Psalm 51:8. To my hearing Thou wilt give joy and gladness, and the humbled bones will rejoice.

“This is the doctrine for which we bear not only the name “heresy” but punishment, namely, that we attribute everything to hearing or to the Word or to faith in the Word—these are all the same—and not to our works. Yes, in the use of the Sacraments and in confession we teach men to look mainly at the Word, so that we call everything back from our works to the Word. The hearing of gladness is in Baptism, when it is said: ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Matt. 28:19); ‘He who believes and is baptized will be saved’ (Mark 16:16). The hearing of gladness is in the Lord’s Supper, when it is said, ‘This is My body, which is given for you’ (Luke 22:19). The hearing of gladness is in confession, or, to call it by its more proper name, in absolution and the use of the keys: ‘Have faith. Your sins are forgiven you through the death of Christ.’ Though we urge the people to the Sacraments and to absolution, still we do not teach anything about the worthiness of our work or that it avails by the mere performance of the work, as the papists usually teach about the Lord’s Supper, or rather about their sacrifice. We call men back to the Word so that the chief part of the whole action might be the voice of God itself and the hearing itself” (Luther’s Works, vol. 12, p.369-370).

Psalm 51:8. To my hearing Thou wilt give joy and gladness, and the humbled bones will rejoice.

“All this can be summarized as follows. When you become sad or feel divine wrath, do not look for any other medicine or accept any other solace than the Word, whether it is spoken by a brother who is present or comes from the spirit remembering a word you had heard earlier—like the passages: ‘I do not want the death of the sinner, but that he turn from his way and live’ (Ezek. 33:11); ‘Life is in His will’ (Ps. 30:5); ‘God is God of the living’ (Matt. 22:32); ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). These and similar passages bring the hearing of gladness, whether they come from the mouth of another or from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This, too, is hidden truth and wisdom, which inexperienced men cannot grasp. Therefore the pope’s teachers bring vastly different ways by which they want to heal troubled minds.

In addition, this verse is an outstanding testimony to the adornment of the ministry of the Word or the spoken Word. Because he asks for the hearing of gladness, he clearly shows that the Word is necessary for consoling minds, whether it is brought by a brother or whether the Spirit suggests a word that once was heard. This verse battles, first, against those who hate or neglect the external Word and are captivated by their own vain and inane speculations. Secondly, it also battles against those who do not want to accept the Word in their anguish of mind, but either are unbelievers or flee from the Word to their works, as the others do to their speculations. Both are in error—the man of thought as well as the man of action. Only if you hear will you avoid error” (Luther’s Works, vol. 12, p.368-369).

Psalm 51:8. To my hearing Thou wilt give joy and gladness, and the humbled bones will rejoice.

“All this is to be understood significantly and emphatically, for it belongs to the refutation he began earlier. By antithesis he condemns all the diverse ways which men enter when their consciences are troubled, because despite their excellent appearance they do not bring the joy that hearing brings. Troubled consciences are like geese. When the hawks pursue them, they try to escape by flying, though they could do it better by running. On the other hand, when the wolves threaten them, they try to escape by running, though they could do it safely by flying. So when their consciences are oppressed, men run first here, then there; they try first this, then that work. In this way they only heap up dangers and useless works for themselves, though the one true and sure way of healing the conscience is what David here calls “sprinkling,” by which the Word is heard and received. As far as we are concerned, the whole procedure in justification is passive. But when we are most holy, we want to be justified actively, that is, by our works. Here we ought to do nothing and undertake nothing but this, that we open our ears, as Psalm 45:10 tells us, and believe what is told us. Only this hearing is a hearing of gladness, and this is the only thing we do, through the Holy Spirit, in the matter of justification. So it was a hearing of gladness for the paralytic when Christ said (Matt. 9:2): ‘Take heart, My son; your sins are forgiven.’ So David’s gladness was to hear from Nathan (2 Sam. 12:13): ‘You shall not die.’” (Luther’s Works, vol. 12, p.368).

Psalm 51:8. To my hearing Thou wilt give joy and gladness, and the humbled bones will rejoice.

“There is good reason for my repeated statement that this psalm not only provides an example of justification in David, but also presents the true teaching about the reason and manner of justification in all men. Thus this psalm is a sort of general rule how sinners become righteous. The last two verses have set forth a part of this rule, refuting all the other ways on which men rely for cleansing from their sins and reconciliation with God, either by the works of the Law or by other works they chose for themselves. He does not only require a hidden truth against hypocrisy, but he also requires another sprinkling than the one the Law had. To make this more clearly understood, he adds: ‘To my hearing Thou wilt give joy.’ It is as though he were to say: ‘Sprinkle me in such a way that Thou wilt give joy to my hearing, that is, that I might have peace of heart through the Word of grace.’ The emphasis falls on the noun ‘hearing,’ but the Hebrew reads a little differently: ‘Make me hear joy.’ The meaning is the same in either case. He simply wants the forgiveness of sins, which alone grants joy, to come only through the Word or only through hearing. For if you tortured yourself to death, if you shed your blood, if with ready heart you underwent and bore everything that is humanly possible—all this would not help you. Only hearing brings joy. This is the only way for the heart to find peace before God. Everything else that it can undertake leaves doubt in the mind” (Luther’s Works, vol. 12, p.367-368).

“According to the above mentioned principles, all doctrines must be conformed, and that which is contrary to them, must be rejected and condemned, as being repugnant to the unanimous declaration of our faith.

In this manner the difference between the holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments and all other writings, will be preserved, and the holy Scriptures alone will remain as the sole judge, rule, and standard, according to which, as the only touchstone, all doctrines shall and must be understood and judged whether they be good or evil, right or wrong.

But the other symbols and writings mentioned above, are not authorities like the holy Scriptures; but they are only a testimony and explanation of our faith, showing the manner in which at any time the holy Scriptures were understood and explained by those who then lived, in respect to articles that had been controverted in the church of God, and also the grounds on which doctrines that were opposed to the holy Scriptures, had been rejected and condemned”  (Formula of Concord, Epitome, Rule and Standard, Henkel p. 554)