Martin Luther and the Life of the Saints in the Psalms
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On October 31st, 1517, a monk in the small town of Wittenburg nailed 95 theses to the local church door. He was only hoping for an academic debate on the issue of indulgences. Instead, he lit the match that flamed into an international movement we know as the Reformation. Though he never intended this path, Martin Luther quickly became, and still remains, a household name.
Why Martin Luther?
With an average of 50 books and articles published each year on Luther’s life and thought, the hammer Luther used to nail the ninety-five theses to the church door at Wittenburg still rings loudly as Christians and non-Christians alike continue to deal with his theology and legacy. Among the more famous events of Luther’s life is his “tower experience,” when he came to a fresh understanding of the gospel.
Scholars have debated when his transformation took place, but Luther himself cites his early studies in the Psalms (either from 1513-1515 or in 1518) as the decisive moment of his fresh understanding of the gospel. This “tower experience” was the beginning of a lifetime of meditating on the Psalms, and while we could consider many of Luther's reflections on the Psalms, the insights found in the preface to his 1528 commentary on the Psalms will be our focus.
Preface to the Psalms: The Words and Life of the Saints
Long before 1528, the Roman Catholic Church had a well-developed cult of the saints, which associated specific members of the Catholic Church with specific roles and perceived abilities (e.g. St. Anne, Mary’s mother, was the saint who protected travelers). In Luther’s eyes, the saints depicted by the Catholic Church were a far cry from a true saint. Rather, a true depiction of a saint was found in the Book of Psalms. He summarizes:
“What the Book of Psalms gives us in richest measure in regard to the saints is the fullness of certainty as to what they felt in their hearts, and what was the sound of the words which they used in addressing God and their fellow-men.”
Whether the deepest of sorrows or the greatest of joys, the Psalms, as Luther puts it, give words every believer has experienced “as if the words are written there for him.”
More than that, though, the full Christian Church is on display in the Psalms. When the individual finds comfort and encouragement in the words of the Psalms, “. . . there follows from this further excellence that . . . he receives assurance that he’s in the company of the saints, and all that has happened to the saints is happening to him, because all of them join in singing a little song with him, he can use their words to talk with God.”
The Psalms point to more than just individualistic affirmations. They affirm and enhance our unity with one another in the Church — across all dividing lines — because they represent the words of all the saints in Christ. Luther finishes, “If you wish to see the holy Christian Church depicted in living colors, and given a living form, and a painting in miniature, then place the book of songs in front of you; you will have a beautiful bright polished mirror which will show you what Christianity is.”
Reflection
What can we learn from this reformer's reflection on the Psalms? Luther pushes us to ask at least three questions as we meditate on the Psalms.
What do they teach us individually about living a righteous life in Christ?
How might the Psalms teach us to empathize and love better our fellow believers when we meditate on a Psalm that seems foreign to our own life and experience?
When we talk about unity, where do we look for it? In common identity markers, experiences, or in our relationship to Christ?
With the saints of old, our brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray the Lord leads us to live righteously, love one another better, and seek unity by and in his Spirit as we continue this series through the Psalms.
Resources for Further Study
• Works of Martin Luther, Volumes 10-14.
• “Preface to the Psalms.” In Martin Luther: Selections from His Writings, edited by John Dellenberger.
• Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther, by Roland Bainton.