Martin Luther on Psalms 130:7

Verse. 7. Let Israel waite on the Lord for with the Lord is mercie, and with him is plentifull redemption.

This is in deede a golden verse, worthy to be knowne and well vnderstand: wherein Dauid wisheth and exhorteth all men by his example wholy to rest and to continue in a sure hope of the mercie of God. Faith is a [illegible: 1 letter]inguler and inestimable gifte. For faith is not so lightly to be esteemed as the Papistes teach, which dreame that faith is a qualitie remaining in the hart, with the which the hart, after it can once number these syllables, I beleue in God, passeth on, as it were in a sleepe. For they that haue no experience of those conflictes which faith must endure, doe but laugh vs to scorne when we say that faith is a principall vertue, wherewith onely and alone we are iustified, deliuered from sinne, hell, death and damnation. For it is true that the wise man [illegible: 1 letter]aith: A foole vnderstandeth not, except ye talke of those things which are in his owne hart. These things therefore which we attribute vnto faith, they ascribe vnto charitie, & preferre charitie aboue faith. But if faith be set forth rightly & in her owne colours, it farre excelleth charitie. Faith compared with charitie. For behold the obiects of faith. It fighteth alone before God against Satan, who neuer resteth, but warreth against faith continually, and that euen concerning death and life euerlasting, concerning sinne and the accusation of the lawe, concerning grace and the remission of sinnes. Now, if with faith you compare charitie, whose office is to be exercised in releuing the miseryes and calamities of men, whether they haue neede of comfort or succour in minde or in body, who seeth not howe farre faith excelleth charitie? For howe great a difference is there betwene God & man? betwene corporall necessities & eternal death? These are therfore the exercises of faith, euen in the greatest dangers to fight continually against Satan in ye presence of God, For as I said before, our [illegible: 1 letter]ruel enemie will giue vs no breathing, no time of rest. Wherfore, albeit ye charitie is not onely a goodly vertue, but also extendeth farre in comparison of other moral vertues, yet is faith, without all comparison, a farre more excellent & heauenly vertue, whether ye consider y• obiects therof or other causes.

The ende of faith. For this is the fruite of faith, when the hart feeleth that death is ouercome by the death of Christ that sinne also is put away, & the law abolished by grace and mercie. These thinges are of them selues most certaine: Yet such is our infirmitie, that we can noe certeinly apprehend them, and therefore we are terrified with the cogitations of death and sinne. But if this hope and trust in the mercie of God were perfect, no heauines should euer oppresse the beleuing hart. Therefore Dauid vseth this exhortation, that Israell, after it hath once obteyned this mercie, why we must still waite & hope. should still perseuere in wayting on the Lord, and not suffer this trust and confidence in the mercie of the Lord, to be wrested from him. And here he hath respect to that great conflict, wherein the mind oppressed with calamities, beginneth to doubt of ye mercie of God. In this conflict, because the mind doth not so soone feele those comforts which the word promiseth and faith beleueth, as it would doe, it is ready to despayre. Against this tentation Dauid armeth vs, and warneth vs to be mindfull that we must waite on the Lorde, and neuer depart from the word, or beleue any thing against the word, and he sheweth the cause why.

For with the Lord (sayth he) is mercie. With God there is propitiation and mercie: therfore there is no anger with him. The flesh in tentations and afflictions, thinketh that with the Lorde there is nothing but wrath. The holy Ghost therefore comforteth vs, and goeth about to plucke this opinion out of our hartes, & pronounceth that there is mercie and goodnes with the Lord, if we can but onely waite on the Lord and put our trust in him. This testimonie of conscience and of the holy Ghost we haue great neede of: for if we followe our owne sense, we shall be deceaued and finde in our selues the contrary. But we may not iudge of these matters according to our owne sense or as we feele in our selues, but we must stand to the worde, and thus thinke with our selues, that these are matters of fayth and not of our owne sense and feeling. For to beleue, is not to feele. Not because these thinges shall neuer be felt which we now beleue, but because faith must go before feeling and experience: And we must beleue the worde, although we feele in our owne hartes and iudgement neuer so much to the contrary. As when our hartes oppressed with calamities doe thinke God to be angrie with vs, not to care for vs, but to hate vs: then faith cleane contrary must thus assure it selfe, that with God there is neither anger nor hatred, that he neither thinketh of punishment nor offence: but although he suffer vs to be afflicted, yet he doth it not to the ende to destroy vs. For with him sayeth the Psalme is mercie. Therefore he is mindfull of vs to doe vs good, to deliuer vs from daungers, to mortifie our sinnes, and to increase his other good giftes in vs. If these thinges happen not to the wicked, what maruell is it? For either they beleue not, or else if they doe, they continue not. Wherefore let vs that beleue, with faith ioyne hope also: so that albeit our owne sense and hart shall worke neuer so much against vs, and that God shall seeme neuer so sharpe an enemy in punishing vs, yet let vs not yeld so much to our owne sense and feeling, as to the written word and to the holy Ghost, which pronounceth that with the Lord there is mercie, who loueth vs & seeketh to doe vs good.

This is the truth of the holy Ghost, that we should thinke, yea most assuredly beleue, In tentatiōs we must rest vpon hope, and beleue the word rather then our owne experience and feeling. Rom. 5.3. that with the Lord there is no anger: but if any calamities assayle vs, as pouertie, sicknes, vexation of minde, and such like, we should endure these tentations with faith & hope, declaring our patience towards God, and hoping for deliuerance at his hande in his good time: Like as Paule also writing to the Romans willeth vs to reioyce euen in our afflictions and tentations. For if God did not loue vs, Satan would not hate vs. If we were not partakers of life, our enemie woulde not persecute vs with death. So those which are most iust and holy, because they hold fast the hope of the remission of sinnes, Satan tempteth most of all wich the horror of sinne, yea and that in such wise, as some times the taking of one litle cuppe of wine, or of one word vnaduisedly escaped, he maketh such a sinne, that baptisme and al other giftes and blessings which we possesse, seeme now to stande vs in no effect: Yea many times euen those works which are good and holy, he reproueth and condemneth as most wicked, that he may bring the tender and timorous conscience into heauines. All these thinges, I say, the godly doe finde and feele. But if we should follow our owne sense and feeling without the worde, howe farre and how miserably should we wander from God? Thus Satan dealeth not with the Papistes, but goeth a contrary way to worke, excusing, yea highly commending in them most horrible and detes[illegible: 1 letter]able crimes as excellent vertues. Contrariwise, we that desire and endeuour to liue according to the will of God, and moreouer doe teach the word sincerely and faithfully, doe often times suffer such trouble and vexation of conscience, as if we liued most wickedly.

We must learne therefore out of the word, that these thinges h[illegible: 1 letter]ppen to the godly, and must be ouercome with such cogitations as the holy Ghost here setteth forth: The experience which the word teacheth. So that we must thus thinke with our selues: I am called to the Communion and partaking of the merite of Christ, and am baptised. If in the common course of this life there be any offences by me committed, there is mercy with the Lorde, and in hope of this mercie, I will let them passe. Moreouer, our doctrine, although the world sclaunder it and most spitefully persecute it, must needes be true. This doctrine, after that we once beleue in Christ, sheweth vnto vs that with the Lord there is nothing else but mercie. For God can no otherwise doe, but loue vs and bestowe his benefits vpon vs. Now, if the contrary appeare to my sense and feeling, I passe not, neither if I should die for it, would I suffer this knowledge to be wrested from me: but I stedfastly beleue that in the earth beneath, and in the heauen aboue there is nothing else but mercie. Thus to beleeue I am perswaded, not by feeling, or by mine owne experience, but by the word, which saith: that with the Lord there is mercie for me and all that doe beleue. But for them that beleue not, there is nothing else but wrath. I will therefore ouercome my tentations with the word, and will write this promise in my hart, that since I beleue in Iesus Christ & doubt not but that my sinns are pardoned through his blood, I shall not be confounded, although all sence, reason and experience would perswade and proue to me the contrary. In my selfe I perceaue nothing vut wrath, in the deuill nothing but hatred, in the world nothing but extreame furie and madnes. But the holy ghost can not lye, which willeth me to trust, because there is mercie with the Lord, and with him is plentiful redemption.

Redemption signifieth deliuerance, Plentiful redemption. and that generall, as wel from the faulte as from the punishment, but specially from the fault. This redemption he calleth great and plentifull because the straitnes of our hart is such, that it can not comprehend the same. For when we pray, we so pray, that it seemeth we woulde be content with a litle. So they that are in trouble & heauines of minde, doe wish for the comfort and quietnes of one day. They that are in pouertie would be glad to haue bread for the presēt day. VVhen we pray, we are not able to conceaue what great thinges God wil giue vs. But God doth not thinke this enough: for he giueth aboue all that we can either conceiue or aske. And most true it is, that we do not knowe howe or what to aske. And here I gladly vse mine owne experience. For what and how much hath he giuen vnto me alone? I wished no more but that the horrible abuse of the Popes pardons might be taken away: but what a floode of wonderfull and incomparable benefites hath followed? So is it alwayes true, that no man dare aske so much of God, as God is ready and willing to giue. The cause hereof is the straitnes of our hart, the slendernes of our hope, and weakenes of our faith. This plentiful redemption then, aboue all measure exceedeth all our petitions and desires. Wherefore the Lorde hath giuen vs all a forme howe we shoulde pray. For if we had not this forme of prayer prescribed vnto vs, which of vs durst be bold to aske so many and so great things? We are now therefore, not onely made conquerers of sinne, hell and death by the merite of Christ: but also doe feele the bountifull and liberall hand of God towardes vs euen in this life. And albeit we could neuer haue bene bold to aske so much and so many thinges, yet notwithstanding, he hath giuen vs these thinges, and will giue vs also more.

God both heareth vs graciously, and giueth vnto vs plentifully. Therefore the Prophete saith that this redemption is plentifull, because it exceedeth our capacitie. For like as we slenderly beleeue, so we slenderly aske. But our father in heauen rayneth plentifully vppon the litle poore sparkes of our prayer, and small droppes of our faith, and recompenseth his delay in giuing, with great abundance. For although we must still waite, yet is our deliuerance so much the greater. Iacob, which is Israell, waited for the Lord & what followed? That people so mightely increasing and multiplying of so small beginnings, afterward chaunged the whole world: And if Abraham had seene all his posteritie, and all the wonderful actes which God wrought amongst them, woulde he not haue said (thinke you) that he coulde neuer haue hoped or once haue thought, yt this should euer haue come to passe? True it is, that Abraham beleued the promise of God: But that there should be such a wonderful and glorious bewtie of his posteritie, he could not beleeue because of the straitnes of mans hart. So the Church after Christ, prayed for ye aduancing of Gods kingdom, and after this praier followed the ruine of the Romane kingdom, which before seemed to be inuincible. We likewise pray at this day for deliuerance. The day of the Lord therefore shall come, and shall destroy the whole world, with all the power of Satan & hel. This onely therefore let vs endeuour, that we may continue in faith & hope. Then shall the Lord make a glorious ende of all our troubles. For God wil not forsake vs, except we first giue ouer to hope and pray. Let the faithfull rest therefore in this comfort, that their oppression and affliction shall neuer be so great, but their deliuerance shalbe greater: And if they thinke otherwise, they thinke not well. The effect of the first precept. For this is the summe & effect of the first precept, which Dauid here expresseth: with the Lord there is plenteous redemption. For this is to be a god in deede, euen to redeme and to deliuer, yea & that with greater maiestie and glory, then of any mortall man it can be conceaued.