Martin Luther on Psalms 120:4

Verse. 4. It is as the sharpe arrow of a mightie man and as the coles of Iuniper.

In demaunding this question he goeth about to stirre vppe him selfe, and to finde occasion to accuse the deceitfull tongue: as he doth in deede most liuely sette forth by two notable similitudes what a pestilent thing wicked doctrine is, Wicked doctrine. and what the godly and such as are spirituall doe iudge thereof. First he compareth it to an arrowe that is not blunt, but sharpe: and moreouer which is cast, not of him that is weake and feeble, but that is stronge and mightie: so that there is daunger on both sides, as well of the arrowe that is sharpe and able to pearce, as also of him which with great violence hurleth the same. The Deuill therefore the father of all heresies is here plainly sette forth vnto vs as an olde exercised souldier, A liuely picture of the Deuill. strong and mightie: who from the beginning hath made warre against the Church of God, and albeit he hath bene often ouercome, yet will he neuer geue ouer, but returneth more fearce and subtill then before, and the better armed, the more holy and learned they be against whom he fighteth, so much the more strongly & fearcely he setteth vpon them. Therfore the holy Ghost here speaketh according to the sense of man, that is, according to the cogitations which the godly haue in this daungerous case, and he calleth a pestilent teacher an arrowe or dart in the hande of the strong and mighty. For if ye beholde the multitude of the aduersaries, their stoutnes, proud bragges, obstinacie, and fearcenes, with the subtill & deceitfull sleights wherby they auoyd or wickedly peruert all thinges that make against them, be they neuer so godly spoken, it seemeth no otherwise but that they will vtterly oppresse and destroy the Church, which appeareth to be in comparison of them, but a small number, and that also very weake and feeble. It seemeth therefore that Satan, as a dart which no armour is able to resist, must needes preuayle and haue the victory. But if you looke to the end, you shall see the contrary. As the Church when she compareth the multitude of her enemies with her poore litle flocke, through her infirmity is troubled and feareth destruction: euen so when Satan seeth his practises at the first to proceede as he would, he is puffed vp and swelleth at the successe therof. For wicked doctrine crepeth like a canker, and mightely encreaseth euery hower: so that if a teacher of erroneous and hereticall doctrine should be suffered in a reformed congregation, he would soone ouerthrow altogither: so violently perceth this dart. And why? because it is hurled of Satan: and the common people are, The commō people are the framehowse or workehowse of the deuill. Deut. 29. as it were the frame house of Satan, because they loth and despise that which is dayly taught them.

Now, because the heretikes doe not vse the accustomed and ordinary maner of teaching, but fede the people with new & straūge thinges, therefore (as Moises sayth) the drunken and the thirsty are mette togither, and these arrowes perse through with greater violence.

Moreouer it is a figure vsed in the Scriptures to call the word of God arrowes or darts, as it appeareth Psal. 45. Thy arrowes are very sharpe, &c. And in our language by a prouerbial speech, when a man vseth the wordes, the counsell, and iudgement of others, and not his owne, we say they be arrowes out of an other mans quiuer. But properly this name doth agre to false doctrine, which (as I sayd) perceth swiftly.

The other similitude likewise hath a notable signification of power and swiftnes By coles he meaneth here a hot burning fire and consuming flame: Coles. As also he doth in the 17. Psalme. He vseth the similitude of Iuniper, Iuniper. because that tree, besides the thicknes of the leaues, hath a great fatnes withal, & therefore is lightly set on fire & burneth vehemētly. The sense and meaning hereof is, that heresie and false doctrine which is full of strong delusion, hath a power to peruert and seduce men with no lesse celerity and swiftnes, then fire hath to burne being kindled in a forest of Iuniper. Likewise the Scripture in another place speaketh of a great fire, like to the flame of thornes vnder a potte, meaning such a fire as is suddenly kindled and swiftly encreaseth.

This description therefore is, as it were a complaynt, that the poysoned tongues of heretikes doe so suddenly preuaile, and with such successe worke mischiefe in the Church of God: as it came to passe after the preaching of S. Paule. For when he, with exceeding trauels had happily planted many Churches, as soone as he had once turned his back, all Asia was peruerted and turned from the Gospell. The fire of the heretikes is more swift then the fire of the holy Ghost. This is the calamitie of all ages, that whatsoeuer godly preachers haue builded with great trauells, the teachers of wicked doctrine doe suddenly ouerthrowe. Let vs therefore be thankfull vnto God for that litle poore remnant, which as yet by his speciall grace remaineth in the sound doctrine of the Gospell: and moreouer for this his gift, that we are able to iudge such doctrines to be the dartes of Satan although they be neuer so glorious and agree neuer so much with the wisedom and righteousnes of the fleshe: and further, that they are like to a vehement fire, euen suche as is the flame of Iuniper which we must labour to quench with all our power. These be the spirituall battells which the world knoweth not, farre passing all carnall conflictes: for in those conflicts like are matched with like, that is to say, men with men, but in these we fight not onely against the greater number, mightely armed with malice and power, but also against Satan him selfe, and against spirituall wickednes. Therfore in this warfare we haue neede of the helpe of the Lord and of the Angell Michael, as it is the Apocalyps. And for this cause the prayers and sighes of the godly in such a daungerous case are necessarie, saying on this wise: O Lord, behold, we will gladly teach and set forth thy word, but what are we except thou helpe vs? Stand for vs therefore against the enemies of thy truth, & defend thine owne cause. This hope we haue in such great successe of wicked doctrine, that that which is not of thy planting shall not endure, and that which suddenly springeth vppe, shall suddenly be cut downe. There hath bene hitherto no heresie which hath not bene confounded, and the word of God hath had alwayes the victory. Cain, Ismael, Arius, Manichee and such other haue perished for resisting the Gospell. Luther prophecieth. The Papacie also is now falling, but the word of the Lord abideth for euer, according to that sentence of the Psalme: They haue fought against me euē from my youth, but they could neuer preuaile.

But here perhaps you will aske what were thefe heresies and deceitful tongues in the time of Dauid, against the which he praieth in this place. In his kingdom there was Achitophel, Seme[illegible: 1 letter], and many others, which spake cursedly of him, & with crafty coū sell & conspiracy stirred vp the hearts of his subiects against him.

But it appeareth that Dauid speaketh here of some great daū ger. What is that you will say? Albeit the holy histories do sufficiently declare what trouble the true Prophets of God alwayes had with false and lying teachers, as the story of Ieremy doth declare, yet Dauid him selfe expresseth in diuers places of the psalmes, what was ye cause of these his conflicts, as in the fifty psalme it doth appeare, in the which he speaketh of the merite and deseruing which the vnbeleuing Iewes did trust vnto because of their sacrifices. For as it is now, so hath it bene in all ages, that many haue thought them selues righteous through their workes. And this opinion did maruelously encrease and multiply the Iewish sacrifices: for they thought that by their sacrifices their sinnes were forgeuen though their hartes were vnpure & without faith: Euen like to our aduersaries the Papistes, which doe therefore so highly extoll and so mightely maintaine and defend their sacrifice in the Masse, because, (as they say) of it self by the work wrought it is auaileable for the remission of sinnes. Against this heresie Dauid fought, and taught that to offer vppe a bullocke it was no great seruice vnto God, seeing he was both the creator and giuer of the same, and being the Lord of al, hath neede of nothing, much lesse of a bullocke, and therefore they that will offer a right sacrifice in deede, must acknowledge their sinnes, and also the great goodnes of the Lord, promising vnto them a blessing by the blessed seede, and giue him thankes for the same: inuocate, praise and magnifie his name, &c. Thus Dauid confuteth this heresie in that place.

But there were many other moe like vnto this. For the Iewes were not onely fallen to the worshipping of the gods of the Gentiles (as it is to be seene in Ieremy) but forsaking the temple, they resorted to those places wherin their forefathers were wont to offer sacrifice, whereas the Lorde had appoynted the Tabernacle in Ierusalem for a place of sacrifice and prayer. Some, of their owne brayne, did choose vnto them selues groues and hilles wherein they offered their sacrifice. Because these thinges were contrarie to the will and worde of God, and done of the Idolaters with great greedinesse, it was necessarie that the people shoulde be warned and taught of the Prophetes of God, not to choose to them selues any other way of seruing and worshipping God, or to seeke any other righteousnes then that which shoulde come by the blood of the sonne of God: whom S. Paule calleth the Lamb, because he should be the sacrifice that should take away the sinnes of the world. Thus we see that there hath alwaies bene for like matter like conflicts between the true Church and the false, and also like daungers haue thereuppon ensued. Wherefore we must vse like remedies also: that is, first by soūd doctrine to defend the glory of Christ, & exhort men to the study & loue of the wor[illegible: 1 letter]d: Secondly by prayer to fight against deceitful tongues and lying lippes. Now the Prouphet after his prayer addeth a complaint.