lack anything he needs for his salvation. Such is the care and kindness we receive from God, who is blessed forever! In Him may your Most Gracious Lordship live and prosper now and forever. Amen.
In Wittenberg, the sixth day before the calends of April, in the year of our Lord 1519.14
1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.
THE search for personal blessedness is common to all men. There is no one who does not desire to fare well or hate to fare badly. And yet all men, whoever they are, have strayed from the knowledge of true blessedness, most of all those who have made a special search for it, such as the philosophers, the best of whom have identified it with virtue or virtuous works. Thus they have made themselves more miserable than others and have robbed themselves equally of the blessings of this life and the next; for although the common people are grossly out of their mind to strive for blessedness in the pleasures of the flesh, they at least have partaken of the good things of this life. However, the psalmist, speaking from heaven, rejects the efforts of all men and gives a unique definition of blessedness which is unknown to everyone: Blessed is he who loves the Law of God. This is a short definition; but it is one which contradicts all human reason, particularly that of the wise. But first let us consider matters that are grammatical and yet theological.
The Hebrew speaks in the plural, ירֵשְׁאַ, "blessed people" or "blessed things." Thus: Blessed are the affairs of man who does not stray; as if he wanted to say: All things go well with that man who, etc.
Why do you argue? Why do you draw empty conclusions? This is that unique pearl; and if a man can find it by loving the Law of God and being separate from the ungodly, all his affairs are in excellent shape. But if he does not make this discovery, he will search in vain for all good things. For just as to the pure all things are pure (Titus 1:5), so to those who love all things are lovely, and to the good all things are good. In general: As you are, so God is to you, to say nothing of creatures. Since God is pure to the pure, perverse to the perverse, and holy to the holy, there is nothing good to him who is evil and nothing pleasant to him to whom the Law of God is unpleasant.
"Man" is used in the Scriptures in a threefold way. It signifies age, sex, or humanity. It is used for age in 1 Cor. 13:11: "When I became a man, I gave up childish ways"; for sex in Matt. 1:16: "Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary," and in John 4:16: "Go, call your husband"; and for humanity in I Sam. 26:15: "And David said to Abner, 'Are you not a man?'"15 And in this third sense man is called blessed here, so that the female sex is not excluded from the blessing.
"He has departed" or better, the Hebrew ְךלַהֹלא ָ, "he has not walked, not entered, not approached," which the Greek renders as οὐκ ἐπορεύθη. It is well known that in the manner of the Scriptures "to walk" and "to approach" are figures of speech, meaning "to live" or "to associate," as in Ps. 15:2: "He who walks blamelessly," and in Ps. 101:6: "He who walks in the way that is blameless shall minister unto me." Similarly in Rom. 8:1, 4: "There is no condemnation for those who walk not according to the flesh."
Here "counsel" is undoubtedly used in place of "principles," or "doctrines," since no human association exists unless it is constructed and maintained according to certain principles and laws. With this word the psalmist rebukes the pride and the corrupt arrogance of the ungodly. For first of all they disdain to walk in the Law of the Lord but follow their own counsel. And then he calls it a counsel, which sounds like wisdom and the right way and thus would be free from error. For this is the corruption of the ungodly, that in their own eyes they are wise, and that among themselves they disguise their errors with the appearance of wisdom and the right way. For if they attacked men with manifest error, it would not be a great praise of blessedness not to walk with them. For he does not say: "in the foolishness of the wicked" or "in the error of sinners." Therefore he warns us most earnestly to beware of the appearance of goodness, so that the satanic angel, disguised as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), does not seduce us by his cunning. But the counsel of the wicked is placed in contrast to the Law of the Lord, so that we learn to beware of the wolves in sheep's clothing. They are quick to counsel everyone, to teach everyone, to help everyone, whereas there is nothing of which they are less capable.
- 125 The "ungodly," which the Hebrew terms עשָׁרָ, was rightly interpreted by St. Hilary as one having evil feelings about God.16 For ungodliness is, strictly speaking, the crime of unbelief and is committed in the heart. But it is expressed capriciously and in various ways. Thus you must always have these two opposites in mind: faith in God and godlessness, just as the Law of God and the counsel of man. For when we deal with piety and impiety, we are dealing, not with behavior but with attitudes, that is, with the source of the behavior. Thus whoever rightly believes in God can do nothing but good and lead a good life. And even though the righteous falls seven times a day, he will rise again just as often (Prov.
24:16). But the wicked fall into evil and do not rise again. Because they are unbelievers, they do no good works at all. Everything they do has a beautiful cast, but it is the shadow of Behemoth (Job 40:15), with which they deceive themselves and attract the simple. Therefore he is godly who lives by faith, and he is ungodly who lives in unbelief.
Now we are able to see the sinner. This is the outward way of the wicked, for you cannot see counsel or the wicked man concealed in the heart. Therefore he speaks of the works, the conduct, and the endeavors in which they are outwardly active, and he calls this their way, so that counsel appears in application and, as the saying goes, in practice; and the evil which they think inwardly they do outwardly. Truly this way, as I have said, is always much more pleasing in appearance than the way of the godly. For anyone can easily avoid crude sinners without this guide, or at least recognize them.
"Has stood" means stubbornness, a stiff neck, in which the proud excuse themselves with words of malice; for they have become incorrigible in their godlessness, since they consider it piety. For "to stand" means, in Scriptural metaphor, "to be steadfast," as in Rom. 14:4: "It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand."17 Therefore the Hebrew word for column, like the Latin word for statue, comes from the concept of standing. For this is the fixation of the ungodly, that to themselves they seem to live a righteous life and shine before others with their beautiful works.
"Seat," "to sit in the seat," is to instruct, to be a master or teacher. For example, in Matt. 23:2: "The scribes sit on Moses' seat," etc. Thus to sit on a throne is to reign or be a king, just as it frequently appears in the Books of Kings; "to sit on a seat of state" is to be a ruler, and "to sit on a bench" is to be a judge.
Although "pestilence" is not a literal translation, it is a very adequate expression; for the Hebrew refers to mockers or to the scornful. Now they are the scornful whom he accuses throughout the Psalter as the deceitful and the deceitful tongue, as those who, under the appearance of sound doctrine, administer the poison of their false teaching. And no bodily pestilence is as contagious for the body as the teaching of godlessness is for the soul. In the words of the apostle (2 Tim. 2:17): "And their talk will eat its way like gangrene." But just as the wise are called the soundness of the world (Wisd. of Sol.
6:26), so the ungodly are justly called the pestilence of the world. Indeed, what more pernicious deceit is there than to give a deadly poison to souls hungry for pure truth?
In accordance with universal use in the church, therefore—which distinguishes the good life as to faith and morals, the former determining godly and ungodly, and the latter sinners and saints—the psalmist here describes two states. And to them he adds a third. For since ungodliness had no other goal after it had infected man inwardly in his attitude and outwardly in his behavior, it burst forth to drag others along into the same perdition. It was not content with its own ungodly attitude and wicked conduct unless it taught ungodliness also to others. So much for the grammar.
This is to be especially noted about Scripture, how prudently it refrains from mentioning sects and persons. For without a doubt this psalm deals primarily with the Jewish people, as the apostle says, "to the Jew first, and also to the Greek" (Rom. 1:16), and Rom. 3:19: "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law." Yet it does not say: "Blessed are the Jews, or blessed is this one or that one." Neither does it say "in the counsel of this or that people," but absolutely: "Blessed is the man … the counsel of the ungodly … the way of the sinners … the seat of the scornful," etc., whoever these may be; for there is no respect of persons with God (Gal. 2:6).
And this was most necessary so that the Word of God, because it is eternal, should apply to all men of all times. For although in the course of time customs, people, places, and usages may vary, godliness and ungodliness remain the same through all the ages. Thus we see the prophets opposed to the false prophets, apostles against the pseudoapostles, church fathers against the heretics, all using the same
- 126 Scriptures; yet neither the prophets nor the apostles nor the doctors nor their adversaries are named, but only the terms "godly" and "ungodly" appear.
Furthermore, this is done so that, if the name of a person were added, others should not imagine that what is called evil does not apply to them, or that what is called good applies to them alone. Thus the Jews referred to themselves whatever blessing was promised to the seed of Abraham and Israel, while, as I have said, this psalm was certainly directed first against them. Therefore we, too, like the holy fathers, apply the psalm to that generation which is contemporaneous with us. In fact, we should rather follow as the psalmist leads; for he reproves all the wicked. Not that he is forced into that pattern, but we find him doing this.
Therefore the psalmist says: "Blessed is the man who does not go astray," that is, when so many thousands of the ungodly are about us that it is possible to say (Ps. 12:1): "Help, Lord, for there is no longer any that is godly; for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men." And also With Micah 7:2: "The godly man has perished from the earth, and there is none upright among men." Is not he blessed and truly a man strong in faith who does not walk with the great throng on the broad way, who suffers much abuse and evil and still does not consent to walk with them, and who is not deceived by the attractive counsel of the ungodly which would lead even the elect astray (Matt. 24:24)? It is a great thing when a man is not overcome by riches, pleasures, and honors; but it is an even greater victory when a man overcomes the reasoning and the glittering righteousness of the ungodly, by which pure faith is attacked most of all.
However, it should be noted that the words of the psalm are words of faith, that they do not speak of men according to what one sees on the outside. For then (as I have said) no one would consider them ungodly. The prophet speaks in the spirit, where also that is godless (because it is empty of faith) which among men is the holiest of all. Thus Eccl. 8:10: "Then I saw the wicked buried; they used to go in and out of the holy place and were, praised in the city where they had done such things." And Ps. 37:35: "I have seen a wicked man overbearing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon." These are terrible things, for who would look for ungodliness there, and so deeply?
But listen! This psalm does not reproach merely the ungodly and the sinners, for every man apart from Christ is ungodly and a sinner, but mainly those who are double sinners. They not only fail to recognize themselves as ungodly but, besides this, devise a counsel in which they might move and give their wickedness a bright coloring. Therefore he does not say: Blessed is he who does not walk as an ungodly man or stand as a sinner, but: Who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly and in the way of the sinners. For they are not satisfied with being ungodly, but they also want to be righteous and holy by giving their ungodliness the appearance of godliness.
Now whom do you think this means in our time? I would not dare name such persons, lest I draw upon myself the implacable enmity of certain priests, monks, and bishops. For the generations of the ungodly have always been most intolerant of the Word of God and have filled heaven with martyrs for no other reason than that they maintained that by it they were doing God a service (John 16:2). They looked on themselves as fighting for the godly when they stubbornly accused the truly pious of ungodliness.
Yet you should know and not doubt that they are hit who shine only in ceremonies, rituals, and all manner of other displays of godliness, including clothes, food, places, and occasions. Or, at best, they measure godliness by works and prayers. This is especially true of those who through their rules, privileges, merits, doings, and regulations divide themselves in implacable discord. And they would do or suffer anything rather than give in to one another and humble themselves in mutual love. That these are the ungodly you can see from this, that they are confidently secure in their lives and do not have the fear of God before their eyes. For this should be a perpetual and infallible canon to you, and (as the saying goes) more certain than a touchstone.18 That is characteristic of the ungodly, not to fear God and, sure of His mercy (as they think), to take everything for granted. The godly, however, like Job, fear for all their works. They trust in no righteousness of theirs and consider their sanctity as dung. Nor can they contend for it, to justify or vindicate themselves; but they consider themselves worthy of all hatred and vengeance. Thus I have said that the eye and the ear of faith are necessary in order to hear these words of the Spirit and to see what is revealed. For man is not able to comprehend it.
- 127 However, do not think that it is ceremonies or good works that I condemn, but the conjecture, the self-reliance, and the worksof these people. I call them a pestilence, because we see what happens to them, how they fall into sects, anger, slander, and boundless monstrosities of the wicked. These they all gloss over in the name of piety, the veil of their own counsel and the gutter of their dogmas. Yet if they did their work in humility, it would surely be good.
Nor stand in the way of sinners.
After the ungodly violate the faith, what remains except that their works are sinful and evil? And how, you will say, are the works of the Jews, the heretics, and the arrogant evil? They fast, pray, do good, and otherwise do that which no man is heard to call evil. But I tell you that faith is necessary. The works of the ungodly are so much worse because they confirm ungodliness and make the wicked strong and persistent in the way of the sinner. Moreover, they are sins because they proceed from an impure heart. The sage asks (Ecclus. 34:4): "How can a liar speak the truth? And how can a good thing come from one who is evil?"
However, Christ Himself instructed us beautifully when He said (Matt. 7:20): "By their fruits you shall know them." For they have twofold works. There is one side which He calls sheep's clothing. Yet these are not their genuine fruits but are assumed according to their counsel and ways. But when you touch and confront them, behold, their real fruits burst forth: anger, bravado, uproar, pride, slander, curses, excuses, envy, blasphemy, and similar monstrous things. For from these thornbushes you can get no fruits other than sharp thorns. Such people, as you see, are also ceremonial work saints.
Nor sit in the seat of the scornful.
This is what the Jews do, who have abandoned Christ. Under their lips is the deadly venom of vipers (Ps. 140:3), and their wine is the poison of serpents (Deut. 32:33). Therefore they must teach contrary to Christ, for they do not teach Christ. These are they whom the heretics follow, under another name and person, of course; but they cause destruction by the same ungodliness. And, to come now to our own times, those occupy the "seat of the scornful" who fill the church of Christ with the opinions of the philosophers, the traditions of men, and the counsel of their own minds, and oppress poor souls. They neglect the Word of God, through which alone the soul is fed, lives, and is sustained.
Thus it is that men know no other righteousness than that which is provided by works, but this is ungodly and sinful in the presence of God. For it is impossible to teach the works of any kind of laws without peril unless one first teaches faith in Christ as the better part of doctrine and with greater zeal.
Paul uses eleven chapters of the Epistle to the Romans to make faith the foundation, and then five to build life on this foundation. Again, in the Epistle to the Galatians he spends five chapters on faith and only one, the sixth, on life. He does likewise in other epistles. In the Gospel Christ demands only faith.
2. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on His Law he meditates day and night.
A grammatical and theological exposition.
Once and for all I say: See that you always separate most widely and distantly the Law of the Lord from the laws of any men, and watch with all diligence that the two, confused in one chaos (as is done by the doctors of destruction), do not miserably destroy you. They either turn the Law of God into human tradition or human tradition into the Law of God. Let us illustrate this by examples. God's Law says: "Honor father and mother." From this Law the Pharisees have made the following tradition: "The sacrifice offered on the altar is better than what is given to parents," as you read in Matt. 15:5. On the other hand, while they hold the true commandment of God in such contempt, they honor Him with another commandment of their own. Out of their own law they make a Law of God: "Wash your hands when you go to eat." Thus the elders declared, and when one does not listen to the elders, it is the same as when one does not listen to God. Therefore Christ says in the same place (Matt. 15:7–9): "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you: 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me; in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men'!" Thus in our time this has become prevalent, that they boldly declare that only the voice of the pope and the Roman curia are to be heard with fear and trembling, while the commandments of God are even mocked, to say nothing of being despised. And no one does this more than they who so highly exalt the curia. Indeed, they have brought their ungodly superstitions to such lengths that there are priests everywhere who hold it to be a mortal sin if one celebrates Mass without stole or maniple or any other such details. If they should make a mistake in the Canon of the Mass, even involuntarily, it is the greatest crime. However, I am ashamed
- 128 to relate other ridiculous and stupid terrors of conscience among priests and monks, since they do not once realize that they have wasted many years in lewdness, anger, envy, greed, and pride, and thus have scorned God.
Here "delight" stands, first of all, neither for ability nor for the indolent habit which was introduced from Aristotle by the new theologians in order to subvert the understanding of the Scriptures, nor for the action out of which, as they say, that ability or habit proceeds.19 All human nature does not have this delight, but it must necessarily come from heaven. For human nature is intent and inclined to evil, as the divine authority says (Gen. 8:21). The Law of the Lord is truly good, holy, and just. Then it follows that the desire of man is the opposite of the Law, even hates it and flees from it. When now and then a man out of fear of punishment or desire for its promise pretends to love the Law, there nevertheless remains an inward hatred of the Law. He cannot love it freely, and he loves the Law, not because it is good but because it serves his ends.
Moreover, this desire is the pure desire of the heart, and that pleasure does not ask what the Law promises or threatens but only that the Law is holy, just, and good. Therefore it is not only the love of the Law but also a loving delight in the Law which the world and the prince of the world can destroy and defeat neither by prosperity nor by adversity. Yet through need, ignominy, the cross, death, and hell this "desire" breaks through to victory, and in adversity it is the most conspicuous.
Moreover, this desire comes from faith in God through Jesus Christ. On the other hand, a desire which has been extorted through fear of punishment is servile and impetuous, while that which is induced through a desire for reward is mercenary and false. However, that other desire is free; it does not seek reward and is happy. Therefore the people of Christ are called in Hebrew תבֹדָנְְ, that is, spontaneous, voluntary, and generous. From all this it becomes clear that if this psalm is not understood of Christ alone, it becomes a mirror and a goal toward which the blessed man must strive. For there is no one in this life who does not lack something of this will because of the law and desire in his members which is contrary to it, as the apostle laments in Rom. 7:23. According to theology, this wrongful desire must be crucified; but according to philosophy, it is to be considered as true virtue.
"Meditate," some say, is to examine, investigate and, in general, to treat verbally, as in Ps. 37:30:
"The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom." Hence Augustine has in Ms translation, "to chatter," really a beautiful metaphor, because chattering is an exercise of the birds.20 Therefore it is the office of a man whose proper duty is to converse on something, to discourse about the Law of the Lord. Even the poet uses meditating in this way: "You make out of delicate reeds the song of the muse of the forest."21 It is not possible to describe satisfactorily the strength and beauty of these words. For this meditation consists first in close attention to the words of the Law, and then in drawing together various parts of Scripture.
And this is a pleasant hunt, a game rather like the play of stags in the forest, where "the Lord arouses the stags, and uncovers the forests." (Ps. 29:9.) For out of this will proceed a sermon to the people which is well informed in the Law of the Lord.
For example, if you skim superficially over the words "you shall not kill," they are cold words, and, according to the literal sound, you hear that killing a man is prohibited. But pause and observe that it does not say: Your hand shall not kill, but you yourself. Yet who is this "you"? It consists of your soul and body, and in them you also have many powers: hands, tongue, eyes, mind, and will. Therefore when you are prohibited from killing, are you then not also taught that it is wrong to kill with the hand, or with the tongue, or by your desire? For when one of these commits the crime, it is really you. Therefore you should not be angry or ill-natured, not revile or slander, not turn away your face, not ridicule or injure or wish to harm; but, on the contrary, you should love, bless, and do good. What now? Truly, "You shall not kill" will mean that you should not be bitter and angry but agreeable and friendly toward your neighbor. You see in how many places the Scriptures teach of love, tolerance, friendliness, good will, kindness, and mercy. When you have taken these together, have you not lovingly chattered and meditated on the Law of your Lord?
"Day and night." Whether you take this literally or as a figure of speech meaning constantly, or as an allegory referring to the time of adversity or prosperity, it does not matter. For the righteous man loves the Law of the Lord and thinks on it even when he sleeps.
Therefore he says: This happy man will have his desire in the Law of the Lord. Forthwith he will see, love, or hate nothing, neither good nor evil, but through his desire he will be elevated over all
- 129 creation. Is it surprising if he is blessed who is gifted with this heavenly desire and has no interest in things which shatter those who have a fools sense of blessedness? Furthermore, because through this desire he has already become one with the Word of God (as love unites the lover with the beloved), it is necessary that he taste how good, sweet, pure, holy, and wonderful is the Word of God, the greatest good. They cannot possibly taste it who are in the Law only with their hand or tongue, while their will is sunk in the morass of earthly things. For there are many chatterers who say much, pretend much, and deliberate much about the Law of the Lord but as yet do not love it. The psalmist does not say: Blessed is the man whose tongue or hands or opinion or speculation is in the Law of the Lord. For it is through these that they only puff up and flatter themselves, as if they were already holy and righteous.
Moreover, this desire is the whole life of man. For there is no danger that he would be outside the Law in any of his other members who is within the Law in his will, the fountain and head of life.
Wherever love goes, there the heart and the body follow. Again, we are able to see the contrasting life of the pious and the impious. The ungodly begin their righteousness from the outside and proceed inward.
First they pretend works, then words, and only afterwards do they practice thinking; and this is the greatest height they reach. Then they soon become masters of others. They insist that all they think, do, and say, is holy and divine, although they never arrive at the hidden will. The godly, on the other hand, begin from the inside. They start with this holy desire, and then follow meditation and external works, and after this the teaching of others, as we shall see.
"And on His Law he meditates day and night." This meditation is not beyond criticism unless the will comes first, for love itself will teach meditation. Truly, as we despair of our own strength, we must through a humble faith in Christ pray (as I have said) that the desire be sent down from heaven. Note this well: It is the mode and nature of all who love, to chatter, sing, think, compose, and frolic freely about what they love and to enjoy hearing about it. Therefore this lover, this blessed man, has his love, the Law of God, always in his mouth, always in his heart and, if possible, always in his ear. "He who is of God hears the words of God" (John 8:47); and "Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage" (Ps. 119:54); and again, "I will delight in Thy statutes, I will not forget Thy Word" (Ps.
However, those who feed on the husks of the swine, who chatter day and night about natural things, the opinions of men, income, rank, the powers and privileges of churches, and countless such trifles—do you believe that they are blessed? On the contrary, they are much more miserable than those who chatter about love affairs with maidens or the fables of poets. For these know that what they do is foolishness and that sometime they can repent. However, those others imagine themselves prudent and holy; and they die in their ungodliness. And finally, after they have by their righteousness heaped unrighteousness and iniquity upon themselves, they repent in vain. For they do not meditate on the Law of the Lord.
3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season.
I have said that the blessedness of this man is hidden in the spirit, i.e., in God, so that it cannot be known except through faith or experience. That this is true you will clearly see if you evaluate his desire, where blessedness alone is found, not in riches, not in honor, not in his own righteousness or virtue. Nor is it found in any good that can be named within or without man, except in this desire for the Law. It can rather be found in the opposite, in poverty, contempt, ignorance, and all manner of evil that can be named within or without man. Therefore the man whom the prophet here calls blessed is unanimously declared by the world to be the most wretched of all, as Isaiah looked upon Christ, the Head and Model of the blessed, whom he calls the lowest of all (Is. 53:3). Thus the world and its rulers cannot tolerate a man who through this "desire" wants to be blessed and scorns their blessings. It is for this reason that the prophet, since he saw how rare they are, began thus: "O blessed is the man who …," etc.
Now, having described the man with the proper definition of blessedness, he speaks of him under an equally beautiful picture. The definition was certainly complete, for it declared him evil and full of all goodness; and even the people call this blessedness, although with reference to the things of this world, while he refers to faith. Thus also this picture represents him as free of that evil and full of goodness; for the blessed man, who is hidden in faith, cannot be visually described by any example. As one who defines something must do, the psalmist employs the picture of a visible object; and because he describes the righteous man figuratively, it is not necessary to anger over the individual words.
- 130 I believe that the palm tree is used as a paraphrase. For another psalm says (92:12): "The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon." Thus that which is briefly touched on there is richly expanded here. For the palm trees love the streams of water and (as Pliny said) like to drink from them all year long, perpetually blooming and bearing very sweet fruits.22 Perhaps he derived this simile from the palm trees which are numerous at Jericho on the Jordan; for on this account, it is thought, Jericho is called the city of palms. And also in many other places in Scripture the Jordan has secret meanings.23 It is from such a metaphor that this passage also comes (Song of Sol. 4:15): "A well of living water, and flowing streams from Lebanon."
Here the prophet has given a guide to the understanding of the allegories of trees and flowing waters which we meet in the Scriptures. A tree represents a man, a good tree a good man, and a bad tree an evil man; as Christ also teaches (Matt. 7:17 ff.). True, I know that St. Augustine, hard pressed by the Pelagians, wants "tree" to be understood as the will of man rather than as the man, in order not to admit that sinless children are born from a marriage of believers.24 And perhaps it would help him to say that the spiritual man, who is essentially the will or spirit, is described here. But I believe it is as well, and even much better, to speak of the whole man as a tree, making the roots the will and the branches the members and strength. Yet I will not argue over it.
The psalmist says: "he is planted," wherein he distinguishes between the planted trees and the ones that grow by themselves. It becomes what it is by the care and culture of someone else, not by its own nature. In short, it is cut off from those that grew by themselves of their own nature, and it is artificially planted elsewhere as a sprout. As I have said before, the desire for the Law of the Lord is not by nature in any man. But as the Heavenly Father plants and cultivates, and transplants us out of Adam into Christ, it is conferred on us from heaven.
By "streams of water" he certainly means the streams of divine grace. For it is said that the palm grows in a light, sandy, nitrous, and salty soil; therefore it wants to have perpetual rivers around it.
Therefore this desire, the root of this tree, located in this arid, unfruitful life, thirsts after the brooks of heavenly waters all the more, the less it finds in the world to quicken it. Thus another psalm (63:1): "… as in a dry and weary land"; and Is. 53:2: "For He grew up before Him like a root out of dry ground." Is it not wonderful to grow trees in sterile ground, nourished only by flowing waters? And blessed is he who, as the world grows more sterile for him, thirsts all the more for the heavenly streams. This tree does not grow in a fat land, nor the blessed man in the splendor of the world.
Some have investigated why the prophet chose to say "wood" rather than "tree," and why he said "he will give fruit" rather than "he will bear fruit."25 In Gen. 1:11 we read that God created "wood," not a "tree"; and this metaphor is preserved in the Scriptures: wood for tree. To bring forth fruit indicates that this blessed man, through love (which we have seen is commanded in every Law of the Lord), serves not himself but his neighbors. It is not a tree which bears fruit for itself, but it brings its fruit for others. In fact, no creature lives for himself or serves only himself except man and the devil. The sun does not shine for itself, water does not flow for itself, etc. Certainly every creature serves the law of love, and its whole substance is in the Law of the Lord. Even the members of the human body do not serve only themselves. Only the passions of the heart are ungodly. For this ungodly passion not only gives no one his own, serves no one, is kind to no one, but snatches everything for itself, looks for its own in everything, even in God Himself. Thus one can rightly call this tree a thornbush or wild shoot which no one cultivates and which does not enjoy standing beside the streams of water. It brings forth nothing but thorns, with which it sticks, tears, and chokes the fruit of all surrounding trees and even the trees themselves. Then it grasps, plucks, and tears the clothes, hide, skin, flesh, and everything of all who pass. Therefore the prophet has expressed the kindness of the good trees, which do no man evil but help all men, while willingly giving their fruits.
"In his season." Oh, this is a golden and lovable word, through which the freedom of the righteous Christian is affirmed! The ungodly have fixed days, fixed times, certain works, and certain places to which they are so firmly bound that even if their neighbor were to die of starvation, they could not tear themselves away from them. But that blessed man is free at all times, in every work, for every place, and toward every person. Whatever the situation, he will serve you; and whatever his hand finds to do, he will do it. He is not a Jew; neither is he a Gentile, a Greek, or a barbarian. He is strictly no one person; but he gives his fruit in his season, as often as God or man needs his works. Therefore his fruit has no - 131 name, nor his time, nor he himself, nor his streams of water. Neither does he, as one individual, serve one person, at one time, in one place, or in one work; but he serves everyone, everywhere, and always.
He is in truth the man of all seasons, all works, all persons, and in the image of his Father, all in all and above all.
Truly the ungodly, as Ps. 18:45 declares, are captive in their distress; they imprison themselves and torture themselves in their self-chosen works, times, and places outside of which they imagine nothing good can happen. They value their own fruits and do nothing but bite, judge, and condemn the fruits of others. They are ready and free at all times to criticize others, and they are the same in doing evil as the pious are in doing good. For these are also men of every hour. They do not slander and injure in only one way, at one time, or against one man, but wherever there is opportunity. If they turned these efforts toward goodness, they could find no better and shorter way to piety. I certainly do not say that I would condemn the ceremonies of churches and monasteries; for this was the first discipline of the religious, that he who enters a monastery learns to obey his superior, not to labor for himself but to serve everyone in every way. Truly it was the monasteries that served as schools for the exercise and perfection of Christian liberty. They still are, at least those who preserve the old order; and this, I say, was the purpose and method of the ceremonies. For what else are the works of charity and compassion than a kind of free ceremony, since in themselves they are external and physical? And the ceremonies of the old Law were, in like manner, most useful exercises of true and free piety. But when man began to apply them wrongfully to the detriment of freedom, and under their pretext to extinguish it, so that slavery ruled in the place of freedom, it became necessary to remove them altogether. Just so it should be the concern of a godly pastor to put a stop to confused ceremonials, where they flourish only as snares for the soul and obstacles to free godliness.
And its leaf does not wither.
He continues the very beautiful figure. "Leaf" means the Word and the doctrine in general. But we have said that the palm tree has perpetually green forage. In contrast, Isaiah says of the ungodly (1:30):
"You shall be like an oak, whose leaf withers." Now compare the one with the other. The ungodly walk in their own counsels; the godly, loving the Law, is like a tree firmly planted by streams of water. They sit in the seat of the scornful; his leaves remain green and shall not wither.
And note that he describes the fruit before the leaves. Now it is the nature of the palm that it does not have its fruit between the leaves, as other trees do, but between the branches, with all the foliage on the top, so that one can see that it produces fruit before foliage; for we have said that this illustration was drawn from the palm tree. Yet the Spirit Himself instructs a preacher of the church, so that he should know that the kingdom of God is not in talk but in power (1 Cor. 4:20). "Jesus began to do and teach"
(Acts 1:1), and "He was a man mighty in deed and word" (Luke 24:19). Thus he who would be a teacher of the Word of doctrine must first show the fruits of his life if he does not want his leaves to wither. For just as the tree is despised whose luxurious foliage is without fruit—and Christ cursed the fig tree which did not bear fruit (Matt. 21:19)—so it is, as St. Gregory teaches, that his doctrine is condemned whose life is despised; for they preach to others and are themselves disqualified.26 And Matt. 7:23 foretells what they will hear in the Judgment: "Depart from Me, you evildoers." This is true even though they prophesy in His name and have done many deeds for others through the Word of Christ.
Yet it is possible that someone may say: "There are many saints and martyrs who have left behind neither fruits nor foliage, for all these have been lost with them. Neither do we have all the words of the apostles. How can this praise of the blessed man be a general statement?"
I answer: Their word was not their word; "for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you" (Matt. 10:20). All the saints are taught the same Word; therefore they teach the same Word, just as in 1 Cor. 10:4: "All ate the same food and all drank the same drink." "But the Word of the Lord abides forever" (1 Peter 1:25), and His truth endures throughout all generations. One can also see that this blessed man and this fruitful tree signifies the whole church or all those who are in the preaching ministry. But there is nothing to forbid the application to every righteous man, for he also has the same leaves. H he does not teach others, certainly he teaches himself, meditating in his heart on the Law of God. This Word also remains eternally in him, just as in the whole church. Finally, since all the faithful are one body, even though this leaf belongs only to the one member who speaks through communion it all belongs to them all. For when I preach, it is my word which my tongue preaches,
- 132 though I am only the ear and not the tongue. So you should also think about the remaining members and the whole body.
In all that he does, he prospers.
When he says this concerning the tree or palm, he refers to what is said only of the palm tree, that it grows upwards in spite of adverse weight and pressure. And it is said that this is seen also in beams made from palm trees.
Here "to do" does not mean (if I am not too daring) the good works of a righteous man, for these have been sufficiently praised under the name of fruits. It refers rather to creations or products, as we fashion works of art. Thus the philosophers refer "doing" to knowledge and "making" to art.27 The same distinction can also be found in the Hebrew language, as I dare claim; for there I see that the word השָָׂׂעָ is used for "doing" and לעַפָָּּ for "acting." Thus Ps. 28:5: "Because they do not regard the works of the Lord, or the work of His hands," namely, that the work of His hands is His created object, as He says (Is.
19:25): "And Israel is the work of My hands." Again (Gen. 1:7): "And God made …"; and Ps. 95:5:
"The sea is His, and He made it." But the works of God are those that He performs through creatures, especially the Word and grace, through which He works and causes us to work.
Therefore let "doing" mean to establish, arrange, and place into various church offices, and as the apostles Peter and Paul have taught, to make servants of the manifold grace of God, found churches and multiply them. Thus the believers are themselves their creation, work, and product. For thus does the apostle "bear" the Galatians (Gal. 4:19) and "father" the Corinthians (1 Cor. 4:15). "Are you not my workmanship in the Lord?" (1 Cor. 9:1) he says. You understand, therefore, that this "work" of the blessed man is a spiritual one, not palaces, empires, and parades. For these the Gentiles also produce and bring forth; but to make many people good and blessed and like themselves, this is exclusively the work of the man who is blessed.
However, beware that prosperity is not understood as prosperity of the flesh. This prospering is hidden; it is so deep within the spirit that if you do not hold fast to it in faith, you might rather call it the greatest adversity. For just as the devil violently hates the "leaves" and the Word of God, so he also hates those who teach it and listen to it; and he persecutes them with the help of the powers of the whole world. So you are witness to the greatest of all miracles when you hear that everything prospers which the blessed man does. For what is more wonderful than that the believers increase when they are destroyed, that they multiply when they are diminished, that they overcome when they are subdued, that they enter when they are cast out, that they are victorious when they are defeated? Thus the world and its prince are vanquished. Thus God exalts His saints, that the height of misfortune becomes the height of prosperity. This is the prosperity of the wise and the life of these men.
Now we see that the words of Prov. 1:32 are fulfilled: "For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacence of fools destroys them." For now, since we have identified the affairs of the church with persons and names and have drawn the spirit into the flesh, the good estate of the church is now called wealth, tyranny, license, fleshly freedom, and more than worldly splendor. The devil finally saw and understood this prosperity of the spirit. Therefore he controlled himself and attacked us in a different way, where, to our fearful misfortune, he triumphed. Thus he who was conquered in war now triumphs in peace, in both instances by the wondrous order of God. For this reason St. Hilary has rightly said it is the nature of the church to grow under adversity and to decrease in prosperity.28 Truly, this wisdom of the cross and this new meaning of things is not merely unknown but by far the most fearful thing even for the rulers of the church. Yet it is no wonder, since they have abandoned the Holy
Scriptures and have begun to read unholy writings of men and the dissertations on finances instead.
4. Not so are the ungodly.
In the Hebrew "not so" is said only once, but this is of little consequence. However, since you hear about the ungodly, then remember what we have said earlier about ungodliness, lest you associate this word only with the Jews, heretics, and who knows how many other distant peoples, and lest you also lay aside your fear of God and cease to honor His Word. But since he who is without faith in Christ is ungodly, you also should tremble at these words, lest you be found ungodly. For the truly pious tremble before every Word of God, as it is written Is. 66:2: "But this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at My Word." How can you, then, be assured that you have enough faith? To the extent that you lack faith, you have ungodliness. For that is the way of the ungodly,
- 133 that whatever is good they arrogantly ascribe to themselves, and whatever is evil, to others. On the other hand, the way of the devout is that they believe that evil is intended for them and the good belongs to others. And despite great unworthiness they long for this, so that they attain it, not by merit but only by hope in the mercy of God.
Therefore the ungodly do not prosper; their leaves shall wither, and they are not planted by running water. So listen now with the spirit to the prophet who speaks from the spirit. For all the Scriptures cry aloud that the ungodly flourish and prosper. We shall see the same thing in many psalms, enough that you might well say of them alone: Their leaves grow, and all that they do prospers. Therefore faith is necessary.
But are like the dust which the wind drives away from the face of the earth.
The Latin adds "from the face of the earth," but without endangering the understanding. Similarly it matters not that the Hebrew says ץמֹּכַּ, meaning "chaff," the fine dust or the waste of grain. It is the same thing whether it says dust, husk, ashes, or chaff. For these are the ones of whom it is written (Luke
3:17): "His winnowing fork is in His hand, to clear His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His granary; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire." This is what rubbish, chaff, and dust undoubtedly signify here, although rightly and appropriately it means husks and crushed chaff. We find the same meaning in Job 21:18: "They are like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away."
And observe, he does not simply call them chaff, but chaff which the wind drives. He does not refer to chaff just lying there, but to that which is scattered, unsettled, restless. This applies to the Jews first of all. They are driven about in a threefold manner. First, in a bodily manner by the whirlwind. That is, by the will and indignation of men among whom they live. As we can see, they have no fixed home but at every moment are exposed to such a wind, which drives them here and there. Secondly, their minds are carried in all directions by the wind of many doctrines (Eph. 4:14) taught by unholy doctors, since they are not planted in Christian faith. Moreover, their hearts are driven to and fro by uncertain doctrines; nor can their conscience be certain and at peace. Thirdly, on the Last Day they shall be scattered by the eternal stormwinds of the unbearable wrath of God, driven about constantly, with no place to rest, not even for a moment. The very same thing happens to the heretics, especially in the last two stormwinds.
And what else in the church do you suppose it is but the whirlwind of the wrath of God, through which we are propelled down the same road by so many, so diverse, so changeable, and so uncertain teachings as the countless briefs of the jurists and the opinions of the theologians? And since Christ is inwardly unknown, we are driven to many shoals, whirlpools, and clashings of the conscience and are miserably dashed to pieces. The other ungodly ones also have their whirlwinds and storms of desire and lust in riches, honor, acclamation, and other commotions of this world; by these they are miserably crushed, because they despise the one rock, the solid ground of our heart.
5. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Enough has been said as to who are the godless and the sinners. Now listen, and not without trembling, to this sermon of your God, as if you were godly and holy. This fear itself is piety, yes, the source and beginning of wisdom and piety (Ps. 111:10).
The Hebrew has "they will rise," not "they will rise again"; and it does not speak of the resurrection of the dead. For he has not said: Men will not rise again in judgment, but "the ungodly." The resurrection of man is one thing, that of the ungodly, another. Therefore the Apostles' Creed speaks rightly of the resurrection of the body more than it does of that of man. And the apostle calls it the resurrection of the dead or of man, evidently teaching two resurrections: of the body and of the spirit.
But here to rise up means that the ungodly will not stand with the just in the presence of God, as we see in Ps. 5:5: "Neither shall the wicked dwell near Thee, nor shall the unjust abide before Thy eyes," and in Ps. 24:3: "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in His holy place?" Thus it is said of Christ (Ps. 76:10): "When He rises for judgment," and in Ps. 12:5: "I will now arise, says the Lord."
Therefore "they will not rise up" is the same as they will not stand, win not serve, and will not minister to God, no matter how much they take it for granted.
Here "judgment" means an office, according to the metaphor of Scripture. Thus the whole Book of Judges is so named from the judges or rulers. Ps. 122:5 says: "There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David." And concerning Christ Ps. 110:6 says: "He will execute judgment
- 134 among the nations," that is, He win judge the Gentiles. Again (Ps. 72:4): "May He defend the cause of the poor," that is, He win nile them; and Ps. 96:13: "He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with His truth."
This is the meaning: The ungodly will never rise up to the point where they become judges and masters of the believers, and they will never be in their council, that is, their congregation. They will belong neither to the leaders nor even to the lowly of the righteous. Therefore, more clearly: The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; they will absolutely not be reckoned among the servants of God.
But what about them? Shall we east down the godless rulers and evil men and eject them from our midst? Or is there a congregation of the faithful where the godless stand as rulers and sinners are intermingled? God forbid!
I have said that the prophet spoke in the spirit; therefore he must be heard in the spirit. For just as Judas was an apostle and yet not an apostle, as John says (1 John 2:19): "They went out from us, but they were not of us," so the godless, while they rule and are before men visibly in power, really have no power at all. For Zech. 11:17 says: "O shepherd, idol, who deserts the flock!" He at once calls him
"shepherd," because under that name he is honored before man, and "idol," as he is in reality condemned before God. Christ also pays off many godless in this life with a small reward, so that we may realize that rulership is not the field of the believer. Therefore one must endure both, like chaff among the wheat, until the day of winnowing.
Let us see whether the prophet clearly indicates this. Since he has said before: "The ungodly are not so," it would not have been necessary to repeat this in another verse; but it is sufficient to say: "They will not rise up in judgment," not even in the council of (sinners) the righteous.29 He has removed from consideration any personality and outward show of men, because the rich and the mighty, and whatever else is outward show, can stand in judgment and in the council of the just. All this concerns the body, but in the matter of the ungodly and sinners this is not so. That is why the whole emphasis and accent is on the words "ungodly" and "sinners." In spirit and in truth they are never in power, and the ungodly are never among the faithful, even though they have such a brilliant appearance of life that one might think no one has a greater right to rule or to be among the believers. This is the pretense and the hypocrisy denounced in this psalm; with it they inflate themselves, become presumptuous, and deceive themselves and others. That this is the correct sense of this verse is shown by the following verse.
6. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
The translator could have got along without his variety of expression and could have said: "The way of the wicked." For it is the same language, and the contrast was good enough: "The way of the righteous, the way of the wicked," and simplicity of words would have been preserved.30
The way of the ungodly, he says, has such a beautiful appearance that they are looked upon by men as if they could rise in judgment and council. But He who is not deceived knows their ways; He knows them to be ungodly, and before Him they do not belong to His church. He knows only the just, not the unjust; that is, He does not approve of them. In the same manner, as they believe least of all, their way will perish. I say it will perish even though it flourishes to such an extent that it would seem to be eternal. Notice how the psalmist frightens us away from the appearance of good fortune and recommends a variety of trials and adversities. For men in general disapprove of this way of the righteous and believe that God does not recognize it either. But because this is the wisdom of the cross,
God alone knows the way of the righteous. It is hidden even to the righteous; for His right hand leads them in such a wonderful way that it is not the way of the senses or of reason but of faith alone, which is able to see even in darkness and behold the invisible.
Therefore when we obey the ungodly pastors, it is not the ungodly, but men whom we obey. For we do not listen to or follow their wickedness, but we submit to human authority. Again, when men reject them and drive them away, as we have seen it happen in Bohemia,31 is it the ungodly whom they drive out? No, they drive out men. For though the ungodly are driven out, they still remain ungodly. However, the wicked one is really driven out when he is led from wickedness to piety; and this does not happen outwardly through violence, but through love, which prays internally and admonishes externally, with the co-operation of God.