Fifth Sunday in Lent: Psalms, Martin Luther, and Hymn Paraphrases

Sunday, April 6, 2014 

Fifth Sunday in Lent

Psalms, Martin Luther, and Hymn Paraphrases

The appointed psalm in the lectionary for today is Psalm 130, which begins “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.  Lord, hear my voice!”

This morning, I had planned for you to hear a prelude by Felix Mendelssohn – the first movement of his Sonata for Organ, No. 3 in C.  This movement incorporates the melody of the great hymn by Martin Luther, Aus tiefer Not, in the pedal line of the fugue.  However, the piece is difficult, and so you will have to wait until another time to hear it!

Still, it is worthwhile to consider the hymn that Luther composed.  Luther created this hymn as a paraphrase of Psalm 130 – a poetic version of the psalm text in his vernacular German.  One key aspect of Luther’s reforming goals was to allow the congregation to participate more fully in worship.  Placing the words of scripture and liturgy into the spoken language of the people was one way to do this.  Naturally, the Psalms, being the hymns of our Hebrew ancestors in faith, were a ready source for translation by Luther and other sixteenth-century reformers. 

In the introduction to the Psalms in the Lutheran Study Bible, Rolf Jacobsen writes:

Martin Luther wrote that the book of Psalms “might well be called a little Bible.  In it is comprehended most beautifully and briefly everything that is in the entire Bible.  It is really a fine enchiridion or handbook. . . so that anyone who could not read the whole Bible would here have anyway almost an entire summary of it, comprised in one little book”

By this Luther obviously did not mean that the Psalms teach Christian beliefs, since they were all written before the time of Christ.  Rather, Luther was referring to the fact that the Psalms explore the highs and lows of the life of faith.  They sing with joy and trust from the mountaintop moments and cry out with pain “out of the depths” (Ps 130:1).  The Psalms week with those who suffer, laugh with those who celebrate, and teach all of us about the long journey of faith.

Luther considered Aus tiefer Not one of his favorite psalm hymns and intended it as a funeral hymn.  Take a look at the text of the hymn in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (ELW 600).  Meditate upon how its language explores the depth of sorrow and the fervor of hope that one experiences when a loved one dies.  This is a great hymn and we would do well to sing it often!

One additional musical note for the morning:  the postlude is a setting of the hymn tune Aus tiefer Not, by Max Drischner.  Set as a chaconne, or ground bass, the music repeats the opening phrase of the hymn tune in the pedal line over and over.  This musical form conveys the sense of supplication that is mentioned in the hymn text, and the desire of the litany gains fervor as the musical accompaniment in the hands increases in intensity. 

As you ponder the hymn and the psalms this week, can you think of another psalm paraphrase by Luther?  (Perhaps his most iconic hymn!)