Commentary on Genesis (Complete Edition). Martin Luther
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masters and servants, rich and poor, are treated, as they occur in the lives of the patriarchs and prominent characters of the divine Record.
"I hesitate not a moment to express my fullest persuasion that the Church of Christ will consider Luther's commentary on Genesis the deepest and most spiritual exposition of any book or portion of the holy Scriptures in existence; entering the most deeply and clearly into God's mind, and furnishing the most profound, varied and blessed edification for the family of heaven; and also the most useful, truthful, valuable and divine instruction for the world at large.
"As an expositor of the holy Scriptures Luther's comments contain a depth of investigation unpenetrated, a width of meditation unspanned, an extent of research unoccupied, a scriptural knowledge unpossessed, a variety of reflections unevinced, a multitude of wonders unrevealed, a number of beauties undiscovered, a value of instruction uncommunicated, a spirit of holiness unbreathed, a height of praise unascended, a depth of worship unfathomed, and a magnification of the Scriptures as the Word of God, unsurpassed and unequalled by any commentator, before or since his day."
This divine and educator of the Church of England says Luther's Commentary on Genesis is "Doubtless the masterpiece of the greatest of the extra Bible saints and servants of the Most High." "What an ox-like labor, or as the reformer expresses it, 'what a ministerial sweat!'" "This greatest of all commentaries."
Space will not permit more. In the second volume on Genesis we hope to say more on the place this commentary has held and ought to hold in English Protestantism.
A Tribute of a Christian Lady in Scotland.
Dr. Cole in his preface, dated London, Feb. 2nd, 1857, records to the praise of God that, "It came in a most remarkable and wholly unexpected way to the knowledge of a noble lady of Scotland, Lady M——, that the 'Creation,' the first part of Luther's great commentary on Genesis, was translated; and that the translator was at a loss for ways and means whereby to print and publish it; and, after two letters of favored communication and explanation between the translator and her ladyship, this 'noble' disciple of the Redeemer, 1 Cor. 1:26, in her second letter at once with divine nobleness of mind purchased the manuscript at its full fixed price, without one word about abatement; and she also as nobly undertook to print and publish it at her own expense. From her ladyship's communications it appeared that she herself was 'brought to the knowledge of the truth' by reading translations of Luther's writings. Her present holy acts of service to the cause of truth were therefore those of gratitude to God, of love and honor to the name of Luther, and of encouragement to his humble translators."
Years before, this lady read of Dr. Cole's intention to translate Luther on Genesis, but it did not appear. Thinking that the translator had no doubt "gone the way of all the earth," she made an effort to have it translated and published, in order to be benefited still more by reading Luther in English. Hence her great surprise after many years to receive a letter from Dr. Cole, stating the manuscript was finally ready. She replied thus: "My Dear Sir:— Your letter was the cause of much interest and surprise to me; for about the time that you completed your translation of 'The Creation' by Luther, I was anxiously inquiring from every one I could think of, to know if there was any one who could and would translate it; and I bought the work on Genesis in the original in hope to find some one to translate it; but upon inquiring of Messrs. —— and others, I found that the translation and publication would be so expensive that I was obliged to abandon the thought of it."
It thus pleased all-wise God to choose not a rich son of his, but a daughter to execute his blessed work. May God grant that this interest so general and promising in England and Scotland half a century ago in translating Luther may be revived by all the sons and daughters who have been benefited by his writings!
Minneapolis, Minn., Nov. 28th, 1903.
J. N. LENKER.
Dr. Martin Luther to the Christian Reader
My lectures on Genesis I did not undertake with the intention that they be published and advertised; but in order that I might serve for a time our University as it is at present, and that I might exercise my audience and myself in the Word of God; lest I should finish the death of this body in an old age indolent and entirely useless. To this end Ps. 146:2 awakened and encouraged me: "While I live will I praise Jehovah; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being."
Moreover, I undertook the work in order that I might be found at death among that "little flock" and of those "babes," out of whose mouth "God perfects praise" or establishes strength, by which he destroys the enemy and the avenger, Ps. 8:2. For the world always has enough monsters and devils, who blaspheme, corrupt and pervert the Word of God, so that God be not adorned with his glory, but Satan instead is adored.
It however so happened that these lectures fell into the hands of two good and pious men who collected them. Dr. Casper Cruciger, whose books sufficiently testify how he was led by the spirit of God and by the study of his Word; and Mr. George Rorary, the ministers of our church here at Wittenberg. Their work was followed by that of Master Veit Dietrich, the pastor at Nuremberg, who contributed his share. All of these men are truly faithful, scholarly and zealous ministers of the Word of God, and their judgment is that these lectures should by all means be published. For my part I leave them to act according to their own conviction, as St. Paul says, "Let each man be fully assured in his own mind," Rom. 14:5, and as I see that they are moved by a holy zeal to serve the congregations of the Church of Christ, I therefore strongly approve of their intention and I pray that the benediction of God may rest upon them!
However I would prefer that their Christian labors and valuable time were spent on a better book and a better author. For I am not one of whom it can be said, "He did a good work"; neither one of whom you can say, "He tried to do a good work"; I belong to the last order of authors, who dare scarcely say, "I desired to do a good work." Oh, that I might be worthy of being the last in this last order. For all these lectures were delivered in an extemporaneous and popular form, just as the expressions came into my mouth, following in quick succession and also mixed with German, and surely more verbose than I wished.
Not however that I am conscious of having spoken anything contrary to the truth. My chief aim has been, as far as possible, to avoid obscurity and present as perspicuous as my talent and ability could the things which I wished to have understood. For I feel keenly that these weighty matters of which Moses wrote have been treated by me in a manner far beneath their dignity and importance. But I console myself with the old proverb, "Let him fail who attempts to do a thing better than he is able"; and with this Scripture, "God requires nothing of a man beyond the ability he has given him." 2 Cor. 8:12.
But why multiply words? That of which we treat are the Scriptures; the Scriptures, I say, of the Holy Spirit, and for these things, as St. Paul says, who is sufficient? 2 Cor. 3:5. They are a river, says Gregory, in which a lamb may walk or touch bottom and an elephant must swim. They are the wisdom of God which makes the wise of this world and "the prince" of it fools; which makes babes eloquent, and the eloquent men babes.
In a word he is not the best, who comprehends all things and never fails, for such a one never has been, is not now and never will be; but he is the best here who loves the most, as Ps. 1:2 says, "Blessed is the man that loveth the law of Jehovah and meditateth on it." Abundantly sufficient is it for us, if we delight in this divine wisdom, love it and meditate on it day and night.
We examine the commentaries of the fathers and find that the good will was certainly not lacking among them, but to do it they were not able. And how ridiculous are all of our day, who attempt to explain the great things, the Scriptures by a beautiful, as they term it, by a pure Latinity or by paraphrases, being themselves utterly destitute of the spirit and of understanding, and no more competent to treat such holy things than, as the proverb runs, "Asses are to play upon a harp." Jerome correctly said, Every one brings the offering to the tabernacle he can afford. One brings gold, another silver, another precious stones and the skins or the hair of goats. For the Lord has