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. "

Psalm 76 - And after the last plague the people were freed

AELW 11:17-19

"The first [water, Ex. 7:17 ff.]: “My soul refuses to be comforted” (v. 2). Here the water of pleasure has been turned into blood, so that one cannot drink it or have pleasure in drinking it, for such water is blood and death for the soul.

The second [frogs, Ex. 8:2 ff.]: “And was exercised” (v. 3). Here are born the frogs that weary the soul with their harsh croaking. They are the memories and remnants of past sins that make the soul sick of pleasures.

The third [gnats, Ex. 8:16 ff.]: “And my spirit swooned away” (v. 3). This third sign is effective. The magicians of Egypt cannot imitate it, because here is the finger of God (Ex. 8:18). A man, too, can turn water into blood and pleasure into disgust, as well as stir up the croaking of frogs and the clamor of the conscience, but they cannot produce gnats. These are the tiny flies that sting and bite sharply without noise. They denote the proddings of conscience and remorse.

The fourth [flies, Ex. 8:21 ff.]: “My eyes awaited the night watches” (v. 4). Here follows the putting out of the evil light, so that now one does not want to see the things that are of the world. This is what flies of a different kind do. They keep us from seeing external things. And so “God has given them the spirit of insensibility, eyes that they should not see” (Rom. 11:8).

The fifth [death of the cattle, Ex. 9:3 ff.]: “I have been troubled,” or, according to the Hebrew, “I was stunned.” Here he becomes confounded and senseless, when the promptings of the flesh and its lusts are killed like cattle, the tickling of desire and of all that is in the world ceases.

The sixth [boils, Ex. 9:9 ff.]: “And I did not speak” (v. 4). He sends boils and ulcers in the sixth place. These inflict suffering so that they impose silence on all sins, so that there is no desire either to speak or to think of them. Often, indeed, we are not even moved, and still we think and speak about evils.

The seventh [hail, Ex. 9:18 ff.]: “I thought upon the days of old” (v. 5). These are the hard and strong thoughts about the coming Judgment. They crush everything green, everything that sprouts from the flesh.

The eighth [locusts, Ex. 10:4 ff.]: “And I meditated in the night with my own heart” (v. 6). This is the locust, incessantly gnawing at the carnal soul and eating into its vigorous flesh.

The ninth [darkness, Ex. 10:21 ff.]: “And I was exercised” (v. 6). This is a darkness that is felt for three days. During that time nothing can be seen or done, so that, instead of the lust of the flesh and of the eyes and the pride of life, faith, hope, and charity, which those three would darken, might shine forth.

The tenth [death of the firstborn, Ex. 12:29 ff.]: “And I searched my spirit” (v. 6). Here the firstborn are killed."

Psalm 76 - The Name of God is great

AELW 11:6

Psalm 76:1 In Judah God is known; His Name is great in Israel.

"The name of God is great wherever He is, and He is everywhere. But it is not called great except where it is known to be great, namely, in the mind and heart of one who worships and magnifies Him. Hence “the name is great” is the same as “to have great knowledge concerning it.” But great knowledge is to know its greatness. And this is what it means that God is known in Judah."

Volume 11 - Psalms 76 - 126

LUTHER’S
WORKS
VOLUME 11
FIRST LECTURES
ON THE PSALMS
II
Psalms 76–126
HILTON C. OSWALD
Editor
HERBERT J. A. BOUMAN
Translator

Psalm 75 - How to study the Bible

AELW 10:461-462

A LESSON

"All who want to study in the Bible and sacred letters should with extreme diligence take note of this verse for themselves: In the hand of the Lord there is a cup of pure wine (v. 8). That is to say, Scripture is not in our power nor in the ability of our mind. Therefore in its study we must in no way rely on our understanding, but we must become humble and pray that He may bring that understanding to us, since it is not given except to those who are bowed down and humble. Let the misery of the Jews serve as an example. They show their pride in saying: “He has not dealt thus with every nation, and His judgments He has not made manifest to them” (Ps. 147:20). They think that they have Scripture and the cup completely in their hand and power, and for that reason they interpret it in accordance with their own idea. But here the psalmist says that it is in the hand of the Lord. For God can remove Scripture or its meaning from those who do not know and do not pay attention and think that they still have it, as happened to the Jews, since it has been taken away from them. It has been removed in this way, that it has been shown that the cup was not in their hand but in the Lord’s hand, and He gives it to whom He will. Job 9:5: “He has removed mountains, and they did not know it.” So also in the preceding psalm: “They did not know, as in the going out above the highest top, for they put up their ensigns for signs” (Ps. 74:5, 4). “In the going out,” that is, in the outward letter and shadow, and they chose it above the top, that is, they established the literal sense above the spiritual sense.

Thus it happens to all the proud and stubborn who rely on their own puffed-up idea that God tips the truth and the pure wine away from them toward others and leaves them the dregs, as long as they are ignorant So it happens to the heretics, who strongly insist that they have the truth for themselves, and before they understand, they have the dregs, which they drink, for God has taken the pure wine away from them, and He sends them the operation of error, as the apostle says (2 Thess. 2:10), because the cup of pure wine is in His hand. The pure truth cannot stand at the same time with the pride of the heart."

Psalm 74 - Defiling Holy Things

AELW 10:453-454

"This psalm (Ps. 74) can also be interpreted as referring to our extremely bad morals, for we are as bad as the Turks or worse in the way we profane holy things. This rage of offenses in defiling holy things is lasting long enough, so that the church quite properly prays: “O God, why hast Thou cast us off unto the end? Why is Thy wrath enkindled? What things the enemy has done wickedly in the sanctuary!” Who is the enemy? The devil. But also: “A man’s foes are those of his own household” (Matt. 10:36), and “My friends and my neighbors have drawn near and stood against me” (Ps. 38:11).

First, in the distribution and handling of the church’s endowments and goods, who can enumerate the evils and abuses?

Second, in the luxury, pomp, and pride of the priests.

Third, in the foolhardy way of administering the sacraments, the Word of God, the power of the judiciary and jurisdiction. In these matters things are happening in the church of such a nature that the Lord puts up with them with more displeasure than with the blasphemies of the Turks.

Fourth. See how many monstrosities take place “in the midst of the solemnity” and whether all of God’s festival days are not being suppressed and silenced in the land? Since indeed festivals are today observed so that people may more freely do the evils that they could not do on other days because of their manual labor. Here we do not see our signs, but they put up their ensigns for signs, and they set fire to the sanctuary of God and defile it with every kind of evil lust and sins. In this way God’s name is provoked and blasphemed in our midst. Therefore God seems to have turned His right hand away from the midst of His bosom to the end.

But perhaps it does not yet appear how they have thrown it down with ax and hatchet and have cut down its gates with axes at the same time. The Turk does this in a mystical and literal manner, while we do it spiritually, as shown above in the commentary, not indeed by heretical teachings but by offensive words and deeds, in such a way that the Word of God would now seem to be preached in vain, because there are no gates through which it might enter. But axes, that is, the most serious kind of offenses, have powerfully cut them down."

Psalm 74 - Speech like a cancer

AELW 10:441

Psalm 74:6. As with axes in a grove of trees they cut down at once its gates.

"This is the condition of the treacherous and heretics, that they are not content with their own destruction but destroy many with them and pour forth their poison and spread it far and wide, as the apostle says: “Their speech spreads like a cancer” (2 Tim. 2:17), and their speech indeed is profitable for the subversion of the hearers (2 Tim. 2:14). Here the psalmist complains of the same thing when he says: “As with axes, etc.” It is not a great thing that trees and stones are destroyed, nor does the prophet lament this. For, according to Augustine, he will not be great who thinks it a great thing that trees and stones fall, and mortals die, but that they are destroyed in spirit, as also the Lord shows as he weeps over Jerusalem. The Romans devastated the Jews physically, but they devastate themselves far worse by means of their teachings."