Psalms 82:4

lmist calls upon God for immediate help against a multitude of confederate enemies who had risen up against Judah, Psa 83:1-5 . He mentions them by name, Psa 83:6-8 ; shows how they were to be punished, Psa 83:9-17 ; and that this was to be done for the glory of God, Psa 83:18 . The title, A Song or Psalms of Asaph, contains nothing particular. Among a multitude of conjectures relative to the title and occasion of this Psalm, that which refers it to the confederacy against Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, mentioned 2 Chronicles 20, is the most likely. The following reasons make it probable: 1. The children of Ammon, that is, the Ammonites and Moabites, were the principal movers in the war. 2. The Idumeans came to their assistance, 2Chr 20:22 ; with certain Ammonites or Meonians, referred to here in Psa 83:8 , and in 2Chr 20:1 . 3. There were also in this confederacy many strangers of Syria, and from beyond the sea, most likely the Dead Sea, which seems to indicate the Assyrians, Hagaranes, and Ishmaelites, designed expressly here, Psa 83:7 , Psa 83:8 . 4. In that transaction there was a prophet of the race of Asaph, named Jahaziel, who foretold to Jehoshaphat their total overthrow, 2Chr 20:14 , etc., and probably this Jahaziel is the same with Asaph, the author of this Psalm. In the course of the notes we shall see other circumstances relative to the war of the Moabites and Ammonites against Jehoshaphat, which illustrates several particulars in this Psalm. See Calmet. Verse 1 Keep not thou silence - A strong appeal to God just as the confederacy was discovered. Do not be inactive, do not be neuter. Thy honor and our existence are both at stake. Verse 2 Thine enemies make a tumult - They are not merely the enemies of thy people, but they are the enemies of thyself, thy worship, ordinances, and laws: "They make a tumult," they throng together. They - have lifted up the head - They have made an irruption into the land of Judea, and encamped at En-gedi, by the Dead Sea, 2Chr 20:1 , 2Chr 20:2 . Verse 3 Consulted against thy hidden ones - צפוניך tsephuneycha, Thy hidden things; places; persons. "The hidden things in thy treasures." - Chaldee. "Thy holy ones." - Syriac. "Thy saints." - Vulgate and Septuagint; and so the Ethiopic and Arabic. The people of Israel are probably meant. Or perhaps the temple, the ark, and the treasures of the temple, are intended. Verse 4 Let us cut them off - Let us exterminate the whole race, that there may not be a record of them on the face of the earth. And their scheme was well laid: eight or ten different nations united themselves in a firm bond to do this; and they had kept their purpose so secret that the king of Judah does not appear to have heard of it till his territories were actually invaded, and the different bodies of this coalition had assembled at En-gedi. Never was Judah before in greater danger. Verse 5 They have consulted together with one consent - With a united heart, לב יחדו leb yachdav, Their heart and soul are in the work. They are confederate against thee - "They have made a covenant," ברית יכריתו berith yachrithu, "they have cut the covenant sacrifice." They have slain an animal, divided him in twain, and passed between the pieces of the victim; and have thus bound themselves to accomplish their purpose. Verse 6 The tabernacles of Edom - The tents of these different people are seen in the grand encampment. Tents are probably mentioned because it seas the custom of some of these people, particularly the lshmaelites, to live a migratory or wandering life; having no fixed habitation, but always abiding in tents. Their posterity remain to the present day, and act and live in the same manner. Hagarenes - These people dwelt on the east of Gilead; and were nearly destroyed in the days of Saul, being totally expelled from their c

I. God's supreme presidency and power in all councils and courts asserted and laid down, as a great truth necessary to be believed both by princes and subjects ( v. 1 ): God stands, as chief director, in the congregation of the mighty, the mighty One, in coetu fortis—in the councils of the prince, the supreme magistrate, and he judges among the gods, the inferior magistrates; both the legislative and the executive power of princes is under his eye and his hand. Observe here, 1. The power and honour of magistrates; they are the mighty. They are so in authority, for the public good (it is a great power that they are entrusted with), and they ought to be so in wisdom and courage. They are, in the Hebrew dialect, called gods; the same word is used for these subordinate governors that is used for the sovereign ruler of the world. They are elohim. Angels are so called both because they are great in power and might and because God is pleased to make use of their service in the government of this lower world; and magistrates in an inferior capacity are likewise the ministers of his providence in general, for the keeping up of order and peace in human societies, and particularly of his justice and goodness in punishing evil-doers and protecting those that do well. Good magistrates, who answer the ends of magistracy, are as God; some of his honour is put upon them; they are his vicegerents, and great blessings to any people. A divine sentence is in the lips of the king, Prov. xvi. 10 . But, as roaring lions and ranging bears, so are wicked rulers over the poor people, Prov. xxviii. 15 . 2. A good form and constitution of government intimated, and that is a mixed monarchy like ours; here is the mighty One, the Sovereign, and here is his congregation, his privy-council, his parliament, his bench of judges, who are called the gods. 3. God's incontestable sovereignty maintained in and over all the congregations of the mighty. God stands, he judges among them; they have their power from him and are accountable to him. By him kings reign. He is present at all their debates, and inspects all they say and do, and what is said and done amiss will be called over again, and they reckoned with for their mal-administrations. God has their hearts in his hands, and their tongues too, and he directs them which way soever he will, Prov. xxi. 1 . So that he has a negative voice in all their resolves, and his counsels shall stand, whatever devices are in men's hearts. He makes what use he pleases of them, and serves his own purposes and designs by them; though their hearts little think so, Isa. x. 7 . Let magistrates consider this and be awed by it; God is with them in the judgment, 2 Chron. xix. 6 ; Deut. i. 17 . Let subjects consider this and be comforted with it; for good princes and good judges, who mean well, are under a divine direction, and bad ones, who mean ever so ill, are under a divine restraint. II. A charge given to all magistrates to do good with their power, as they will answer it to him by whom they are entrusted with it, v. 3, 4 . 1. They are to be the protectors of those who lie exposed to injury and the patrons of those who want advice and assistance: Defend the poor, who have no money wherewith to make friends or fee counsel, and the fatherless, who, while they are young and unable to help themselves, have lost those who would have been the guides of their youth. Magistrates, as they must be fathers to their country in general, so particularly to those in it who are fatherless. Are they called gods? Herein they must be followers of him, they must be fathers of the fatherless. Job was so, Job xxix. 12 . 2. They are to administer justice impartially, and do right to the afflicted and needy, who, being weak and helpless, have often wrongs done them; and will be in danger of losing all if magistrates do not, ex officio—officially, interpose for their relief. If a poor man has an honest cause, his poverty must be no prejudice to his cause, how great and powerful soever those are that contend with him. 3. They are to rescue those who have already fallen into the hands of oppressors and deliver them. ( v. 4 ): Rid them out of the hand of the wicked. Avenge them of their adversary, Luke xviii. 3 . These are clients whom there is nothing to be got by, no pay for serving them, no interest by obliging them; yet these are those whom judges and magistrates must concern themselves for, whose comfort they must consult and whose cause they must espouse. III. A charge drawn up against bad magistrates, who neglect their duty and abuse their power, forgetting that God standeth among them, v. 2 , 5 . Observe, 1. What the sin is they are here charged with; they judge unjustly, contrary to the rules of equity and the dictates of their consciences, giving judgment against those who have right on their side, out of malice and ill-will, or for those who have an unrighteous cause, out of favour and partial affection. To do unjustly is bad, but to judge unjustly is much worse, because it is doing wrong under colour of right; against such acts of injustice there is least fence for the injured and by them encouragement is given to the injurious. It was as great an evil as any Solomon saw under the sun when he observed the place of judgment, that iniquity was there, Eccl. iii. 16 ; Isa. v. 7 . They not only accepted the persons of the rich because they were rich, though that is bad enough, but (which is much worse) they accepted the persons of the wicked because they were wicked; they not only countenanced them in their wickedness, but loved them the better for it, and fell in with their interests. Woe unto thee, O land! when thy judges are such as these. 2. What was the cause of this sin. They were told plainly enough that it was their office and duty to protect and deliver the poor; it was many a time given them in charge; yet they judge unjustly, for they know not, neither will they understand. They do not care to hear their duty; they will not take pains to study it; they have no desire to take things right, but are governed by interest, not by reason or justice. A gift in secret blinds their eyes. They know not because they will not understand. None so blind as those that will not see. They have baffled their own consciences, and so they walk on in darkness, not knowing nor caring what they do nor whither they go. Those that walk on in darkness are walking on to everlasting darkness. 3. What were the consequences of this sin: All the foundations of the earth (or of the land) are out of course. When justice is perverted what good can be expected? The earth and all the inhabitants thereof are dissolved, as the psalmist speaks in a like case, Ps. lxxv. 3 . The miscarriages of public persons are public mischiefs. The Duty of Magistrates. 6 I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. 7 But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. We have here, I. Earthly gods abased and brought down, v. 6, 7 . The dignity of their character is acknowledged ( v. 6 ): I have said, You are gods.

These next three verses, nay, the whole Psalm, every prince should have painted on the wall of his chamber, on his bed, over his table, and on his garments. For here they find what lofty, princely, noble virtues their estate can practice, so that temporal government, next to the preaching-office, is the highest service of God and the most useful office on earth. And this ought surely strengthen a lord, and incite him to conduct his office with joy, and practice these virtues in it. For how could one praise this rank more highly than by saying that they are called, and are, gods? And the works and virtues of their rank are not only princely or royal, nay, not only angelic, but divine virtues. On the other hand, they find how ungodly, unprincely, nay, inhuman and altogether devilish are the iniquities that they commit, and how they are the most harmful people on earth, if they depart from the virtues of their office, and do the opposite. Then they can rightly be called, not gods, but devils; and this they certainly are, even though they sit in the office of gods and bear the empty name. Now let us see, one after another, the virtues that they can practice. The first is that they can secure justice for those who fear God and repress those who are godless; as it says, “How long will ye judge unjustly and prefer the persons of the godless?” Who can fully count the number of the rich virtues and profits that follow from this first virtue. For if God’s Word is protected and supported, so that it can be freely taught and learned, and if the sects and false teachers are not given opportunity or defended against the teachers who fear God, what greater treasure can there be in a land? Surely God Himself must dwell there, as in His own temple. Many kings and princes have founded great and glorious churches, and built temples, but even if a king could build a church of pure gold, or of emeralds and rubies only, what would all these great and glorious things count for, compared with one true, pious, God-fearing pastor or preacher? He can help many thousand souls, both in eternal life and in this life, for by his word he can bring them to God, and make of them able and apt people, serving and honoring God and wholesome and profitable for the world. A church or temple cannot thus benefit a man; nay, it cannot do any helping at all, but only stands there and lets itself be helped and adorned. But who is this prince? And where are the eyes that can see this virtue in a lord or prince? To support or protect a poor, pious pastor is an act that makes no show and looks like a small thing; but to build a marble church, give it golden ornaments, and serve dead stone and wood, that makes a show that glitters! That is a virtue worthy of a king or prince! Well, let it make its show! Let it glitter! Meanwhile my pastor, who does not glitter, is practicing the virtue that increases God’s kingdom, fills heaven with saints, plunders hell, robs the devil, wards off death, represses sin, instructs and comforts every man in the world according to his station in life, preserves peace and unity, raises fine young folk, and plants all kinds of virtue in the people; in a word, he makes a new world. He builds not a poor, temporary house, but an eternal and beautiful Paradise, in which God Himself is glad to dwell. A pious prince or lord, who supports or protects such a pastor, can have a part in all this. Nay, this whole work and all the fruits of it are his, as though he had done it all himself, because without his protection and support, the pastor could not abide. No mountain of gold or silver in a land can be compared with this treasure therefore. But blessed must be the eyes that can know this; nay, blessed the fists that can do it. The second virtue of a prince is to help the poor, the orphans, and the widows to justice, and to further their cause. But, again, who can tell all the virtues that follow from this one? For this virtue includes all the works of righteousness; as when a prince or lord or city has good laws and customs, when everything is regulated in an orderly way, and the order is kept by people in all ranks, occupations, trades, businesses, services, and works, so that it is not said populus sine lege, “The people are without laws.” For where there are no laws, the poor, the widows, and the orphans are oppressed. Then there is no peasant so low that he cannot practice extortion; and that holds equally true with buying, selling, inheriting, lending, paying, borrowing, and the like. It is only a question who can get the better of another, rob him, steal from him, and cheat him; and that happens most of all to the poor, the widows, and the orphans. Now who can count the alms that such a lord is giving without ceasing? He supports not only the pastor, spoken of above, but all the subjects that he has, and he may well be called the father of them all, as in ancient times the heathen called such good princes “Fathers” and “saviors of their country.” See, now, what a hospital such a prince can build! He needs neither stone, nor wood, nor builders; and he need give it neither endowment nor income. To endow hospitals and help poor people is, indeed, a precious good work in itself. But when such a hospital becomes so great that a whole land, and especially the really poor people of that land, enjoy it, then it is a general, true, princely, nay, a heavenly and divine hospital. For the first kind of hospital only a few enjoy, and sometimes they are false knaves masquerading as beggars; but the second kind of hospital comes to the aid only of the really poor, widows, orphans, travelers, and other forlorn folk; and besides, it preserves for everyone rich or poor, his living and his goods, so that he does not have to become a beggar or a poor man; for if the law were not kept, no one could keep anything from another, and all would have to become beggars together, and be ruined and destroyed. However, many there are who are not beggars and do not become beggars, that is the number that their overlord is providing for in this hospital. For so to help a man that he does not need to become a beggar is just as much of a good work and a virtue, and an alms, as to give to a man, and help a man, who has already become a beggar. Lo, who is there that sees or regards this virtue in this estate of the gods? Would Reason seek it there? It does not make a glittering show, and therefore it counts for nothing. But if a prince or princess were to go to a hospital sometime, and there wait on the poor, and wash their feet — as we read that St. Elizabeth did, and as some great folk in foreign lands still do, that would be a great thing! That glitters! It opens peoples’ eyes and makes them a greater reputation than all the virtues could! And it is true! We have to praise it, and ought to praise it, as a great and beautiful, though human, act of virtue. But what is it, compared with the divine act of virtue that a prince performs when he continually does this greater service to all who are poor, or must otherwise become poor? No one praises this, for no one knows it or considers it. Therefore even the heathen say that righteousness is so fair a virtue that neither sun nor moon nor morning star can be so fair. In a word, after the Gospel, or spiritual office, there is on earth no better jewel, no greater treasure, no richer alms, no fairer endowment, no finer possession that a ruler who makes and preserves just laws. Such men are rightly called gods. These are the virtues, the profit, the fruits and the good works that God has appointed to this rank in life. It is not for nothing that He has called them gods, and it is not His will that it shall be a lazy, empty, idle estate, in which men seek only honor, power, luxury, selfish profit, and self-will; but He would have them full of great, innumerable, unspeakable good works, so that they may be partakers of His divine majesty, and help Him to do divine and superhuman works. The third virtue is that they protect and guard against violence and force, and this is called peacemaking. Thus the emperors themselves have divided their duties into two parts, when they say that an emperor or prince should be equipped with laws and arms. For this reason they are depicted on their seals with a book in one hand and a sword in the other, as a sign that they administer law and peace. Law is wisdom, and should be the first of the two; for government without wisdom does not last. They wear golden crowns, too, so that it may be known that they are appointed by God to be gods, and have not come into office of their own accord, but are to be His assistants. Now who can recount all the benefits that come from this third virtue? One would first have to tell what the benefits of peace are, and what the harm that absence of peace does. But who on earth is so eloquent and so wise that he would undertake to recount the whole of both these things? For all the good that peace can do, God does for us through these gods, and all the harm that lack of peace can do God keeps from us by means of these gods. Now it is from peace that we have our bodies and lives, wives and children, houses and homes, nay, all our members — hands, feet, eyes — and all our health and liberty, and within these walls of peace we sit secure. “Where peace is, there is half a heaven.” On the other hand, though you had all the money and wealth of the Turk, and were not at peace, all your wealth would do you so little good, that you could not have a happy bite of bread or a quiet drink of water. If things went well, there would be care, fear, danger all around; if things were worse, there would be only blood and fire and robbery and all calamity. Thus lack of peace may be counted half a hell, or hell’s prelude and beginning. But peace can help you, so that a bit of dry bread tastes like sugar and a drink of water like Malvoisie. But what kind of fool am I to try to tell the benefits of peace and the injuries of lack of peace. More easily could I count the sand on the seashore or the leaves and grass-blades in the woods. Christ Himself, in Matthew 5, compares peace to heaven, and says, “The peaceful shall be called children of God”; but God’s children do not belong in the world, and just as little does peace belong there. Lo, all these virtues be, in very heaps, in this estate, but men do not see them, for they make no show. Because of the goodness and the number of them they cannot make a show. But the empty, worthless, useless works, these make a show! These are held in reputation! I must remember here my monks and priests, who have the reputation and the name of carrying heaven on their shoulders in their acts of worship, though in reality they are the great whale, Cuntz Hildebrand, which carries the world on its tail, as the peasants say. What are all of these, compared with one man who lives in this divine office? They are tame dogs that lie on pillows and whistle with their hind-ends. But, not to insult them, I think that they are about as useful in the world as the rust on the iron, for they are just as much good to the world, or to this divine office, as the rust on his tools is to a carpenter. Nay, I shall name the very best of them, who have been hermits, like Hilarion and Jerome, and the rest, and who have their great reputation because of the holy hermit life they led. If wishing could do it, I would rather be a pious secretary or tax collector for one of these “gods” than twice an Hilarion or a Jerome among the angels. Even though my little pen or miserable penny would make less show in the world’s eyes than their gray beards and wrinkled skin, I should not worry about that, if only I were a partaker of all those divine virtues of rulership, of which I have spoken. See, now, what an imperial, nay, what a heavenly stronghold such a prince can build for the protection of his subjects! It is indeed a splendid and a needful thing to build strong cities and castles against one’s enemies; but that is nothing when compared with the work of a prince who builds a stronghold of peace, that is, who loves peace and administers it. Even the Romans, the greatest warriors on earth, had a saying that to make war without necessity was to go fishing with a golden net; if it was lost, the fishing could not pay for it; if it caught anything, the cost was too much greater than the profit. One must not begin a war, or work for it; it comes unbidden, all too soon. One must keep peace as long as ever one can, even though one must buy it with all the money that would be spent on the war, or won by the war. Victory never makes up for what is lost by war. These, then, are the three chief virtues of the gods, touched on in these three verses. Any one of them can fill the world with blessing. The first verse demands the first virtue, viz., that the gods, that is, the princes and lords, shall honor God’s Word above all things and shall further the teaching of it. It says, “How long will ye judge unjustly and prefer the persons of the godless?” The godless and the false teachers always have great reputation in the eyes of Reason and of the world. They know, too, how to make a fine appearance, before both lords and people, and thus strengthen and spread their poisonous errors. For as St. Paul says, in Galatians 6:16, “Their confidence and boast is not in God; therefore they must seek men to be their confidence and boast.” This is called, here in this verse, “preferring persons,” or “regarding persons,” when men choose their doctrine, not from love of truth, but from the pleasure that they take in persons, and this sin St. Jude 1:16, in his Epistle, blames in the godless. The second verse teaches the second virtue. They are to make and administer just laws, so that the poor, the wretched, the widows, the orphans are not oppressed, but have their rights and can keep them. It says, V.3. “Judge the poor and orphaned, and help the wretched and needy to justice.” By saying that “they are to help them to justice,” it gives us to understand that there are judges and courts, but that things go so by favor or friendship, out of envy or revenge, that often he is put in the right who is really in the wrong. The third verse teaches the third virtue. They are to protect against force and harm, and prevent violence, punish the knaves, and wield the sword upon the wicked, so that peace may be kept in the land. It says, V.4. “Rescue the small and the poor, deliver them out of the hand of the godless.” In the preceding verse, it speaks of “justice,” in this verse of “the hand” to show that there it was speaking of wrong, and here of violence. For these two, wrong and force, go together in the world. We say, “He does me violence and wrong.” Wrong is done by the mind, or with the mouth; violence with the fist and with crime. A prince and lord should suppress both. These three verses, then, include all the princely virtues that can be called virtutes heroicas, or “knightly virtues,” such as are ascribed to and praised in Hercules, Hector, Achilles, and other great heroes and lords, who fought great battles, slew many enemies, and honorably proved their manhood and prowess in combat. We have nothing against that! But open my eyes and show me one of these gods who has dared to suppress wrong and violence, (I will say nothing about the first virtue, which concerns God’s Word!), to resist knaves and rascals, to protect and preserve the good and the poor, and to maintain order and peace in the land. Such a man smites, not Hector or Achilles, but greater and more monstrous giants, namely all the devils, with all their wickedness. Dear friend, that takes a heart with the strength of nine hearts, and fidelity that goes beyond all fidelity. To finish with these three verses: Such a man should bear with honor the three divine offices and names; therefore he should be called a savior, father, deliverer. For by the first virtue, the furtherance of the Word of God, he helps many to blessedness, so that they may be redeemed from sin and death, and attain salvation. By the second virtue, the administration of just laws, he supports all his subjects, as a father supports his children; for, as has been said, if it were not for law, no one could keep anything from another. By the third virtue, the suppression of violence and the punishment of the wicked, he protects the poor, and preserves peace; thus he is a true rescuer, or knight, and justly wears the golden spurs. For I believe that Ritter comes from retten and that the word Retter has become Ritter, a true and splendid name for the princes and lords. For we find that our old Germans gave their princes and lords unusually fine names. Thus in Saxon Ludewig means praesidium, arx populi. “Wig” is a stronghold, or fort, in which one can take refuge and to which one can retreat, in case of need. Therefore a prince should be a Ludewig, that is, a defense and refuge for the people. Heger, again, indicates that a prince should cherish, satisfy, protect, and defend his land and his people. Herman, which the Latins have corrupted into Ariminius, means “a man of the army,” dux belli, one who is strong in war and battle, who can rescue and lead his own people, and risk his life in doing it. In the same way, they called their overlords Retter or Ritter, from retten, because they “rescued” their people from distress. Thus by the name they reminded them of their office, their rank, and the virtues that go with them. Beyond doubt, they were moved to give the rulers these and like names, because of the works and the virtues that they saw and observed in their princes. These are the virtues that they ought to have and to practice. But how do things actually go? The very opposite! Among the gods three devilish vices are working against these divine virtues. The world is perverse and perverts all of God’s gifts and blessings. That is what it does with these divine offices too. For it is the princes and lords, who ought to be advancing God’s Word, who do the most to suppress, forbid, and persecute it. Instead, they advance false and injurious teachers, as we read that the kings of Israel and Judah did. King Ahab and Jezebel, his queen, supported about eight hundred priests of Baal, and drove out all God’s prophets, so that only Elijah was left, and he could not stay in the land. The same thing has happened before, and is happening now. The world, full of monks and priests, can be advanced, and princes and lords can be exalted, but a John Huss or a Leonard Keiser cannot be tolerated. Thus this verse is mightily fulfilled. They “judge unjustly,” that is, they misuse and pervert their office; and “prefer the persons of the godless,” that is, they advance the godless and hinder the godly. Who can tell all the cruel harm and injury that such a prince or lord does? He drives so many souls into hell, and robs so many of eternal blessedness, that he might well be called, not “a god,” but a devil; for he does not help God build a heaven or a paradise, but helps Beelzebub build hell, and fill it up. How small are the sins of an ordinary man or woman, compared with the sins of such a lord! What evil can a thief or murderer or adulterer do, compared with that which such a lord does? In this case the saying is certainly true, “The big thieves hang the little ones, and the big murderers have the little murderers killed.” They say, “A wise man commits no little acts of folly.” So a great man is guilty of no little vices; just as, on the other hand, he can perform no little acts of wisdom or virtue, since he is placed in a position where all the things he does must be great, whether they be good or bad Therefore, as there is no greater jewel in the world than a God-fearing lord, so there is no more hurtful plague in the world than a godless lord. So it is, also, with the second virtue, the administration of law, and the helping of the poor and the orphaned, as is shown by daily experience and common complaint. Especially in Germany things go in such a way that one prince hinders another, one noble another, one city another. Each of them hinders the rest, so that even though part of them wanted to be upright, they cannot, because of the others, and have to allow wrong to be done. Thus it comes that the spirit of defiance and self-will rules among the sons of men, as though Germany were populus sine lege, “a people without law,” and there is almost no distinction among the ranks and offices. A prince is emperor; he is likewise merchant and trader. Similarly count is prince, noble is count, burgher is noble, peasant is burgher, servant is lord, maid is mistress, pupil is master. Everyone is what he wants to be, does as he likes, and conducts himself as he pleases. How much good and right this brings to the common people is easy to discover. Who can recount, or adequately describe, all of these evils? It is exactly so with the third virtue also, the succoring of the poor. There is neither punishment nor discipline, neither fear nor timidity. Self-will of every kind has reached a point, among both nobles and peasants, that when one speaks against it, they become so much the worse and do all the more, just for spite; for they see and know how things go, and that they go unpunished. Certainly now is the time of which the prophet Amos says, “It is an evil time, when even a wise man must keep silent.” For if anyone speaks against it, they act as though he were merely showing them a way to make things worse. But how could it be worse, when neither silence nor speech helps? If we are silent, they become worse day by day; if we speak, they become still worse. Then the poor and wretched must suffer, and be unsuccored. This is all the fault of the princes and lords, who have let these things go so far that they cannot prevent them, even though they might wish to do so. But one will come who will put a stop to the tickling of our self-will, and scratch its itch right well. It has gone too far; we are doing too much; the bag must tear, and the string must break. God help His own! Amen. A question arises, in connection with these three verses. Since the gods, or rulers, beside their other virtues, are to advance God’s Word and its preachers, are they also to put down opposing doctrines, or heresies, since no one can be forced to believe? The answer to this question is as follows: First. Some heretics are seditious, and teach openly that no rulers are to be tolerated; that no Christian may occupy a position of rulership, that no one ought to have property of his own, but run away from wife and child and leave house and home, or that all property shall be held in common. These teachers are immediately, and without doubt, to be punished by the rulers, as men who are resisting temporal law and government ( Romans 13:1 ). They are not heretics only, but rebels, who are attacking the rulers and their government, just as a thief attacks another’s goods, a murderer another’s body, an adulterer another’s wife; and this is not to be tolerated. Second. If some were to teach doctrines contradicting an article of faith, clearly grounded in Scripture and believed throughout the world by the whole Church, such as the articles that we teach children in the Creed, — as, for example, if anyone would teach that Christ is not God, but a mere man, and like other prophets, as the Turks and the Anabaptists hold, — such teachers should not be tolerated, but punished as blasphemers. For they are not mere heretics, but open blasphemers, and rulers are in duty bound to punish blasphemers, as they do those who curse, swear, revile, abuse, defame and slander. Such teachers, with their blasphemy, are defaming the name of God, and robbing their neighbor of his honor in the eyes of the world. In like manner, the rulers should also punish, — or certainly not tolerate, — those who teach that Christ did not die for our sins, but that everyone shall make his own satisfaction for them; for that, too, is blasphemy against the Gospel and against the article that we all pray in the Creed, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins,” and “In Jesus Christ dead, risen, etc.” They should be treated in the same way who teach that the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting are nothing, and that there is no hell, and the like things; as did the Sadducees and the Epicureans, of whom there are now coming to be many among the great wiseacres. By this procedure no one is compelled to believe, for he can still believe what he will; but he is forbidden to teach and blaspheme. For, by so doing, he would take from God and the Christians their doctrine and word, and he would do them this injury under their own protection and by means of the things that all have in common. Let him go to some place where there are no Christians; for as I have often said, he who makes a living from the burghers ought to keep the law of the burgh, and not defame and revile it, or else he ought to get out. We are told that the holy fathers in the Council of Nicaea, when they heard the doctrine of the Arians read, all hissed unanimously, and would not listen or permit any argument or defense, but condemned them out of hand, without any disputation, as blasphemers. Moses, in his Law, commands that such blasphemers and, indeed, all false teachers, are to be stoned. So, in this case, there ought not to be much disputing, but such open blasphemers should be condemned without a hearing and without defense, as Paul commands in Titus 3:10, “A heretic is to be avoided and let go, after he has been admonished once or twice”; and he forbids Timothy to wrangle and dispute, since this has no effect, except to pervert those who hear. For these common articles of the whole Church have had hearings enough; they have been proved and decreed by the Scriptures and by the confession of the whole Church, confirmed by many miracles, sealed by the blood of many holy martyrs, and are testified to and defended in the books of all the doctors. They need no more discussion and clever interpreting. Third. If it happen that in a parish, a city, or a principality, the papists and the Lutherans (as they are called) are crying out upon one another because of certain matters of belief, and preaching against one another, and both parties will have it that the Scriptures are on their side, I would not willingly tolerate such a division. My Lutherans ought to be willing to abdicate and be silent, if they observed that they were not gladly heard, as Christ teaches, in Matthew 10:14. They ought to have themselves compelled to preach, as I do. For I leave off readily, if people do not want to hear me, and all my preaching and writing has been done under force and compulsion. But if neither party is willing to yield or be silent, or if neither can do so because of official position, then let the rulers take a hand. Let them hear the case, and command that party to keep silence which does not agree with the Scriptures. Thus the great emperor Constantine did, when he caused Athanasius and Arius to be heard and their case judged by his procurator, Probus. It is not a good thing that contradictory preaching should go out among the people of the same parish. For from this arise divisions, disorders, hatreds and envyings which extend to temporal affairs also. Fourth. If it happen that some are crying out upon one another because of matters concerning which both sides confess that the Scriptures are not at issue, but only ancient custom and man-made law, — (I mean such questions as tonsures, holy water, the blessing of herbs, and the like unnecessary things, which are confirmed neither with miracles nor with the blood of martyrs), — then these wranglings are by no means to be tolerated in the pulpit, but both parties are to be ordered to keep peace. For what the Scriptures do not contain, the preachers ought not wrangle about in the presence of the people. Rather ought they deal always with the Scriptures, for love and peace are far more important than all ceremonies. Thus St. Paul says that peace is to be preferred to all else, and it is unchristian to let peace and unity yield to ceremonies. If that command does not help, then he who, without Scripture, insists on ceremonies as necessary to salvation, and who would bind men’s consciences, should be ordered to keep silence. What I say about public preaching, I say even more emphatically about private preaching and secret ceremonies. These are not to be tolerated at all. For the rest, anyone may read what he likes and believe what he likes. If he will not hear God, let him hear the devil. But the things that are sure articles of Scripture are to be both publicly preached and read and taught to the common people at home. All of this compels no one to believe, but it gives the community peace from the hot-heads, and puts a stop to the knavery of the fellows who preach in corners, who sneak, uncalled and unsent, into peoples’ houses, and emit their poison there, before pastors or rulers find them out. These are the thieves and murderers, of whom Christ speaks in John 10:8. They enter another’s parish and seize another’s office, which is not committed to them, but forbidden them. It is the duty of a citizen, if such a sneak comes to him, before he listens to him or lets him speak, to report the matter to the ruler or to the pastor whose parishioner he is. If he does not do this, he should know that he is breaking his oath and disobeying his ruler, and that he is despising his pastor (whom he ought to honor), and thus acting against God, and that he is himself guilty and just as much of a thief and rascal as the sneak himself. The fiftieth Psalm says of these teachers in corners, “God spake to the godless, Why declarest thou my laws, and takest my covenant in thy mouth, seeing thou hatest instruction and castest my word behind thee? If thou seest a thief (that is, a thief of souls, John 10), thou runnest with him, and art partaker with adulterers (that is, false believers and heretics). Thou makest thy mouth speak evil, and thy tongue dealeth in falsehood. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother, and slanderest thy mother’s son.” If Muenzer and Carlstadt and their comrades had not been allowed to sneak and creep into other men’s houses and parishes, whither they had neither call nor command to go, that whole great calamity would not have happened. To be sure, the apostles did, at first, go into other men’s houses and preach there; but they had a command, and were ordained and called and sent to preach the Gospel in all places; as Christ said, “Go into all the world and preach to all creatures.” Since then, however, no one has had this general apostolic command, but every bishop or pastor has had his definite diocese or parish, and for this reason St. Peter, in 1 Peter 5, calls them Cleros, that is, “parts,” indicating that to each of them a part of the people has been committed (as Paul writes to Titus also), and that no one else, and no stranger, shall undertake to instruct his parishioners, either publicly or privately, without his knowledge and consent. On peril of body and soul, no one is to listen to such a man, but report him to his pastor or his ruler. This rule should be so kept that no preacher, however pious or upright, should take it upon himself either to preach to the people of a papistical or heretical pastor, or to teach them privately, without the knowledge and consent of that pastor; for he has no command to do this, and what is not commanded should be left undone. If we would perform the duties that are commanded, we have enough to do. It does not help their case to say that all Christians are priests. It is true that all Christians are priests, but all are not pastors. For to be a pastor, one must not only be a Christian and a priest, but must have an office and a field of work committed to him. This call and command make pastors and preachers. A burgher or layman may be a learned man, but this does not make him a Doctor, and entitle him to teach publicly in the schools, or to assume the teaching-office, unless he is called to it. I have had to say these things about the sneaks and false preachers, — of whom there are now all too many, — in order to warn both pastors and rulers that they shall exhort and command their people to be on their guard against these vagabonds and knaves, and to avoid them as sure emissaries of the devil, unless they bring good evidence that they are called and commanded by God to do this work in that special place. Otherwise no one should let them in or listen to them, even though they were to preach the pure Gospel, nay, even though they were angels from heaven, and all Gabriels, at that. For it is God’s will that nothing be done as a result of one’s own choice or decision, but everything as a consequence of a command or a call. That is especially true of preaching, as St. Peter says, in 2 Peter 1:20, “Ye should know this first, No prophecy was brought out by the will of man, but the holy men of God spoke, driven by the Holy Ghost.” Therefore Christ, too, would not let the devils speak, when they cried out that He was the Son of God and told the truth, for He did not want to permit such an example of preaching without a call. Let everyone, then, remember this: If he will preach or teach, let him prove the call or command which drives and compels him to it, or else be silent; if he will not do this, then let the rulers hand the knave over to the right master, Master Hans. That will be what he deserves, for he certainly intends to start a rebellion, or worse, among the people. But perhaps you will say to me, “Why do you, by your books, teach throughout the world, when you are only preacher in Wittenberg?” I answer: I have never wanted to do it, and do not want to do it now. I was forced and driven into this position in the first place, when I had to become a Doctor of Holy Scripture against my will. Then, as a Doctor in a general free university, I began, at the command of pope and emperor, to do what such a doctor is sworn to do, expounding the Scriptures for all the world, and teaching everybody. Once in this position, I have had to stay in it, and cannot give it up or leave it, even yet, with a good conscience, even though both pope and emperor were to put me under the ban for not doing so. For what I began as a Doctor, made and called at their command, I must truly confess to the end of my life, and I cannot keep silent or cease to teach, though I would like to do so, and am weary and unhappy at the great and unendurable ingratitude of the people. And even if I were not a Doctor, I am, nevertheless, a regularly called preacher, and may teach my own people with writings. If others have desired these writings of mine and have asked for them, it is my duty to accede to their request. For I have never pushed myself in, or desired or asked that anyone should read these writings, but have acted just like other pious pastors and preachers, who write books, and neither prevent nor drive people to the reading of them, and thus teach throughout the world. They do not run and sneak like these worthless, uncalled knaves, into the offices of others without the knowledge and consent of the pastors, but they have a definite office and position, by which they are driven and compelled. Someone, however, may enter the further objection, “We ought not to punish these blasphemers or prevent them, because we tolerate the Jews, who blaspheme the Lord Christ and His mother, with all the saints and all Christans, both in their teaching and their speaking.” Answer: They have their punishment for this, in that they are outside the Church and cannot hold any public office; and even as it is, they are not allowed to utter this blasphemy publicly. Much less are they permitted to attempt this in the public position of preachers or by preaching in corners, as do these poisonous sneaks, who are not willing to cast the poison of their blasphemy upon any except those who are baptized and are called Christians. Moreover they are not willing to be considered useless by the world, like the Jews, but want to be celebrated and honored as the greatest people of all. But if they were to go, or to stay, where there are no Christians, and where, like the Jews, they would be heard by no one, then we let them blaspheme to the stones and trees in some forest, or possibly in the depths of the sea, or in a hot oven. Perhaps someone may make me another clever answer and say that, with this kind of teaching, I am strengthening the case of the tyrants who persecute the Gospel, and opening door and window for them. Since they consider our Gospel heresy and blasphemy, they will now preen themselves sure enough, and pretend that conscience and duty compel them to punish us as blasphemers. Answer: What do I care? If we were to hold back necessary instruction because of the tyrants, we would long since have had to give up the Gospel altogether. If they do right, they will find it out, and I leave them to worry about it. When they knowingly use their power over worldly things, in the most self-willed manner, for the injury of others, what wonder that they do us wrong? Like blind men, they cannot see our doctrine, and like madmen, they cannot hear it. It was thus that the kings of Israel killed the true prophets. Nevertheless, we must not abolish or hide the commandment to stone false prophets; but pious rulers will punish no man without first seeing, hearing, learning, and becoming certain that he is a blasphemer. But enough of this! Let us return to the Psalm: V.5. But they know nothing and consider nothing, they go in darkness; All the foundations of the land shall fall. This verse is a lamentation. It says that the gods have left their duties and their virtues, and are practicing the opposite vices, as has been said. B