The two parts of this story are arranged following the lament and response paradigm that we know from the psalms, such as Psalm 22, juxtaposed - but with no transitional element. This is composed, right down to the smallest detail, in parallel with the definition of the gospel that Luther had framed just before this (1522) in his “Preface to the New In that work, as well as in what is admittedly a still sharper way in this hymn, the gospel is described as a two-part story: as the story of a lament that has been heard, which, as light through a magnifying glass, concentrates on Romans 7:24 and 25a: “Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” As in the creed, the “I” of every Christian speaks here - in fact, in stanzas 2 and 3, it is the “I” of every human being. It is thus certainly incorrect - because of what happens in the introductory stanza - to suggest that this is about an individual “I” who is isolated from the congregation. And the rest of the story that is described in detail in nine long stanzas consistently uses the first-person singular, but only after the introductory stanza summarizes the story in anticipatory fashion. The reason and circumstances of this song of praise, Spirit-inspired, are extolled as events that have taken place “for us” The summons to praise (1:1-4) and its short summary of the reason (1:5-7) are both cast in the we form. In the first stanza the other Christians who are present are encouraged to sing. With respect to the description of the form of this text as a whole, which certainly appeared already in 1523, we can begin with the superscription included in one of the first printings: “A Song of Thanks for the Most Magnificent Act of Kindness That God Has Shown Us in Luther, who is rooted deeply in the psalms, understandably uses the formal elements from these ancient prayers of Israel and the church: description of need, description of liberation.Īt first glance the song seems to be that of just one individual. That which is “doxological” speaking about God is demonstrated here in a paradigmatic way. What is said can obviously be said only in an appropriate way in this manner: as a song, as praise, in which the story of liberation from deepest need is narrated. The form of this text is not superficial as regards its content. Martin Luther experienced, preached about, reflected about, and sang about this God, the God of passionate mercy - most concentrated in the song “Dear Christians, One and All, Rejoice.” What is ontologically unthinkable is described in Hosea 11:7-11, which ancient metaphysics would reject as mythology: an “overthrow,” a change within God himself: God is not the one who is identical with himself, who corresponds to himself: “My heart has changed within me my remorse grows powerfully, I will not execute my fierce anger I will not again destroy Ephraim for I am God, not a human being” (vv. The deepest conflict with Greek metaphysics and ontology must of necessity come at the point where the biblical texts are taken with utter seriousness.
What does the Christ event mean for Luther with respect to speaking about God’s being?Īccording to the Greek way of thinking, what belongs to the essence of God as essence itself is immortality, impassibility, and along with it the inability to experience emotions, which is known as apathy.
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