Psalm 91:1 - Heretics never cite the Scriptures correctly

AELW 11:210-211

 

Psalm 91:1     "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

 

"Then [the devil] says, “Throw yourself down.” See how he acts as he does in many cases for the purpose of persuasion; he even cites the Scriptures. In this way he also conquers the heretics, but not Christ and His church. For the heretics never cite the Scriptures correctly, but always pick out only that by which they might promote their plague. But they are silent about what speaks against them, just as their father and master did here. For if the devil had cited only this part, “that they should keep You in all Your ways” (Matt. 4:6), indeed, according to Luke, who alone writes that he omitted this part, “in all Your ways,” don’t you think the Lord would immediately have hurled his own word back at him, saying, “If they will guard Me in all My ways, why do you not show Me one of these ways, so that you may see whether they will guard Me? But you show Me [a place] where there is no way for Me. But since it is written that they will guard Me in all My ways, you are surely citing that passage foolishly or maliciously, because it has nothing to do with the issue. For from this passage you have no warrant for the statement that they will guard Me in any ways whatever, as you want Me to think and believe, but only in all My ways.” Behold, a skillful enemy anticipated that these things would be raised in objection to him, and therefore he covered it up. So all heretics do also, who adjust all the Scriptures to themselves except for those passages by which they could be refuted. But why does not the Lord show him his trickery in order that he might be confounded? Why does He not show him in this way that He has won the victory, instead of countering with another statement? I believe He acted as He did, in the first place, to teach that a heretic cannot be overcome by staying with the same word, because he slips away and controversies arise. Therefore, “in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand” (Deut. 19:15; Matt. 18:16). Let law and prophet be adduced with the Gospel. One bare authority can be quibbled about by the contentious and the proud, even if they understand that their own stratagems have been destroyed and detected. Therefore they must be dismissed with the word in which they were uncovered and know themselves to have been uncovered, and we ought to add also other things and at the same time restore with another one the statement which they have corrupted. "

Psalm 91 - Oddballs and the protection of God

AELW 11:208-209

Psalm 91:1     He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High 

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

"The Hebrew reads: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Lord.” I ask you, for God’s sake, why does he add “in the aid” or “in the secret place” of the Most High”? Why “in the protection” or “in the shadow”? Would it not have been enough to say “he who dwells in the Lord” and “who will abide in the God of heaven or in the Most High Himself”? Unless it is because there are those, indeed, because he sees that there will be the proud, the Jews and heretics, who would presume to dwell in God nakedly and want to be directed by God immediately, so to say, rejecting all forms of His aid and protection, with which they ought to have been directed by Him. For these oddballs want to be friends of God and be led by His special control. And so, since they made a shadow for themselves and chose the protection and aid for themselves by means of which they wished to be saved by God, they despise all other shadows and protections of God."

Psalm 91 - Choosing their own ways and set up their own righteousness

AELW 11:208

PSALM NINETY-ONE

"This entire psalm is an exhortation to the right faith against those who choose their own ways and set up their own righteousnesses, in which they look for God’s help and grace, yea, rather tempt Him, as did the Jews first, then heretics and all their imitators, the oddballs, the superstitious, and the proud in their own mind.

All such people, who are thus driven by spirits of error and borne by the wind of doctrines, have this habit, that they are not satisfied with the boundaries which their fathers set and with the words of the masters which were given them by one Shepherd (Eccl. 12:11); they always want more. And in this they dare like the saints to call upon God as Guide and Protector and hope for the guardianship of angels. It is against the rage and madness of these people that this psalm speaks"

Psalm 90 - You fill in the blank...

AELW 11:207

Psalm 90:7     "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

and establish the work of our hands upon us;

yes, establish the work of our hands!"

"17. And let the brightness [Hebrew, “beauty”] of the Lord our God be upon us. This is the beauty, “the light of Thy countenance signed upon us” (Ps. 4:6), a spiritual beauty. And direct Thou the works of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands, do Thou direct it. In Hebrew: “Make firm the work of our hands upon us. And establish the work of our hands.” It is easy to harmonize them. But what is the reason for the repetition? Some say it is because of …"(Luther did not finish the sentence)

Psalm 85 - Mercy & Truth

AELW 11:165-166

"In all these ways Christ is the Truth, for He is the fulfillment of all types and the true and firm salvation and faithful good, neither lying nor vain. (4) Truth, in a way that I think fits better to the theme, is called the faithful setting forth of what was promised over against reduction and omission of what was promised. Thus Christ is the Truth, because He showed forth the promise made to the fathers concerning Him, so that God might be true in His promises, since the salvation which He promised has been given. Hence Lyra well explains it when he says, “ ‘Mercy and truth have met each other,’ that is, they have come together in one Person. For by the mercy of God the Word took on flesh for the purpose of fulfilling the truth of the promise made to the fathers of the Old Testament concerning the incarnation of the Son of God.” For the fact that He promised us the Son was the sheer mercy of God. And so He Himself, in His coming, is Mercy, that is, the result of God’s mercy which He promised. But the fact that God sent Him was the truth and faithfulness of God. And so He is Himself the Truth, that is, the realization of the truth of God offering the promise. Therefore what God the Father promised was Mercy; and what He sent was Truth. And so they are wonderfully mingled and brought together. The fact that God is true in the things promised is His mercy, not our merit. But the fact that He has mercy is His truth. And so, when He has mercy, He becomes true [that is, He keeps faith and promise], and when He keeps faith or remains true, He has mercy. And both are in Christ. If He had given not freely but on the basis of merit, then righteousness and truth would have met each other, and it would not have been either mercy or grace, but a debt. But now He has freely given, so that He might be Mercy and Grace, and true nevertheless, because He had made Himself a debtor by promising and not by receiving. But of what did He make Himself a debtor by promise but sheer grace and mercy? Thus mercy and truth have met each other, namely, as set forth in one deed and work. But if they have met, have they then come together into one as from separate parts? Whence, then, comes mercy? And whence truth? Is mercy from the earth and truth from heaven? It is not the places that should be distinguished in this way, but the inclinations and indeed the results of God’s goodness. For the divine goodness is merciful in one mood and true in another; merciful for our sake, but true for His own sake. And thus in a certain manner they have met each other from different parts when, mindful of us, He wished to have mercy, and, having thought of Himself, He wished to be true. Or perhaps someone could find something else that is better. How have justice and peace now kissed? As Christ is God’s Mercy and Truth for us, so also righteousness and peace are ours from God. Lyra says, “Christ provided righteousness for us and thus gave us peace, appeasing the things that are in heaven and the things that are on earth. For by His suffering He made satisfaction for us according to the way of righteousness, etc.” A good gloss! For as God, angry because of our unrighteousness, did not have peace with us, so, having been turned, He sent this righteousness for us by which He also sent peace at the same time."

Psalm 85 - The truth remains the same

AELW 11:163

"Therefore the psalm has three parts: In the first the psalmist gives thanks for the blessing of the coming incarnation; in the second he prays for it to come, and in the third he foretells that it will come."

Psalm 85, Verse 9 - Fear is a faithful gurdian

AELW 11:163

Psalm 85:9     Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him,

that glory may dwell in our land. 

"He teaches who those are whom he called “converted to the heart” and saints and the Lord’s people. They are the devout and concerned in childlike fear and reverence. They fear that they themselves could be the kind of people described above. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 1:7). And not only are they such, they also stay that way, for then come the next words, “that glory may dwell in our land.” Fear is a faithful guardian, preserving the salvation given to us. Without fear it is quickly lost."

Psalm 85, verse 8 - God has spoken to us

AELW 11:160

Psalm 85:8, Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, 

for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly.

"What He will speak, for the Word of God is perceived only by hearing. It is the nature of the Word to be heard. But when we shall see what He will form and (to put it thus) put into appearance and fashion, it will be different. It is the nature of a form and an image to be seen and not to be heard. Therefore, for the Lord Himself to speak is to give out and manifest His Word, but as something to be heard. Thus God the Father has spoken to us, that is, He has shown us the Son, His Word, in the hearing of faith. And this is the Gospel of God which He had promised before through the prophets, one of whom is here saying, “I will hear what He will speak.” And this speaking, this showing of the Word, this proclamation of the Gospel He accomplished by the ministry of the apostles and their successors, for in them He has spoken to the whole world."

Psalm 85, verse 4 - Convert us, O God our Savior

AELW 11:15-157

Psalm 85:4. Convert us, O God our Savior, and put away Thy wrath from us. 

"Having explained himself how he wanted to be understood, namely, that he is speaking in spirit, he now prays for the things which he had foretold would come. Consequently he is now speaking also about spiritual conversion and wrath. This is, therefore, supremely necessary, because this cannot be done by human strength, only by divine strength. This is true because God is hidden in the flesh, so that no man can recognize Him unless he has been enlightened by God’s spiritual grace. Hence blessed Peter, who had been thus converted and said, “You are Christ, the Son of the living God,” heard Him say: “Blessed are you, Simon, Bar-Jona. Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:16–17). And in John 6:45 we read: “They shall all be taught by God”; and in Matt. 11:25: “Thou hast revealed these things to the little ones and hidden them from the wise and prudent.” [And again (John 6:44): “No one comes to Me unless My Father, who has sent Me, draws him.”] Therefore no one can be converted to God unless he has first been converted to Christ, as He says (John 14:6): “No one comes to the Father, but by Me.”

Psalm 84 - God can never be exhausted

AELW 11:144

Psalm 84:4. Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, O Lord. They will praise Thee forever and ever. 

"Since we receive everything from God, there is nothing that we can render Him but praise, and praise to Him alone. For a person cannot praise God only unless he understands that there is nothing in himself worthy of praise but that all that is worthy of praise is of God and from God. But since God is eternally praiseworthy, because He is the infinite Good and can never be exhausted, therefore they will praise Him forever and ever"

Psalm 84:3 - Our first altar

AELW  11:141

"3    Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, 

where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."

"Our first altar is Christ, Himself the Priest and the Sacrifice and our Altar, on which we are placed and offered to God the Father, and in Him we offer all our sacrifices. And He in His body presented us to God, mortified in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. But if He offered us in His body, then His body is our altar, since the offering cannot be made except on the altar. His cross was His altar on which He was Himself given for us, offering us in Himself."

Psalm 81:7, Down to Hell and back again, a sinners tale

AELW 11:108

"81:7     In distress you called, and I delivered you;

I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah"

"When the soul has sinned, immediately there begins the clamor and growling of the conscience, which is truly a noisy sound in God’s ears. For this is “a violent taking of spoils with tumult” (Is. 9:5). How does he say at the same place that it is not the despoiling of Christ? This is indeed the manifestation of the storm but the hidden place of calm and peace. On the contrary, in the devil’s case it is an outward show of calm but in secret an uproar and a storm. For in the open he tickles the sense, and inwardly he disturbs the mind. But Christ openly disturbs the sense and inwardly tickles and calms the mind. The devil leads to the heavens and brings down to hell; Christ brings down to hell and back again."

 

Word Study - Unicorn...רְאֵם (reʾēm) ...continued...

The word for "Wild Ox, Rhinoceros, Unicorn", occurs in scripture as noted below and is translated in the ESV as wild ox, but sometimes in the Vulgate as unicorn ...

Nu 23:22; (Vulgate Rhinoceros)

"God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox."(ESV)

Num 24:8;  (Vulgate Rhinoceros)

"God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows."(ESV)

Dt 33:17 (Vulgate Rhinoceros)

A firstborn bull—he has majesty,and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh.”(ESV)

Job 39:9, 10;  (Vulgate Rhinoceros)

“9 Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will he spend the night at your manger? 10 Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,or will he harrow the valleys after you?"(ESV)

Ps 22:21 (Vulgate 21:22)  (Vulgate Unicornium)

"21     Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!"(ESV

Ps. 29:6 (Vulgate 28:6) (Vulgate Unicornium)

"6     He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox."(ESV)

Ps. 78:69 (Vulgate 77:69) (Vulgate Unicornium)

"69     He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever." (ESV)
 

Ps. 92:10 (Vulgate 91:10) (Vulgate Unicornis)

"10     But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox; you have poured over me fresh oil."(ESV)

Isa 34:7 (Vulgate 34:7) (Vulgate Unicornes)

"7     Wild oxen shall fall with them, and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall drink its fill of blood, and their soil shall be gorged with fat."(ESV)

Psalm 78 verse 69 - Unicorns?

AELW 11:88-89 

Psalm 78:69 (maybe worth further study on how... רָ֭מִים     ...is translated in the Vulgate as unicornium?

The difference between...??? (Reem and Ruwm?)

7214 רְאֵם [râ’em, râ’eym, reym, rem /reh·ame/] n m. From 7213; TWOT 2096a; GK 8028; Nine occurrences; AV translates as “unicorn” nine times. 1 probably the great aurochs or wild bulls which are now extinct. The exact meaning is not known..(Strong's)

AND

7311 יָרוּם, יָרַם, רוּם, רָם, רָמַם [ruwm /room/] v. A primitive root; TWOT 2133; GK 3727 and 3753 and 8123 and 8225 and 8249; 194 occurrences; AV translates as “(lift”, “hold”, “etc … ) up” 63 times, “exalt” 47 times, “high” 25 times, “offer” 13 times, “give” five times, “heave” three times, “extol” three times, “lofty” three times, “take” three times, “tall” three times, “higher” twice, and translated miscellaneously 24 times. 1 to rise, rise up, be high, be lofty, be exalted. 1a (Qal). 1a1 to be high, be set on high. 1a2 to be raised, be uplifted, be exalted. 1a3 to be lifted, rise. 1b (Polel). 1b1 to raise or rear (children), cause to grow up. 1b2 to lift up, raise, exalt. 1b3 to exalt, extol. 1c (Polal) to be lifted up. 1d (Hiphil). 1d1 to raise, lift, lift up, take up, set up, erect, exalt, set on high. 1d2 to lift up (and take away), remove. 1d3 to lift off and present, contribute, offer, contribute. 1e (Hophal) to be taken off, be abolished. 1f (Hithpolel) to exalt oneself, magnify oneself. 2 (Qal) to be rotten, be wormy.(Strong's)

"69     He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, 

like the earth, which he has founded forever." (ESV) 

^"69     et aedificavit sicut unicornium sanctificium suum in terra quam fundavit in saecula "(Vulgate)

" 69     וַיִּ֣בֶן כְּמֹו־רָ֭מִים מִקְדָּשֹׁ֑ו כְּ֝אֶ֗רֶץ יְסָדָ֥הּ לְעֹולָֽם׃" (Hebrew)

AND FINALLY...Luther's comments...

 "69. And He built His sanctuary as of unicorns, in the land which He founded forever. Solinus says: “The unicorn is a most fearful monster, with a savage roar, the body of a horse, the feet of an elephant, a pig’s tail, a deer’s head. The horn protrudes in the middle of its forehead, of marvelous magnificence, to a length of four feet, so sharp that what it strikes is easily pierced by its thrust. It does not come into man’s power alive, and while it can be killed, it cannot be captured.” This is what he says."

Further note on who Solinus is...

"Gaius Julius Solinus compiled a summary of the history, geography, customs, and products of countries of the ancient world soon after A.D. 200. This work, Collectanea rerum memorabilium apparently is deeply in debt to Pliny’s Natural History. It was later revised under the name Polyhistor, which was mistaken for the name of the author."

Psalm 78, Verse 13 - Prosperity and Adversity

AELW 11:53

Both prosperity and the lack thereof  attack us by leading us to worship a false god, that of the perceived riches in money...

13. He divided the sea and led them through, and He made the waters stand as in a vessel.

"Now he begins to list the miracles which were done among our fathers and which they and we have forgotten. The sea is the world allegorically, and the mingling of prosperity and adversity. And through the midst of these He has led the holy apostles and the martyrs, our fathers, into the heavenly realms. And He made them stand, so that from either side neither prosperity on the right nor adversity on the left would be able to overwhelm them. Faith is the vessel which holds these waters and bids them stand and not do harm and by its spirit makes its way through their midst."

And in the Large Catechism...

"Many a person imagines that he has God and everything he needs, provided he has money and property.  He relies upon these, boasts about them, and feels so immovably secure that he cares bout no one.  But look, he too has a god, named mammon, that is the money and property to which he has given his whole heart.  Mammon is the world's favorite idol  One who has money and property has a sense of security and feels as happy and fearless as if he were sitting in the middle of paradise.  On the other hand, one who has nothing is as insecure and anxiety-ridden as if he had never heard of God  Very few can be found who keep a cheerful spirit and neither fret nor complain when they are without mammon."(LC - First Part, The Ten Commandments, paragraph 4)

Psalm 78, Verse 12, The experience of sight agrees with hearing

 AELW 11:52-53

 "¹²In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders

   in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan."

"12. Wonderful things He did in the sight of their fathers in the land of Egypt and in the field of Tanis. He does not say “in their sight” but “in the sight of their fathers.” Yet they were accused of having forgotten the benefits which they had heard and come to know from their fathers. This is to say that Christ did miracles in the sight of the apostles and their successors among the Jewish people and the Gentiles throughout the world. And not only have we heard, but we have also known them. In German, Wir wissen, dass es also ist [as we have heard and seen], and we cannot deny it. For the experience of sight agrees with hearing [corroborates it], just as then the children could not deny that they had been led out of Egypt. For though they only heard about the exodus, they nevertheless saw that they were in the place to which their fathers had been led. So we, too, though we did not see Christ’s suffering and the wonders by which He led mankind out of the world into the church, we do see by experience that we are in the church. For all that we hear and read agrees with our experience. Therefore, like them we, too, are deservedly rebuked because though we see that we are in a land flowing with milk and honey, we nevertheless forget the works of God by means of which He led us and our fathers into it (that is, His cross and suffering)."

Psalm 78 verse 7, Like a hundredfold of marbles

AELW 11:45

7. That they should set their hope in God and 

not forget the works of the Lord, but keep His commandments.

Here begins the fertility of words in this psalm. For this reason the Lord commanded the Gospel to be preached, that men might learn to believe and hope in God, to love heavenly things and despise the earthly, and that we might always have in memory the works which He did for us in the flesh. They increase hope and faith in a wonderful way. One who has forgotten and has no interest in such great things that the Lord has done for us, one who regards them as small and does not constantly give thanks, he, it is true, neither believes nor hopes in God and has truly forgotten His works. But he puts his hope in other things, namely, the creature, serving the creature rather than the Creator, “who is blessed forever! Amen” (Rom. 1:25). If he had regard for the works of Christ and valued them and believed them to be true, he would undoubtedly understand that they had been set forth for him as an example and as a testimony of things to come, and he would certainly try to imitate Him by believing and hoping in Him and by despising all earthly things as He did. [If anyone would meditate on the suffering of Christ that was done for him and be unmoved by it, he would truly be like marble a hundredfold.]"

Psalm 77 verses 12-14 - The Blind See

AELW 11:28

"13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 

14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples." 

"13–14. Who is a great God like our God? Thou art the God who workest wonders. He is great because He does great and wonderful things, namely, the ones on which the psalmist said he would meditate. But the question is asked, “How are all His works great and wonderful.?”All the works which He does in the saints must necessarily be great and wonderful, because they have been prefigured by wonderful and great things. But if the literal and deathbound and transitory works were wonderful, how much more will their truth and the realities signified be wonderful and great? But since these were perceptible to the senses, they were thought about, and they were praised with the physical mouth. But here he says that he will treat of them inwardly, namely, in spirit, by contemplating their spiritual elements, where the physical eyes cannot see. And why do we delay? All things done in the past become wonderful to the present day through faith. Faith enlightens the blind, strengthens the halt, and causes the deaf to hear. So the Lord in the Gospel never did a miracle unless He first had the people’s faith, so that He did not simply do a shadowy miracle, but also a true one. Thus we read in the last chapter of Mark (Mark 16:17): “These signs, however, will follow those who believe in Me”; and in Matthew (Matt. 11:5): “The blind see.” And it is truly a great thing to heal and justify the soul, so that it despises everything visible and pins its hope on what is in heaven. Great mighty works!"

Psalm 77 - Verse 6 - Strive to chew the cud

AELW 11:23

6     I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;

let me meditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

"this happens most fittingly in the night, both literally and spiritually. The night is spiritual. It means to forget everything external and to be snatched up inwardly, and then neither to consider nor to see anything visible. Wherefore they are foolish who say, “What do I have to do with the Bible and the Gospel? I know those things.” O vanity! One must meditate on this, for it is necessary not only to have a cloven hoof, but also to chew the cud;* then, indeed, you will get the point. For this is the garden of nuts (Song of Sol. 6:11)."

*That is, one must get the whole message. Cf. Lev. 11:3.

Psalm 77 - Shifty Eyes

AELW 11:20

 

Psalm 77:4 You hold my eyelids open;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

"4. My eyes awaited the night watches, that is, so that they might not be watchful in conformity with the devil, by having them wickedly open. The Hebrew puts it better, “I prohibited the upward look of my eyes,” that is, “I did not dare lift them up to heaven because of the knowledge of my vileness and unworthiness,” because he is thoroughly humbled, he also casts down the eyes of the flesh and makes his way as a humble and quiet man. This is the sign of the most genuine remorse and recollection. [But much more does he incline his eyes in the spirit (that is, he does not lift up his thought); see the gloss.BELOW] Just so, on the contrary, the unprincipled and vagrant man scatters his most shifty eyes in every direction. But the sense of our translation is that he who is remorseful also wakes up early and is ready for the works of the Lord. He always tries to be the first and is thoroughly prepared and in this way always anticipates the watches and what must be done."

 
GLOSS - A marginal addition. The gloss adds: “I forbade my eyes to look up to keep them from being on the lookout according to the flesh, lest I think thoughts of arrogance.” Cf. WA 527, 9–11.

Psalm 77 - The terror of the Law, the sweetness of the Gospel

AELW 11:19

Psalm 77, verse 2

In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul refuses to be comforted.

"This is the trouble of remorse and the total wretchedness of this life, as suggested by blessed Augustine on this passage. [But the fact that he says “my” seems to express the trouble which he stirred up for himself in his meditation.] For the remorseful man understands his wretchedness and sees that he is in the midst of trouble and trial, since in fact the life of man on earth is trial and warfare (Job 7:1). But this salutary knowledge in a wonderful way makes a man remorseful and turns him away from earthly things and turns him toward God. "