Martin Luther on Psalms 126:4

Verse. 4. O Lorde turne againe our captiuitie as the riuers in the south.

Hitherto he hath intreated and prophecied of the kingdome of Christ and of the redemption to be wrought by Christ, and afterward to be published to all nations, that thereby might be gathered one church of the Iewes and the Gentiles in the which should be preached nothing else but laughter and ioy, praise and thanksgiuing, Now he procedeth further to describe this Church, and sheweth what followeth this fruite of redemption and this communion of the Iewes and Gentiles, namely the great necessitie of continuall and faithfull prayer: like as the Prophet Zachary also ioyneth with the spirite of grace the spirit of prayer, that is, with the redemption which was wrought by Christ, the prayer of the faithful and of the redemed. For although our redemption be fully wrought & we redemed by the blood of the sonne of God, yet is it necessary that we shoulde pray for this redemption, as Christ also in his prayer commaundeth vs to do, that Gods name may be sanctified, which notwithstanding we know to be holy and sanctified already: that the kingdome of God may come, which is come and is within vs already. As Christ saith: Father glorifie thy name, Iohn. 12. and the father aunswereth, I haue glorified it, and I will glorifie it againe. Phil. 3. Also Sainct Paule saith: I count not my selfe to haue attayned vnto it, &c. He meaneth the fulnes of the knowledge of Christ, and perfect tast of the power of his resurrection.

This is it which I touched before, that this benefite of the gospell, this inestimable gifte of our redemption and life euerlasting is easie to be vttered with wordes, but moste hard to be belee[illegible: 3 letters] with the heart. For we haue in this life, not the tenthes, but th[illegible: 1 letter] first fruites of the spirite: but the flesh yet liueth fully and wholly in a maner, strong and lusty. True it is that we haue entred one foote into the kingdom of God, and haue thereby obtained the assurance of the promise▪ But we must not there rest: we must[illegible: 1 letter] drawe the other foote after, that is, we must continually increase and goe forward in the knowledge of grace and of faith: and for this cause the Prophet Zachary saieth that the spirite of prayer is poured forth vppon vs, which spirite requireth this encrease in vs. And Sainct Paule saith: that the spirite sigheth with sighes that can not be expressed, yea and that euery creature also groneth for the deliuerance of the children of God. Wherfore whiles we are in this body, which presseth vs downe as a heauy burden, and hindreth vs that we can not fully apprehend these thinges, we haue not onely the spirite of grace, but the spirite of prayer also, that we might be assured of the grace and good will of God towards vs for Christes sake in whom we beleue, and yet should not cease to pray that God would make perfect in vs that he hath begunne.

Let no man then thinke that once to haue heard these thinges maketh him a true diuine, or that he hath now a[illegible: 1 letter]teyned to the full and perfect knowledge hereof. For this arrogancie maketh fanaticall spirites, which like to Aesopes dogge, follow the shadow and lose the thing. In deede, if we looke to the word, to baptisme, to Christ him self, al is perfect. But we speake not here of the things but of the apprehension thereof. So life euerlasting is perfect. In my fathers house are many mansions, sayth Christ. But in these mansions we are not yet fully setled so long as we liue here. In the meane time we are oppressed with cares, vexed with sinne, aff[illegible: 1 letter]icted with tentations, terrours and desperation. Satan neuer ceaseth to assaile our faith, hope, and other vertues which God hath planted in vs. Satans prerogatiue. And this prerogatiue hath Satan because the grace which is begun in vs is not yet perfect. Therefore he fighteth so busely against these beginnings, fearing least they should come to perfection. Such is the life of Christians, which haue already receiued the first fruites of the spirite, who by experience doe learne yt these things can not be fully apprehended, but that in the meane while they shall often times slippe, yea and some tymes daungerously fall, so that the sparke of faith and of the spirite may seeme to be in them vtterly quenched, as it hapned to Dauid in his adultery: wherein they haue neede of helpe to reise them vp againe, as Christ aunswered to Paule: my power is made perfect in infirmitie. The infirmitie is theirs and remayneth theirs whiles they liue, but the power and strength is Christes alone.

In this daungerous state they flie vnto prayer and say: Leade vs not into tentation: Giue victory O Lord, that my faith fayle not, that my hope be not confounded. Make perfect the good work which thou hast begunne in me. Notwithstanding these are they which not onely haue receiued the first fruites of the spirite (as is sayd) but also haue perfect redemption, sure hope of life euerlasting, remission of al their sinnes, true deliuerance from the deuil, hell and eternall death. All these thinges haue they: and in the things there is no defect, but the defect is in me and in thee, because we haue not yet fully apprehended these thinges. For flesh and bloode and the remnauntes of sinne doe yet liue in vs. This forced Paule to cry out and say: Rom. 7. I see an other lawe in my members fighting against the law of God. And this is the cause why a Christian can not be secure. For he seeth that he hath not yet ouercome all perills and daungers which the enemie dayly deuiseth. But for so much as pertaineth vnto Christ (as is sayd) whom by faith he apprehendeth, on whom he beleueth, true it is that he hath all thinges. For in Christ the deuill is ouercome, the law fulfilled, the wrath of God pacified, and death it selfe vanquished. In this state we stand if we looke to Christ, on whom we beleue. But when we looke backe into our selues, we are forced to confesse that we are not pure, because our fayth is not yet perfect, and therefore can not perfectly apprehend perfect thinges, Philip. 3. as S. Paule sayth: Therefore when we come to the combate, we giue place to the enemy, we suffer our hope to be wrested from vs, we are cast into heauines, impaciencie, &c. Thus Christians are warriers & Gods true souldiers, which stand alwayes in the battaile, and can not be secure or voyd of feare. Therefore they are feruent in prayer and cry vnto God for succour. Contrariwise, they that are secure, pray not, for they thinke that the deuill is farre enough of, and so that faith & feeling of the good gift of God which they seemed to haue, they lose before they be ware, and when tentation commeth, they are like to a withered leafe.

Thus we see the great necessitie of prayer, and how it ought to be continually vsed among the faithfull, if not with the mouth, y[illegible: 2 letters] with the hart and harty sighes vnto God, according to the wordes of S. Paule: Let the word of Christ dwel in you plentifully: signifying that they ought to be continually exercised therein, not only by teaching the same to other publikely and priuatly, but also by earnest meditation and prayer, when they sit at home in their houses, as Moises teacheth, when they walke by the way, when they lye downe and when they rise vp. For as the Deuill goeth about like a roring lyon, strong and mighty, seeking whom he may deuoure: so are we on euery [illegible: 1 letter]ide infirme and weake, pressed downe also with the flesh, full of sinne, & cariyng this treasure in earthen vesselles: In the which our fayth is as a tender plant, which because it is not yet come to perfect strength, may be easily shaken with winds and tempests. This know not they which before they haue had some triall of them selues by affliction or wrastling with the enemy, thinke them selues to be Christians and sound in faith. We must watch therefore and pray as Christ commaundeth that in our daily conflictes we may stand stedfastly against the darts of Satan which would driue vs to the contempt of God and man.

So doe I vnderstand this prayer, not in the person of the Prophet, as though he prayed for the reuelation of the redemption that should come, but in the person of the faithful which haue need continually to pray, according to this verse & say: Lord thou hast redemed vs out of captiuitie, redeme vs yet more, thou hast forgiuen vs our sinnes, forgiue vs more, thou hast killed the deuill, kill him more, thou hast taken away the law, take it away more. For we must pray for that which we haue already, vntill we come to the full perfection thereof, which shall be after the death of this body, in the which sinne here dwelleth. The sense and meaning then herof is: Lord turne againe our captiuitie, that is, redeeme vs, whiche haue begunne to be the newe creature, that as our redemption by Christ is fully and perfectly wrought, so we may fully and perfectly apprehend and feele the same: For there be many things which in this life fight against this redemption. Wherfore it is necessary that we shoulde be well armed against them, that we fall not againe into captiuitie. On this wise we must alwayes pray, that the first fruites of the spirite may continually encrease in vs, and that we may be redemed day by day vntill the olde man be wholly put away by death. Then shall our captiuitie be perfectly chaunged, euen as the riuers or waters in the south, which by the mightie worke of God were dryed vppe and vtterly consumed. Whether ye vnderstand here the redde sea, or else th[illegible: 1 letter] riuer of Iordane, it forceth little. The similitude is this: Like as by thy mightie hand thou broughtest to passe miraculously that the waters were dryed vp and consumed, so dry vp O Lorde, and bring to nothing al our captiuitie. Some doe interprete this verse otherwise: that is, turne our captiuitie O Lorde, as the riuers in the South, which in the summer are dryed vp in the desert places by the heat of the sunne, but in the winter are filled vp againe with plentie of water.

How necessary ye spirit of prayer is, they that haue not sought with Satan doe not know. Let vs therefore giue our selues wholy to the continuall exercise of prayer and meditation of the holye Scriptures: For negligence and securitie encrease by little and litle, as rust doth in the iron, and the word slippeth (as it were) out of our handes before we be ware. If it so come to passe, then hath Satan gotten halfe the victory already, who seeketh all opportunitie to see vppon vs, and then specially is he wont so to doe, when he perceiueth our heartes to be voide of the word of God. Here he stirreth vp of a spark, as it were, a flaming fire in our conscience, which before we can quench and apprehend Christ and his worde againe, either we are oppressed with anguish and sorrow, or vtterly consumed. For he is a murtherer, and seketh by al meanes how to destroy vs. It is necessary then for vs to haue our senses exercised and our mindes occupyed in the meditation of the worde and prayer, that the enemy find vs not vnarmed or vnprouided, which so busily seeketh to spoyle vs of this redemption. I also am a Diuine, which by great troubles haue gotten some knowledge and vnderstanding of the holy Scripture, and yet am not I so lifted vp through this gift, but that I doe dayly exercise my selfe euen [illegible: 1 letter] mongest the children in the Catechisme, in secrete meditation I meane of the commaundements, the articles of the beliefe and the Lords prayer, &c. with an earnest and attentiue minde, not onely recounting with my selfe the wordes, but obseruing and weying also what euery word signifieth. And doubtles whē I am not thus exercised, but am occupyed with other matters, I finde a manifest discommoditie thereby. For the word is deliuered vnto vs to this ende that we should continually exercise ourselues therein. Fo[illegible: 1 letter] without this exercise we waxe dull and forget our selues. We see into what great daungers men dayly fall. And whereof else commeth this, but because they are secure, they pray not, they heare not the word: whereby Satan worketh in their hearts by litle and litle a contempt of the word, and so bringeth them either in to sudden desperation, or other horrible calamities. For if the word be once lost and gone, what hath a man to defend him selfe with all against this aduersary? It is the part of a Christian therefore to be exercised continually in the word and prayer, not onely because it conteineth such thinges as the hearte is not able fully to comprehend, but also for that our aduersary tempteth not once, but continually: therefore we must continually fight against him with the word and prayer. Thus we see that prayer perteineth to the people of Christ, to the redemed and sanctified: for the vnbeleuers and wicked doe not pray.