Psalms of the Faithful

T. German Brian

Description

The Psalms forced Martin Luther to change how he read the Bible.In Psalms of the Faithful Brian German shows us Luther's reappraisal of the plain sense of Scripture. By following the canonical shaping of the Psalter, Luther refined his interpretive principles into a more finely grained hermeneutic. Luther inspires us to read the Psalms empathetically with ancient Israelites and early church fathers. He stirs us up to join the "faithful synagogue" in praying to and praising the Lord our God.According to many scholars, Luther established his approach to biblical exegesis on the claim that Jesus Christ is Scripture's content and speaker. While Luther used this formulation in prefaces, how did he really read the Bible?German applies pressure not only to how Luther scholars understand Luther's interpretive method, but also to how modern biblical exegetes approach their task-and even to how we read the Bible.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Old Testament
• Judaism
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 13 septembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683590491
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

PSALMS of the FAITHFUL
Luther’s Early Reading of the Psalter in Canonical Context
BRIAN T. GERMAN
STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
Psalms of the Faithful: Luther’s Early Reading of the Psalter in Canonical Context
Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology
Copyright 2017 Brian T. German
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
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Print ISBN 9781683590484
Digital ISBN 9781683590491
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Contents
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
1. A Fresh Look at a Fresh Luther
Introduction
Setting the Stage
Luther’s “First Principles”
Conversation Partners for the Journey
Charting the Course
2. The Origins of the Faithful Synagogue
Introduction
Part 1: Luther in Relation to Augustine and Cassiodorus throughout the Asaphite Corpus
Part 2: Similar Psalmody before the Asaphite Corpus
Conclusion
3. Joining the Faithful Synagogue
Introduction
Part 1: The Faithful Synagogue throughout the Rest of Book III: Psalms 84–89
Part 2: The Faithful Synagogue throughout Book IV: Psalms 90–106
Conclusion
4. Reading Scripture with the Faithful Synagogue
Introduction
Part 1: The Faithful Synagogue Leading up to Psalm 119: Psalms 107; 111; 112 and 115
Part 2: Psalm 119
Part 3: The Faithful Synagogue beyond Psalm 119: Psalms 122; 123; 126 and 143
Conclusion
5. What Does This Mean?
Introduction
Recapping the Journey
Beyond the Dictata
Bibliography
Index of Names and Subjects
Scriptural References outside the Psalms
Abbreviations
ACW
Ancient Christian Writers: The Works of the Fathers in Translation. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1946– .
ESV
English Standard Version
LW
Luther’s Works [American edition]. 82 vols. projected. St. Louis: Concordia; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1955–1986; 2009– .
LXX
Septuagint
MT
Masoretic Text
Vg.
Vulgate
WA
D. Martin Luthers Werke, Kritische Gesamtausgabe: [Schriften]. 73 vols. Weimar: Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1883–2009 . Digital copy online at archive.org .
WSA
The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century. 50 vols. projected in three series. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 1990– .
Acknowledgments
At times I wonder what the following pages would look like were it not for the attentive involvement of my Doktorvater , Professor Christopher Seitz. His timely and insightful feedback kept my research at an optimum level, and I continue to welcome his influence on my thinking with great appreciation. A debt of gratitude is also owed to Pastor James Kellerman, whose expertise in Latin enriched my translations to a caliber beyond my competence. Lastly, this project would not have happened in the first place without my own “Katharina von Bora,” Kalia, who tirelessly supported her husband’s doctoral ambitions with patience and love. Luther once said, “There is no bond on earth so sweet … as that which occurs in a good marriage.” Kalia has shown me the truth in that. To her this work is dedicated.
1
A Fresh Look at a Fresh Luther
It is a strange irony that those examples of biblical interpretation in the past which have truly immersed themselves in a specific concrete historical context, such as Luther in Saxony, retain the greatest value as models for the future actualization of the biblical text in a completely different world.
— Brevard S. Childs
Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments , 88 .

INTRODUCTION
In a careful study of Origen’s (d. 254 ) exegetical procedure, Karen Torjesen noticed a phenomenon in Origen’s work that can occur in any serious and sustained project of biblical inquiry: a distance between what one says they are going to do and what one actually ends up doing. On paper, as it were, Origen recognized the importance of identifying a series of a priori governing perspectives for the task of biblical interpretation, a set of “First Principles” within which sound exegesis was to be undertaken. He held, for example, that “just as a man consists of body, soul and spirit, so in the same way does the scripture.” 1 But as Origen began to wrestle firsthand with the way the psalms do their work—once his hands were found to be on a moving plowshare—the search would be in vain for locating his body-soul-spirit hermeneutical principle being deployed in any sort of mechanical or predictable way. In due course it would become apparent that something about his encounter with the text itself changed his course of action . Something about the discrete landscape of the Psalter called for a handling of a different kind. In short, the literal sense of the psalms for Origen was often found to be sufficient in itself for the type of edification that he was seeking. 2
Centuries later and in vastly different historical circumstances, a new professor of Bible at the University of Wittenberg would find himself needing to hand over his own set of “first principles” to his students before embarking on his first professional lecture series. He had taken the time to draft a preface for the course material—three of them, actually (see the discussion below)—he reminded those gathered of some key exegetical principles instilled in them by their mutual training, and he took great comfort in the common expectation that his primary goal as instructor was to pass along nothing but the best from the sacred past. But over the course of this two-year lecture series, through rigorous study of the biblical text and much prayer of the same, this new Lectura in Biblia would find himself carrying out his project with a growing distance between what he once declared about the task at hand and what he in fact ended up doing. Much like Origen of long ago, something about his encounter with the text itself uncovered a more edifying path. The following study takes a close look at what happened.

SETTING THE STAGE
Upon receiving his doctor of theology degree on October 19, 1512 , a twenty-eight-year-old Martin Luther would lecture first on the one book of the Bible he undoubtedly knew better than any other: the Psalter. For several years before his faculty appointment, whether it was because of a requirement for living in the bursae at the University of Erfurt, a remedy for spiritual Anfechtungen flaring up as early as 1505 , or as a part of the solemn rituals of the Augustinian monastery, Luther had been reciting the psalms fervently. By this stage in his life, he had them all memorized. 3
But given such an intense devotion to the Bible in general and to its Psalter in particular, a rather unexpected caveat made its way into Luther’s opening remarks as the new incumbent of the Wittenberg Lectura in Biblia : “I confess frankly that even to the present day I do not understand many psalms,” he admitted, “and, unless the Lord enlightens me through your help, as I trust He will, I shall not be able to interpret them.” 4 He had heard the psalms read aloud along with the notes of Nicholas of Lyra ( 1270–1349 ) while eating meals back in Erfurt. He spent years wearing out the pages of his first Bible as the only book permitted for a new monk other than the order’s rule. He had poured over Saint Augustine’s ( 354–430 ) homilies on the psalms, consulted the Quincuplex Psalterium (1509) —the latest textual resource from the French humanist Faber Stapulensis (d. 1536 )—and took scrupulous notes on summaries and superscriptions in preparation for his course. It is even possible that Luther’s mentor and now predecessor, Johann von Staupitz (d. 1524 ), handpicked Luther out of several aspiring Augustinian Hermits to be Lectura in Biblia because of his aptitude with the biblical text. 5 But in all of this, Luther himself was not yet satisfied.
So it was that, week after week, expounding one psalm after the other in the order of their canonical presentation, Luther sought to provide an interpretation of the Psalter that was edifying for both student and teacher. The class commenced early in the morning on August 16, 1513 , and carried on for just over two years until (probably) the fall of 1515 . 6 Luther’s methodology in the lecture hall was thoroughly traditional; students were given a copy of the Latin text of the Psalter with wide margins and ample space between the lines for inserting numerous glosses. Quanbeck captures the scene well:
The lecturer in biblia first dictated the glosses to the text; these the student copied between the lines of his edition. In this way almost every word was paraphrased or explained, most frequently by a word or two, occasionally by longer phrases or whole sentences. In addition to the interlinear glosses, more extended comments on especially difficult or important words or phrases were inserted in the margins. Most of the material dictated by the lecturer was derived from standard helps and commentaries. 7
The glosses ( glossae ) were twofold in type, then, as some were written between the lines of the text and others were relegated to the margins. Conveying the glossae , however, was only the first of two primary responsibilities for Luther. Quanbeck continues:
When the lecturer had completed his glosses on the text, he proceeded to more detailed comments on especially interesting, important, or difficult passages—the so-called scholia . Here the lecturer had more freedom. He could choose the passages for extended exposition and could comment at almost any length, provided his supply of helps held out. For here too the aim was to acquaint the student with the contributions of the accepted commentators rather than attempt a personal and creative approach to the text. 8
In reproducing such material, the student was practically composing his own rich compendium of longstanding psalms