Martin Luther on Psalms 131:1

The .131. Psalme. Lorde myne hart is not hautie, &c.

The argument of the Psalme. This Psalme treateth in a maner of the same matter that the Psalme going before speaketh of, sauing that the former Psalme expresseth the contrary more plainely and largely: Whereby he most liuely paynteth out an afflicted conscience, oppressed with the feeling and burthen of sinne. This Psalme hath bene heretofore vsed of the diuines against all maner of pride and presumption, Pride is a vice commō vnto all men. a common vice of all mankind, and from the which there is not one of vs free: neither can it be cured by any other remedy, then either by the grace of God, or by the wrath of God, that is, when either the godly by afflictions are corrected with fatherly chastisement, or the wicked are plaged with seuere punishment. By these meanes presumption the naturall vice of all men, is cured: Otherwise it is not possible but that man should presume, either of his owne wisedom, Wisedome maketh men proude. or of his owne power, or of his owne righteousnes. This pride afterwardes bringeth foorth contention. As, for example, we see how many and sundry wayes men are exercised with such matters as perteyne to the ostentation, or to ye praise and commendation of the witte & wisedome of man. For here one man thinketh better of him selfe then of an other: one man will be counted wiser and better learned then an other. What will such wittes doe (thinke you) when they shall afterwardes come to the handling of Gods matters? Power. Likewise power bewitcheth mens hartes, that they can make no ende of proud deuises and counsells. The same hapned to the Phariseis & hypocrites (for that is proper vnto them) when they conceiued an opinion of their owne holines and righteousnes. Righteousnes. To be briefe, proud and presumptuous men are troublers, not only of them selues, but also of ye cōmon wealth, of the Church, of housholds and families, & of al things else. They that are skilful in histories, doe see what great euills proud & ambitious witts haue alwaies raised vp. So in the Church, heretiks stirred vp with a perswasion of their owne wisedom, are troublers of peace and concord. The same commeth to passe also in families & houshold matters: A dutch prouerbe. whereof riseth this prouerbe among ye Germanes: They which attempt that they can not bring to passe, are worthely plagued. But who are they, I pray you? Forsoth euen ye whole world. For what is he that is contēted wt his own gift, & attempteth not somewhiles to do better & more exactly, then he is able to accomplish? Wherfore ye third euill necessarily followeth, y• like as presumption breaketh quietnes & concord, & alwayes as a fruitful mother breedeth strife & dissention: so at the last followeth vanitie of vanities, & the attempts of the wicked are all in vaine.

This vice reacheth & reigneth farre, Two meanes to reforme the vice of pride & presumption. & can not be cured by any other remedie (as I haue sayd) then either by grace or by wrath. By grace, I meane, when by affliction our harts are humbled and we brought to this point, that we can thinke modestly of our owne gift. By wrath, when God oppreseth ye wicked with punishments and plagues, & taketh them away as he take away Pharao, whose stubbernes and obstinacie could not be cured, but by destruction in the redde sea. So the Beniamites did not cease from their furie, vntill they were almost consumed. In like maner Absolon could neuer be quiet vntill he was hanged vpon a tree. Arius also & Cerinthus, with many authors of newe sectes and errors in these our daies, could neuer rest vntil they came to such an end as their acts & enterprises did deserue. Thus cōmeth it to passe, that when the wicked haue once taken their course, like vnto a wilde horse, they neuer rest vntil they come to a miserable ende. The same ha[illegible: 2 letters]eth also to all those which seeke to be iustified by workes. The Phariseis neuer ceased to persecute the Gospel and to trust in their own righteousnes, vntill Ierusalem, ye kingdom & the priesthood were vtterly destroyed. This is the ende of presumption when it is not bridled and repressed by the worde. True it is therefore that this enormitie can not be remedied, but either by grace or by wrath.

Thus generally, in a maner they vnderstand this Psalme to be written against pride and presumption. This Psalme speaketh of spirituall pride. But, in my iudgement, it may be more aptly applyed vnto the spirituall pride of mans own righteousnes. For (as before I haue sayd), these three thinges make men proud, wisedom, power & righteousnes. You may therfore, if you list, make three kinds of pride according to these three obiects. For they are giftes of God distributed vnto men, and haue their measure and their meane appointed vnto them. They therefore that are wise, are wise according to their measure, and can not be more wise. They which are mightie, are mightie according to their measure, and can not be more mightie. Likewise they which are righteous, are righteous according to their measure, and can not be more righteous. But pride maketh them desirous to seeme more wise, more mightie & more righteous then they are in deede. Hereupon it followeth, that when the matter commeth to the triall, and sinne striueth with righteousnes, exceeding her owne gift and measure, then is righteousnes ouercome and made desperation, which oftentimes driueth hypocrites to the halter. Pride at the length is confounded. So it commeth often times to passe, that impotency fighteth against power, & ouercommeth: As it hapned to the Israelites fighting against the one onely tribe of Beniamin. In like maner foolishnes many times ouercommeth & confoundeth wisedom. And of this strange successe what is ye cause? Forsoth euen this, that men doe not trust in the Lord, but presume of their owne wisedom, power & righteousnes, contrary to the word and will of God. For God will haue vs to trust onely in his power and mercie. But thus will men haue it, and thus they thinke, that they are mighty, righteous and wise to this ende, that they should trust in these titles and presume therof. Wherefore this they finde at length and that iustly, that they are most miserable and vnhappy. For why do they not that which they are able, & why enterprise they that which they are not able to doe? Most worthy are they therefore, to be punished and plagued, according to the Dutch prouerbe, because they attempt that which they are not able to accomplish.

Let vs therefore abide in humilitie, and let vs thinke moderatly and modestly of our owne gift. Let vs not iudge other: let vs not oppresse other: let vs not be wittie & busie in other mens affaires: but let vs doe that which pertaineth to our vocation, and let euery one of vs so much the more diligently fight against this vice, by how much we finde and fele the same to be fixed and rooted in our nature and in euery one of vs: albeit it sheweth it selfe in one more and in an other lesse, as also the historyes of the Gentiles and heathen men doe declare. For Cicero was more ambitious then Demosthenes, paraduenture because he lyued in a greater kingdom and a mightie Monarchie. Likewise Iulius Caesar was more ambitious then Augustus. So in spirituall matters, Pharao had an obstinacie ioyned with pride. To conclude, all the examples both of the holy Scriptures and also of the Gentiles doe shewe this to be the ende and successe of proud and presumptuous persons, that suddenly the wrath of God falling vppon them when they least of all feare it, they are confounded and miserably perish. But (as I haue said) we will leaue this generall interpretation, and apply this Psalme to the spirituall pride which consisteth in the opinion of mans owne righteousnes.

Verse. 1. Lord mine harte is not hawtie, neither are mine eyes loftie, neither haue I walked in great matters and hid from me.

In that Dauid thus glorieth & reioiceth, he doth it being taught by his owne experience. As if he said: I haue proued what an euill thing it is, to be hautie and high minded, and to rest securely in the opinion of righteousnes. Wherefore I wil no more be now high minded: I will not glory any longer in mine owne righteousnes. For the proud Pharisey which braggeth that he is not as other men be, when his conscience beginneth once to accuse him, forthwith is cast down and stricken with terror, and is not able to stand against the least sinne. I speake not of the huge mountaines and seas of sinnes and iniquities, which in a moment do swallow vp and consume the proude and secure. It is good therefore (saith he), O Lord that thou hast humbled me, and hast schooled me by afflictions, that I should not be proude, that I shoulde not seeme holy in myne owne conceite, that I should not make my selfe as a Iudge and a Censour, The Iusticiaries iudge & condemne rashly. iudging and condemning al men. For that is the propertie of all Iusticiaries and such as trust in their owne righteousnes, holines and perfection. As the example of the Pharisey in the Gospell doth declare, whiche is not content to recken vp his owne vertues and good workes, but with all he must needs condemne the poore Publicane.

This is the sinne of naturall and morall righteousnes or of the righteousnes of the lawe, to condemne others, to presume and to clyme euen to the iudgement seate of God, and to pronounce sentence against those whom they thinke, not to be so perfect as them selues. He that is a ioly Citizen or alearned lawer thinketh highly of him self, and maketh him selfe as it were a certaine idoll vnto him selfe, but others he condemneth and in comparison of him self proudly cōtemneth. The husbandman, when he seeth any fault in the Magistrate, thinketh as did that seruaunt in the Poet: Oh, why was not I made a King, a Ruler, a Magistrate? These be but politike matters ful of vanities & most fond follyes and folishnes, and yet there is none of vs all which are able therein to bridle and moderate our selues except the holy Ghost doe guide and rule our hartes, There is no cause why a man should more presume of his owne righteousnes then of the art or handycraft which he exerciseth. and teach vs that this righteousnes, whether it be naturall or moral, is but as a worke of mans hand, which maketh vs no whit the better before God. And in deede there is no man so foolish that will thinke him selfe the better Christian or more acceptable before God, because he is a Tayler, a Carpenter or a Shoomaker: And yet, although the case be all one, there is no man which doth not presume of this righteousnes, whether it be morall or natural, except the holy Ghost bridle him and bring him into the right way. For it hath a goodly shew of holynes, and therfore it putteth vppe the mindes of men with pride, vntill they be humbled of the Lorde, and so learne that there is no helpe in this righteousnes before the iudgement of God.

The moste notable personages in aduersitie are commonly oppressed with anguish and sorrowe. How often haue we sene, that great & notable diuines, which liued among men wt a maruelous shew of holines, & wt a great presumption of their own righteousnes, at length when death approched, haue falne into desperation, & fled to most vaine & foolish trifles for help & succour, in so much ye not only yet liuing they wrapped them selues in a fryers coule, but also being dead were buried in the same. So, I remember, yt a notable man & amōg lawyers of name & fame the chiefest, when he was at ye point of death vttered these words: O si subulcus potius quam iure cōsultus fuissem. Oh (saith he) that I had bene a swineheard rather then a lawyer. For he perceaued that in that daunger the administration of iustice, be it neuer so exact, helpeth nothing. In like case, when Cicero saw him self to be in daunger through the power of Augustus and Antonius his aduersaries, he perceiued that there was no comfort nor succour to be found in all his great knowledge and learning: but that all his learning, and all that great studie and knowledge of philosophie vanished away and auailed him nothing. The same hapned likewise to Demosthenes flying from Antipater.

To conclude, all such examples doe teach that to be most true which Salomon sayth: Prouerb. 17. He that exalteth his house, seeketh destruction. But this our Courtiers doe not beleue. They clyme & loue to be aloft, they seeke to rule, and in deed they rule euen as he that driueth the cart vntil it sticke fast in the myre, and can neither goe forward nor backward. And this is the cause that kingdomes and common weales are, in a maner, nothing else, but ruines and destructions. Who would thinke, if he consider the ciuill gouernment which was vnder the first Emperours, that ye Romane Empire, yea and many other common weales also, could continue the space of one day? For, as Titus Liuius sayth, they can neither abide their faultes to be touched, nor remedies to be applyed thereunto, and therefore they fall of their owne sway, as an house that is builded to high.

But the daunger is much greater when in Religion men haue proud lookes and proud hartes, and walke in such matters as are hidden from them: that is to say, when they please them selues because of their holines, & thinke that they sitt in Gods owne lappe, and yet know nothing of the free mercie of God in Christ, and the forgiuenes of sinnes, but walke altogither in their owne workes, and say with the Pharisey, Luke. 18. that they fast twise a weeke, they giue tyth, they are not adulterers, extorcioners, vniust, although their hartes be full of all maner of filthy lustes. This presumption continueth vntill they see them selues to be in daunger of death: then all these vayne helpes, with all their false hopes vanish away, and these voyces of desperation or such like follow: I haue liued wickedly, I haue broken my vowes, I haue not obserued my rule, &c. When then (I say) wast thou made a Monke? was it not because thou shouldest ascende to righteousnes? But by this meanes thou hast descended into hell, because thou wouldest be exalted. They that rest in the confidence and trust of their owne righteousnes, either fall at the length into these tentations, or else they dye like an oxe or a cowe.