The Exposition of the Fifty-First Psalm, by Martin Luther, published by Gospel Standard Trust Publications, hardback, 199 pages, £9.00, obtainable from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom.
One of the important themes of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses was that the whole of the Christian’s life is to be one of repentance. It seems significant that Luther’s very first publication in 1517 covered the seven psalms of repentance, including Psalm 51. This exposition comes from a later period in his life and is rich in Christian experience.
Luther writes: “The understanding of this Psalm is, on many accounts, both necessary and useful, for it embraces the doctrines of the essential articles of our religion – of repentance, of sin, of grace, of justification, and also of that worship which we are to render unto God. These are divine and heavenly things which, unless they be taught by the great Spirit Himself, cannot possibly enter into the heart of man.”
“The proper subject of theology is man guilty of sin and condemned, and God the Justifier and Saviour of man the sinner.” This is, as Luther continually insists, true theology taught by deep, personal, spiritual experience. One part of this is to make use of the condemnations of the law and divine wrath; the other is to seek God’s grace. Luther, of course, makes reference at times to his own personal experience. For instance, he had to have the “hidden wisdom” of the gospel revealed to him.
There are two kinds of sinners: those who seek to justify themselves and those who justify God in His condemnation of sin. “The opinion of self-righteousness is the most awful blasphemy against God.” True saints are saying with David: My sins are ever before me. Sham saints pervert the psalm and say, I perceive the sins of others, and the sins of others are always before me. They are more concerned about the sins of others because they imagine that they themselves are as they ought to be.
This psalm goes deeper than this sin or that sin. It goes to “the whole nature, fountain-spring, and origin of sin,” or original sin. “It is therefore great wisdom to know that we are nothing but sin.”
We are also taught true repentance by this psalm through the vivid example of David. “There are in true repentance two things: the knowledge of sin and the knowledge of grace. Or, to use terms of more common acceptance: the fear of God and a trust in His mercy.” The conscience crushed by the hammer of the law longs for the mercy of God in Christ and hears the voice of joy and gladness in the gospel. “The preaching of Christ feeds, justifies, sets free and saves the soul that believeth what is preached.” Luther asserts that “there is only one ground of justification: the merit of Christ, or free mercy, which hearts touched with the fire of the Holy Spirit apprehend by faith”.
Those who have experienced such mercy still battle with remaining sin. It “still breaks forth and wars in our flesh, so as to produce the same fruit as aforetime, in order to make us secure, ungrateful and ignorant of God as we were before”. The psalm provides an ongoing prayer for the believer. David “prays that as he is justified, and has received the remission of sins, this sense of the mercy of God may be deeply rooted in his heart by the Holy Spirit . . . he does not speak of any momentary operation, but concerning the continuation of the work begun”.
The translation of Luther’s exposition was produced by Henry Sant in the nineteenth century and is widely commended for its accuracy. Although effort is required in reading in order to follow the argument, the labour will be rewarded. Those who have not read much of Luther’s writing may find this a good place to begin. It can be read slowly in portions in order to benefit from its devotional value.
The publishers have added occasional footnotes either to explain or to draw attention to points which they wish to amplify or correct. These are largely unobjectionable. There is, however, a note on page 55 for instance in relation to Luther’s comments about the promises being given in baptism. The note implies that “paedobaptists view the baptism of children as a pledge of their eventual salvation”. On the contrary, The Westminster Confession teaches that “grace and salvation are not so inseparably annexed unto it, as that no person can be regenerated or saved without it; or, that all that are baptized are undoubtedly regenerated”.
The overall desire of the publishers is highly commendable as expressed in the following way: “May those who read this volume also be made to feel their sin, and present to God the acceptable sacrifice of ‘a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart’”.
Matthew Vogan