Martin Luther on Psalms 132:8

Verse. 8. Arise O Lord, to come into thy rest, thou and the arke of thy strength.

Here againe he calleth the place appoynted for the worde, the rest, the tabernacle, the habitation of the Lord, according to that saying of our Sauiour Christ: VVe will come vnto him & will dwell with him. Iohn. 14. And this is a prayer following vppon the former verses. As if he said: the temple is builded, and now we place the Arke therein. Arise therefore O Lord, and come to thy rest, that thou mayst dwell with vs. For this is thy rest, which wilte be worshipped in a certaine place and after a certaine maner, Wherfore diuerse kindes of worship and diuersitie of opinions after the inuentions of men, doe not please thee. Thou art in deede the God of heauen, and heauen is thy throne: but yet thou wilte be worshipped of vs. Thou wouldest haue vs to knowe that thou dwellest in this place, and that we shoulde seeke thee here and not elsewhere.

It seemeth an absurde and a foolish thinge in the hartes of the worldly wise, to bind God to this place, and to enclose him in this darke Sanctuary, as though he would be worshipped no where else. So the Gentiles rounde about, to whome the religion of the Iewes was knowne, were maruelously offended that the infinite and incomprehensible nature of God should thus be shut vppe in a corner. But God doth not onely contemn, but also condemne the imaginations of men, and commaundeth vs to thinke no otherwise of God, then he prescribeth vnto vs in his worde. VVhersoeuer (saith he) I shall put a memoriall of my name, there will I be. As if he sayde: I knowe that this place is to litle to receaue or to holde me, whome heauen can not holde. Yea in respect of my Maiestie and person, I need no place: VVhy God did choose a certain place where he would be worshipped. But thou for thy saluation hast neede that such a place there should be, where thou maist serue me, finde me, heare my word, receiue my blessing, &c. This (I say) thy necessitie requireth, lest that, if I should not appoynt such a place vnto thee, the deuill should deceiue thee, & when thou thinkest thy selfe to serue and worship me, thou shouldest serue and worship Satan him self. This daunger moueth me to limit a certeine place wherein may remaine a memoriall of my name.

The Arke was but a corporall thing, The Arke was the habitation of God. like as our temples haue a matter, as tymber and stone, whereof they are builded. But because God by his worde had bound his presence to this corporall place, therefore it was nowe the true habitation of God. So we know that the word is incarnate and become flesh. The bodye of Christ therfore or the flesh of Christ is a true body and true flesh, and his humanitie is a true humanitie. But in this flesh, in this body and in this humanitie God is set forth vnto vs as in a certeine myrrour or a glasse. In this flesh God so appeareth vnto vs, that out of this flesh he neither will be worshipped, nor can be knowne. We therfore doe also worship before that Arke which is now, before our Mercieseate, euen the man Christ: and we beleue that they which serue & honour God out of this Mercieseate, doe sinne and are idolaters, as they which at that time sought God & would worship him any where else then in the temple, did sinne and were Idolaters.

Wherefore the faithfull, euen when they were not at Ierusalem, in prayer turned their faces towardes Ierusalem: Like as now the Church, though it be dispersed throughout the world, accordeth in this notwithstanding, that it prayeth in the name of Iesus, vppon whose passion and merites it wholy resteth, and so by faith in Christ it is but one Church. Wherfore we must diligently marke those sentences of the Scripture which, after this maner binde God to one certeine place: for they arme vs against all maner of Idolatrie, and teach vs to iudge all kindes of doctrine: Like as the Iewes could iudge this doctrine to be true, that all maner of worship which was not done in that place of the Tabernacle, was Idolatrie: So the Patriarkes were able to iudge of the Altars which they made in those places where God appeared vnto them. For there might not be one temple erected against an other, nor one altar against an other: but there was one temple, one Arke, one altar and no more. Like as we haue one Christ in whom God dwelleth and in whom he is found.

Therefore by an excellent name and title he calleth it the Arke The Arke of strength. of strength, that is to say, of the kingdom. Likewise he sayth: Psal. 110. The Lord shal send the scepter or rodde of thy power out of Sion. This power standeth chiefly in preaching the word. Read that which followeth in the same Psalme. Also, Psal. 8. Out of the mouthes of babes and sucklings hast thou ordeyned strength. So is that called the Arke of strength, where God mightely reigneth, where he helpeth and defendeth his people, where he exerciseth his power for their succour and safety, in hearing them, in forgiuing their sinnes, in comforting them against Satan, death, and hell it selfe. This diuine power (sayth he) is bound to this Arke, and therefore it is truely called the Arke of strength. This strength and this power was also bound to the Altars of the fathers: but now it is bound to the man borne of the virgine Marie. To this man who so euer commeth, shall feele a diuine power. Christ our propitiatorie and mercieseate. If he dye, he shall find life: If his conscience be oppressed wt sinne, he shall finde remission of sinnes: If he be tormented of Satan, he shall find peace: If he be vexed of the world, he shall find securitie and victorie. For Christ, whose kingdom it is, doth not therefore reigne, that he may enrich vs with worldly goods, landes and possessions (for these are promised vnto vs in the first of Genesis): but that he may set forth his diuine power and rich mercie, and set vs free from those calamities, out of the which we are not able to redeme our selues: Like as he deliuered the faithfull in those dayes from all daungers. For the Arke was vnto them as an heauen, where they found deliuerance from all miseries: as the people was the kingdom, and the faithfull were the [illegible: 1 letter]tarres of heauen. Daniel. 8.10. Therefore Daniel sayth of Antiochus, that he should cast downe starres to the ground. For whereso euer the word of God is, there is the kingdom of God, of heauen, of life, of victorie ouer death, sinne and all miseries. Thus ought the word which of the world is contemned and despised, to be exalted and magnified.