0^ w p«/*../^. ./i lo ■s- I9S COMMENTARY ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. BY MARTIN LUTHER. Translated by Charles A. Hay, D. D. PHILADELPHIA : LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY. Copyright, 1892, BY THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY. TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE. The forty-third volume of the Erlangen edition of Luther's works contains his exposition of the ^'' Sermon on the Mount y Dr. Irmischer, the ed- itor of this edition, prefaces the volume with these remarks : " During Bugenhagen's absence Luther preached a I'ong while for him, regularly, on the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of Matthew, beginning Nov. 9, 1530. These sermons were then published, first in 1532, at Wittenberg, under Joseph Klug, in quarto ; in 1533 at Marburg, in octavo ; and in 1539, again in Wittenberg, in quarto, under Johann Weiss. In 1533 they were also translated into Latin by Vincent Obsopoeus." In this Irmischer edition these sermons are thrown into the form of a running commentary, and as such they are now presented to the English reading public by the Lutheran Publication So- ciet5^ When requested by a committee of this Board to translate this work, I called attention to the pecu- liar roughness and even fierceness of Luther's way (iii) iv translator's preface. of expressing hiinself and of denouncing the min- ions of the papacy. But the committee judged it best that Luther should be allowed to speak for himself, presuming that intelligent English readers will make due allowance for the style of speech common in that day, and for the peculiarly aggra- vating circumstances under which that noble man of God was called to labor. An admirable vindi- cation of these "Asperities" appeared in the ninth volume of our excellent Quarterly Review, in 1881 ; it is from the pen of Rev. Dr. Morris, one of Luther's most enthusiastic admirers. Charles A. Hay. Gettysburg^ Feb. 11^ i8g2. LUTHER'S PREFACE. I AM truly glad that my exposition of the three chapters of St. Matthew, which St. Augustine calls the Lord's Sermon on the Mount, are about to be published, hoping that by the grace of God it may help to preserve and maintain the true, sure and Christian understanding of this teaching of Christ, because these sayings and texts are so very common and so often used throughout all Christen- dom. For I do not doubt that I have herein pre- sented to my friends, and all others who care for these things, the true, pure Christian meaning of the same. And it is hard to understand how the very devil himself has by his apostles so cunningly twisted and perverted especially the fifth chapter, as to make it teach the very opposite of what it means. And though Christ purposely intended thereby to antagonize all false teaching, and to exhibit the true meaning of God's commands, as he expressly says: "I am not come to destroy the law;" and takes -^ it up piece by piece to make it perfectly clear ; yet (v) VI LUTHER'S PREFACE. the infernal Satan has not found a single text in the Scriptures which he has more shamefully per- verted, and made more error and false doctrine out of, than just this one which was by Christ himself ordered and appointed to neutralize false doctrine. This we may call a masterpiece of the devil. First of all there have fallen upon this chapter the vulgar hogs and asses, jurists and sophists, the right hand of the pope and his Mamelukes. They have sucked this poison out of this beautiful rose, and scattered it everywhere ; they have covered up Christ with it and have exalted and main- tained the antichrist, namely, that Christ here does not wis"h everything which he teaches in the fifth chapter to be regarded by his Christians as com- manded and to be observed by them ; but that much of it was given merely as advice to such as wish to become perfect, and any who wish may observe these parts ; despite the fact that Christ there threatens wrathfuUy : — no one shall enter heaven who sets aside one of the least of these commands, — and he calls them in plain words com^nands. Thus they have invented twelve gospel counsels [consilia evangelii], twelve items of good counsel in the gospel, which one may heed if he yvants to be something over and above other Christians (higher and more perfect); they have thus made not only Christian salvation, yes even perfection LUTHER'S PREFACE. vil also, dependent aside from faith upon works, but they have 'made these same works voluntary. That is, as I understand it, to forbid really and truly good works, which is just what these nasty revilers accuse us of doing. For they cannot deny this, and no covering and smoothing over will help them as long as this fifth chapter of Matthew abides. For their books and glosses are at hand, along with their former and present daily impenitent life that they lead in accordance with this their teaching. And the teaching of those twelve "evangelical counsels" is very common among them, viz., not to requi^-e wrong doing, not to take vengeance, to offer the other cheek, not to resist evil, to give the cloak along with the coat, to go two miles for one, to give to every one that asks, to lend to him who borrows, to pray for persecutors, to love enemies, to do good to them that hate, etc., as Christ here teaches. All this (they disgustingly say) is not commanded, and the monks at Paris honestly assign their reasons, saying, this Christian teaching would be much too hard if it were loaded with such commands as these, etc. This is the way the jurists and sophists have hitherto ruled and taught the church, so that Christ with his teaching and interpretation, has had to be their fool and juggler; and they still show no signs of repentance for this, but are eager to defend it, and to put forward again their cursed viii LUTHER'S PREFACE. shabby canons, and to crown again their cunning pope. God grant, however, that I may live and may have to give clasps and jewels for this crown; then he, God willing, shall be called rightly crowned. Therefore, dear brother, if you please, and have nothing better, let this my preaching serve you, in the first place, against our squires, the jurists and sophists, I mean especially the canonists, whom they themselves indeed call asses, and such they really are, so that you may keep the teaching of Christ for yourself pure in this place of Matthew, instead of their ass's cunning and devil's dunof. In the second place also against the new jurists and sophists, namely, the factious spirits and Ana- baptists, who in their crazy fashion are making new trouble out of this fifth chapter. And just as the others go too much to the left in holding noth- ing at all of this teaching of Christ, but have con- demned and obliterated it, so do these lean too much to the right, and teach that one should have nothing of his own, should not swear, should not act as ruler or judge, should not protect or defend, should forsake wife and child, and ifiuch of such miserable stuff. So completely does the devil mix things up on both sides, that they know no difference between an earthly and a heavenly kingdom, much less what is to be taught and to be done differently in each LUTHER'S -PRUFAt-E. , ix kingdom; but we, God be thanked, can boast that we in these sermons have clearly and diligently shown and exhibited it, so that whoever hereafter errs, or will err, we are freed from all responsibility on his account, having faithfully presented our opinion for the benefit of all. Let their blood be upon their own head; our reward for this we await, namely, ingratitude, hatred, and all sorts of hos- tility, and we say deo gr alias. Since we then learn and know by such abomin- able examples, of both papistic and factious jurists, what the devil is aiming at, and especially how he seeks to pervert this fifth chapter of St. Matthew and thereby to exterminate the pure Christian doctrine, every preacher or rector is entreated and exhorted to watch faithfully and diligently against it in the little charge committed to him, and help to preserve the true interpretation of this text. For, as long as the devil lives and the world abides, he will not cease to attack this chapter. For his object is thereby to entirely suppress good works, as has been done in the papacy; or to instigate false good works and a feigned holiness, as he has now begun to do through the new monks and the factious spirits. And even if both the popish and the mobocratic jurists and the monks were to perish, he would still find or raise up others. For he must have such followers, and his kinsfdom has been governed X LlrtTHER'S PREFACE. by monks ever since the world began. Although they have not been called monks, yet their doctrine and life have been monkish, that is, they have been other than and peculiar or better than what God has commanded; as among the people of Israel were the Baalites, the idolatrous priests (camarim) and such like, and among the heathen the castrated priests (Galli) and the vestal virgins. Therefore we can never be safe against him. For from this fifth chapter have come the pope's monks, who claim to be a perfect class, in advance of other Christians, basing their claim upon this chapter; and yet we have shown that they are full of avarice, of arrogance, and of late full of all sorts of devils. Christ, our dear Lord and Master, who has opened up to us the true meaning, desires to give it additional force for us, and besides to help us live and act accordingly. To whom be grate- ful praise, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit forever, Amen. CONTENTS. The Fifth Chapter of St. Matthew- Verses i and 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 II 12 13 13 18 31 40 47 53 58 70 79 88 90 106 14 aud 15 no 16 17 • 18 19 20 21 22 116 121 126 127 131 133 139 23 and 24 142 25 and 26 147 27 to 30 150 31 and 32 165 33 to 37 , .... 176 38 to 41 186 (xi) Xll CONTENTS. Verses 42 204 " 43 to 48 209 The Sixth Chapter of St. Matthew — Verses i to 4 228 .5 and 6 240 7 to 13 247 14 and 15 258 16 to 18 269 19 to 21 287 22 and 23 305 24 321 25 332 26 and 27 338 28 to 30 343 31 and 32 346 33 348 34 358 The Seventh Chapter ok St. Matthew — Verses i and 2 362 3 to 5 377 6 384 7 to II 393 12 405 13 and 14 415 15 .427 16 to 20 447 21 462 22 and 23 465 24 to 27 483 28 and 29 489 COMMENTARY ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. THE FIFTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW. V. I, 2. And seeing the multitudes, he went up i?tto a tnoun- tain : and when he was set, his disciples came tmto him : and he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying : Here the evangelist with a formal stately pre- face declares how Christ disposed himself for the sermon he was about to deliver ; that he went upon a mountain, and sat down, and opened his mouth ; so that we see he was in earnest. These are the three things, it is commonly said, that mark a good preacher ; first, that he take his place ; secondly, that he open his mouth and say something ; thirdly, that he know when to stop. To take his place, that means that he assume a position as a master or preacher, who can and ought to do it, as one called for this purpose and not com- ing of his own accord, but to whom it is a matter (13) 14 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE of duty and obedience; so that he may say: "I come, not hurried hither by my own purpose and preference, but I must do it, by virtue of my of- fice. This is said as against those who have hereto- fore been causing us so much vexation and tribu- lation, and indeed are still doing it, namely the factious spirits and fanatics, that are running up and down through the country, poisoning the peo- ple, before the pastors or those in office and au- thority find it out, and thus befoul one family after another until they have poisoned a whole city, and from the city a whole country. To guard against such sneaking renegades one ought not to allow any one to preach who has not been duly and officially appointed ; also no one should venture, though he should be a preacher, if he hears a lying preacher in a popish or other church, who is mis- leading the people, to preach against him ; nor should any one go about into the houses and get up private preachings, but he should remain at home and mind his own official business, or keep silent, if he neither will or can publicly take his place in the pulpit. For God does not want us to go wandering about with his word, as though we were impelled by the Holy Spirit and had to preach, and thus were seeking preaching places and corners, houses or pulpits, where we are not officially called. For SERMON ON THE MOUNT. I5 even St. Paul himself, though called as an apostle by God, did not want to preach in those places where the other apostles had preached before. Therefore we are here told that Christ boldly and publicly goes up upon the mountain, when he be- gins his official ministry, and soon afterwards says to his disciples: "Ye are the light of the world;" and: "Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light to all that are in the house." For the office of the ministry and the word of God are hence to shine as the sun, and not go sneaking and plot- ting in the dark, as in the play of blind-man's buff; but all must be done in broad daylight, that it may be clearly seen that both preacher and hearer are sure of this, that the teaching is rightly done, and that the office has been rightly con- ferred, so that there is no need for concealment. Do thou likewise. If you are in office, and are commissioned to preach, take your place openly and fear nobody, that you may glory with Christ: " I spake openly to the world, * * in secret have I said nothing." John xviii. 20. But 3-ou say, "How? Is no one then to teach anything except in public? Or is the head of a family not to teach his servants in his house, or to have a scholar or some one about him who recites to him?" Answer: Certainly, that is all right, and all just in place. For every head of a family l6 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE is in duty bound to teach his children and servants, or to have them taught. For he is in his house as a pastor or bishop over his household, and he is commanded to take heed what they learn, and he is responsible for them. But it is all wrong for you to do this away from your own house, and to force yourself into other houses or to neighbors, and you should not allow any such sneak to come to you and to carry on special preaching in your house for which he has no authorization. But if any one comes into a house or city let him be asked for the evidence that he is known, or let him show by letter and seal that he has been duly au- thorized. For one must not trust all the strag- glers that boast of having the Holy Spirit, and in- sinuate themselves thereby here and there into the homes. In short, it means that the gospel, or the preaching of it, should not be heard in a corner, but up upon a mountain, and openly in the free daylight. That is one thing that Matthew wants to show here. The next thing is that he opens his mouth. That belongs (as above said) also to a preacher, that he do not keep his mouth shut, and not only publicly perform his official duty so that every one must keep silence and let him take his proper place as one who is divinely authorized and com- manded, but also that he briskly and confidently open his mouth, that is, to preach the truth and SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 1 7 what has been coimnitted to hiin; that he be not silent or merely mumble, but bear witness, fearless and unterrified, and speak the truth out frankly, without regarding or sparing any one, no matter who or what is struck by it. For that hinders a preacher very much if he looks about him and concerns himself as to what the people do or do not like to hear, or what might occasion for him disfavor, harm or danger; but as he stands high up, upon a mountain, in a public place, and looks freely all around him, so he is also to speak freely and fear nobody, although he sees many sorts of people, and to hold no leaf before his mouth, nor to regard either gracious or wrathful lords and squires, either money, riches, honor, power, or disgrace, poverty or injury, and not to think of anything further than that he may speak what his office requires, even that for which he stands where he does. For Christ did not institute and appoint the office of the ministry that it might serve to gain money, possession, favor, honor, friendship, or that one may seek his own advantage through it, but that one should openly, freely proclaim the truth, rebuke evil, and publish what belongs to the ad- vantage, safety and salvation of souls. For the word of God is not here for the purpose of teaching how a maid or man servant is to work in Ihe house and earn his or her bread, or how a 'burgomaster is 2 l8 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE to rule, a fanner to plough or make hay. In short, it neither gives nor shows temporal good things by which one maintains this life, for reason has al- ready taught all this to every one; but its purpose is to teach how we are to attain to tJiat life, and it teaches thee to use the present life, and to nourish the belly here as long as it lasts; yet, so that thou mayest know where thou art to abide and live when this must come to an end. If now the time comes for preaching of another life that we are to be concerned about, and for the sake of which we are not to regard this one as if we wanted to remain here forever, then contention and strife begin, so that the world will not endure it. If then a preacher cares more for his belly and worldly living, he does not do his duty; he stands up indeed and babbles in the pulpit, but he does not preach the truth, does not really open his mouth; if there seems to be trouble ahead he keeps quiet and avoids hitting anybody. Observe, this is why Matthew prefaces his account with the state- ment that Christ, as a true preacher, ascends the mountain and cheerfully opens his mouth, teaches the truth, and rebukes both false teaching and liv- ing, as we shall hear in what follows. V. 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdon of heaven. { This is a delightful, sweet and genial beginning SERMON ON THE MOUNT. A of his sermon. For he does not come, like '. uses or a teacher of law, with alarming and threatening demands; but in the most friendly manner, with enticements and allurements and pleasant promises. And indeed, if it had not been thus recorded, and if the first uttered precious words of the Lord Christ had not been given to us all, an over-curious spirit would tempt and impel everybody to run after them even to Jerusalem, yes, to the end of the world, if one might hear but a word of it all. Then thf re would be plenty of money forthcoming to build a good road, and every one would boast- ingly glory how he had heard or read the very words that the Lord Christ had spoken. O what a wonderfully happy man would he be held to be who should succeed in this! That is just the way it surely would be if we had none of our Saviour's words written, although much might have been written by others; and every one would say: Yes, I hear indeed what St. Paul and his other apostles have taught, but I would much rather hear what he himself said and preached. But now that it is so common, that every one has it written in a book, and can read it daily, nobody regards it as some- thing special and precious. Yes, we grow tired of them and neglect them, just as if not the high Majesty of heaven, but some cobbler, had uttered them. Therefore we are duly punished for our ingratitude and contemptuous treatment of these LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE woi Is by getting little enough from them, and never feeling or tasting what a treasure, force and power there is in the words of Christ. ', But he who has grace only to recognize them as the words of God and not of man, will surely reg^ard them as higher and more precious, and never grow tired or weary of them. Kindly and sweet as this sermon is for Christians, who are our Lord's disciples, just so vexatious and intolerable is it for the Jews and their great saints. For he hits them a hard blow in the v -ry begin- ning with these words, rejects and conde nns their doctrine and preaches the direct contrary ; yes, he denounces woe against their way of living and teaching, as is shown in the sixth chapter o^ Luke. For the substance of their teaching was this : If it goes well with a man here upon earth, he is happy and well off; that was all they aimed at, that God should give them enough upon earth, if they were pious and served him ; as David says of them in Psalm cxliv : "Our garners are full, affording all manner of store ; our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our streets ; our oxen are strong to labor ; there is no breaking in or going out; there is no complaining in our streets." These they call happy people, etc. Against all this Christ opens his mouth and says there is something else needed than having enough here upon earth ; as if to say : You dear disciples. SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 21 if you come to preach among the people, you will find that they all teach and believe thus : He who is rich, powerful, etc., is altogether happy; and again, he who is poor and miserable is rejected and condemned before God. For the Jews were firmly fixed in this belief: if it went well with a man, that was a proof that God was gracious to him ; and the reverse. This is explained by the fact that they had many and great promises from God of temporal and bodily good things that he would be- stow UDon the pious. They relied upon these, and supposed that if they had this they were well off. This is the theory that underlies the book of Job. For in regard to this his friends dispute with and contend against him, and insist strongly upon it that he must have knowingly committed some great crime against God, that he was so severely punished. Therefore he ought to confess it, be , converted and become pious, then God would take away the punishment again from him, etc. Therefore it was needful that his sermon should begin with overturning this false notion and tear- ing it out of their hearts, as one of the greatest hindrances to faith, that strengthens the real idol mammon in the heart. For nothing else could follow this teaching than that the people would become avaricious, and every one would care only for having plenty and a good time, without want and discomfort ; and every one would have to in- 22 Luther's commentary on the fer : If he is happy who succeeds and has plenty, . must see to it that I am not left in the lurch. This is still to-day the common belief of the world, especially of the Turks, who completely and thoroughly rely upon it, and thence conclude that it would not be possible that they should have so much success and victory if they were not the peo- ple of God and he were not gracious towards them above all others. Among ourselves also the whole papacy believes the same thing, and their teaching and life are based upon the fact that they only have enough and besides have secured for themselves all manner of worldly property ; as everybody can see. In short, this is the greatest and most widely dif- fused belief or religion upon earth, whereupon all men of mere flesh and blood rely, and they cannot count anything else as happiness. Therefore he here preaches an altogether differ- ent new sermon for Christians, viz. that if it does not go well with them, if they suffer poverty and have to do without riches, power, honor and a good time, they are still to be happy and not to have a temporal, but a different, an eternal reward; that they have enough in the kingdom of heaven. Do you now say: How, must Christians then all be poor, and dare no one have money, property, honor, power, etc.? Or, what are the rich, as princes, lords, kings, to do? Must they give up all their property, honor, etc., or buy the kingdom SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 23 of Iieaven from the poor, as some have taught? No; it is not said that we are to buy from the poor, but we are to be ourselves poor and be found among those poor, if we are to have the kingdom of heaven. For it is said plainly and bluntly: Blessed are the poor; and yet there is another little word along with that, viz. spiritually poor, so that nothing is accomplished by any one's being bodily poor, and having no money and property. For, outwardly to have money, property and people, is not of itself wrong, but it is God's gift and arrange- ment. No one is blessed, therefore, because he is " a beggar and has nowhere anything of his own; , but the expression is, spiritually poor. For I said \ already in the beginning that Christ is here not at | all treating of secular government and order, but ii is speaking only of what is spiritual — how one / aside from and over and above that which is out- j ward is to live before God. It belongs to secular government that one should have money, property, honor,- power, land and people, and without these it could not exist, j Therefore a lord or prince must and cannot be / poor; for he must have all sorts of possessions \ suited to his office and rank. Therefore it is not / meant that one must be poor and have nothing at / all of his own. For the world could not exist in , such a way that we should all be beggars and have \ nothing. For no head of a family could maintain / 24 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY OX THE his family and servants, if he himself had nothing at all. In short, to be bodily poor decides nothing. For we find many a beggar who gets bread at our door more proud and evil-disposed than any rich man, and many a miserly farmer with whom it is harder to get along than with any lord or prince. Therefore be bodily and outwardly poor or rich, as may be your lot, God does not ask about that ; '■ and he knows that every one must be before God, that is spiritually and in his heart, poor; that is, not to place his confidence, comfort and assurance ' in temporal possessions, nor fix his heart upon ' them and make mammon his idol. David was an excellent king and had indeed his purse and his chest full of money, his barns full of grain, the country full of all sorts of goods and stores ; yet along with this he had to be spiritually a poor beggar, as he sings a.bout himself: "lam poor, and a stranger in the land, as all my fathers were." Notice, the king who sits in the midst of such .possessions, a lord over land and people, dare not call himself anything else than a stranger or a pil- grim who goes upon the highway and has no place where he can abide. That means a heart that does not cling to property and riches ; but, al- though it has, yet it is as though it had not, as St. Paul boasts of the Corinthians, 2 Cor. vi. 10 : ) "As poor, yet making many rich ; as having noth- ing, and yet possessing all things." SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 25 The meaning of all that has been said is that one is to use all temporal good and bodily necessi- ties, whilst he lives here, not otherwise than as a stranger in a strange place, where he spends the night and leaves in the morning. He needs no more than food and lodging, and dare not say : " This is mine, here will I stay ;" nor dare he take possession of the property as tho' of right it be- longed to him ; else he would soon hear the host say to him: "Friend, do you not know that you are a stranger guest here ? Go your way, where/ you belong." Just so here ; that you have worldly, goods, that is the gift of God to you for this life, and he allows you indeed to make use of it and to fill with it the worm-bag (Madensack) that you wear about your neck ; but not that you fix and hang your heart upon it as though you were to live forever ; but you are to be always going farther and thinking about another higher and better I treasure that is your own and is to endure forever.^y This is roughly said for the common man, that one may learn to understand (speaking according to the Scriptures) what it means to be spiritually poor or poor before God, not to reckon outwardly as to money and property, or as to want or super- fluity, since we see (as above said) that the poorest and most miserable beggars are the worst and most desperate scoundrels, and dare to commit all sorts of knavery and evil tricks, which decent, honest 26 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE people, rich citizens or lords and princes, are not guilty of ; on the other hand also, many saintly people that have had plenty of money, honor, land and people, and yet with so much property have been poor ; but we must reckon according to the heart, that it must not be much concerned whether it has anything or nothing, much or little, and al- wa):Sv^_treat what it has as though one d[d not have it, and had to be ready at any time to lose it, keeping the heart always fixed upon the kingdom lof heaven. , i Again, he is called rich according to the Scrip- tures who, although not having any worldly pos- sessions, still scrambles and scratches after them, so that he never can get enough. These are the very ones whom the gospel calls rich bellies, who amid great possessions have the very least, and are never satisfied with that which God gives them. For it looks into the heart which is sticking full of money and worldly goods, and judges accordingh', although there is nothing in the purse or money box. Again it judges him poor in heart, though he has chest, house and hearth full. Thus Christian faith moves straight forward; it regards neither poverty nor riches; it asks only how the heart stands. If there be an avaricious belly there, the man is said to be spiritually rich; and again, he is spiritually poor who does not cling to such things and can empty his heart of them, as Christ SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 27 elsewhere says: "He who forsakes houses, lands, children, wife, etc., he shall have a hundred fold again, and besides eternal life," that he may bear away their hearts from earthly good, so that they do not regard it as their treasure, and that he may comfort his own, who have to forsake it, that they shall receive much more and better, even in this life, than what they relinquish. Not that we are to run away from propertyT', home, wife and child, and wander about the coun-i try burdening other people, as the Anabaptist crowd does, that accuse us of not preaching the gospel aright because we keep our home and stay by wife., and child. No, such crazy saints he does not want; J but the true meaning is: Let a man be able in; heart to leave his earthly home, his wife and child, though staying in the midst of them, nourishing himself along with them and serving them through love, as God has commanded, and yet able, if need be, to give them up at any time for God's sake. If thou art thus disposed, thou hast forsaken all things in such a way that thy heart is not tjk:eii captive, but remains pure from avarice and from clinging to other things for comfort and confi- dence. A rich man may properly be called spirit- ally poor, and need not therefore throw away his earthly possessions, except when he must needs forsake them; then let him do it in God's name, not for the reason that he would rather be away 28 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE from wife, child and home, but would rather keep them as long as God grants it and is served by his so doing, and yet willing if he wishes to take them from him again. So you see what it means to be spiritually and before God poor, or spiritually to have nothing and forsake all. Now look also at the promise that Christ adds, and says: " /^ strives to promote the general welfare and the right conduct of every one, and who helps to maintain , and carry this out with word and deed, with coun- / sel and act. This is now also an excellent beatitude, which comprehends very many good works, but which is by no means common. For instance, that we may illustrate, if a preacher wishes to be counted as hungering and thirsting for righteousness, he must be ready to instruct and help every one in his call- ing, that he may conduct it properly and do what belongs to it, and when he sees that there is some- 48 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE thing wanting, and things do not go right, that he be on hand, warn, rebuke, and correct as well and by such means as he can: thus that I, as a preacher, be faithful to my office, and others to theirs, that they follow my teaching and preaching, and thus on both sides the right thing is done. Where now there are such people as take a special and earnest interest in gladly doing what is right, or in being found rightly at work, these may be said to be hungering and thirsting after righteousness. If this were the case there would be no knavery or injustice, but complete righteousness and blessed- ness on earth. For what is the righteousness of the world else than that every one do in his calling what is due? That means that every one's rights should be duly regarded, those of the man, the woman, the child, the man servant and maid ser- vant in the family, the citizen or the city in the land; and it all amounts to this, that those who are to oversee and rule other people execute this office with diligence, carefulness and fidelity, and that the others also faithfully and willingly render to these due service and obedience. Nor does he without cause use the phrase : "Hunger and thirst after righteousness; " he means thereby to indicate that in order to attain it one must have great earnestness, a yearning eagerness and incessant diligence : that where there is a lack of this hunger and thirst, all will amount to noth- SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 49 ing. The reason is this ; for there are too many and great hindrances, both on the part of the devil, who is everywhere blocking the way, and on the part of the world, (namely his children,) which is so wicked that it cannot endure a pious man, who wants to do right or help others to do it ; but it so annoys and worries him that in the end he loses patience and is out of humor about it. For it is painful to see how shamefully people act, and re- ward whole-hearted kindness with ingratitude, con- tempt, hatred and persecution. Hence also many persons who could not bear to witness this base conduct, at last grew desperate about it and took refuge in the wilderness, fleeing from human so- ciety and becoming monks, so that the saying has often been verified : "Despair makes a monk;" either, that one does not trust to make his own living and runs into a monastery for his stomach's sake, as the great crowd has done ; or, that one despairs of the world and does not trust to remain pious in it or to help other people. But this is not hungering and thirsting after righteousness. For he who wants to preach or rule in such a way, that he allows himself to be made weary and impatient, and to scamper off into a corner, he will be slow to help other people. It is not your duty to creep into a corner or into the wilderness, but to come out briskly, if you were therein, and offer both your Jiaiid^_and feet and 4 50 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE your whole body for use, and hazard everything that you have and can do ; and you are to be such a man as can be hard against hard, so as not to allow himself to be frightened off or dumfounded, or be overcome by the ingratitude or malice of the world : but you sliQuld always push along and per- severe as much as possible. In short, you should have such a hunger and thirst after rio-hteousness that will never diminish or cease and cannot be satiated, so that you care for nothing else, only so that you may accomplish and maintain what is right, despising on the other hand everything that would hinder you. If one cannot make the world altogether pious, let him do what he can. It is enough, that he has done his own duty, and has helped some, if only one or two. If the others will not follow, then let them go, in God's name. One must not run off because of the wicked, but conclude : it was not undertaken for their sake, nor for their sake w^as it dropped ; perhaps bye and bye some of them may come to their senses, or there may be fewer of them, and they may somewhat improve. For here you have a consolatory, certain prom- ise, with which Christ allures and attracts his Christians, that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled ; that is, that they shall be delightfully rewarded for their hunger and thirst by seeing that they have not labored in vain, and SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 5 1 that at last some have been reached who have been benefited; and it will be manifest not only here ' upon earth, but still more hereafter, when every one will see what such people have accomplished by their diligence and perseverance, although things do not now go as they would like, and they have nearly lost heart ; as when a pious preacher has snatched so many souls out of the jaws of the devil and brought them to heaven ; or a pious faithful ruler has helped many lands and people, who bear this testimony of him and praise him be- fore the whole world. Just the opposite, are the sham saints who out of great sanctity forsake the world and run into the wilderness, or hide themselves in corners, so that they may escape the trouble and worry that they must otherwise endure, and pay no regard to what is going on in the world ; never once think- ing upon it that they ought to help or advise other people with doctrine, instruction, exhortation, re- proof and correction, or at least with praying and supplication to God. Yes, they are disgusted with it, and grieve over it, that other people become pious, for thej^ want to be considered the only holy ones, so that whoever wants to get to heaven must buy from them their good works and merit. In short, they are so full of righteousness that they look contemptuously upon other poor sinners, just as the great saint Pharisee, Lk. xviii., intoxicated 52 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE with self-sufficiency, blurts out his contempt for the poor publican, is profuse in his self-congratu- lations, so that he pays his respects to God, and is thankful thai he alone is pious and other people bad. Observe, these are the people against whom Christ here speaks — the proud, self-sufficient spirits that tickle themselves with and find joy and pleas- ure in the fact that other people are not pious, whereas they ought to pity, compassionate and help them ; they cannot do anything else but de- spise, backbite, judge and condemn everybody; and everything must be stench and filth except what they themselves do. But, that they should go and instruct and benefit a poor faulty sinner, that they- shun as they would shun the devil. Therefore they will have to hear again, how Christ exclaims about them, Lk. vi. 25: "Woe unto you that are full, for ye shall hunger." For as those shall be filled, who now hunger and thirst ; so must those forever hunger, who now are so full and satiated, and yet no one can get any good from them, or boast that they have ever helped any one or led him in the right way. Now you have in a word the meaning of this beatitude, which (as above said) comprehends many good works, yes all good works, wherewith every one may live aright by himself among the people and help to give success to all sorts of offices and callings ; as I have often shown elsewhere. SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 53 V. 7. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. This is also an excellent fruit of faith, and fol- lows well upon the preceding: he who is to help others and contribute to the common well-being and success, should also be kind and merciful — that is, that he should not be ready to raise a racket and make a disturbance if something be wanting, and things do not go as they should, whilst there is still hope of improvement. For that is one of the virtues of sham sanctity that it can have no compassion for or mercy upon the fallible and weak, but insists upon the extremest strictness and most careful selection, and as soon as there is the slightest failure, all mercy is gone and they do nothing but fume and fret; as also St. Gregory shows how to recognize this, and say: Vera justitia compassionem habet, falsa indignationem — true holiness is merciful and compassionate, but false holiness can do nothing but be angry and rage; and yet they say: Pro zelo justitiae, (as they boast), that is, we do it through love and zeal for right- eousness. For all the world is coming to see that they have been carrying on their mischievous and outrageous tricks under the beautiful, excellent semblance and cover that they were doing it for the sake of right- eousness. Just as they have heretofore exhibited and are still exhibiting their hostility to and treachery against the gospel under the name of 54 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE protecting the truth aud exterminating heresy; they claim thereby to merit that God is to crown them for this and raise them to heaven, as those who out of great thirst and hunger for righteous- ness persecute, strangle and burn his saints. For they claim, forsooth, to have the name, even more than the true saints, of hungering and thirsting after righteousness, and put on such a sanctimon- ious appearance and use such admirable words, that they think even God himself will not know any better. But the noble tree is known by its fruits. For, when they should insist upon righteousness, that both spiritual and temporal affairs be rightly con- ducted, they do not do it, do not think of instruct- ing and improving any one, live themselves in constant vice, and if any one rebukes their conduct, or does not praise it and do as they wish, he must be a heretic aud let himself be damned to hell. See, just so is surely every sham saint. For his self-righteousness makes him so proud that he de- spises everybody else, and can have no kind, . merciful heart. Therefore is this a necessary warning against these abominable saints, so that every one may take care, if he has to do with his neighbor, whom he should help and rectify in his way of living, that he still may be able to be merci- ful, and forgive, that it may be seen that you are honestly aiming at righteousness, and not wishing SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 55 to gratify your own malice and anger, and that you are so ri'ghteous that you deal amicably and gently with him who is willing to desist from un- righteousness and become better, that you bear with and endure his fault or weakness until he comes to terms. If, however, you try all this, and still find no hope of improvement, then you may give him up and turn him over to those whose place it is to punish him. This is now one side of mercifulness, that one takes pleasure in forgiving sinners and those at fault. The other is to be beneficent also towards those who are externally in need or require help, which we call works of mercy, from Matt. xxv. ' 35. This feature too the ostentatious Jewish saints knew nothing about. For with them there was nothing but ice and frost, yes a heart hard as a block or a stone, and not an affectionate drop of blood that found pleasure in doing good to a neigh- bor, and no mercifulness to forgive sin; they cared and planned alone for their own belly, although another might die of hunger; so that there is much more mercifulness among open sinners than in such a saint; as it cannot be otherwise, since they praise only themselves and count themselves holy, despising every one else as of no account, and sup- pose that all the world must serve them and give them plenty; but they are not under obligation to give anything to or to serve anybody. 56 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE Therefore this sermon and exhortation is de- spised by and of no account among such saints, and finds no scholars except those who are already cleaving to and believing on Christ, who know of no holiness of their own, but who, as already de- scribed, are poor, wretched, meek, really hunger- ing and thirsting, and so disposed that they despise nobody, but compassionately sympathize with the need of everybody else. To these applies now the comforting promise: It is well for you that are merciful, for you will find again abundant mercy, both here and hereafter, and such mercy as inex- pressibly far exceeds all human benefactions and mercifulness. For there is no comparison between our mercifulness and that of God, nor between our possessions and the eternal treasures in the king- dom of heaven; and he is so pleased with our ben- efactions to our neighbor that he promises us for a penny a hundred thousand ducats, if it were neces- sary for us, and for a drink of water the kingdom of heaven. Now, if any one will not suffer himself to be moved by this excellent, comforting promise, let him turn the other side of the page and hear an- other sentence: "Woe to the unmerciful, and let them be cursed, for no mercy shall be shown to them; as now the world is full of such people, among the nobility and citizens and farmers, wlio so wondrously sin against the dear gospel that they SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 57 not only give nothing to poor pastors and preach- ers, but besides take and torment, where they can, and act just as if they meant to starve it out and drive it out of the world, and notwithstanding go along quite securely, thinking that God must keep quiet about it and let them do just as they please." But they will be struck some day, and, I fear, somebody will come who will make of me (who have given warning enough) a prophet, and he will treat them with perfect heartlessness, and besides take from them reputation and property, body and life, that God's word may remain true, and he experi- ence unmitigated wrath and eternal displeasure who will not show or have mercy, as St. James says: "He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy." Therefore also Christ at the last day will adduce this unmercifulness as the worst injury done against himself, even all that we have done out of unchar- itableness, and will himself utter the curse: "I was hungry and thirsty and ye gave me no meat, ye gave me no drink, etc. Depart ye, therefore, ye cursed, into everlasting, hellish fire," etc. He warns and exhorts us faithfully from pure grace and mercy. Whoever will not accept this, let him choose the worse and eternal damnation. Consider the rich man, Lk. xvi. igseq., who, although he saw poor Lazarus daily lying at his gate full of sores, had not charity enough to gi^e him a bundle < 58 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE of straw or allow him the crumbs from under his table. But see how fearfully he was requited, that in hell he would gladly have given a hundred thousand ducats if he could only boast of having given him a thread. V. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see Cod. This beatitude is somewhat obscure, and not so easily understood by us who have such gross carnal hearts and minds, and it is hidden, too, from all the sophists, who should really be the most learned, so that none of them can say what it means to have a pure heart, and still less, what it means to see God; they busy themselves with mere dreams and evil thoughts, about matters of which they know nothing themselves by experience. Therefore we must look at these words according to the Scriptures, and learn to understand them correctly. A pure heart, they fancy, means that a man runs off from the community into a corner, a monastery, or the wilderness, and does not think • upon the world, nor concern himself about worldly affairs and business, but amuses himself with noth- ing but heavenly thoughts; they have by this fanciful teaching not only befooled and dangerously misled themselves and other people, but have com- mitted the murderous fault of holding as unclean the doing of things and holding of positions in society that are unavoidable in the world and indeed are by God himself appointed. SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 59 But the Scripture speaks of this pure heart and mind, that it is quite consistent with it that one be a husband, love his wife and children, think about them and care for them, and busy himself about other matters that belong to such a relation. For all this God has ordained. But what God has ordained, . that cannot be impure — yes, it is the very purity with which we see God. Thus, when a judge acts in his official capacity and condemns a criminal to death, that is not his office and work, but God's. Therefore it is a good, pure and holy work (if he be indeed a Christian) which he could not do if he had not already a pure heart. Also, that must be called a pure work and heart, al- though a man or maid-servant in the house per- forms a dirty, filthy task, as hauling manure, or washing and cleaning children. Therefore it is a shameful perversion when one pays so little atten- tion to the relations that are embraced in the ten commandments, and gapes after other, special, showy works; just as if God had not as pure a mouth or eyes as we, or as pure a heart and hand when he makes both man and woman: how should then such works or thoughts make an impure heart? But thus they shall become blind and fools ; who despise the word of God and measure purity ; only by the outward mask and display of works^ and meanwhile have to make mischief with their own wandering thoughts, and stand gaping to 6o LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE climb up to heaven and feel after God, until in the effort they break their own necks. Therefore, let us understand rightly what Christ means by a pure heart ; and notice again, that this sermon was principally aimed at and sharply di- rected against the Jews. For, as they wanted to have no suffering, but coveted a life of ease, pleas- ure and joy, and would not hunger, nor be merci- ful, but to be self-satisfied and the only pious ones, besides judging and despising others ; so their holiness, too, was this, that they must be out- wardly clean, in body, skin, hair, clothes and food, so that not even a little spot dare be upon their clothing. And if any one touched a dead body, or had a scab or the itch upon his person, he dared not approach other people ; that they re- garded as purity. But that is not what constitutes being pure, said he ; but those I praise who take pains to be of a pure heart, as he says. Matt, xxiii. 25: "Ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within are full of extortion and excess." Also: "Ye are like unto whited sepul- chres, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but are within full of dead men's bones and of all un- cleanness;" just as is the case with our clergy at present, altho' they lead outwardly a decent life, and conduct the public worship with such formality and display that it is something beautiful to see. But he does not ask for such purity, but wants to SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 6 1 have the heart pure, though it be one who is out- wardly a scullion in the kitchen, black, sooty and beorinied, and doing- all sorts of dirtv work. What then is a pure heart? or in what does it \ consist ? Answer : It is easily told, and you need not climb to heaven nor run into a monastery after • it and make it out with your own thoughts ; but / be guarded against all such thoughts as you call [ your own, as against so much mud and filth, and \ know, that a monk in the monastery, when he is ; sitting in his deepest contemplativeness, and think- ing of his Lord God, as he paints and imagines him to himself, is sitting (if you will pardon me) in the dirt, not up to his knees, but over head and ears. For he is following his own notions, with- out any word of God, which is simply lying and i delusion; as the Scriptures everywhere testify. I But that is a pure heart, that is ever on the look- out for God's word, and takes this in place of_it^ own thoughts. For^nTy that is pure before God, yes purity itself, through which everything that comes in contact with it and belongs to it is and is called pure. So with a common rough mechanic, a cobbler or a smith, who sits at home, though he be personally unclean and sooty, or smells badly on account of being blackened and soiled, and thinks : My God has made me a man and given me a house, wife and child, and ordered me to love them, and with my labor to nourish them, etc. 62 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE Now observe, he is making a heart matter of it with God, and, although outwardly he stinks, in- wardly he is perfectly fragrant before God. But .if he gets to be highly pure, so that he also em- braces the gospel and believes on Christ (without which indeed that purity cannot be), then he is pure through and 'through, inwardly at heart towards God, and outwardly towards everything that is under him upon earth, so that everything that he is and does, whether he goes, stands, eats and drinks, etc., is pure to him, and nothing can make him impure ; so when he looks at his own wife or sports with her, as the patriarch Isaac, Gen. xxvi. 8, which to a monk is disgusting and makes him impure. For there he has the word of God, and knows that God has given her to him. But if he forsook his wife and took up another, or neglected his trade or office and injured or worried other people, he would be no longer pure ; for that would be against the command of God. As long, however, as he is faithful in these two particulars, namely, in the word of faith towards God, by which the heart becomes pure, and in the word of the knowledge of what he is to do towards his neighbor in his calling, everything is pure to him, even if with his fists and his whole body he is busy with dirt. A poor servant girl, if she does what she ought to, and along with it is a Christian, she is before God in heaven a beautiful, pure maid, SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 63 SO that all the angels applaud her and love to look at her. On the other hand, the very strictest Car- thusian, though he fasts and castigates himself to death, does nothing but weep for pure devotion, and never thinks about the world, and yet is with- out faith in Christ and love towards his neighbor, is a mere stench and pollution, both inside and outside, so that both God and the angels abomi- nate and are disgusted with him. So you see how all depends upon the word of God, so that what is comprehended in and moves with that, must all be called clean, pure and snow- white as to God and man. Therefore St. Paul says, Titus i. xv:^"To the pure all things^ are pure, " and again: "Unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure." Why so? Be- cause both their mind and conscience are impure. How can that be? For they say they know God, but with works they deny it; for it is these that are abominable in the sight of God, etc. Observe how the apostle paints them in horrible colors, and how he denounces the great Jewish saints. For, take as an example a Carthusian monk, who thinks, if he lives after his strict rule, in obedience, in pov- j erty, unmarried, cut off from the world, he is in ' every respect pure. What else is that than their I own way of thinking, aside from, the word of God and faith, originating in their owi! heart? In this way they consider themselves alone pure, and other] 64 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE "people impure. That St. Paul calls au impure miud, that is, everything that they think and im- agine. Since now this notion and thinking is impure, everything that they do accordingly must also be impure for them, and as their mind is so is also their conscience, so that, though they should and could be useful to other people, they have a con- science that takes its hue from their way of think- ing and is tied up with their hoods, cloisters and rules: they think if for a minute they should ne- glect this routine to serve th^ir neighbor and have anything to do with others, they would have com- mitted the most heinous sin and have quite polluted themselves. That all conies of not recognizing the word of God and his creatures, although as St. Paul says, "with their mouths they profess that they do." For if they knew how and for what purpose they had been created by God, they would not despise these callings in society, nor set up so highly their own standard, but they would ac- knowledge these as the works and creatures of God to be pure, and would honor them, and themselves gladly abide in them and be helpful to their neigh- bor. That would then be to recognize God aright, both in his word and in his creatures, and to keep pure both heart and conscience, which thus be- lieves and reasons: What God does and orders, that must be pure and good, for he makes nothing SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 65 impure, and sanctifies everythino^ tlirongli the word that he has affixed to all callings and creatures. Therefore guard yourself against all your own ., thoughts, if you wish to be pure before God, and j see to it that your heart is established and fixed upon the word of God, then you are pure over and above all Carthusians and saints in the world. When I was young, they gloried in this proverb: Love to be alone and your heart will stay puie; and they quoted in proof a saying of St. Bernard, who said whenever he was among the people he befouled himself — as we read in the lives of the fathers of a hermit, who would not have any one come near him or talk with anybody, and said: "The angels cannot come to him who moves among men." We read also of two others who would not let their mother see them; and as she often watched her opportunity and once took them by surprise, they presently closed the door and left her standing without a long while weeping, until they finally persuaded her to go away and wait until they would see each other in a future life. Behold, that was called a noble deed, and the height of sanctity and most perfect purity. But what was it? There is the word of God : "Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother." Had they regarded that as holy and pure, they would have shown their mother and their neighbor all honor, love and friendship: on the contrary, following 5 66 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY OX THE their own notions and self-chosen holiness, they cnt themselves off from them, and by their very attempt to be the purest they most shamefully de- filed themselves before God ; just as though the most desperate scoundrels could not have such thouohts and put on such an appearance that one would have to say: "These are living saints, they can despise the world and hold intercourse only with spirits;" — yes, with spirits from the bottom of hell. The angels like nothing better, than when we familiarly handle the word of God ; with such they love to dwell. Therefore let the angels be undisturbed up there in heaven, and look for them here below, upon earth, in your neighbor, father and mother, child and others, that you may do to them what God has commanded, and the angels will not be far away from you. I speak thus, that one may learn in this matter of purity to order himself aright, and not go so far to hunt for it as the monks do, who have thrown it quite out of the world and stuck it in a corner or into a hood; all of which is stench and filth, and the true harboring-place of the devil ; but let it be where God has placed it, namely in the heart that clings to God's word, and uses its calling and all creatures in accordance therewith, in such a way that both the entire purity of faith toward God is. embraced therein, also outwardly shown in this life, and everything is done in obedience to the SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 67 word and command of God, whether it be bodily clean or unclean. So I have said above, con- cerning a judge who has to condemn a man to death, and thus shed blood and pollute himself with it, which a monk holds to be an abominably unclean deed ; but the Scripture calls this serving God; as St. Paul, Rom. xiii. 1-4, calls "the higher powers" that "bear the sword," "the minister of God ;' ' and it is not their work and com- mand but his, that he lays upon them and demands from them. Now you have the meaning of a pure heart that acts in accordance with the clean and pure word of God. What is however their reward, or what does he promise them ? It is this, that they shall see God. A glorious title and a splendid treasure! But what does it mean to see God ? The monks have here again their dreams, that it means to sit in the cells and meditate heavenward, and lead a contempla- tive life — so they call it, and have written many books about it. But it will never do to call that seeing God, when you come harping on your own notions and scrambling heavenward ; as the soph- ists and our factious spirits and crazy saints insist upon measuring and mastering God and his word and works by their own brains: but it is this, 'if" thou hast a true faith that Christ is thy Saviour, etc. , then thou seest at once that thou hast a gra- cious God. For faith leads thee up, and opens for 68 LUTHER'S COI^IMENTARY ON THE thee the heart and will of God, where thou behold- est nothing but superabundant grace and love. That is exactly what it means, to see God, not with bodily eyes, (for with these no one can see him in this life,) but with faith, that beholds his paternal, friendl)' heart, in which there is no wrath or dis- favor. For he who regards him as wrathful, does not see him aright, but has drawn a veil and cover, yes, a dark cloud, over his face. But to behold his face, as the Scripture expresses it, means to recog- nize him aright as a gracious, benevolent father, upon whom one can rely for everything good ; and this comes only through faith in Christ, Accordingly also, if thou livest in thy calling after the word and command of God, with thy husband, wife, child, neighbor and friend, thou canst see what is the mind of God in regard to these relations, and canst conclude that he is pleased, as that is not thine own dream, but his word and command, that never belies or deceives us. Now it is a most excellent thing, and a treasure above all that one can think or wish, to know that one is standing and living aright towards God: in such a way, that not only the heart can comfort itself with the assurance of his grace and glory in it, but that one can know that his external walk and conversation is pleasing in his sight; whence it follows that he can cheerfully and heartily do and suffer everything and let noth- SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 69 ing alarm or dishearten him. None of these things can they do who do not have this faith and a pure heart that is guided only by God's word; as all the monks have openly taught that no man can know whether he is in a gracious state or not; and it serves them just right, that, because they de- spise faith and real godly works, and seek a purity of their own devising, they must never see God, nor know how they stand with him. For if you ask some one, who has most diligently observed his hours for prayer, held his masses daily, and fasted, whether he is sure too that God is pleased with this, he must say he does not know that, and is doing it all at a venture; if it succeeds, let it succeed. It is not possible for any one to say anything else. For no one can boastingly say: God gave me this hood, or ordered me to wear it; he commanded me to hold this mass, etc. We have all been groping in this blindness hitherto, when we were doing so many so-called good works, making contributions, fasting, praying rosaries, and yet we never dared to say: This work is well pleasing to God; I am sure of this, and will die upon it. Therefore no one can say that in all his doing and living he has ever seen God. Or if any one should presumptuously glorify such works, and think that God must regard them favorably and reward them, that would mean seeing not God, but the devil in place of God. For there is no word of ( V 70 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE God for that, but it is all devised by men, grown out of their own hearts. Therefore it can never- more make any heart sure or satisfied, but it re- mains hidden under presumption until the last hour comes, when it all vanishes and drives into despair, and so it never comes to pass that one sees the face of God. But he who lays hold upon the word of God and abides in the faith, can maintain his stand before God and look upon him as his gracious Father, and need not fear that God is standing behind him with a club; is sure that God is looking graciously and smilingly upon him, together with all the angels and saints in heaven. See, that is what Christ means by this word, that only those behold God who have this pure heart; whereby he cuts off and sets aside all other sorts of purity, so that, where this kind is not, although otherwise everything be pure in a man, it avails nothing before God, and Ihe can never see God. On the other hand, if the liheart is pure, everything is pure, and it matters lUot if outwardly everything be impure, yes, even ;if the body is full of sores, scabs and leprosy all over. V. 9. Blessed are the peacemakers ; for they shall be called the children of God. , Here the Lord honors with a high title and ex- ' cellent praise those who find pleasure in diligently SERMON ON THK MOUNT. 7 1 "oA'ing to make peace, not only so far as they are themselves concerned, but also among other people! that they may help to settle ugly and tangled disK putes, endure contention, guard against and pre- vent war and bloodshed; which is indeed a great virtue, but very rare in the world and among the sham saints. For those who are not Christians are both liars and murderers, like their father, the devil. Therefore they serve no other purpose than to create strife, contention, war, etc. ; as we now find among the priests, bishops and princes hardly anything but bloodhounds, who by many tokens have abundantly shown, that there is nothing they would rather see than that we should all swim in blood. Thus, if a prince becomes angry, he thinks at once that he must begin a war; then he inflames and incites everybody, until there has been so much warring and shedding of blood that he begins to be sorry for it, and gives a thousand ducats for the souls of those that were slain. These are noth- ing but bloodhounds; they cannot rest until they have taken vengeance and sated their rage, until they have dragged their land and people into wretchedness and misery; and yet they want to be called Christian princes and have a good cause. There is more needed to begin a war than that you have a good cause. For although we are not / forbidden here to carry on a war, as above said, that Christ here does not mean to detract anything 72 . LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE from the powers that be and their official authoru^ but is teaching only individual people who wish to lead for themselves a Christian life ; yet it is not right that a prince determines to have a war with his neighbor, even though (I say) he has a good cause and his neighbor is in the wrong ; but the meaning is ; Blessed are the peacemakers ; so that he who wants to be a Christian and a child of God, not only does not begin war and strife, but helps and advises for peace, wherever he can, although there was reason and cause enough for going to war. It is enough, if one has tried his best for peace and all avails nothing, that one acts on the defensive, to protect land and people. Therefore not Chris- tians, but the children of the devil are those to be called, the quarrelsome fellows, who rush to their rapiers and jerk their sword from its sheath for a word ; still more, however, those who now perse- cute the gospel, and cause its preachers to be inno- cently burned or murdered, who have done them no harm, but only good, and have served them with body and soul. But of these we say nothing now, but of those only who maintain that they are right and have a good cause, and think that they, as high and princely persons, ought not to suffer, although other people would suffer. It is also meant here, if injustice and violence are done to you, that it is not right for you to con- sult your own foolish head, and begin right away SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 73 'o take vengeance and strike back ; but you are to tjihink over it and try to bear it and have peace. V.f that will not answer, and you cannot endure it, .)-ou have law and governmental authority in the •jand, where you can seek relief in a regular way. For the powers that be are ordained to guard against this injustice and punish it. Therefore he who injures you, sins not only against you, but rather against the authority itself, for the order and command to keep the peace was given to it and not to you. Therefore let your judge, whose business it is, avenge and punish this, for against him your opponent has done the wrong. If you, however, take vengeance into your own hands, you do still greater wrong, for you make yourself guilty of the same sin as he who sins against the powers that be, and interferes with their office ; and ) by so doing you put your own good cause in the / wrong. For the common saying is: "He who strikes back is in the wrong, and striking back' makes a quarrel," Notice now this is one thing that Christ here demands against the revengeful and uproarious; and he calls those peacemakers, in the first place, who help to make peace among the people, as pious princes, counselors or jurists, and persons in • authority, who hold their governmental position for the sake of peace. In the second place, pious citizens and neighbors, who by their salutary good 74 LUTHER'S COMMENTARY ON THE counsel adjust, harmonize and settle coutentioiV, strife (that has been occasioned by bad, poisonou tongues) between husband and wife, or anion; ^ neighbors; as St. Augustine boasted of his mother ? Monica, that when she saw two at outs she alway^ » spoke the best on both sides, and whatever of good' she heard about the one party that she brought to the other, but whatever of evil she heard that sh