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."