Whoever will not accept this understanding, let him hold the other, that the psalmist first calls the Jews ungodly. For it is predicted in many other places that they will be driven out of the church.
However, the heretics, too, and all who openly manifest their ungodliness sometimes cut themselves off from the church, and sometimes the church excludes and excommunicates them, no matter how much they boast that they alone are the church and the people of God.
Finally, there is to be considered what the most illustrious fathers, especially Athanasius and Augustine, have taught, namely, that we should adapt and adjust our minds and feelings so that they are in accord with the sense of the psalms.32 For since the psalter is only a kind of school and exercise for the disposition of the heart, he sings in vain who does not sing in the spirit. When you, therefore, read:
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly," it should at the same time move you to detest and despise the counsel of the ungodly, not only for yourself but, in general, for the whole church. And this applies also to the way of sinners and subversive doctrines. For by this fire, the glow of love, the heretics are to be consumed, and all who understand and teach ungodliness. Because we have despised this fire, God has given us over to wrong notions, so that we have become hangmen and burn heretics with natural fire, to be consumed ourselves in turn. So when you say: "But their delight is in the Law of the Lord," you should not rest assured and pat yourself on the back, as if you were one who loves the Law of God. Rather you should sigh with the greatest possible ardor to Him who alone has come to send fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49). And as long as you live, think of yourself in no other way than as one who does not yet love God's Law and who desperately needs this desire for the Law.
So when you hear that "the righteous prospers," you should choose this course for yourself and lament for the others who are in a state of adversity. Furthermore, you should wish that your "leaf does not wither," so that the pure Word of God may bloom in the church of Christ and all fables and fantasies of men may be cast aside. And if you should happen to see this good fortune somewhere, congratulate yourself, rejoice, and thank God for His goodness. Do not believe that this is an impossible demand on you; only make the attempt, and I know you will be happy and thankful. First practice on one psalm, even one little verse of the psalm. You will progress enough if you learn to make only one verse a day, or even one a week, live and breathe in your heart. After this beginning is made, everything else will follow, and you will have a rich treasury of understanding and affection. Only see that you do not let weariness and discouragement scare you out of beginning it. For this is truly to sing psalms, or, as the Scriptures say of David, to strike the harp with the hand.33 For the light fingers of the harpist are the emotions of the heart moving about in the words of the psalms. Without this the strings do not sound, and the psalm is not sung, because it is not touched.
This I want to impress on you once more in this first psalm, so that it may not be necessary to repeat it for each individual psalm. I know that whoever becomes practiced in this will find more by himself in the Psalter than all the interpretations of other men can give him. I see that St. Bernard was an expert in this art and drew from it all the wealth of his learning. I have sensed this also in St. Augustine and others. Therefore we must drink the waters of life from the same source, so that the ridicule of the prophet Amos may not apply to us (Amos 6:5): "Like David, they imagine they have instruments (that is, psalters) of music"; and again (Amos 5:23): "Take away from Me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen." For how do you think this howling and murmuring without mind and spirit, which resounds everywhere in the temples, will strike God, except as a swarm of flies buzzing with their wings? This is especially true if you also believe that God is pleased with it and thus make mockery and a fantasy of the living and true God.
1. Why do the heathen conspire, and the peoples meditate in vain?
2. The kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and His Christ.
THAT David was the author of this psalm, and that it speaks of Christ, is established through the authority of the primitive church. For Luke wrote in Acts 4:24–28: "They lifted their voices together to God and said, 'Sovereign Lord, who didst make the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything that is in them, who through the mouth of our father David, Thy servant, didst say by the Holy Spirit: Why did the Gentiles rage and the people meditate vain things? The kings of the earth set themselves in array, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against His Christ. For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy Servant Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and - 136 Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Thy hand and Thy plan had predestined to take place.' "
Therefore the mind must be strengthened in this interpretation and not be blown about by other winds of doctrine (Eph. 4:14); for this understanding was confirmed by heaven when the place shook at the end of their prayers, as Luke also writes (Acts 4:31).
It should be made clear that Herod and Pilate are understood as being "the kings of the earth," even though Pilate was not exactly a king. These two worked together, with the result that they fulfilled what the wisdom of God had decreed, just as these words say; that is, they killed Christ. No other kings did this, neither does he speak of any other situations than that which befell Christ under Pilate. It is necessary, then, that we untie this meaningless knot: Either Pilate is called a king along with Herod, or he is called king after the manner of Scripture, in which it is customary for the name of a part to be applied to the whole. For instance, Israel is called the first-born son, even though many among them were idolatrous; on the other hand, all of them were punished, although only a few deserved it.
Therefore both men were called kings because one was a king.
Now it is perfectly clear that the "rulers" are understood to be the chief priests; the "heathen" are the Roman soldiers under Pilate, who seized, beat, and crucified Jesus; and the "people" are the common people of the Jews or Israel, as they themselves say.34
Furthermore, in this place the "heathen" are plainly distinguished from the "people"; but I do not venture to say, nor do I believe, that this distinction is consistent throughout, even though the word
"heathen" is used very frequently in contrast to Israel or the Jews. For the terms "Gentile church" and "Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles" are used by many writers and in common practice, in contrast to the Jewish church or that which came from the Jews.
Notice the exact observance of the divisions: the nations conspire, the people meditate in vain, the kings rise up, and the rulers take counsel together. The nations rage like unthinking beasts, since they are ignorant of what they do. The people, however, chatter and babble their counsel among themselves, that is, they speak nonsense against the Most High and surround Him with speeches of hate. For they say
(Mark 12:7): "Come, let us kill Him, and the inheritance will be ours."35 And John 11:49: "Caiaphas said to the assembled council: 'You know nothing at all, you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people.' " This, you see, was the empty line of talk by means of which they so often sought to destroy Christ, and here the psalmist calls the figments of their accusation before Pilate empty meditations.
Moreover, the rulers set themselves up (this is to be understood from the Hebrew "to rise up");36 that is, they determined, proclaimed, and made sure of the roaring and the thinking of the people when they passed sentence on Christ. "So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowds, released Barabbas to them, but delivered Jesus to be crucified" (Mark 15:15). The leaders convened and took counsel; at the same time they used persuasive words and were strengthened in their resolution to destroy Jesus. For they stirred up the crowd to prefer Barabbas.
Note the modesty and temperance in the speech of the prophet, how mildly and, so to speak, compassionately he expresses their rage. For although he could have spoken of their raging cries of (Luke 23:18–21): "Away, away with Him, crucify, crucify Him" and the other wild clamor by which the Jews accused Christ as madness and violence, he only calls them speeches. However, "meditation," as we have said above,37 is continual talking and conversation with the mouth. For this is evil meditation.
For just as the lover willingly talks at length about his beloved, so the hater keeps on talking and babbling the worst things about him whom he hates. There is similar temperance in the words
"conspire," "rise up," and "take counsel together"; for this situation itself is far more horrible than the meaning of these words would indicate.
Hereby we are taught that we should not exaggerate the wickedness of men after the manner of slanderers but should play it down as much as possible, so that we show ourselves not so much outraged for our own sakes as saddened by their misery. The Holy Spirit is merciful and does not glorify Himself by the wickedness of others but has a kindly compassion for all. As St. Peter relates (1 Peter 2:23),
Christ did not slander or threaten when He suffered; nor did He desire revenge, but He turned everything over to Him who judges righteously.
- 137 The psalmist says "in vain," and in this word he summarizes nearly the whole subject of the psalm.
For the prophet wishes to show that Christ is a King ordained by God the Father and that many great Gentiles and Jews, kings and rulers, have not been able to hinder His kingship with their counsels, oppositions, strivings, and rages. They spent everything so fruitlessly that they made a mockery of themselves; the more they resisted, the more they promoted the kingdom of Christ. It is as though the psalmist wished with this psalm to provide an illustration for what he said in Ps. 1:3: "Whatever he does, shall prosper," insofar as this applies to Christ. The words of Ps. 45:4 are related to this: "Increase in Thy splendor and beauty, prosper and rule." And Ps. 118:25f.: "O Lord, give us success! Blessed be He who enters in the name of the Lord." For the prosperity of Christ, as I have said, is not of this world or of the flesh, but of the spirit. Is there anyone who, while Christ was suffering, would not have thought that He would never become even the lowest of men or live again, much less be King over all things?
Who would not have believed then that the meditations of the people were confirmed and not in vain, when they gloried in the fact that they had condemned Him to the curse of the cross by the authority of God Himself and thought that their meditations were secure for eternity? What is more, faith and hope are always necessary in the works of God, requiring not only a submission but an understanding; for His works are fulfilled contrary to all sense and beyond all comprehension.
The following is also a word of faith: "Against the Lord and against His Christ." Everyone else, and they themselves especially, looked on them as working for the Lord and for Christ. Just so today and always, the ungodly are working under frightful risk against the glory of God, when they seem to be working for the glory of God. For God rules the earth and turns their wisdom into foolishness, so that those who are reputed to work for the glory of God in reality serve to blaspheme Him, and those who are accused of blasphemy truly contend for the glory of God. His way is in concealment, in faith, and in the holy place. The courtyard should not be measured; for it is given to the heathen, says Rev. 11:2.38
The psalmist first says "against God" and then "against His Christ," because all sin first of all offends God. For He is not only justice but also love of justice; and whoever loves justice, receives it from Him. It would not be sin if it did not offend God.
But he also arranges the words in this manner that we may learn for our consolation and exhortation that we never suffer injustice without God suffering it first and more than we and that God the Father's solicitude for us is so great that He feels our suffering before we do and bears it with greater resentment than we ourselves. Therefore we should refrain from a feeling of revenge but should rather have compassion on those whom we see dashing themselves to their destruction against a majesty so great; for not only are they unable to do any harm, but they destroy themselves horribly. So it is written (Zech.
2:8): "Whoever touches you, touches the pupil of My eye." For the prophet, as though saddened by their arrogance, begins first with the questions: "Why do they rage? Why do they make themselves ridiculous? Why do those fools undertake impossible things? O that they were wise and understood!"
Then he encourages and admonishes them to work for something substantial instead of something fruitless. That is, they should rather be instructed and become wise, that they may serve Christ with fear.
Finally, by the fine shading of words he brings out their folly and their futile efforts. He says, "They rage, they talk, they rise up, they counsel," as if to say: "You can rage, but you will not be able to destroy; you will chatter and babble much, but you will accomplish nothing; the kings have resolved, and nothing will happen; the rulers will take counsel, and it will have no effect. Therefore what do you get out of it except that by your futile efforts you have wanted much, attempted difficult things, sought for everything, and accomplished none of these things; but everything rather turned out just the other way?"
Thus God permits the ungodly to raise their roaring, counsel, and striving against the godly. Yet these are all like swollen streams of water which with their swelling beat against the shore as if they would overwhelm it; and before the waves reach the shore, they collapse and fade away or are dashed against the shore with empty chatter. For the righteous, as a strong bulwark in faith in Christ, confidently despises these weak threats and quickly collapsing commotions. He knows that Moab is very boastful, that his strength is never as great as his presumption, and that his anger is greater than his ability, as Is.
16:6 and Jer. 48:29 tell us.
With this cross the ungodly are quite fittingly tormented, since it is a particular torment when one wants to do harm in all things and yet cannot harm anything. Even the pagans have said of envy: "The - 138 Sicilian tyrants have suffered no greater torment than envy."39 In the case of Christians this is an even greater grace; for not only are the ungodly tormented, and not only is it impossible for them to do harm, but by God's counsel their torment and their vain plots must serve most of all to promote what they seek to prevent. Thus the friends of a Christian are really not as useful to him as his enemies.
3. Let us burst Their bonds asunder, and cast Their cords from us.
This verse must be connected with the words "they conspire," "they meditate," and "they rise up."
The meaning, therefore, is this: Of course, they roar, babble, rise up, and resolve, in order to withdraw their necks from the yoke of God and Christ, break Their cords, and say (Luke 19:14): "We do not want this Man to reign over us." Or, as in Job 21:14–15: "They say to God, 'Depart from us! We do not desire the knowledge of Thy ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we get if we pray to Him?' " Thus the prophet introduces the words of the ungodly. Others see different meanings, but for now I will follow this interpretation.40 What others see as an objection, namely, that he speaks in the plural, "Their," must refer to "the Lord and His Christ." For evidently there are two, God and Man, the Sender and the Sent, as one might say: The people have rejected the ambassador as well as the ruler and have not accepted their counsels.
Moreover, Jer. 5:4–5 shows that the divine rule is signified by these bonds and yokes through allegory or metaphor: "Then I said: 'These are only the poor; they have no sense, for they do not know the way of the Lord, the Law of their God. I will go to the great and will speak to them; for they know the way of the Lord, the Law of their God.' But they all alike had broken the yoke; they had burst the bonds." And again in Jer. 2:20: "For long ago you broke My yoke and burst My bonds." However, this passage has been distorted, since God in the Hebrew text speaks in the first person: "For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds," so that bonds are set against bonds, yoke against yoke, the way of God against the way of man, and the judgment of God against the judgment of man.
"Bonds" are the commandments of Christ, by which we are taught to walk in His way. The "yokes" or "ropes" are the judgment, which forbids us to do evil. Thus the former is the justification of the spirit; the latter, the mortification of the flesh. Two things are prescribed: to abstain from evil and to do good.
The first serves to crucify the desires of the flesh, and the second to do good works. However, this is not altered even if the two are exchanged, namely, if one were to refer the bonds to judgment and the yoke to righteousness. The sense remains the same. When one has that, one should not quarrel about words.
Moreover, the whole verse is allegorical; for "break" is taken to mean despise and make vain, "bonds" stands for commandments, "rejects" for disobedience, disregard, and nonacceptance, and finally, "yoke" for instruction and discipline in chastening the flesh. However, I do not mean to speak allegorically after the manner of the modernists,41 as if another historical sense were to be sought underneath, other than that which is expressed. What I do mean is that he has expressed the true and proper sense in figurative language.
Observe: To the perverse all things are perverse, as it is written (Ps. 18:26): "To the crooked Thou dost show Thyself perverse." The Law of Christ, which deals with freedom and delight, they call bonds and a yoke, thinking it to be servitude and distress. On the other hand, their own law, which is truly servitude and infirmity, they believe to be liberty and easy to keep. To such an extent everything is evil to the ungodly. Thus Jer. 23:38–40: "Because you call this word a burden of the Lord, and I sent to you, saying: Do not call it a burden of the Lord, therefore behold, I will remove you and cast you away, and I will send you everlasting reproach." It is unavoidable for those who are pleased with themselves to be displeased with the Lord.
Again the eyes of faith are necessary; for the prophet does not say this, as if he meant that they had truly understood the Lord and Christ when they said: "Let us break Their bonds in pieces." They believed themselves to be working for God and His Law when they rejected Christ. But the prophet mentions the Lord and Christ, whom he describes as despised by those who knew no better. And I leave it to you whether or not he wanted to use an allegory throughout the verse in order to show that they pretended one thing and did another. In their blindness they performed a kind of allegorical work when they rejected the Lord and Christ, while pretending to do everything possible for them.
Could it not also be possible that the prophet used the pronoun "Their" as an understatement,42 so that he might both interpret and understand it as the "Lord and His Christ" for himself and at the same
- 139 time rebuke their great contempt, in which they do not consider Christ worthy of a name, much less acknowledge Him as Lord and Christ?
Therefore he has so far described their effort to keep Christ from being established as the King whom the Lord Himself already established. They plotted not only against Christ but even more against the order of God, just as we see in the case of David and Saul. David had been anointed king by divine command. However, Saul opposed God and David most stubbornly in this order and in a similar manner raged, talked, resolved, and plotted much against him. But just as he undertook it all in vain, so it was with the Jews and Gentiles against Christ, as now follows.
4. He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision.
This is a tautology or repetition, which is frequently found in the Scriptures. It makes the matter certain, as the holy patriarch Joseph declared when he said in his interpretation of Pharaoh's dream
(Gen. 41:32): "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass." Therefore "He laughs" and "He has them in derision" is the same thing repeated, so that there is no doubt that all of it will most certainly come to pass.
The good Spirit works for our comfort and consolation, namely, that we do not fall when under attack but rise to certain hope; for it will surely come and not delay (Hab. 2:3). Therefore although this repetition seems faulty and superfluous in human speech, it is very necessary in God's affairs, especially since, as the wise man says, hope deferred makes the heart sick (Prov. 13:12). And the true hope, I tell you, is that which labors under suffering and the cross. For all manner of delay is hard for those who are being trained in the sufferings of Christ. Therefore they need the strongest and surest promise of God to sustain them.
On the other hand, just as one cannot sufficiently comfort the afflicted with promises of good, so one cannot sufficiently instill terror in the foolish, hardened, and unbelieving with threats of evil. Therefore the tautology is necessary in this matter, so that through assured and emphatic threats they may be filled with terror. For just as some people have too much fear and too little hope and security, so others have too much security and hope and almost no fear, as in Ps. 13:3: "There is no fear of God before their eyes." Thus these must fear the Lord, and those must hope for His mercy, and on both sides there must be the right middle road, which is described thus (Ps. 147:11): "But the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His steadfast love." Therefore this was written for us, that through the patience and consolation of the Scriptures we might have hope (Rom. 15:4). For that which is written here concerning Christ is an example for all Christians. Anyone who wishes to be a sincere Christian, especially if he also teaches the Word of Christ, will suffer his Herods, Pilates, rulers, kings, Gentiles, and other people who rage against him, meditate vain things, set themselves against him, and take counsel together. And if this does not happen through men, it will surely happen through devils and finally at all events through conscience itself in death. Then it is necessary to remember these and similar consolations: "He who sits in heaven laughs at them, and the Lord has them in derision," and to hold fast to this hope and let nothing cause you to waver.
In order to strengthen the assurance of the afflicted he says emphatically: "He will laugh and scorn," as if he were saying: So certain it is that they struggle in vain, however solid their cause may be in the opinion of others, that the Lord does not consider it worthwhile to resist them seriously or as if it were a great thing. He laughs at and scorns them as being absolutely nothing. Ps. 37:12–13 speaks in the same way: "The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes his teeth at him; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming." Thus we see that our adversaries should not only be humbled but should also be scorned. Oh, how much strength of faith is demanded by these words! For who has sensed laughter of God in the Passion of Christ and the triumph of the Jews? And when do we in our oppression believe that God laughs at our adversaries, when it seems to us that we are ridiculed and overpowered by both God and man?
However, as I have said, this is the divine derision, that He made the Jews and Gentiles who killed Christ a mockery before all the earth when He raised Christ from the dead. And when there was no hope that the kingdom of Christ could extend over even one people, He let His eternal lordship flourish over all creatures. He turned their designs toward such a different outcome that we can sing (Ps. 113:4): "The Lord is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens!" He is the same Lord who was humbled beneath all Jews, whose disgrace was lower than the earth. Therefore just as the suffering and - 140 death of Christ is prophesied in the preceding verses, so in this verse His resurrection is foretold, although somewhat obscurely.
But what is the intent of this imagery: "He who dwells in heaven"? To strengthen our hope he represents God as both a quiet and a wonderfully hidden Judge. He who concerns Himself about us dwells there secure and calm; and if we are disturbed, He who cares for us is not disturbed. We are tossed about, but He is calm; He will not let the righteous be eternally restless. But this all takes place in such a hidden manner that you would not know it unless you were in heaven. You suffer on the earth, in the sea, and in all creatures. Everywhere and in all things you have no hope of help until by hope and faith you leap over everything and grasp Him who dwells in heaven. Then you also dwell in heaven, but through faith and hope. Here we must throw out the anchor of our heart in all tribulations. In this way the evils of the world will be not only light but even laughable.
5. Then He will speak to them in His wrath and terrify them in His fury.
What I have said about a tautology in the preceding verse holds true for this one as well. One cannot say enough to foolish people and despisers of God. The leviathan in Job 41:17–19 laughs at the quivering spear, looks on the hammer as straw, considers iron as chaff and bronze as rotten wood. An archer does not drive him away, stones from slings are turned from him like reeds, although here perhaps there does not seem to be a tautology.
But when did He speak to them in His anger, or what was His anger like? Certainly it was when He laughed at them, and this we shall understand if we know what it means to have God speak in His anger.
Jer. 18:7 declares: "Suddenly I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it." Therefore "speaking in anger" means to eradicate, destroy, and disperse, which is precisely what befell the Jews, who said (John 11:48, 50): "The Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation. It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, that the whole nation should not perish." The Lord laughs at these vain plottings, while, according to Prov. 10:24, that which the ungodly fears actually happens to him. The Lord destroyed, erased, and dispersed the Jews through the Romans. Accordingly, it was the anger and wrath of God that was the force behind the Romans. As Is. 10:5–6 says: "Ah, Assyria, the rod of My anger, the staff of My fury! Against a godless nation [that is, the hypocrites and pretenders] and against the people of My wrath I command him." In my judgment, these words are spoken expressly of the Roman legions. When He says: "I will command him," it is the same as this verse: "He will speak to them"; for all things happen by the command and Word of God. "He spoke, and it came to be" (Ps. 33:9).
Therefore the words "He will speak" must be taken absolutely, in this sense: By His Word He will determine, command, and ordain in such a way that it is against them, not for them, and not in mercy but in anger. For He speaks also against the righteous and their children when He commands the cross and death to strike them, as in 2 Sam. 16:10: "The Lord commanded him to curse David," but in compassion. The text will be clearer if the preposition "to" is changed to "against," and the words "He will speak" to "He will command": Then He will give commands against them in His anger.
Not only will He destroy and disperse them; but He will throw them into confusion, because He has destroyed them externally through strife and internally through fear. To be sure, He also frightens His children and sends them exceptionally great anxiety, even as He did to Christ in the garden; but He does so in compassion. But He transported the Jews into eternal terror by the first of their fears when they were ravaged and destroyed by the Romans. It is impossible for the ungodly not to experience eternal fear when he dies. It would have been a mild punishment indeed if they had only been devastated, but it is fearful that they were ravaged in severe anger. The most terrible thing, however, is that they were not only ravaged and destroyed in wrath but also thrown into fearful terror and through death have been cast into an eternal horror.
Behold now the catalog of the dreadful punishments that are prepared for the crucifiers of Christ.
First of all, there is the loss of honor, on account of which they rage most against Christ. They are made ridiculous before God and everyone. Behold their disgrace everywhere, which is not an insignificant evil for a proud and envious people. Then there is the loss of all means of assistance. They are laid waste, exterminated, and destroyed, so that there is nothing of comfort left to them even for their bodies. And finally the greatest evil: that tribulation and anguish terrifies their souls with eternal fear.
- 141 Thus they are punished in their reputation, in material things, and in spiritual matters. They have neither creatures nor God favorably inclined toward them. I ask you, is there anyone who would not have pity on his enemies, who would not weep for them, who would not suffer all things for them, even from them, when he firmly believes that these intolerable evils are hanging over them? Next, observe the order of these evils.
First, they are ridiculed and scorned, for their honor is turned into greatest shame, and this is their highest possession. Then they are ravaged, robbed of their goods and paternal heritage, their second possession. Lastly, they are terrified by anxiety, when all hope and faith in the spirit, their inner and final possession, has been taken from them. They become like chaff before the wind.
And again you see the punishment of the ungodly described as fear and horror. For just as the rule of God is justice, peace, and security, so hell must be sin, fear, and horror.
6. I have been set as King by Him on Zion, His holy hill.
Here we have a change of person, for it is not David speaking of himself, but Christ. The Hebrew text, however, speaks in the person of the Father: "I have set, or appointed, My King on Zion, My holy hill." I do not think this matter is of such great importance that we should wage a life-and-death battle on account of some controversial word, since both interpretations are good, except that usually the Hebrew text is more fitting for Scriptural metaphor, which ascribes authority to the Father. Thus Ps. 110:1: "The Lord says to my Lord: 'Sit at My right hand.' " And Ps. 89:27: "I will make Him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth." Stapulensis thinks that one could say: "I have anointed My King," basing his conclusion on the word of the believers (Acts 4:27), where they say: "They were gathered together against Thy holy Child Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint."43 However, one sees that the word
"anointed" is not taken from this verse but rather from verse two, where they say: "against His Christ, that is, against His Anointed One," which they repeat in order to confirm it more strongly. "Truly," they say, "He is the Christ and the Anointed, whom Thou hast anointed," that is, made the Christ.
I say this according to my humble opinion. If the Hebrew text did not demand connecting "My holy one" with Mt. Zion, then it would not appear unsuitable to refer it to Christ. The meaning would be this:
"I set My King on Mt. Zion—not any man, but Him who is My Holy One and who is anointed by Me with the Holy Spirit." For in the Scriptures Christ is called the Holy One of God and the Holy One of Israel, as in Ps. 16:10: "Nor wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption." and in Ps. 89:18: "For our shield belongs to the Lord, and to the Holy One of Israel, our King." But the Hebrew has, as I have said,
This, then, is the meaning: "They did not want Him to reign over them, and they conspired against Me and My King. But My counsel shall stand, and My will shall be done. Who will resist My countenance? They have killed Him, but I have set Him up as King; they have withdrawn from Him, but I have subjected to Him holy Mt. Zion and all the ends of the earth. Thus they are ridiculed and scorned and are publicly exposed as having plotted in vain."
This verse belongs to the general teaching about ambition and arrogance, which is most shamelessly dominant in the church of Christ today. Thus the apostle discusses it in Heb. 5:4–5: "And one does not take the honor upon himself; but he is called by God, just as Aaron was. So also Christ did not exalt
Himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him who said to Him: 'Thou art My Son.' " And again (Ps. 110:1): "Sit at My right hand." This is what almost the whole psalm here impresses on us, showing that all that concerned Christ was ordained by the Father and was not assumed and sought by Christ Himself. But for many years now our decrees deal with scarcely anything else than dignity, power, and privileges; and that has a very strong smell of ambition, without any order or appointment by the Father.
The church of Christ is called "Mt. Zion" because it had its beginning there and was instituted through the sending of the Holy Spirit. And although it is bound to no particular place, yet it is necessary that it have its beginning at some definite location. From there it later spread over all the world, that the word of Christ might be fulfilled (John 4:21): "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father." Thus today the church has no particular place and yet is everywhere. Similarly, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, the church of Jerusalem has preserved this modesty, so that it has never disputed with other churches about primacy and position, as the churches at Rome and Constantinople have endlessly and scandalously carried on their rivalry. Nevertheless, if any
- 142 church is to have primacy, the church at Jerusalem would have had to be considered as having precedence over any other by every right, since Christ Himself was its Bishop, its King, appointed by God the Father. Furthermore, the whole church had its origin there, and all churches were born there.
Truly, it alone was the mother of all churches, since all the apostles and disciples were, so to speak, its clergy.44 But God did not want this quarreling to happen. He showed us that this pretension to primacy is objectionable and that no other church should aspire to such a position, when He did not give this permission to a church that deserved it.
I do not speak thus because I condemn the hegemony of the Roman Church, but because I detest the extortion of it by force and fury, as if it were a precept of God, when it ought to be established through the mutual agreement of believers and the bonds of love. Certainly it should be a rule, not of domineering strength but of ministering love. I condemn the arrogance, but I commend the object. Gold is not evil, but the love of gold is evil; the flesh is not evil, but fleshly desires are evil. Nevertheless,
Christ most vigilantly offers resistance by never permitting the Eastern churches to be subject to this church.
Therefore the church is called Mt. Zion according to the very common figure of synecdoche, naming the contents by the container, just as the "city of Jerusalem" is used for the people that inhabit the city.
This is not the only reason, however; for in an allegory the name, the object, and the form are all combined. The name "Zion" means watchtower. Yet the church is called a watchtower, not only because it looks upon God and heavenly things through faith, from a distance—and because its members aspire to that which is above rather than to earthly things, but also because it contains the true observers and the watchful in spirit. It is their duty to be concerned about the people under them and to watch against the treachery of the enemies and sinners. Such men were called bishops in Greek, meaning watchmen, in the same way that it is possible to form "Zionites" from the Hebrew word.
The point is that Zion is a mountain. Thus, in the presence of God, the church is exalted to spiritual heights by reason of its virtues, gifts, graces, works, etc. By these God has exalted her over all power, knowledge, and human righteousness, as it is written in Is. 2:2 and Micah 4:1: "The mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains and shall be raised above the hills." This I must interpret again for the benefit of the carnal dreamers, who always refer the Word of God to earthly display, The church is exalted over all the might and height of the earth, not through wealth or power but through faith, hope, love, and the virtues which despise worldly riches and power.
For the fact that the church now ranks high in these things is not peculiar to the church but is really a strange leviathan.45 For this reason the church has greatly declined in the wisdom of the Word of God, in holiness of life, in good works, etc. These are the mountains and the truest heights of the church of Christ, where the world cannot emulate her. In those other things she has already long surpassed the world—if one must call that a "church" that does such things; but it is certain that the true church of Christ always remains the same.
The form of Mt. Zion was such that it rose at the southern end and had beneath it the city of Jerusalem declining to the north and rising up toward it, as is written (Ps. 48:2): "Mt. Zion in the far north, the city of the great king." This declining and rising can signify the internal struggle of Christ's people, namely, between the flesh and the spirit: the flesh strives toward the north, and the spirit toward the south. Or these represent the two modes of this life, the active and the contemplative. The one sinks to provide temporal things for others; the other ascends to heavenly things and inclines toward the watchtower, where the watchmen are, completely superior in their life and speech, drawing others to themselves. Between the two is Mt. Moriah, the mountain of the temple. This is Christ, God and man, who embraces both and abides in both, just as Mt. Moriah, within Jerusalem under Mt. Zion, typifies.
For it is Mt. Moriah, the Mount of Vision, on which Abraham offered his son and on which Solomon afterwards built his temple. Thus it is on Christ that we are sacrificed with Isaac, and it is on Him that we are built as the temple of God through the true Solomon; for Christ is our Mt. Moriah, because God neither sees nor recognizes anyone who is not sacrificed and built in this place, that is, on and in Christ, since the eyes of the Lord have regard for Him alone. Hence the mountain is called (Gen. 22:14) "The Lord will see forever." However, the heretics and the proud set up other mountains of vision, or rather of blindness; for by their righteousness and works they want to merit the consideration of God.
- 143 He is called "holy," not because of a figurative holiness of the Law or outward consecration; for the psalmist is speaking by the Spirit. Therefore he is not content to say "holy mountain" but adds "My," as if to say: "It is holy through My holiness, not through that by which stones, wood, and walls are sanctified, but through that by which the mind and body are consecrated, namely, by an anointing with the grace of the Spirit, which purifies them through faith, hope, and charity from day to day." For that is holy which is separated from profane use and is consecrated only for sacred and divine service. This is accomplished ceremonially and literally through human priests, but truly and spiritually when the Holy
Spirit has been poured into our hearts (Rom. 5:5).
In all these ways He clearly distinguishes the rule of Christ from the rule of all other kings. Only of this King does He proclaim: "I have established Him" or "I am established." This personal pronoun indicates a spiritual Founder, because God is invisible and completely spiritual. He does not appoint the others by Himself, immediately; but He appoints men through men, the visible through the visible.
Hence the rule of Christ is not of this earth but in spirit and in truth. Similarly, "My King" does not mean a king of men or one whom men set up. Christ is King in the spirit and before God. Although He is set over Mt. Zion, nevertheless there is added: "My holy," or "His holy," so that the reign of Christ is understood to be a people in Zion, but such a people as is holy with a spiritual holiness. Again, you see that the church of Christ does not consist of worldly power, wisdom, or honor, even though there are those who babble that there are no Christians outside the "new monarchy";46 for the power of a monarchy has no relation to spiritual holiness.
7. In proclaiming His commandment.
The Hebrew text begins the seventh verse in this way: "I will tell the decree of God. The Lord said to Me: 'Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee.' " In my opinion the connection has the effect that we know what decree is to be understood. What He will speak about is what He now adds: "The Lord said to Me: 'Thou art My Son.' " "This," He said, "I have as a commandment, and for this I have been made King, that I should proclaim to all that I am the Son of God; for I must glorify the Father."
Truly, the object of the whole Gospel is to know Christ as the Son of God, as it is written in Matt.
16:15–16: "Who do you say that I am? Peter replied: 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' "
On this rock the church is built. Thus Paul said (1 Cor. 1:23–24): "But we preach Christ, the Power and Wisdom of God." And He Himself does nothing throughout the whole Gospel of John but show Himself as the Son of God, always preaching that God is His Father. In His Passion this was also charged against Him as a crime worthy of death. Christ came to plant the faith by which one believes in Him as the Son of God. Moreover, this faith is the fulfillment of all the Law, the righteousness for all time, the magnificent work of God, the mortification of the flesh, the reviving of the spirit, the victory over the world, over the flesh, and over hell, as He says (Matt. 16:18): "And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." In short, He is all in all. Thus He says (John 8:24): "For you will die in your sins, unless you believe that I am He." And again (John 11:26): "Whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."
Therefore the letters of the apostles are filled with the doctrine of faith, which is eternal life itself, as it is written in John 3:36: "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him." And again (John 12:49–50): "For I have not spoken on My own authority; the Father who sent Me has Himself given Me commandment what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has bidden Me." Therefore it is clear that He has preached the decree of God, namely, the decree of faith in Him as the Son of God, for the salvation of all who receive Him, who believe in His name.
But you will say: If the Spirit wanted this, why did He not arrange the words more clearly, in this fashion: "I will proclaim the decree of God, that I am His Son; today He has begotten Me"? In reply let me say that everywhere the Holy Spirit follows the same method that He observes throughout the Gospel of John. Whenever He speaks of His divinity, He always appeals to the authority of the Father; and all that He Himself is He refers to the Father. He says (John 12:49): "I have not spoken on My own authority"; again (John 7:16): "My teaching is not Mine"; and again (John 14:10): "The Father who dwells in Me does His works"; and many other statements. In this verse, when He says He will proclaim the decree of the Father that He is the Son of God, He first introduces the Father who speaks to Him, so that we hear the Father in the Son, speaking about the Son, rather than the Son speaking about Himself.
This is the meaning: "I will proclaim the decree of God, that I am the Son of God. But I will not do this - 144 by My own authority, lest I appear to be boasting. On the contrary, what the Father has said about Me I will proclaim to you. Then you will hear Him speaking of Me who has commanded Me to proclaim what He has said to Me, so that through His authority you will believe what I say about Myself."
And note: This change of persons—now the Father, now the Son who quotes the word of the Father about Himself—is venerable and holy; for it commends to us the divine nature and equality more emphatically than I, impure as I am, would dare enlarge on it. In fact, this psalm is one of the most important psalms in the whole Psalter. It is sufficient that, on the authority of the apostle Paul, this verse speaks of the begetting of the Godhead, since he says (Heb. 1:5): "For to what angel did God ever say:
'Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee'?"
Everyone will now see this for himself, that the words of the Father describe the only-begotten Son.
He says: "He has said to Me," namely, to one, not to many: "Thou art My Son." He is unique, unmistakably distinguished by such special signs as the Son above all others, of whom Ps. 89:6 declares:
"Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord?" It is as if he said: There are many sons of God, but among them there is only one who is God. Who is like Him? Again: "I have begotten Thee," I alone
And how carefully and worthily the holy fathers have interpreted these words: "Today I have begotten Thee," i.e., in eternity!47 Eternity means that He has been begotten, is being begotten, and will be begotten without end. To Him being a Son means that He is born of the Father. There is neither beginning nor end to His birth, but He is continually begotten by an ever-present nativity. Rightly He is said to be begotten "today," that is, always being begotten. For this "today" has neither yesterday nor tomorrow but is always from day to day, as He says (John 8:58): "Before Abraham was, I am."
Where are you now, you miserable and ambitious people, who, in your ambition, either seek the offices of this King in the church or uselessly hold them, who do not proclaim the decree of God and do not preach Jesus Christ crucified, the Son of God, for the salvation of believers but collect treasures, abound in pleasures, and indulge in every possible pomp? This Son of God, who as man was appointed
King, does not seek His own; He proclaims the decree of God. He did not accept the Kingdom for Himself, but for the blessedness of others, to the glory of God.
Yet the ministry of the Word, which is the only office the bishops really have, is the office they neglect most. And if there are any others who preach in their stead, they preach neither the Lords decree nor Christ, but their own fables; or at best they preach the laws and traditions of men. Therefore you should not believe that the church, the holy mountain of God, is present anywhere where Christ does not teach Christ in the purest manner. For the import of these words is great, when He says: "I will proclaim the decree of God." "Of God," He says, not the decrees, counsels, or histories of mere "And I Myself will proclaim it"; for unless Christ speaks in us, we shall never proclaim God's decree. "I," He said (Ex.
4:12), "will be in your mouth"; and (Ps. 81:10): "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."
Therefore our translation does not conflict in meaning with the Hebrew, except that the different division tends to clarify the meaning. Then having this variation will do no harm if you know the proper meaning. Therefore I do not wish to quarrel about it.
This verse, therefore, distinguishes the kind of doctrine taught in the New Testament from that which was taught in the Old Testament. Formerly the Law was taught, which produced wrath and increased sin; but now it is faith, which works remission and fulfills righteousness. There the lawgiver was Moses, a man and a servant; here the Lawgiver is Christ, God and Lord of all. The former produced servants of sin; the latter, free men of righteousness.
Not that the Law should not be taught now too. Christ says (Matt. 13:52) that both ought to be taught by a teacher learned in the kingdom of heaven, the old as well as the new. But the message of grace is characteristic of the New Testament, and that of the Law is characteristic of the Old Testament. There is no one in this life in whom all the completeness of the New Testament has been fulfilled; nor will anyone be found in whom some part of the Old Testament does not remain. For this life is a kind of transition and passage from Law to grace, from sin to justification, from Moses to Christ. But its consummation is the future resurrection.
8. Ask of Me, and I will make the nations Thy heritage and the ends of the earth Thy possession.
This verse, too, belongs to the decree which Christ took upon Himself to proclaim by command of the Father. He says: "The Lord has spoken to Me. The Father has commanded Me to demand the nations
- 145 from Him as My heritage. And I will proclaim this decree of His, that you may believe and know that I have been established not only as ruler over Zion, His holy mountain, that is, over the people of Israel, but also as heir and Lord of all. Whoever hears this commandment of God from Me and believes, will come to the Father through Me and be saved."
Again you see that the rule of Christ is not one which He has arrogantly assumed, but that it was established by the command and the authority of the Father. Thus the ambitious not only lack example or precedent, but their vice should be checked by divine authority. Not even this, however, is enough for this great abomination. Christ, the Lord of all, does not act or do anything in the church without the commandment of God, and yet these little human worms attempt and dare everything through their own temerity in the church, which is not even theirs!
What does it mean that, on being set as King upon Mt. Zion, He is not commanded to ask for the kingdom of Mt. Zion, while His inheritance over the Gentiles is promised only upon His request—in fact, He is commanded to ask for it?
Perhaps because Israel was promised the blessing and rule of Christ in Abraham, while it was given to the Gentiles out of compassion, without the promise. It is written (Rom. 15:8–9): "For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promise given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy." The truth was shown to the Jews, and the promise was fulfilled; but free compassion was imparted to the Gentiles.
Therefore compassion and truth are usually connected in the prophets,48 although it was by free mercy that He deigned to give the promise.
Thus Zion is given to Christ to rule without His demand; but the nations are given to Him as a heritage at His request, as a gift of Christ, since they had been promised nothing. Is. 66:19–20 says:
"They shall declare My glory among the nations. And they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as an offering to the Lord." Thus Israel is the country, and we Gentiles are the gift, like the dowry which Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave his daughter (1 Kings 9:16). When Christ is set up as King over Zion, the prophet uses the language of the present, to show that the event itself takes place.
But when He is announced as the heir, He is first ordered to demand the heritage, and it is promised to Him in the future. We see all this fulfilled in the Acts of the Apostles, where the disciples did not preach the Word except to the Jews, until Paul was called by heaven and sent as apostle to the Gentiles.
Therefore Christ, already King over Zion on earth, makes His request; and even while reigning in heaven He receives the Gentiles, who were promised to Him on His demand.
Yet here the psalmist has said "from Me" for a special purpose, to show that this sovereignty and inheritance of the Gentiles was given to Christ, not by men or in a human manner but by God, that is, spiritually.
This is one of the passages brazenly flouted by those who claim that anyone not subject to the pope of Rome is not a Christian. For they attempt to make God the Father a liar, since He has subjected the ends of the earth to Christ, while they themselves have not yet completely subjected all Europe. Or can there be no Christians where the Turks and the Scythians rule temporarily? How, then, could there be
Christians in Rome under Nero and Domitian? Are there no bishops where they do not buy vestments, or priests where they do not pay the annates?49 Are they not much rather bishops, the more they are free from wealth, pride, and pomp as they teach the Word of God and rule the people of Christ? Certainly in Acts 20:28 the apostle Paul gives a definition of a bishop as one who attends the flock and guides the church of God. He says: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you guardians, to feed the church." Yet he was speaking to the elders, as blessed Jerome clearly gathers from the text, and this is indicated by the cognate word "tend."50 But to guide the church and tend the flock, can this be done except through the ministry of the Word and through prayer, without the commotion of the bishops which we have now? Lest we, therefore, limit the heritage of Christ too closely, let us not charge the psalm with falsehood, neither on account of the perfidy of the Turks nor because of the many others who have strayed away! Besides, which of us can know who is truly a Christian? And do not wicked people abound among us, while the good are few? The authority of the divine Word transcends our ability to comprehend it. How much more, then, does it transcend our suspicions and our phantasies, which occupy themselves with outward custom!
- 146 Blessed Augustine thinks that there is a tautology here.51 Clearly "the nations Thy heritage" means the same as "the ends of the earth Thy possession." This tautology, as I have said, is always an indication of the certainty through which our faith is further strengthened, namely, that there are
Christians also in other parts of the world, where the other apostles have preached, no matter to how great an extent iniquity rules there.52
9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.
Again, the worldly ideas of man must be laid aside, lest someone imagine the reign of Christ to be founded or maintained by sword and weapons. For it is written (Ps. 147:10): "His delight is not in the strength of the horses, nor His pleasure in the legs of a man," and the apostle has said (2 Cor. 10:14):
"For the weapons of our warfare are not worldly." Even the Turks, whom today we seek to overcome only by the sword, ought to be conquered by increasing the number of Christians among them.53
Otherwise, why not use the sword on the wicked people in our own midst, especially the important ones among the people? God forbid! The rule of Christ consists in justice, truth, and peace. Through these it was set up, and through them it will be maintained. Hence when he said above that He was appointed
King, he meant absolutely no other office than the office of the Word. He said: "I will preach the decrees of the Lord," not: I will ride fine horses; or: I will devastate towns; or: I will seek the treasures of the earth; but this alone: I will preach what God has commanded, that is, Christ, God and man. This
Paul calls the Gospel (Rom. 1:1–2): "Set apart for the Gospel of God, which He promised beforehand, through His Son."
You see, however, that this verse, too, is wholly allegorical, and not without reason, since it signifies an allegory which comes to pass in reality and in life itself. For since the Word of Christ is the Word of salvation and peace, the Word of life and grace, and since it works not in the flesh but in the spirit, it must suppress and cast out the salvation, peace, life, and grace of the flesh. When it does this, it appears to the flesh harder and more cruel than iron itself. For whenever a carnal man is touched in a wholesome way by the Word of God, one thing is felt, but another actually happens. Thus it is written (1 Sam. 2:6–
7): "The Lord kills and brings to life; He brings down to hell and raises up; He brings low, He also exalts." Isaiah also beautifully portrays this allegorical working of God when he says (28:21): "He does
His work—strange is His deed; and He works His work—alien is His work!" It is as if he were saying:
Although He is the God of life and salvation and this is His proper work, yet, in order to accomplish this, He kills and destroys. These works are alien to Him, but through them He accomplishes His proper work. For He kills our will that His may be established in us. He subdues the flesh and its lusts that the spirit and its desires may come to life.
This is what He said previously without allegory: "I will preach the decree of the Lord." For the spirit accepts the Word of the Lord as a most pleasant command. Then the holy Mt. Zion becomes His kingdom, the Gentiles His heritage, and the ends of the earth His possession. But the flesh endures the commandment or Word of God with the greatest aversion; nor does it recognize it, since it is completely contrary to it in every way. It takes the Word as a rod and an iron, something which shatters. And so the allegory is fulfilled, as this verse signifies, and as it is demonstrated in action.
"Thou shalt break them" is םעֵרֹתְְּּ in Hebrew. St. Jerome translates: "Thou shalt tend them."
However, John Reuchlin presents many meanings of this word in his First Principles, namely, to feed, guide, destroy, afflict, shake, shatter or break in pieces, and consume.54 This last meaning, in my humble opinion, is the most appropriate of all in this passage. First, because the rod of iron, as everyone knows, is more suitable for breaking and shattering than for feeding and guiding. Secondly, it would have been sufficient for ruling to mention a scepter; but it would not be apt to speak of feeding with either a rod or a sword. Moreover, what is done with the rod of iron except destruction and shattering? As in Dan. 2:40:
"Like iron which crushes, it shall break and crush all these." Besides, this beautifully rounds out the tautology; for "Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel" follows, so that "shatter" matches
"guide" or "tend." Both words signify the humbling of the proud through the Word of God, which shatters and destroys when it terrifies and humbles. Thus Rom. 1:18 declares that the coming wrath of God is revealed from heaven through the Gospel. And so spoke those who had been converted by the word of Peter and touched in their hearts (Acts 2:37): "Brethren, what shall we do?" This is what the Scriptures elsewhere call denunciations, shaking of the universe, and tremors of the earth. Most beautifully of all He says in Micah 4:13: "Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, for I will make your
- 147 horn iron and your hoofs bronze; you shall beat in pieces many peoples and shall devote their gain to the Lord [that is, themselves, who are taken from the devil like prey], their wealth to the Lord of the whole earth." Behold what it means to rule them with a rod of iron, namely, as He says here, to crush many peoples with a horn of iron.
Therefore the rod is the most holy Gospel of Christ, for it is the scepter of His kingdom, as Ps. 45:6 says: "Thy royal scepter is a scepter of equity." And Ps. 110:2: "The Lord sends forth from Zion Thy mighty scepter." Thus Is. 11:4: "He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." What is the rod of Christs mouth, if not the Word of God, with Which He consumes the earth, that is, those who are earthlyminded? What is the breath of His lips, if not the same Word of the Spirit, which destroys the ungodly that he may live for piety after dying to wickedness? This is the rod before whose tip, in the hand of Joseph, Jacob bowed (Gen. 47:31)55 and whose point the blessed Esther kissed (Esther 5:2.).
It is called a scepter in a metaphorical or rather an allegorical sense, first of all because it is slender and easily handled, and can be carried about in the hand; for the yoke of Christ is easy, and His burden is light (Matt. 11:30). The hands of Moses, however, are heavy (Ex. 17:12), so that they have to be held up by stones placed under them by Aaron and Hur. This is, as Peter explains it (Acts 15:10), the unbearable burden of the Law. By contrast, the hand of Christ everywhere in the Gospel was laid on the little children and the sick to make them well. However, Moses has two great stones and heavy tablets.
Furthermore, in the past the Levites carried many large tablets of the tabernacles, of which Num. 4:31, says: "These are their burdens." These were truly heavy and many burdens if they are regarded alone, but they are nothing or surely moderate if you consider today's tyranny of church law and justice. For today we do not carry tablets, but entire forests and cliffs and the hands of the bishops, which are so heavy that the whole world would not be able to carry them. Yet it serves us right, because we have rejected the scepter of Christ. Therefore what Is. 8:6–7 prophesied has happened to us: "Because these people have refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, therefore behold the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many."
Secondly, it is called a scepter because it is straight. For the Gospel and the Law of the Spirit lead to life by a straight and direct way. But the Law of the letter leads us through long detours of symbols and works, as through the most tedious wilderness. Its wanderings scarcely lead to the plains of Moab (Ex.
13:18) or to the Promised Land, but fail with Moses (Deut. 34:1 ff.).
Thirdly, it is called a scepter because the Law of Christ is bare and uncovered, like a scepter that is carried without a covering. The Law of Moses was carded in an ark, with the tablets obscured by a dark veil (Ex. 40:20), because every Law and every deed without the Law of Christ is a shadow and the sign of a hidden righteousness, but not the genuine thing, which is revealed through the Law of Christ. Rom.
1:17 says: "The righteousness of God is revealed in the Gospel through faith for faith."
The scepter is called "iron," first, as I have said, on account of the flesh, to which the Law of Christ is most severe, although to the spirit it is very gentle. For on all lusts it places cross and death—poverty, humility, and patience. These are the three ends of the cross: poverty destroys the lust of the eyes and avarice; humility destroys the pride of life and ambition; and patience destroys lust of the flesh and sensual pleasures (1 John 2:16). Thus Isaiah (27:1) calls it a hard and strong sword: "In that day the Lord with His hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan, the fleeing serpent."
Secondly, it is called iron because of its inflexible and invincible straightness, or, as blessed Augustine has observed, its inflexible righteousness.56 For however many have tried to twist and bend the Word of God to their own interpretation, it has remained invincibly straight, convicting as liars those who have distorted it. For it is not a reed like the staff of the Egyptians (2 Kings 18:21; Is. 36:6), which will penetrate and pierce the hand of him who leans on it. The reed is human doctrine, blown back and forth by every wind of opinion (Matt. 11:7). And this voice of one crying in the desert, since it is not covered with soft clothes, is not an empty reed moved by the wind but is full and strong and made of iron. However, when some ascribe to the Scriptures the flexibility of a waxen nose and say that it is like a bending reed, this is due to the work of those who misuse the holy Word of God for their incompetent and unstable opinions and glosses. They reach the point where the Word of God, which is fitting for everything, fits nothing.
- 148 Thirdly, just as iron crushes and breaks all things, as Dan. 2:40 says, so the Word of Christ does all this: it crushes the great, that is, humbles the proud; it straightens the crooked, that is, corrects the disorderly; it bends the straight, that is, bows down the exalted; it levels the rough, that is, soothes the angry; it extends the short, that is, encourages the timid; it shortens the long, that is, terrifies the presumptuous; it widens the narrow, that is, makes the stingy generous; it narrows the wide, that is, makes the spendthrift economical; it sharpens the blunt, that is, gives knowledge to the unlearned; it blunts the sharp, that is, makes the wise ignorant; and it repels rust, that is, banishes laziness. In short, it destroys every faulty form and changes it into one that is pleasing to God. And, as the apostle says (2
Tim. 3:16–17): "All Scripture has been inspired by God and made profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
"Like a potter's vessel." He blends a parable with the allegory, to clarify the meaning. In 2 Cor. 4:7 the apostle uses the allegory of "clay vessels" for the body, in fact, for the man in the body. He says:
"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." These are those earthen jars of Gideon (Judg. 7:16–21). When they were dashed in pieces and broken at the sound of the trumpets, they were burning; and their light pursued and routed the confused
Midianites. That is, the bodies of the martyrs and saints, broken by various sufferings of the cross, have taught the world by their examples of charity and truth, and have routed the ungodly with their wickedness. And by tropology,57 when the body or the man of flesh is broken by the Word of the cross and the rod of iron, the multitude of vices and lusts goes down in defeat before the virtues and the grace that illuminates the man.
In this place one must look at the simile, not at the thing itself. For Christ does not break and shatter His own by tearing the limbs from their bodies, as shattered vessels are separated into many little pieces; but this physical scattering is likened to a spiritual scattering. That is, the limbs of the body are not torn from one another in a physical sense; they are destroyed in their evil desires and actions. The tongue does not speak what is pleasant to the flesh; the ear does not listen to slander; the eye does not look at shameful things; and the hand does not take that which is another's or busy itself with the illicit. In general, the sinful body, which formerly used its members for its own lusts, is now suddenly robbed of these members; for they have been shattered through the Word of God and deposed from this service. It is as though Babylon were blessed. As the apostle says (Rom. 6:19), the members, which formerly were made to serve impurity and moved from one injustice to another, now are made to serve righteousness and become sanctified. So also in the Gospel (Luke 11:22) the stronger man not only takes away the armor but divides the spoils as well. For according to Reuchlin, the Hebrew word םצֵפְּנַתְְּּ means:
"Thou shalt disperse, dissipate, and scatter them."58
Therefore the "potter's vessels" are all the Christians; first of all, because the clay vessel is easily broken. Thus mild men, who are not made obstinate by a hardened unbelief, easily yield to the Word of God and do not oppose or resist it. However, those who are stubborn, as they are called in Prov. 28:14, will fall into evil and will undoubtedly be overturned like the mountains and shattered like the rocks, as Elijah saw (1 Kings 19:11).
Secondly, it signifies the Christian, because a broken vessel is absolutely useless for its previous function. Thus you see the words of Is. 30:14 fulfilled: "Among its fragments not a piece is found with which to take fire from the hearth or to dip up water out of the well." He is speaking of a large earthen jar which can only be shattered by a strong blow, and it agrees with this verse almost word for word.
Thus an ungodly person who is converted and changed through Christ is made useless for his earlier life.
With the apostle (Gal. 6:14) he says: "The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."
10. Now, therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, you who judge the earth.
The Latin text has translated literally: "You who judge the earth" instead of "Judges of the earth."
However, it has not translated literally when it says "kings" instead of "you who rule." But this is of no consequence.
After the rule of Christ has been described, he adds a holy, true, and learned exhortation, seeking and trying everything to subject all men to Christ, especially the more important men.
But how daring and, as we are accustomed to say today, how seditious and scandalous is this most impudent prophet, who lifts up his mouth to heaven! He has the audacity to confront, not the lowly and - 149 common people but the highest rulers and even kings, and to teach those who are inflated with the title and office of teacher of the people. These are secure in the customary honor they expect, and cannot stand this greatest of insults, that they are foolish and ignorant, and must be taught and educated. It is simple to have the unlearned people as pupils, for they are used to being students. But to take kings, judges of the earth, masters, governors, doctors, and bishops, and not only rank them on a level with the people and place them in the class of students after they have been used to teaching and ruling, but also to pass the people by and require them alone to be students—who, I ask, could stand that? Who would not tremble here with John the Baptist to touch the head of Christ (Matt. 3:14 ff.)? Yet it must be touched and baptized with the Water of the Jordan in its descending lowliness, so that all righteousness may be fulfilled, as He who is highest humbles Himself under the lowest and the lowest trembles before the humility of the highest.
Truly the good and worthy Spirit, knowing that the whole welfare of the common people depends on the right instruction of the leaders, teaches them first in a friendly and fatherly way, so that they yield to His mind and are all the more ready to be instructed; for they do not direct their own affairs but the matters of all those under them, and they cannot make mistakes without harming the whole people. As it is written (Luke 6:39): "A blind man leads a blind man, and both fall into a pit." Christ admonishes them not only for this reason but because He knows, as I have said, that they are inflated by their power and office, and always have in their mouth the words of John 9:34: "Would You teach us?" and of Jer.
18:18: "For the Law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet." Inflated by this bombast and self-confidence, they were wont to resist the true prophets. And this is no different from the way the flatterers of the popes today resist all truth with their chatter that it is unthinkable for so high a personage to err, and that the church cannot err, the pope cannot err, a council cannot err, etc. Yet the people in the Old Testament were more strongly bound to obey the priests than we Christians are, because they had to listen to the Levite priests under pain of death.
Today, however, we all are priests, and Is. 54:13 is now fulfilled: "All your sons shall be taught by the Lord," and Jer. 31:34: "No longer shall each man teach his neighbor and each his brother saying, 'Know the Lord'; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord." In 1 Cor.
14:30 Paul clearly teaches that if a revelation is made to one who is sitting by, the first speaker should be silent. In the New Testament, therefore, all superiors are to be heard in such a way that everyone of the lowest degree may be free to judge the thought of the superior in matters of faith, much more so than the prophets could resist the important people in Israel without regard for the command of God. For in the synagog, where the priesthood worked only with outward ceremonies, any kind of error by the priests went unchallenged. However, in the church, where things of the spirit and faith are involved, it is absolutely the concern of everyone to see that the priest does not err. For it is the custom of God to reveal to the lowest that which He does not deign to show even to the highest, so that His reign may stand firmly in the humility on which alone it rests.
Observe the emphasis on the adverb "now." "Now," I say, after Christ has been established as King of all. In these times there are two things which will hinder you most from knowing what is right.
First, this Christ—who was crucified, killed, and condemned by you, and on God's authority was even cursed according to the Law of Moses—is proclaimed as Lord over all lords. It is most difficult of all to recognize as King one who has died such a desperate and shameful death. The senses are strongly repelled by such a notion, reason abhors it, experience denies it, and a precedent is lacking. Plainly this will be folly to the Gentiles and a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Cor. 1:23) unless you raise your thoughts above all this.
The second difficulty is that through His reign this King teaches that all the things you hoped for in the Law should be condemned, and that all the things you feared should be loved. He offers the cross and death. He advises contempt for the good that one sees, and likewise for the evil, since He will confer on you a much different good, namely, that which the eye has not seen, the ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man (1 Cor. 2:9). You must die if you would live under this King. You must bear the cross and the hatred of the whole world. You must not flee from ignominy, poverty, hunger, and thirst, in other words, all the evil that floods the earth. For this is the King who became a fool to the earth and died, and who thereupon destroys His own with a scepter of iron and smashes them like a potter's vessel. How can anyone stand such a King if he relies on his own senses, defines things
- 150 rationally, and stands in the doorway of his tents and cannot see the face of Moses (Ex. 33:7–10)?
Therefore instruction and training are necessary, that you may rise above this, regard the visible things with contempt, and be drawn to the invisible, as you aspire, not to that which is on the earth but to that which is above, where Christ is (Col. 3:1–2).
Therefore in Hebrew the word for "be wise" is ִּכ ילּושְׂהַ, which by itself means: "Make sensible," referring either to yourselves, as Jerome interpreted it,59 or to others. That is, so work and strive for this wisdom that you become wise and understand spiritual and heavenly things; or, as we say in our vernacular: "Be wise and understanding."60 This is like the thought of Ps. 32:9: "Be not like a horse or a mule without understanding." However, this is not the wisdom for which the philosophers seek; it is faith itself, which in prosperity or adversity can see things that are not seen. Therefore he does not show wherein they should be instructed; but he says absolutely: "Be wise," that is, take heed that you are wise, be concerned that you believe. That which is understood by faith has neither name nor category.
Prosperity or adversity in matters of this present life completely upsets every man who does not by faith understand the invisible. This knowledge comes from faith, as it is written (Is. 7:9): "If you do not believe, you will not understand." And this is the entrance into darkness, where everything that the feeling, reason, mind, and understanding of man is able to grasp will be dissolved. Faith unites the soul with the invisible, ineffable, unutterable, eternal, unthinkable Word of God, while at the same time it separates it from all visible things. This is the cross and the Passover of the Lord, in which He preaches this necessary comprehension.
"Receive instruction, O rulers of the earth." Augustine understands this as tautology.61 However, these words, "receive instruction," have an absolute meaning: Strive to be instructed, that is, torn away from the raw and natural inclinations and opinions of the senses and sensual things, so that you do not think childishly about Christ and His kingdom. "The sensual man does not perceive those things that are of the spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:14). However, it appears to me that instruction means turning the heart away from transitory things, just as understanding means turning to and grasping that which is eternal.
One is done by the cross through the death of the flesh; the other, by faith through the awakening of the spirit.
It is too well known for special mention that "the earth" symbolizes the men on the earth, except that Augustine, preferring to take it as a tropology, thinks that it signifies the body.62
11. Serve the Lord with fear, and glorify Him with trembling.
This is an amazing expression, unreasonable to our eyes. For fear works hatred and flight, not service; and trembling is violently opposed to joy. Then here he is saying the opposite of another psalm, where we are told to serve the Lord in gladness (Ps. 100:2). What, then? Let us let the apostle Paul decide. He says (1 Cor. 1:21): "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe." It is as if he wanted to say: One must become wise through foolishness. Thus, since we neither acknowledged nor praised God as our Benefactor in peace and prosperity, as we should have done, it has pleased Him that now we should acknowledge and praise Him through the cross and adversity. We did not serve God with gladness in security, and so He is pleased that we serve Him with gladness in fear and rejoice with trembling. In short, just as the world upsets everything that is God's, so God upsets everything that is the world's. All creation has been given to lift up and enlighten man, but man uses it to blind and cripple himself. Therefore God, in turn, also uses all creation to blind and cripple man. This is the cross of Christ and the foolishness of preaching by which He saves the believers. Those who follow opinion, reason, wisdom, and knowledge are offended by all this and perish.
This, then, is the meaning: When Christ the Lord reigns with His iron scepter and crushes the old man through the Word of the cross, according to the will and command of the Father, who has subjected everything to Him, you must recognize yourself as subjected to Him. However, you are subjected in fear, that you may bear His cross in patience and humility. And be concerned, lest, if you refuse to bear
His hand and counsel, you become wicked, like those spoken of in Ps. 78:9: "The sons of Ephraim are turned back on the day of battle." You will be subject when you know that you never suffer undeserved punishment but deserve much greater punishment. The proud are smug in their opinion that they deserve only blessing. Like Job, they are not afraid, because they rely on their works (Job 9:28). Therefore they do not stand in the time of trial; but, as Matt. 7:24 ff. said about the house of the foolish man that was
- 151 built on sand, they collapse in a great fall and become worse. Accordingly, this fear is a great part of the cross in the whole of life and in all our works; in fact, it is almost the whole of the cross.
Surely we should, with the apostle in Rom. 5:3, glory in our tribulation and rejoice with trembling.
From all this it can be inferred that the service and praise of God is twofold. There is a service in security and a joy in the Lord without fear. This exists among the smug hypocrites. They are pleased with themselves. They do not see themselves as worthless servants, for they have great merit. Of them it is written in Ps. 10:5: "Thy judgments are on high, out of his sight," and then soon after (Ps. 36:21):
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."63 They always perform righteousness without judgment.
They will not permit Christ to be Judge, before whom all should tremble and in whose sight no living man is justified (Ps. 143:2).
Service with fear and joy with trembling is found in the righteous, who always do righteousness and judgment. They mingle them together. They are neither without judgment, which terrifies the righteous and makes them despair of their own works, nor without true righteousness, by which they trust and rejoice in the mercy of God. The occupation of their whole life is to accuse themselves in all matters, to justify and praise God in all things, and thus to fulfill Prov. 28:14: "Blessed is the man who is always fearful," and likewise 1 Thess. 5:16: "Always rejoice in the Lord." Thus they are crushed and humbled between the upper and lower millstone (Deut. 24:6); and after the husks are removed, they become the purest wheat of Christ.
I leave it to you to pay special attention to the emphasis with which he says: "Serve the Lord," not yourself, your belly, or your gold, not even your righteousness, strength, wisdom or any other thing at all. For these are forms of idolatry. Thus you should rejoice in Him—not in yourselves or in any creature, but only in the Lord.
Now this happens when you claim nothing good in yourself which you may trust in and praise but attribute all things only to God, and praise, honor, and love Him in all things. And likewise you attribute to yourself all evil, because of which you should fear, tremble, and despair. Just as Job said of both sides
(Job 1:21): "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
How difficult all this is you will see when you consider each side of the question. In adversity it is easy to abandon hope, complain, become impatient, and for fear of punishment disobey the commandments and prohibitions of God. It is hard to overcome your fear of creatures by the fear of God and not to yield to passions and circumstances, but to adhere to the Word of the Lord, even to the point of death. For here is the test to see whether one serves the Lord and fears the will of God more than the violence of any creature. Furthermore, the fear of God is in greater danger in prosperity than in adversity. For in prosperity one lives secure in joy; it is hard to fear, much less to tremble, when all goes well.
Therefore I hold that the prophet has very fittingly joined trembling with joy and fear with service; for service implies the burden of adversity, but joy the ease of prosperity. It was necessary to recommend fear that he might declare that trembling is necessary there, as if he would say: One must be more afraid where there seems to be no cause for fear; and the more smoothly everything proceeds, the more anxiously one should fear, and even tremble, when great joy and happiness befalls him.
12. Embrace discipline, lest at any time the Lord be angry, and you perish from the just way.
The words "Lord" and "just" do not occur in the Hebrew text, but this does not matter. However, this translation, "Embrace discipline," is abandoned by almost everyone. In the Hebrew it is רבקּו־ ַַשְְּּׁׁנַ, which Jerome has translated in the Hebrew Psalter as "worship in a pure way," because רבַּ also means
"pure" and "chosen." He says the same thing in his small commentary: "In the Hebrew one reads רבקּו־ ַַשְְּּׁׁנַ, which can be interpreted as: 'Pray to the Son'; for רבַּ also means 'son.' "64 Thus "Simon Bar
Jona" in the Gospel (Matt. 16:17) means "John's son"; Bar Ptolemy means "the son of Ptolemy"; Barnabas means "the son of a prophet," etc.
Burgensis and Lyra have "Kiss the Son."65 But nowhere is רבַּ used to mean "discipline." However, to kiss they interpret as to give homage, so that it has this sense: Kiss the Son, that is, with reverence and humility accept Christ as King and Lord.
But let us attempt to harmonize everything as well as possible. First, the kiss is a sign of reverence and adoration, as when we honor and kiss sacred and divine things, or when in humble prostration we
- 152 kiss the feet and footsteps, as Mary Magdalene kissed Christ (Luke 7:38). Therefore Jerome has translated this phrase: "Worship in a pure way."
Secondly, the kiss is a sign of recognition of faithfulness which one intends to perform, as in homage, where we are accustomed to kiss the hand and in this way to acknowledge him whom we kiss as lord.
Thirdly, it is a sign of the most perfect friendship and love that we are wont to kiss the eyes or the face, as the apostle teaches (Rom. 16:16): "Greet one another with a holy kiss." We read that Christ customarily received His disciples with this kiss when they returned (Luke 7:45; Matt. 26:49). But since those who kiss in this manner customarily clasp and embrace each other, our translation has: "Embrace discipline."
However, he says definitely: "Kiss the Son." Since he does not mention feet, hand, or face, it is fight to understand the kiss in its broadest meaning. Thus we may worship Christ as the Son of God and the true God by kissing His feet. By kissing His hand we accept Him as our rightful Lord, our eternal Helper and Savior. And by kissing His eyes and face we embrace Him as our most beloved Brother and Friend, and the Bridegroom of our soul. Concerning this threefold kiss read Bernard at the beginning of the Song of Songs, to find this interpretation:66 "Kiss the Son," that is, worship Christ as God with the greatest reverence; subject yourselves to Christ the Lord with the greatest humility; and cling to Christ, the Bridegroom, with the greatest love. Behold, love and fear, with humility as the measure and midpoint of both—this is the most perfect worship of God.
Now the various translations of רבַּ—as "Son," "pure," or even "discipline"—can be brought into harmony by considering faith in Christ as our true discipline. Therefore whoever believes in Christ, that is, kisses the Son, has truly accepted discipline and carries the cross of Christ on himself, as is written to the Galatians (6:17). For Christ is not kissed or embraced according to the flesh but according to the spirit, that is, when we lovingly take upon ourselves the cross and His Passion, by which we are disciplined (Heb. 12:5–11). Therefore our translation is not accurate so far as the words are concerned, but it is completely suited to the sense. Furthermore, "to worship in a pure way" refers to what is written about the impure worship of Baal (1 Kings 19:18): "Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed his hand." I will say in passing that "kissing his hand" is not in that text; but the same word, קשַׁנָ, which is now established to mean "to kiss," is used where it is said "that has not worshiped him." Perhaps some Hebrew interpreter added the gloss "kissing his hand," to express the mode of adoration better, and it was later put into the text by some inexperienced scribe. Yet Job speaks in this same manner (Job 31:27–28): "And my mouth has kissed my hand, which would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges; for I should have been false to God above." Blessed Gregory interprets these Scriptural modes of expression to mean a man who trusts in his own works and glories in a righteousness which does not come from Christ but is produced through his own strength.67 For such a man adores and kisses his own hand with his mouth, because he praises himself and is pleased with himself, and his soul is not praised in the Lord. Therefore such adoration is the greatest iniquity and a denial of the most high God, since the soul ascribes to itself what belongs to God and thus sets itself up as a Baal idol and worships itself. Furthermore, it makes itself the author of its own good; for Baal means an author or lord. So Is. 2:8, says: "They bow down to the work of their hands, to what their own fingers have made." But this is impure worship. Pure worship is to kiss
Christ, to recognize Christ as Savior, and to kiss His hand. This is true and pure worship; this is to worship the Son. "So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).
Therefore let us conclude: The prophet desires that they serve Christ in fear, that they acknowledge themselves as sinners, always accuse themselves, and let God alone be righteous in Christ. But since they are able to oppose Him and pretend to have kept the Law, to be righteous, not to have sinned, and not to need Christ for their righteousness, he opposes this most wicked arrogance and says: "Do not think that you are righteous; empty yourselves of this idolatrous opinion, lest you make yourselves equal to God. Do not trust in your own righteousness, but rather kiss the Son and embrace Him; for His hands,
His justice, and His salvation will save you. And if you do not do this, He will be angry at your righteousness, and you will perish from your way; or (as I imagine) you will perish with your way." For the Hebrew is somewhat obscure in meaning: ְךרֶרדּו ֶבא ְתֹוְְ, that is, "you will perish in the way,"
- 153 which, by contraction, seems to me to say: You will perish with the way, as in Ps. 1:6: "But the way of the wicked will perish." Nevertheless, I hold no prejudice against the interpretation of anyone, although
I do not see how they can perish from the right way when they are not yet on the right way. However, those can be frightened by their danger who take delight in their way as if it were the right way but do not know Christ as the true Way.
For His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are those who take refuge in Him.
In the Hebrew this belongs to the preceding verse, which reads this way in its entirety: "Worship the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way; for His wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who trust in Him."
This, then, is the meaning: Make haste, and hurry to worship Christ, so that you do not perish because of His anger. And do not deceive yourselves, as though you still had a long time. You should know that His anger will be quickly and speedily kindled, that it will come suddenly, when you least expect it, as in Matt. 24:48–50: "If that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed,' the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know." So in Prov. 1:27: "When calamity comes like a whirlwind," and I Thess. 5:2–3: "For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. When people say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them." Therefore this threat is terrible, because if the wrath of God suddenly clutches them, there will be no one to save them. Finally, this psalm concludes with a most beautiful exclamation. This, he says, is the sum of it all: "Blessed are they who take refuge in Him." For this He suffered, for this He was resurrected, for this He was established as King, and for this He received everything as His heritage, in order that He might be able to save all who take refuge in Him.
However, only this confidence justifies, without the works of the Law, as the apostle teaches in the Epistle to the Romans (3:28) and in the Epistle to the Galatians (2:16). But this confidence is most difficult when so much adversity offers resistance, and so much prosperity offers temptation. Therefore blessed are they who have not been caused to stumble because divine grace is needed, not human strength. For thus the good Spirit does not threaten eternally; on the contrary, He consoles the terrified without end. He says: If you fear His wrath, do not despair, but trust. "Blessed are those who take refuge in Him." For this purpose His wrath terrifies, that it may urge you to trust in Him. Amen.
2Luther, M. (1999, c1958). Vol. 14: Luther's works, vol. 14 : Selected Psalms III (J. J. Pelikan, H. C.
Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.). Luther's Works (Ps,1.1). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.