Martin Luther on Psalms 129:6

Verse. 6. Let them be as the grasse on the toppes of the houses, which withereth afore it commeth forth.

This is a goodly Psalme for the sundry, excellent, and most apte similitudes conteyned therein, whereby the holy Ghost painteth out those great maiesties & principalities of the world, which fight against the gospel. A litle before he compared them to plowers drawing out furrowes of a maruelous length. To whom he so compareth them, not in this respect, as though it were graunted vnto them so long to abuse their power, wealth and riches, but in respect of the great tediousnes, griefe, and anguish of those which suffer the plowers, the furrowes, the wounds, and treading vnder foote. For vnto them it seemeth a tedious, a long, and as it were an infinite plowing. Wherefore they desire to be deliuered, and neuer so litle tarrying, through this tediousnes and anguish of hart, seemeth to them intolerable. Against this wearines and this tediousnes therefore he comforteth the faithfull with this similitude of grasse in the toppe of the house. As if he sayd: Why seemeth the time so long and so tedious vnto thee? Why doest thou not learne to vnderstand what these plowers thy aduersaries be? Diddest thou neuer see grasse growing in the toppes of houses? Who did euer complaine that that grasse flourished so long? who euer went about to plucke it vp? As though it were not wont of it selfe to wither and vanish away. Learne therefore that the very same is the state and condition of thine aduersaries. He setteth ye similitude of the grasse in the house topp, against ye similitude of the plowers. Thus with one similitude he fighteth against an other. But if a man could effectually beleue that this similitude was made and here set downe by the holy Ghost & close vp the same fully in his heart, he should feare neither y• Turke nor the Pope, with all his cruel Prelats, nor the tyranny of Princes, but should contemne them all, and as litle regard them as the grasse on the toppes of the houses.

But behold the outward shew of this grasse. If any child should see it, he would esteme it to be better then any barley (for to barley it is most like) since it groweth not as other thinges doe vpon the earth, but in an higher and more notable place, & lodeth the topps of the houses. But take a man that knoweth these thinges, and he will say it is nothing else but a goodly shewe & resemblance without any fruite. Thus hath the holy Ghost chosen this similitude to teach vs, not to wish that tyrannes may be like grasse, but to knowe that they are in deede most like vnto grasse on the house toppes, which withereth away before the haruest time come, or any man goe about to cut it downe. Senacherib who besieged Ierusalem, did flie ouer kingdoms, oppressed & trode downe all things vnder his feete: therefore he could not be counted of Ezechia and others like vnto grasse, and yet before he achieued that he went about, he was compelled, not without great feare and also much slaughter of his souldiers, to reise his siege, and he him selfe also most miserably perished. So Pharao seemed mightely to growe and encrease, not vpon the earth, but in the ayre & vppon the house toppes: but the miserable Iewes were oppressed and troden vnder foote like myre in the streetes. This is a resemblāce of grasse, not withering, but freshly flourishing. But how quickly did it wither and vanish to nothing? For when Pharao did verely thinke to oppresse them, he was suddenly oppressed him selfe and perished in the waters.

Such an image of tyrannes and tyranny the holy Ghost paynteth out vnto vs in this place. Why then shouldest thou feare? Why shouldest thou tremble? Why shouldest thou despayre, as though thou haddest neuer seene most flourishing grasse within few dayes to wither away of it owne accord, or diddest not know the nature of it to be such as can not long continue? Athanasius when Iulianus the Emperour did many wayes afflict both him & the whole Church, & fought, not onely with crueltie, but also with craft and subteltie against the faithfull, in so much that others, as it were in a terrible tempest, were vtterly discouraged and past all hope of deliuerance, sayd that this persecution of Iulian was not a tempest but a litle cloude. In deede this heart was full of fayth which could beleue, that Iulianus was like, not to a terrible and a violent tempest, not to a mighty black cloud wrapping all things in darknes, but vnto a very litle cloude which the Sunne doth quickly consume. In like maner must we also extenuate and diminish the power of our aduersaries, & set at naught all their proude bragges and all their crueltie: not in respect of our owne strength, but because they are of them selues nothing else but a buble in the water, grasse on the house toppes, and a very shadow rather then men: besides this, that they prouoke God also against them selues whose fury and cruelty compared vnto his power, is a thing more vaine then grasse on the house toppes or a bubble in the water: for it is nothing else but a bare and a naked shew, which semeth to be something when in deede it is nothing. So are all the attempts of the aduersaryes full of threatnings, but in the ende they come to nothing.

This is the wisedome of Christians, to diminish the power of the aduersaryes, & contrariwise to amplifie the word & the mighty protection of the Lord. The deuill, sinne, death and other spiritual tentations are greate: but a Christian can make a distinction of greatnes. For greatnes is vnderstand two maner of wayes. The one is according to ye eye, which the eye iudgeth after the outward shew: the other is according to the trueth, which the truth iudgeth after ye word. The greatnes therfore of sinne, death, wicked kings Princes and Bishops is that which is according to the eye onely: For God which saith: Be of good comfort: I haue ouercome the world: Also, Feare not those which can kill the body, but are not able to kill the soule, the same God alone (I say) is the very true greatnes, to the which if you compare Satan and al the fury of the whole world, what are they else but a bubble? what are they else but grasse? but light strawe and stubble? But when they are considered with out God, then doe they terrifie with a false fearefull shew and seeme to be great in deede.

Wherefore Christians must iudge, not according to their opinion, but according to the truth. For an opinion is that which reason bringeth forth besides the word: but truth is grounded vpon ye word, which iudgeth the fury & the crueltie of the world raging against the faithful to be like vnto grasse vpon the house [illegible: 1 letter]ops. This iudgement that the enemies are like grasse and therfore shall perish, he calleth a promise. This promise being setled and surely fixed in the minde, confirmeth the godly against the great power (as to reason it seemeth) of ye world & Satan. Like as on the other side, where the word is not, yt mind deceiued through a terrible shew of truth & the iudgement of reason, is oppressed with terror. These things must not so be takē as though we did vtterly condemne ye power of Princes & of ye world, which we count to be ye creature of God, but their presumption & the abuse of their power is it that we condemne, because they fight therewith against God and his church. Let them be Princes on the earth: Let them vse their power and authoritie in the world, but when they will needes make warre in heauen, and with their power go about to inuade and oppresse the word, this is horrible, this is execrable and damnable. And who so compareth them to bubbles, to grasse, to stubble, yea and to nothing, he saith truely, he iudgeth rightly. For why doe they fight against God? Thinke they that we knowe not what God is? and what man is? what the creature is, and what the Creator is?

Wherefore they are rightly compared to grasse on the house toppes: for more contemptuosly the holy Ghost could not speake of them. For this grasse is such, that it soone withereth away before the sickle be put vnto it. Yea, no man thinketh it worthy to be cut downe, no man regardeth it, euery man suffereth it to bragge for a while, and to shew it selfe vnto men from the house toppes as though it were somewhat when it is nothing. So the wicked persecutors in the worlde, which are taken to be mightie and terrible according to the outward shew, are of all men most contemptible. For Christians doe not once thinke of plucking them vp or cutting them downe: they persecute them not, they reuenge not their owne iniuries, but suffer them to encrease, to bragge and glory as much as they list: For they know that they can not abide the violence of a vehement wind. Yea though all thinges be in quietnes, yet as grasse on the house toppes by litle and litle withereth away through the heate of the Sunne, so tyrannes vpon small occasions doe perish and soone vanish away. The faithfull therefore in suffering doe preuaile and ouercome: but the wicked in doing, are ouerthrowne and miserably perish, as all the historyes of all times and ages doe plainly witnesse.