among the tombs.
He punishes their perverse diligence. True piety is generally cold, but wickedness burns no differently than fire in stubble. In the temple, he says, they cannot endure, but in the rocks they have chosen they dwell, and there they endure.
They eat pork.
11. among the sacrifices they also bring pork, which they were forbidden to eat even as a household food, let alone at the sacrifices.
V. 5. and say: Stay at home, and do not stir me.
12: Moreover, being exceedingly ungodly, they are also very hopeful; they reject 1) Isaiah and God stretching out His hand as an unclean one, whom they themselves want to sanctify, but not to be sanctified by him; they want to teach him, but not to be taught by him.
Such shall become a smoke.
13. this is the punishment, as it says in the gospel [Matth. 22, 7.]: "He sent out his army, and set fire to their city." They laughed at these great and terrifying threats. It is an admirable brevity.
V. 6. 7. Who ravished me on the hills.
14. super colles exprobraverunt mihi, that is, they have disgraced me. But it is a description of one's own righteousness that it is an insult to GOD. For GOD is most dishonored when we worship Him with the greatest diligence with self-chosen services, which we perform without GOD's word and command. It is a terrible judgment, however, that the hypocrites do nothing else with their worship and works than that they desecrate God, and
1) Erlanger: äamnat instead of: Zananant.
rob him of his honor, and as Rom. 2, 22 [Vulg.] says: commit theft of gold. Thus, the entire papacy is god-robbing.
V. 8. Thus says the Lord.
15 Here he answers an interjection. For the objection could be made: Wilt thou then corrupt the righteous with the ungodly? He answers: No; but, just as one who destroys a barren vineyard yet leaves one or another fruitful vine unharmed, so will I preserve the rest, as it is said elsewhere [2 Pet. 2:9.], "The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation."
V. 9. But I will cause seed to grow out of Jacob.
16 This is a promise with which he comforts the weak, that the word and the gospel should remain forever.
V. 10. And Saron shall become a house for the host.
17 [Instead of: Et erunt campestria in caulas gregum] translate like this: Erit Saron in caulam gregis, Further, Saron and Carmel are very famous mountains in the Jewish land, because of the cattle pastures. Achor and Nephaim are very famous valleys. Therefore he promises with figurative words, it will be so around the church, that the word should be preached daily in it, so that the believers with it graze, and would be much of them 2c. The great cattle are the godly, the stronger in faith, who are sent to teach. The herds are the weaker ones.
V.11. But ye that forsake the LORD, forgetting my holy mountain, prepare a table for Gad, and pour out drink offerings unto Meni.
18. "Gad", I believe, is Mars. For gadad in Hebrew means to arm oneself. From this comes Gad, as if you would say a man of war (latrunculus). "Meni," I believe, is Mercurius, and that he was the idol of the merchants. For Meni is called a number. To this he alludes, as he speaks [v. 12.], "I will number you to the sword."
V. 12. Because I called and you did not answer.
019 This is the fault why he will destroy them, that they should forsake the word, and choose their own doings.
20. Therefore, each one shall adopt such a way of life as has the word of God and which he knows is pleasing to God, that is, the one to which he is called, even if it is despised and lowly. To be a servant, a maidservant, a father, a mother, these are such statuses that are established and sanctified by the Word of God, and which are pleasing to God. But if one becomes a monk, God does not approve of that, because He has not commanded it. So it is ungodly works to say mass, to take vows, to make pilgrimages, because they are without the Word.
V. 13. 14. Therefore says the Lord GOD.
21 Now he also adds promises, which he transfers from the Jewish people to the remnant and to the Gentiles. Furthermore, I make no distinction here between the spiritual promises. For Christians have the promises of this life and the life to come [1 Tim. 4:8]. The goods of the godly, though they are small, are nevertheless pure goods, for blessing is connected with them. The wicked are in want even of the greatest goods and riches, because the curse is with them. But we should make these sayings into proverbs, with which we comforted ourselves in shame, in want, in sorrow, and in affliction, saying, "The Lord saith, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall hunger. "2c. For those who rely on this promise cannot possibly be deceived.
V. 15. and shall leave your name for my chosen ones to swear by.
22) This is spoken in the Hebrew way, and means that the name "Jew" will be such an abomination that people will use it instead of a severe curse, and those who want to wish one the greatest misfortune will wish for him to be like a Jew.
And the LORD shall kill thee, and call his servants by another name.
23. the name of the Jews will no longer be famous; you will lose the kingdom and the priesthood; and in the future the name of the Christians will become famous, which will be blessed, and people will use it for a blessing; as it is said, Give God that you may become a true Christian.
V. 16: That he who will bless himself on earth will bless himself in the right God.
24. in Deo amen, that is, by the faithful or true God. For amen is adjectively increasing. As if to say: The hypocrites also bless, boast and praise themselves; but the Christians alone bless themselves in Deo amen ["in the right GOD"], who cannot deceive.
(25) Further, he added the word amen, first of all, because of the astonishment of faith; for on both sides the contradiction is before the eyes. For the blessing of the godly is hidden in faith, just as the curse of the wicked is hidden. For they generally surpass the godly in riches, dignities and honor 2c. But here he affirms our faith, as if to say: You must not doubt my promise; although you do not stand the blessing, and rather feel the curse, yet you are truly blessed in God, who is amen, who will not deceive you.
26 Secondly, he adds "in God amen," for the sake of the aversion to the object of faith, that is, for the sake of the incarnation of Christ. For this is an insurmountable vexation to the Jews, that we believe in a man, and in a crucified one at that. Therefore he says: "The Jews are offended by the humanity of Christ, and cannot believe that he is God, of whom they see that he is man. But you should not be offended by this; he will not depart from the true God who keeps his eyes fixed on Christ. Yes, there is no other way to come to the knowledge of God than in this man and through this man, Jesus Christ, as he says to Philip, who asked: "Lord, show us the truth of God.
us the Father": "Philip, he who sees me sees my Father" [Joh. 14, 8. 9I. This Christ alone is the way and the truth, apart from which one cannot find God.
27 Furthermore, a theologian must be commanded by this passage, so that we do not get bogged down with speculations about the majesty and works of God's wisdom, which is something highly dangerous. Therefore, one must fix one's eyes solely on the incarnate Christ. He can be seen, but no one has ever seen God.
For the previous fear is forgotten.
(28) This is an excellent passage for understanding other similar passages where the prophets speak of the kingdom of Christ as eternal life. But the matter is this: the kingdom of faith and the life to come are distinguished from one another, not in the matter, but in the manner of the matter. For we are now the children of God, as John says [1 Ep. 3:2], but in hope; for it has not yet appeared. For he that believeth hath forgiveness of sins already. If he has forgiveness of sins, he has life, and that is eternal life.
Therefore we are truly in the kingdom of life, we already reign, we are already seated in heaven, we are already saved, but in hope, because eternal life and blessedness already began when Christ took the kingdom from the Jews, since he was now raised from death. Therefore, whoever believes in Christ already has and possesses the same.
(30) But you may say, How is it that we are said to have such great goods, when we not only do not feel them, but rather feel the opposite? I answer: As long as we still live in this body and are subject to all evils, we see through a mirror in a dark word [1 Cor. 13:12]. For this present skin with which we are surrounded, this flesh with which we are weighed down, does not really belong to the kingdom of Christ, because it is still subject to sin and death. However, it must be exercised until we cast it off, and as long as we live, it must be pressed and weighed down.
(31) Therefore, it is from the defect of this skin and flesh of ours that we are sometimes troubled by the sensation of a terrified conscience, sin, death, the devil, hell, and the world. And this feeling does not belong to the kingdom of Christ, but to the skin, which is like a sack in which such a great treasure is enclosed. But it would be unreasonable to estimate the value of the treasure according to the small sack in which it lies, but Christ's kingdom, eternal life and blessedness lie beyond our eyes and senses in Christ alone; in him salvation, peace and life are true, although we do not yet feel these goods because of this sack with which we are clothed. For thus says the prophet, that the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom of blessing; consequently it is also a kingdom of righteousness, of blessedness, and of life, against sin, death, and the law.
(32) Therefore it is emphatically spoken that he says, "The former fear is forgotten. In the eyes of God, the matter is truly like this, but in our eyes and in the eyes of the competition, it is not yet like this, but the fear still lasts, and lasts until we put off this flesh. However, we wait in hope, and through faith we already have salvation. For the new heaven is already created, but according to the promise. But it has not yet been created for us, precisely for the sake of the ceiling. The other passages of the other prophets must be treated in the same way, where they speak as gloriously of the bodily life of believers as of the life to come.
V. 17-19 For behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth.
This new heaven has already been created before God, but we do not yet see it for the sake of our flesh in which we live (as I have said). But it must be noted that if the kingdom of Christ and Christianity are outside of this heaven and outside of this earth, then it follows that the ceremonies and what external things there are are not Christianity, but only belong to this life in which we are now, for the sake of our flesh.
826 L. XXIII, 286-269. interpretations on the prophets. W. VI, IS2S-1SSS. 827
for the sake of it. For the kingdom of Christ is not only out of this heaven, but out of all understanding. As long as we are clothed in this sackcloth of the flesh, we are prisoners: we do not do what we want to do, and we do what we do not want to do, as Paul complains in Rom. 7:19. For this is our nature: as long as we live, we feel sin, death and hell.
But the kingdom of Christ is something completely different. Whoever wants to enter it must abandon all sensation and be transferred to a place where there are no senses. For one must not judge according to the senses. Therefore, if your conscience accuses you of sin, if it brings the wrath of God before your eyes, if it snatches Christ the Redeemer from you, you should not agree with it, but judge against your conscience and against your senses, so that God will not be angry and you will not be condemned. For the Scripture says that the kingdom of Christ is apart from the senses; therefore we must judge against our senses. For our treasure and our heart shall be in peace and assured of life, for it shall be with Christ in heaven.
35 And this is the joy of which he speaks here. We taste it when we believe. For these are only the firstfruits of the Spirit [Rom. 8:23] and a tasting of the kingdom of Christ, not a contemplative life, nor raptures, as the monks teach, for these commonly come from the devil; but they consist in a certainty of faith, so that when you feel your sin, you can say that your sin is forgiven you through Jesus Christ your Lord, in whom you believe. And these firstfruits of the Spirit are felt by the one who, when he is afflicted by a severe and violent temptation, and is already close to despair and death, can strengthen himself through the Holy Spirit that his sins are forgiven, that he thus overcomes the insurmountable stings of Satan, so that he is not completely swallowed up by sin. We feel these firstfruits of the Spirit as far as the kingdom of Christ is in us.
(36) Furthermore, under the kingdom of sin, that is, according to the sense of our flesh, everything is the antitype. For there death seems to be
to be without life, the word without grace, the law without fulfillment. These are horrible images of death that hover before our eyes as long as we live in this flesh. However, the firstfruits of the Spirit overcome these terrifying images, because they teach us that we should fix our eyes unwaveringly on Christ, who by his death triumphed over the law, over sin, over death, over hell, over Satan.
V. 20. There shall be no more children who do not attain their days.
This is a contrast, as it were. This will be a different kingdom than the one under Moses. For the law led no one to perfection. Consequently, doing the law and works, striving for one's own righteousness and wisdom does not help at all. For those who are instructed in the school of the law always remain "boys", they remain in servile fear, they do not attain to this joy. Therefore he speaks: I will destroy the school of the law, and establish the school of grace, in which the baptized, as soon as they are incorporated into Christ by faith, will be wise, and have these treasures of which I have spoken. They are not visible, but they are in the word, through faith. But notice this description, that the disciples of the law are "boys". Therefore, the longer those who are outside of Christ study, the more childish they become; the more holy they live, the greater sinners they are. Thus a monk of a hundred years is not so wise as to think that his record is nothing 2c.
38 He does not reject the knowledge of the law outright (for it is good and necessary in civil life), but only this presumption that one thinks it is sufficient for justice.
Thus those "boys" are whom the world considers to be the holiest, best, cleverest and wisest 2c. But here the judgment is made that they are not to be admitted to the kingdom of Christ.
V. 21. They will build houses.
40 "Building" here does not mean so much as putting together a pile of stones or wood-.
but to create, establish and expand households. Therefore he indicates that from one church ten others will arise, so that the number of believers will always increase. What he said above [v. 17] about the creation of a new heaven fits more to the spiritual kingdom of Christ, but this more to this bodily life. Thus the kingdom of Christ is a kingdom in itself, because of the head that reigns, but to us it is not yet a kingdom because of this skin of ours.
V. 22. They shall not build for another to inhabit.
No godless person has a share in the fruits and gifts of the church; believers alone can comfort, instruct, admonish, and teach themselves and others. This is how it is today with those who can talk gloriously about the gospel, but because they are without faith (as can be seen from their works), they have only chaff, they do not taste the wheat and the true word.
For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree.
(42) As it is written in the first Psalm, v. 3, 4: "He is like a tree planted by the rivers of water, which yields its fruit in its season. But such are not the wicked, but as the chaff which the wind scattereth," and like the grass upon the housetops they shall perish [Ps. 129:6].
And the work of their hands will grow old with my chosen ones.
43. that is, they will remain for and for, as it says in the first Psalm, v. 2: "His leaves do not wither."
V. 23. They shall not labor in vain.
44 Here one must take the contrast to help. The wicked labor, but in vain. The wicked beget children, but in vain; and both their labor and the fruit of their labor are accursed. On the other hand, the godly labor in such a way that they do not feel the labor, and their labor is not in vain.
Still giving birth untimely.
(45) By this he means that all actions, all teachings, all righteousness, and all works that are without and against the word are useless and, as it were, "an untimely birth," "since nothing righteous ever comes of it. For this is what the word [XXXXX] actually means.
V. 24. And it shall come to pass, before they call, that I will answer.
46 This is before they finish their cry, as Moses did at the Red Sea [Exodus 14:15]. This is a necessary promise to strengthen the conscience and to encourage the heart to pray. But like other promises, this one is hidden and will only be fulfilled in faith.
In order that our prayer may be heard, it is first of all useful to know that we are in the word and in the kingdom of Christ, and that we are not hindered by the fact that we are in the outward skin, which tastes of its origin and retains the odor of the sin with which it is infected and even corrupted. But our glory and comfort is this, that the Word lifts us outside this skin into another heaven. Therefore, we should not, because of our sins, either throw away our confidence in prayer or despise our prayer as if it were displeasing and vain to God, but we should rather insist on the opposite, and say: Although conscience contradicts, nevertheless, because I have baptism and the Word and the sacrament of the altar, I belong to the kingdom of Christ, and am truly bone of Christ's legs, and flesh of Christ's flesh. This presumption and arrogance (that I call it so) must be grasped in the heart, not as a merit, but as a free gift given by grace; and then prayer will also be pleasant and answered, if the heart is thus instructed and strengthened by trust in the death and merit of Christ.
(48) But there are many and great causes that encourage us to pray. For not only are we afflicted by our own sins, but also all the ills of the world are upon us.
6 Therefore, one must diligently pay attention to how the prophet treated this passage, in which he deprives his people, who had a worship and a temple that had been established by God Himself and confirmed with the most lovely promises, of trusting in the promises and in the Word of God.
7 But he does it in such a way that there are two kinds of divine promises. Some promises promise something absolutely, without any condition. And such promises are those peculiar to the gospel, of Christ, which belong to the victory over sin and death. Of this kind is the one that happened to Adam in Paradise, and others that promise eternal life and salvation from sin and death through Christ. With these, there is no condition, so that hearts may place their trust all the more securely in Christ and entrust the blessedness of their souls to him, as Peter says [1 Ep. 1, 13, 9], and so that all glory may be based on God's unified and pure goodness and mercy, which has been shown to us in Christ. For these promises have been offered to us without any conditions, because they are free of charge and, as Paul says [Rom. 11, 29], may not repent of God.
8. other promises are legal ones, to which the condition word "if" is added, that is, the condition of our work 2c., as: If ye will keep my covenant, then shall ye be my people 2c. [Therefore the Jews err in making an unconditional promise out of a conditional promise, and think that God will keep His covenant without fail, even though they deviate from the covenant and do the opposite. But there are certain clear sayings in Moses and other prophets in which God threatens to reject the people with all worship if they do not keep His covenant.
(9) What could have been said more clearly than what Jeremiah says in Cap. 7:4 ff: "Do not rely on the lies when they say, 'Here is the Lord's temple, here is the Lord's temple, here is the Lord's temple! But
Amend your lives and your ways, that ye do right one against another, and do no violence to strangers, orphans, or widows, nor shed innocent blood in this place, nor follow after other gods, to your own hurt: and I will dwell with you in this place for ever, in the land which I gave unto your fathers" 2c. And soon after, v. 13 ff: "Because I preach unto you continually, and ye will not hear, I call unto you, and ye will not answer: therefore will I do unto the house which is called by my name, in which ye rely, and unto the place which I gave unto your fathers, even as I did unto Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim" 2c. Such sayings are found now and then very much. For since this promise was conditional, the promise must necessarily cease, because the condition ceased. Therefore, the trust that remains after the condition has been removed is a mere human trust, which God hates and in which he has abhorrence. Thus Jerusalem is called the holy city because of the word of God that it had. Now that the word has ceased to be there, it is no longer holy, but unholy. Therefore, if they had kept the covenant of God, the temple would have remained as promised; but because they did not keep it, the temple and all the worship of the Law perished, or the Romans would never have destroyed Jerusalem.
(10) Therefore, this passage argues against the trust in the promise, which has already been abrogated; and the Jews are punished that, since they themselves have not kept the covenant, they nevertheless demand of God that he should keep the covenant, just as today our adversaries boast excellently of the promises that the church has, that Peter's faith will never cease, that Christ will remain with his church until the end of the world. Well, we do not deny that this is true; indeed, we ourselves have this certain consolation, in the face of so great a raging of the world and of Satan, that the clear promises are thereChrist is sitting at the right hand of God, and will
stand by the church, since it is thus in danger for the sake of the Word.
Why then do we despise our adversaries? Why do we fight against them and promise ourselves that they will perish? Certainly because they are not the church. But let them first begin to become the church, and then we will grant them that they can safely rely on the promises that the church has. How should those deserve the name of the church who first deny the head of the church, Christ, and ascribe those benefits that belong to Christ alone to our services and merits, and then not only do not teach God's word, but also impose the cruelest punishments on the teachers of the word? Hence it follows that, although they have the sacraments, they cannot use them lawfully, nor understand their power and truth. In addition to this, there is also the outward habit of life, which is of such a nature that it is absolutely worthy of such an ungodly doctrine. But we have said and written much else about this. Therefore, the name of the church and the trust in the promises of the church do not help them any more than the name of the people of God, the temple and the law helped the Jews.
V. 1. Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne.
12. as if to say, Who are you who want to do me a special service in this temple built by the hands of men? Do you think that I am enclosed between these walls of the temple, and sit there as a prisoner, as it were, waiting for your sacrifices, which you offer here, and thereby forsake righteousness, keep neither faith nor loyalty, and commit all kinds of shame and vices? as he reckoned with the Jews Ps. 50:13, 16 ff. For sacrifices are not pleasing to God unless they are offered by a person who is righteous and pleasing to Him beforehand. But if the person is evil, the works, even though they are not evil in and of themselves, are nevertheless evil and condemned.
(13) Hilarius has explained this passage about the divine majesty, and has treated it very well, that God's feet touch the earth, but the loins are outside of heaven, that is, that God has his seat outside of the world, and yet sets his feet on the earth, which is the lowest and the center of the world, that God is inside, outside, and beyond the world, and that nothing is more outside and beyond the world, nor more inside and on this side of the world, than God. This is very well said; but you know my advice that the inexperienced do not handle such thoughts of the divine majesty without the most serious danger. Therefore, one should not philosophize much here, as he reminded us, and turn one's eyes to Christ who became man. For there is no safer way, as I have often said, if one wants to avoid all the dangerous rocks on which the heretics have been shipwrecked, than by remaining with Christ who became man and lies in the cradle. By these thoughts a Christian must grow and increase, as it were by milk food. But the thoughts of the divine majesty plunge the weak souls into an abyss.
In the meantime, we can use these and other similar sayings to fortify our faith, so that we do not, as it were, lock God in a cage from which he cannot leave, as those did who at the beginning impiously argued against us about the presence of the body of Christ in the sacrament of the altar. It is enough that one learns this from the divine majesty, that it is impossible for it to be grasped by any man; which I have experienced with great danger for myself. For there is no one, either in or out of the church, who, under the guidance of reason, could conceive anything rightly, except in worldly government and in domestic affairs. For these are the limits of our reason; it goes no further. For these two things are subjected to us in the second chapter of the first book of Moses. But he who wants to instruct souls by reason leads himself and others into error. For we can teach only hands and feet, that is, things that the worldly rule and
(6) Therefore, one must pay careful attention to how the prophet treated this passage, in which he deprives his people, who had a worship service and a temple that had been established by God Himself and confirmed with the most loving promises, of trusting in the promises and in the word of God.
7 But he does it in such a way that there are two kinds of divine promises. Some promises promise something absolutely, without any condition. And such promises are those peculiar to the gospel, of Christ, which belong to the victory over sin and death. Of this kind is the one that happened to Adam in Paradise, and others that promise eternal life and salvation from sin and death through Christ. With these there is no condition, so that the hearts may place their trust all the more securely in Christ and entrust the blessedness of their souls to him, as Peter says [1 Ep. I, 13. 9.], and so that all glory may be based on the unified and pure goodness and mercy of God, which has been shown to us in Christ. For these promises, because they are free of charge by grace, and, as Paul says [Rom. 11, 29], may not repent of God, have been offered to us without any condition whatsoever.
8. other promises are legal ones, to which the condition word "if" is added, that is, the condition of our work 2c., as: If ye will keep my covenant, then shall ye be my people 2c. Mos. 19, 5.] Therefore the Jews err in making an unconditional promise out of a conditional one, and think that God will keep His covenant without fail, even though they deviate from the covenant and do the opposite. But there are certain clear sayings in Moses and other prophets in which God threatens to reject the people with all worship if they do not keep His covenant.
(9) What could be said more clearly than what Jeremiah says in Cap. 7:4 ff: "Do not rely on the lies when they say, 'Here is the temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord, here is the temple of the Lord! But
Amend your lives and your ways, that ye do right one against another, and do no violence to strangers, orphans, or widows, nor shed innocent blood in this place, nor go after other gods to your own hurt; and I will dwell with you in this place for ever, in the land which I gave unto your fathers" 2c. And soon after, v. 13 ff: "Because I preach unto you continually, and ye will not hear, I call unto you, and ye will not answer: therefore will I do unto the house which is called by my name, in which ye rely, and unto the place which I gave unto your fathers, even as I did unto Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim" 2c. Such sayings are found now and then very much. For since this promise was conditional, the promise must necessarily cease, because the condition ceased. Therefore, the trust that remains after the condition has been removed is a mere human trust, which God hates and in which he has abhorrence. Thus Jerusalem is called the holy city because of the word of God that it had. Now that the word has ceased to be there, it is no longer holy, but unholy. Therefore, if they had kept the covenant of God, the temple would have remained as promised, but because they did not keep it, the temple and all the services of the Law perished, or the Romans would never have destroyed Jerusalem.
(10) Therefore, this passage argues against the trust in the promise, which has already been abrogated; and the Jews are punished that, since they themselves have not kept the covenant, they nevertheless demand of God that he should keep the covenant, just as today our adversaries boast excellently of the promises that the church has, that Peter's faith will never cease, that Christ will remain with his church until the end of the world. Well, we do not deny that this is true; indeed, we ourselves have this certain consolation, in the face of so great a raging of the world and of Satan, that the clear promises are thereChrist is sitting at the right hand of God, and will
stand by the church, since it is thus in danger for the sake of the Word.
Why then do we despise our adversaries? Why do we fight against them and promise ourselves that they will perish? Certainly because they are not the church. But let them first begin to become the church, and then we will grant them that they can safely rely on the promises that the church has. How should those deserve the name of the church who first deny the head of the church, Christ, and ascribe those benefits that belong to Christ alone to our services and merits, and then not only do not teach God's word, but also impose the cruelest punishments on the teachers of the word? Hence it follows that, although they have the sacraments, they cannot use them lawfully, nor understand their power and truth. In addition to this, there is also the outward habit of life, which is of such a nature that it is absolutely worthy of such an ungodly doctrine. But we have said and written much else about this. Therefore, the name of the church and the trust in the promises of the church do not help them any more than the name of the people of God, the temple and the law helped the Jews.
V. 1. Thus says the Lord: Heaven is my throne.
12. as if to say, Who are you who want to do me a special service in this temple built by the hands of men? Do you think that I am enclosed between these walls of the temple, and sit there as a prisoner, as it were, waiting for your sacrifices, which you offer here, and thereby forsake righteousness, do not keep faith and do not glorify, and commit all kinds of shame and vices? as he was talking to the Jews Ps. 50, 13. 16. ff. For sacrifices are not pleasing to God unless they are offered by a person who is righteous and pleasing to Him beforehand. But if the person is evil, the works, even though they are not evil in and of themselves, are nevertheless evil and condemned.
(13) Hilarius has explained this passage about the divine majesty, and has treated it very well, that God's feet touch the earth, but the loins are outside of heaven, that is, that God has his seat outside of the world, and yet sets his feet on the earth, which is the lowest and the center of the world, that God is inside, outside, and beyond the world, and that nothing is more outside and beyond the world, nor more inside and on this side of the world, than God. This is very well said; but you know my advice that the inexperienced do not handle such thoughts of the divine majesty without the most serious danger. Therefore, one should not philosophize much here, as he reminded us, and turn one's eyes to Christ who became man. For there is no safer way, as I have often said, if one wants to avoid all the dangerous rocks on which the heretics have been shipwrecked, than by remaining with Christ who became man and lies in the cradle. By these thoughts a Christian must grow and increase, as it were by milk food. But the thoughts of the divine majesty plunge the weak souls into an abyss.
In the meantime, we can use these and other similar sayings to fortify our faith, so that we do not, as it were, lock God in a cage from which he cannot leave, as those did who at the beginning impiously argued against us about the presence of the body of Christ in the sacrament of the altar. It is enough that one learns this from the divine majesty, that it is impossible for it to be grasped by any man; which I have experienced with great danger for myself. For there is no one, either in or out of the church, who, under the guidance of reason, could conceive anything rightly, except in worldly government and in domestic affairs. For these are the limits of our reason; it goes no further. For these two things are subjected to us in the second chapter of the first book of Moses. But he who wants to instruct souls by reason leads himself and others into error. For we can teach only hands and feet, that is, things that the worldly rule and
the housekeeping 1). But theology is learned nowhere else than with Jesus, the child who is in the cradle, with whom we must grow up gradually until we become perfect men [Eph. 4:13].
(15) Therefore, I would rather take this passage to mean that everything we are, have and are able to do, we have from God. Therefore, we can repay Him nothing but the most simple confession. For we have received everything else from Him. Now, however, we do the contradiction that the prophet indicates here in a concealed way. We conceal the fact that we have received everything from God, and make God a beggar who needs our works; yes, we even demand from God a deserved reward for our deeds and works.
(16) But it is great foolishness, indeed, the utmost impiety, to boast of merit, since we have not only received the power to do something, but even the breath and the spirit of life from God. For he wants us to keep not only the second tablet, but also the first commandment, so that we recognize that he is our God, through whose benefits we are sustained and of which we are in need. He himself, however, is not in need of our deeds, but our neighbor is in need of our good deeds, not God. If we now recognize that we have received everything from God, and as a sign of this recognition we do the commandments of the second tablet, that we obey our parents, not kill, 2c., then even the most seemingly insignificant works are pleasing to God for the sake of the first commandment. But this the Jews did not do; there was no fear of God with them, no trust in God, and yet they wanted to become righteous through their sacrifices and other acts of worship. Therefore, he punished them and abolished the highest religion, which he himself had established, yes, he rejected it.
17 Furthermore, because he here condemns the temple and the Jewish worship, it is clear that he condemns at the same time the highest righteousness and the greatest religion on which the Pabstacy is based today. For if the sacrifices, which were instituted by God Himself, did not make righteous, by the fact that only
1) Erlanger: oeeonomia instead of: osoonoraioa.
the mere work was accomplished (ex opere operato), is it not the utmost folly to hope to attain righteousness by works of one's own choosing, which are instituted without, nay, contrary to, the Word of God?
What kind of house are you going to build for me?
18 As if he wanted to say: I will dwell in your hearts [1 Cor. 6, 19.], but you think that I can be enclosed between stones. I will dwell in the temple in such a way that I will also dwell in your hearts. Since you cast me out of your hearts, I will not dwell in the temple. St. Stephen also treats this passage in this way [Apost. 7, 48. ff].
V. 2. My hand has made all that is there.
19 Thus he speaks to the monk who is puffed up because of his watchfulness, fasting, chastity 2c: Dear one, where did you get this gift, that you can watch, fast and abstain like this? Did you not get it from me? Why then dost thou defy me with that which thou hast received of me? This is a great foolishness that God cannot stand, that He should accept from us again as benefits what He Himself has given us. Thus it is said in Ps. 50, 8. ff: "Because of your sacrifice I do not punish you" 2c.
But I look at the wretched man, and he is broken in spirit.
20 Here, the prophet explains where God wants to dwell, which is His true workshop, in which God tends to have His work, namely a broken spirit. Therefore, when one feels sadness of spirit and the heart is contrite, we should rejoice and be glad. But these things are too great to be believed by a human heart at the time when it is in contention. For what are all the palaces of the world, even heaven and earth, against a contrite heart, since it is a dwelling place of the divine majesty? Thus it is said in the 34th Psalm, v. 19: "The Lord is near to them that are of a broken heart, and helpeth them that are of a contrite spirit." Des-
v. 20: "The righteous must suffer many things, but the Lord helps him out of them all."
For one cannot come to the knowledge of Christ in any other way than through tribulations, and when someone suffers, only then is the place, time and space there to help. For the tribulations are the right material (materia), and the nothingness out of which God uses to make something. For God works in such a thing that lacks something, but not in such a thing that already is something (in materia privativa, non positiva).
22 Because the prophet speaks here of justification, he does not understand bodily afflictions, but the feeling of sin, death, and conscience. Therefore he rejects the greatest merits, namely the temple, and praises life without law; he turns his face to those who have not earned it and who are not worthy of it; who feel not righteousness but sin, not peace but terror of conscience.
Therefore, we should not despair when we have fallen into sins and grave errors, but allow ourselves to be uplifted by such comforts, and then believe, when we feel it least, that God looks upon us, helps us, and is gracious to us. 2c.
And who is afraid of my word.
24.c ) Here you see what God requires for a service, namely that we should fear His word. But this is the law and the rule of the wicked, "that there is no fear of God in them" [Ps. 36, 2. Rom. 3, 18.], as we see in our adversaries, who are so defiant, obstinate and sure that nothing can be conceived that goes beyond it. The terrors of the law and of sin, about which we complain so much, are a mere fairy tale to them.
25 From the contrast, therefore, we will easily understand what it means to "stand before God".
c) Instead of §§ 24-26, the 1532 edition has the following: The wicked are secure, stiff-necked, and defiant, without fear of GOD; but the godly are downcast and full of fear at the word of GOD; they are terrified of the law and the threats of GOD, whereas they ought to align themselves by the promises.
The word "fear" means that the godly are not secure, but honor and fear God, lest they offend Him in some way. If they have been overtaken by a sin, they tremble and fear, as if God were standing behind their backs with a club, wanting to punish them for their sin. Those who are thus terrified (says the prophet), who suffer thus, these I look upon. But the wicked in their security I hate, and turn away my face from them. For these boast of their worship, and fear nothing. If someone reminds them of the Ten Commandments, they despise them, as if they had already worn them, as they say, on their shoes; consider themselves blissful, and let themselves dream of a perfection that they would have reached even beyond the commandments of God. Therefore, they are not afraid of any word of God, nor of any of their works. But the godly and the truly righteous are always afraid and feel that their conscience is troubled.
26. this is useful for us to know, so that we may learn that the hearts of Christians are anxious and fearful, so that when the hour of fear should come, we may not despair because of it, but when all hope is gone, and when the wrath of God is present, we may lift ourselves up, and remember that at that time we are truly a workshop of God, in which God can accomplish his work, which Paul attributes to him Rom. 4, 17. ascribes to him, "that he may call that which is not, that it may be" 2c.
(27) If any one wishes to distinguish these things accurately, let him make the distinction that "to fear" is as much as to have a conscience made fearful by the law; "the broken spirit" is as much as to have and feel sin; "misery," to feel death and hell. Further, "to look upon" is as much as to show oneself loving and kind. For those who are afflicted by the law have before them the back of God. This outward appearance (aspectui) is met here by the Holy Spirit, who says: "It is not as you think; remove this appearance from your eyes, for I look upon you, I am gracious to you; I do not hate you, as you falsely imagine.
V. 3. for he who slaughters an ox 1).
(28) Hitherto he rejected the temple; now he also rejects the use and works of the temple. But he cites gross sins, such as "killing a man," "sacrificing a dog, or sow's blood," 2c. because the hypocrites did not understand spiritual sins, such as robbing God of the honor of His deity, making themselves God 2c. For sacrifice was the best among human works, and also commanded by GOD; and yet he says: it is as great an abomination if someone sacrifices with the presumption that it is enough if he only performs the work, and thus makes GOD a beggar, as if someone commits murder. It is not that God rejects the sacrifices out of hand, but because they are presumptuous and do not fear His word, because they abandon the commandments and despise grace. In this way, God is not so much offended by the greatest sin in the sight of the world as by the highest righteousness, and He accuses those who are the most holy in appearance of being the most unholy. Thus, the monks, as often as they say mass, commit a more grievous sin than if they committed murder. For the mass is a blasphemous work 2c. These are great thunderbolts against the righteousness of works.
Such they choose in their ways.
29. They had received the sacrifices from Moses, so they are not their ways! I answer: He calls the sacrifices "their ways" because they did the same with omission of the divine commandments and the ways of God, that is, without faith and without fear, as if they thereby earned righteousness.
V. 4. Therefore I will also choose.
30 So they themselves sought their own righteousness. Christ accepted the sinners, as, the Zacchaeus and Magdalene, the centurion, the thief on the cross. They feared to break the Sabbath; he broke it freely, along with all the other statutes. So it is also with
1) The Wittenberg has correctly according to the Vulgate: boV6va, whereas the Jena and the ErlangenOV68.
happened to us. It was considered an abomination to go out of the monastery; now you go out freely.
31. instead of: Illusiones orum eligam is more correctly translated: Hoc, quod horrent isti, "for that they shun light," that is, I will freely do that which they hold fearfully and with danger of conscience, that they may fear where there is nothing to fear, and be secure where there is the greatest danger, as it says in the 53rd Psalm, v. 6.
Therefore, that I called.
32.d ) This is the reason why he rejects their doings and services, all of them, even those commanded by God Himself. Similar passages are Jer. 7, 13: I call you and you will not answer; and Ps. 50, 16. It is just as if he said today: When you were baptized, I did not speak to you of your ordinances and rules, but that you should hear me. Now because ye transgress my covenant, and forsake my word, I will do unto you in like manner 2c.
(33) This, therefore, is the only guilt which he condemns through all the prophets, and which today our Germany also incurs, that it [the people] has not heard; rather, they say: We hear, because we sacrifice according to the law of Moses; we do other things than Moses commanded us to do. But what do you make of the first commandment, in which you hear: I am the LORD your God 2c.? Just as the Jews had to suffer their punishments because they did not hear God in his prophets, so Germany will certainly be punished because of this contempt.
V. 5. Your brothers.
(34) Those who boast of the same God, the same word, the same law with you, persecute you even more, since you are already afflicted enough. Notice that our brothers are our enemies. Thus Christ was betrayed by Judah, who was his disciple and ate his bread.
d) Instead of §§ 32 and 33, the 1532 edition offers: This is the guilt, as above [v. 30: This will happen to you because you do not hear my word; you continue stubbornly in your ways and abominations.
Speak: Let us see how glorious the Lord is.
These are exceedingly bitter, imitated speeches, with which godless men challenge the Christ who is weak in his members, and as if they were certainly children of God, they mock the godly, as if they were damned, just as now also the blasphemers mock the afflicted, and say: What are you crying for? the Christ of the Lutherans will help you. Such blasphemies can no longer be overlooked, but punishment will soon follow, just as immediately after the blasphemy on the cross, great darkness followed and the earth shook [Matt. 27:39, 45, 52].
They shall be put to shame.
(36) This is a brief but very emphatic and pleasing consolation for those who, for the sake of the Word, not only endure the hatred of many people, but are also banished, as we are today.
37 This prophecy was fulfilled in the last destruction by the Romans, because they did not have a simple war, but there was also turmoil among the besieged, but it will also be fulfilled in us today, because we live in the same sins.
V. 6. a voice from the temple.
38 Thus we read that even in the temple there was fighting against the Jews.
V. 7: She gives birth before she suffers.
This is a good comfort for the church, which is very necessary in this present time of ours. It seems as if she will perish absolutely, she is in the midst of death and sins, that there is no hope at all that she will have children; and yet he promises that before she feels that she is pregnant, she shall have many children, as above [Cap. 49:21]: "I am barren. Who brought these up for me?" Thus the apostles, according to outward appearance, were only remnants and yeasts of the people, and in fact only sheep for slaughter; yet in a short time they filled the whole earth with the teaching of the Gospel. Philip converted Samaria [Apost. 8, 5. ff.], Paul learned that, before he
came to Rome, where Christians were fApost. 28, 15.]. So in our time the birth happened before we realized that we were pregnant. We did not even think about what has happened now through the word. The wicked also conceive, but not with childbirth, but with calamity and harm; but they bear a defect, as it is said in the 7th Psalm, v. 15, and stubble. But this is also to be applied to how we are minded, that everything we expect from the future is unfruitful. But it is given to us (as the 127th Psalm, v. 2, says) in our sleep, and when we do not even suspect it, before the woe comes to us.
She has recovered a boy before her child's need comes.
40. she has recovered "of a boy", not of a maiden; for she is unskilled in the administration of both bodily and spiritual things. But it is not before our eyes. For our strength is apart from us, in Christ. And we do not see our treasure, but have it only in the word, which is grasped and believed by us.
V. 8: Can a nation be born at the same time before a country suffers woe?
41. He has the contrast in mind. The godless Jews are also pregnant, but they give birth to stubble prepared for fire. So today also the pabstium is pregnant, but it will give birth to stubble prepared for fire. Thus all the plots of the wicked are like an untimely birth. But the godly give birth without pain, that is, they have the blessing.
V. 9. Should I let others break the mother, and not also give birth myself?
This passage has been explained in many ways, and I think that Hilarius also interpreted it from the divine majesty, that the power to give birth is given to all by divine power. But I take it from the spiritual procreation through the Word that they are words of God who became man. As if to say: I seem to be barren, having been crucified and having died; nevertheless, I too have given birth to my children.
children. For as I give children to others, so will I also reserve seed for myself. But because he separates his childbearing from the childbearing of others, he points to the birth to eternal life. He confesses that the mother seems to be closed to the world. For Christ looks as if he were weak and nothing; but much more do his children look so. And yet it is heard in the Word, and believed in faith, that he is strong, and that he will have his seed. Therefore, he will remain with his church and keep it intact until the end of the world.
V. 10: Rejoice with Jerusalem.
43 Here he indicates to whom he is speaking, namely to the afflicted. "All of you who are saddened by her," he says. Consequently, the figure of the Church is sad, and it does not have the appearance of remaining or giving birth.
V.11. For this you shall suck and be filled.
He presents us as little children who should suck comfort from their breasts. What these "breasts" are, no one understands who has not been in some great temptation. The Church is to remain in the world under the cross and under death, and yet she is to have "breasts of glory." Therefore, our treasures and our glory are not bodily things. For the greater the assurance of faith, the more glory and comfort in the Holy Spirit there is also.
V. 12: Behold, I am spreading peace among her like a river.
This is a magnificent description of the peace that he promises to the church instead of the tribulations. But it is this peace in word and in spirit, namely the preaching of the forgiveness of sins. The word "stream" means the constant continuation, that this peace will never cease, just as a right river never lacks water. And this is what Paul calls Eph. 3, 18. "comprehending the breadth, and the length, and the depth, and the height". If you compare the peace of the world with this peace
The latter is like a drop of water; when it dries up, every kind of evil remains. But a Christian has a calm heart, even if he should be in infinite misfortune.
You are to be carried on your side.
46. In the church, both shame and honor are found. Thus, there are also persecutors and those who carry them in their arms.
V. 13 I will comfort you as a mother comforts her child.
There are very great movements in these words, which no one can fully comprehend. We understand our weeping, but we do not understand that the consolation is so great. Our hearts are so carnal. For if someone could believe God in these temptations, who comforts through his word, he would feel that he is more than a father and a mother to us. For what is the temptation, though it be great and heavy, since he loves us so? But because he promises this peace to the church, he indicates that the church will be afflicted with the most severe sufferings. But we only feel the suffering and judge it according to the sensation of the present adversity, but we do not feel the consolation. For this is not in the sensation, but in the word and faith.
(48) And the victory and contending of Christians is that they fight by faith against the sensation of death and sin, and that however much we feel sin, yet we do not succumb to sin, but believe that it has been overcome by the death of Christ the Savior, and that nothing more can harm us for Christ's sake. 2c.
V. 14. Your bones shall be green as grass.
(49) Severe trials also suck the marrow out of the bones, as David often testifies [Ps. 32:3, 4]. So, on the other hand, we see that the consolations give strength and sap to the bones. Therefore, he hereby indicates that he wants to comfort and refresh us through the word. In fact, all our treasures are in the word alone.
V. 15 For behold, the Lord will come with fire.
50 I understand it from the devastation that happened by the Romans, the description of which he took from the history of the second book of Moses. However, nothing prevents to understand it also from the last judgment. For the prophets regarded the church as if it had already been transferred from the world to the heavenly realm. For nothing else stands in our way but this skin with which we are surrounded, that we do not have eternal life.
His cars, like a weather.
51 Thus he calls the army of the Romans, or, if drawn to the last judgment, the army of the angels.
V. 16. All flesh.
It seems that Isaiah is speaking of those who despised the word in his time and who would despise the word in Christ's time.
V. 17. who sanctify and cleanse themselves.
Superstition would not be superstition if it were not accompanied by trust. This he touches here with the word "sanctify". Superstition, however, not only denies and despises God, but it also despises the neighbor. This is indicated by the word "purify". As if he wanted to say: These people consider all their own things to be pure and clean; on the other hand, they consider everything that others have to be impure and unholy.
And eat pork.
54. This happened in the times of Isaiah and Christ according to the letter, but according to spiritual interpretation it still happens by all heretics. These "eat", that is, teach, believe, preach "pork and mice", that is, their self-chosen doctrines, which please them, although they are forbidden by the Word of God, and are an abomination and a disgust to God.
V. 18. For I will come and gather their works.
The prophets thought that as soon as Christ would come, Christ would also come.
Kingdom will follow. Therefore, these words can be understood both from the general downfall of the whole world at the last day and from the special misfortune and desolation of the Jews. But I take it especially of the judgment of the gospel, which judges both the Jews and the Gentiles with all their works, and condemns everything that is of religions, customs and worship apart from Christianity. And this is the beginning of the judgment by the word, which will also soon come to pass. Thus the prophet has, as it were, presented two pieces of judgment at the conclusion of his prophecy: one is the abandonment of the synagogue; the other, the calling of the Gentiles, which will last until the end of the world.
V. 19. And I will give a sign among them.
(56) Here he adds how the Gentiles will be called, namely through the apostles, who will gather all believers to the word of faith and the gospel. But because he sends the remnant, he indicates that it will not be a physical kingdom; otherwise they would remain in Jerusalem. But the word is "a sign" because nothing is seen of the church in the world but the word. For even the sacraments would be nothing if they did not have the word.
Gen Phul.
The Hebrew says: "Gen Phul" [instead of: In In Africam in the Vulgate]. I think that the side against midnight is understood, as there are the Assyrians, the Parthians. Because I think he looks at the promise Gen. 9, 27. that Japhet should dwell in the tents of Shem.
To the archers.
58. I think it is a special nation, as the Parthians are.
And shall proclaim my glory among the Gentiles.
(59) For the office of an apostle is nothing else than to preach Christ. For there is an emphasis in the word "my.
V.20. And shall bring all your brethren out of all the heathen".
Behold, the Gentiles are called brethren of the saints because of the fellowship of the gospel.
To the Lord for a grain offering.
61 [Instead of: Donum Domino In the Vulgate it is better translated Ad oblationem Domino. But that the Gentiles should be sacrificed is as much as that they should be converted through the gospel. For by faith the old man is put to death, and the new man arises. Thus saith Paul, I offer the gospel, that the Gentiles may become a sacrifice [Rom. 15:16.]. Further, if the apostles are the remnant, it follows that the people perish. If the people have perished, it follows that they cannot be the fleshly Zion.
On horses and chariots.
62. that is, in the Word. For those who walk under foot are under the law. But the life of the Christian is not under the driving of the law, but they ride on the chariot of the promises, for they are carried in the word.
Just as the children of Israel bring grain offerings in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD.
Hereby the old sacrifices are tacitly abolished, because he speaks of new sacrifices. He calls the word of the Gospel "a pure vessel" because it is the most lovely and pure teaching. For it makes pure and pleasant people. But the law is unclean, because it makes people unclean, and is also defiled and weakened by those who do it.
V.21. And I will take of them priests and Levites, saith the LORD.
I will not only abolish the sacrifice, but the whole priesthood. For if the Gentiles are to be made "priests," then the Law of Moses, which has born priests, and only priests born of one tribe, must perish completely. Nowadays, all those who teach are priests. The "Levites" are the listeners. But because he speaks of all Gentiles, he indicates that all Gentiles have the right of the priesthood.
V.22. For as the new heavens and the new earth, such as these, stand before me, says the Lord, so shall your seed and name stand.
The priesthood will be perpetual, just as the earth that I will create on the last day will be perpetual.
V.23. And all flesh shall come one month after another, and one Sabbath after another, to worship before me, saith the LORD.
I will also change the ceremonies and feasts of the Jewish priesthood. There will be no difference of Sabbath in the church, but there will be perpetual Sabbaths 2c. But these are in the spirit and in the faith. For because of this skin of our flesh, certain days are necessary on which to come together to perform the Word and the Sacraments.
V. 24. And they will go out.
By faith we go in to God and sacrifice. But we go out when we perform the duties in the household and in the worldly regiment that happen in the world.
And look at the bodies of the people who maltreated me.
This applies to the Jews, and to all others to this day, who mistreat Christ. The spirit sees that these people are "corpses" because they lack spirit and faith; moreover, no one sees or believes it, but they are taken for the strongest bodies. '
For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abomination to all flesh.
(69) "Their worm," that is, the biting of the conscience, and the power of sin, that they may feel sin, and fear everlasting damnation. Thus the prophet concludes: "Those who will not believe will be destroyed. But the rest, the faithful, the Lord will save.
End.
To Christ, the true God, be praise and glory forever and ever! Amen.