COMMENTARY

on the

SERMON ON THE MOUNT

BY

MARTIN LUTHER

Translated by Charles A. Hay, D. D.

philadelphia:

LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY

Copyright, 1892,

by

THE LUTHERAN PUBLICATION SOCIETY.

TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE

The forty-third volume of the Erlangen edition of Luther’s works contains his exposition of the “Sermon on the Mount.” Dr. Irmischer, the editor of this edition, prefaces the volume with these remarks:

“During Bugenhagen’s absence Luther preached a long while for him, regularly, on the fifth, sixth and seventh chapters of Matthew, beginning Nov. 9, 1530. These sermons were then published, first in 1532, at Wittenberg, under Joseph Klug, in quarto; in 1533 at Marburg, in octavo; and in 1539, again in Wittenberg, in quarto, under Johann Weiss. In 1533 they were also translated into Latin by Vincent Obsopoeus.”

In this Irmischer edition these sermons are thrown into the form of a running commentary, and as such they are now presented to the English reading public by the Lutheran Publication Society.

When requested by a committee of this Board to translate this work, I called attention to the peculiar roughness and even fierceness of Luther’s way of expressing himself and of denouncing the minions of the papacy. But the committee judged it best that Luther should be allowed to speak for himself, presuming that intelligent English readers will make due allowance for the style of speech common in that day, and for the peculiarly aggravating circumstances under which that noble man of God was called to labor. An admirable vindication of these “Asperities” appeared in the ninth volume of our excellent Quarterly Review, in 1881; it is from the pen of Rev. Dr. Morris, one of Luther’s most enthusiastic admirers.

Charles A. Hay.

Gettysburg, Feb. 11, 1892.

LUTHER’S PREFACE

I am truly glad that my exposition of the three chapters of St. Matthew, which St. Augustine calls the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, are about to be published, hoping that by the grace of God it may help to preserve and maintain the true, sure and Christian understanding of this teaching of Christ, because these sayings and texts are so very common and so often used throughout all Christendom. For I do not doubt that I have herein presented to my friends, and all others who care for these things, the true, pure Christian meaning of the same.

And it is hard to understand how the very devil himself has by his apostles so cunningly twisted and perverted especially the fifth chapter, as to make it teach the very opposite of what it means. And though Christ purposely intended thereby to antagonize all false teaching, and to exhibit the true meaning of God’s commands, as he expressly says: “I am not come to destroy the law;” and takes it up piece by piece to make it perfectly clear; yet the infernal Satan has not found a single text in the Scriptures which he has more shamefully perverted, and made more error and false doctrine out of, than just this one which was by Christ himself ordered and ...