V. 18a. “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee.”
Here we are again reminded that the earth of itself brought forth no such thing; but only on account of the sin of Adam, as Moses had before expressly said, “For thy sake.” Wherefore as often as we see thorns and thistles; as often as we behold tares and other noxious weeds growing in our fields and in our garden, so often are we reminded as by certain signs of sin and the wrath of God. Wherefore it is not only in churches that we hear ourselves accused of sin; every garden, every field and almost the whole creation is filled with such preachers and such monitors of our sin and of the wrath of God, which is brought down upon us on account of that sin.
Wherefore all prayer to the Lord is necessary that he would take away from our eyes and from our hearts this marvelous insensibility; that being thus perpetually reminded of our sin, we may at length put off our self-security and walk in the fear of God. For by these various evidences of the curse of God, we are continually met, cast down and overwhelmed. This Moses will now still more extensively set before us. He next says:
V. 18b. And thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
This is a new calamity. For above God had given unto man the sweetest and most delightful gifts; even that he should eat of all the trees of paradise except two only. The Lord had also given him dominion over all fishes and over all that the whole earth produced, whether of fruits or of animals. But now all these blessings are taken from him, on account of the eaten fruit and nothing is left him but the herb of the field. And from this passage I believe it can be fully proved, that Adam did not feed upon butter, or milk, or eggs, or cheese, or flesh, or even on apples or pears, etc., but on pot herbs and the seeds of certain herbs and plants only; such as peas, beans, millet, rice, wheat, flour, etc. Where then were the splendor and luxury of the banquet at which Adam feasted his friends, when he gave a daughter in marriage, or when he himself was present at the marriage of any of his sons; seeing that nothing was granted them of God, on which to feed but “the herb of the field?”
Such then was the frugal fare of the primitive age of the world. It consisted of the most common and simple food with water. Now however a horrible luxury has overrun the whole present generation of men. They are not satisfied with collecting together flesh of every kind for the gratification of their appetites; but flesh of every kind is mixed with fish of every kind; spices also of every kind are used in addition. Nay, the dissatisfied perverseness of nature is indulged to such an extent, that those things by nature sweet are rendered by various condiments bitter; and those by nature bitter are by the same means rendered sweet.
What varieties prevail in our drink also! Who would not consider himself made a laughing-stock, if he should see his host set before him water as his drink? Nor are we content with beer, which is brewed at our own homes, nor with wines, made on our paternal estates. We even fetch them from beyond the sea. If our first father Adam could return on earth, think you not that he would laugh at, or rather wonder at, this madness of appetite in his sons? Why, he would avoid as poison those very things which we eat and drink with avidity and delight; and he would prefer to all these our dainties even rapes or turnips in their natural undressed state.
In this passage frugality of living is commended to us. For we are here taught that our first parents, being thus righteously deprived of all other kinds of food, had nothing left for food but the herb of the field. These facts therefore ought to lead us not only to frugality, but also to patience; whenever we see others abounding in delicacies and dainties of every kind, while we ourselves have nothing but bread, salt and water. For our thoughts ought to be these: this is the punishment justly inflicted on Adam. When he might have enjoyed, by the will, and command, and gift of God, the delicious fruits of every kind which grew in paradise; he was compelled with all his posterity to live on the common pot herbs, because of his disobedience.
V. 19a. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.
With what variety of expression and repetition does Moses dwell on this labor and trouble, when he is declaring the manner in which the husband must labor and toil in feeding his family, defending his property and governing his house! And all these toils and troubles are far more difficult in our age on account of the perverseness of men, than they were “in the beginning.” For we universally witness, even where the expectation of food is certain, with what difficulty a family are kept to their duty. Nor was Adam himself without his experience of this great evil. For even while he was ruling his family with all possible holiness, he witnessed murder committed by his son Cain. I say nothing now about all other sorrows which a long life compels a man to see and bear in his posterity. This anxiety and toil therefore await the husband. He must endure this labor, which is neither pleasant nor successful. Nor ought any one to be found who does not endure this sweat. Hence, much more perilous is the life of the Papists; all of whom abuse their wealth, obtained by the labor of others, to their own gratifications and indolence.
But here a question has been raised, whether all men ought not to be husbandmen, or at least whether they ought not to devote themselves to manual labor? Some did indeed thus foolishly contend at the beginning of the Gospel among us. For they so abused this and other like passages of Scripture, which command the labor of the hands, that the youth throwing aside their literary studies gave themselves up to manual employments; and Carlstadt, the leader of these misguided ones, leaving his proper station in life, purchased a farm, and dug and cultivated his own land. For myself indeed if I could with a good conscience forsake my calling as a minister of the Word, it would be far more easy and pleasant employment for me to be employed in cultivating my garden, digging with my spade and breaking the clods with my shovel, than to endure this hard labor, which I now undergo. For the toil of country laborers bears no proportion whatever to this our ministerial “sweat.”
Wherefore their interpretation of this passage, who contend that manual labor only is the sweat here spoken of, is to be altogether rejected. The declaration of Christ is perfectly plain upon this point who commands that those who teach in the Word should enjoy the labors of others “And into whatsoever house ye shall enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And in that same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give for the laborer is worthy of his hire,” Luke 10:5, 7. Here the Lord takes bread from the table of those who hear the Word of God, and gives it to the teachers of the Word. In the same way also Paul speaks, when he says, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel,” 1 Cor. 9:14. And it is in confirmation of this same mind of God, that the apostle cites that word of the law, “Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn,” verse 9. And indeed why is the commandment concerning the payment of tithes given to the husbandmen, who labors and cultivates his farm, if the ministers of the Word are to procure their food by the labor of their own hands?
These and like passages of Scripture show that the “sweat of the face” is the common curse on all men. The first “sweat” is, that of husbandmen and householders; the second, the “sweat” of magistrates; the third, of teachers in the Church. Of all these orders of men the condition of husbandmen is the happiest. This the poet of old affirms:
Felices nimium sua si bona norint, Agricolae.
Happy their lot; did they but know their good,
Who cultivate the earth for all. — Virg. Georg. 2, 458.
For though they do “sweat” under great labor, yet that labor is seasoned with a peculiar pleasure, while the new and marvelous faces of all creatures directly meet their eyes daily. Whereas in the political world and in the Church infinite troubles and molestations present themselves, in addition to the daily perils which are incurred, if a minister of Christ perform his duty faithfully. For we speak not now concerning those indolent mortals, who know not nor acknowledge these punishments of sin, but who are devoted only to the consideration of the manner in which
they can best satisfy their lusts. Let such Epicureans be left to the indulgence of their own evil appetites and inclinations. We are here speaking of those who do perform seriously what they undertake to do, whether in the State or in the Church. Such men labor and sweat more in one day than a husbandman does in a whole month, if the magnitude and the various perils of their works be considered. It is for this very reason also that tributes and revenues, and other dues of the same description, are paid unto kings and princes. And who does not see that this is but a small return or reward after all to our rulers for the immense labor they undergo, where they really do their duty faithfully. And even if there be some who neglect their duty, this legitimate ordinance of God is not on their account to be disregarded.
I have somewhere heard it said of the Roman Emperor, Maximilian Augustus, that he was so overwhelmed with his public duties that he never gave himself sufficient time for eating his meals. He was therefore sometimes compelled to withdraw from his State labors, and seclude himself in the woods to indulge in hunting. Sometimes also he would change his raiment and mingle with private society so that he might enjoy greater freedom in conversation. And though this occupation of hunting was sometimes considered a vice in that Emperor, yet those who really knew the extent of his labors and the reality of his daily life considered that this amusement was adopted by him of necessity and not for pleasure. What labors of the plow then, what labors of the spade, what other toils of a rustic life, will you bring into comparison with that “sweat” which the government of such a mighty empire as that of Rome demanded? Wherefore the palaces of kings and princes do indeed bear their names as such, while the kings and princes themselves are the hardest worked of all servants. Hence monks and the whole confederacy of the Pope are the only beings that really live a royal life, because they leave all labors, all business affairs and all the perils of them to others, while they themselves enjoy all the comforts of life in perfect indolence.
These same observations apply equally to the pastoral charge in the Church which charge is to be considered the heavier since the duties are more important which a pastor has to perform. For are we to suppose that Augustine lived at ease and gave himself up to his pleasures only, surrounded as he was by so great a multitude of adversaries, against whom he had daily to contend to prevent them from wholly subverting as they would have done the doctrine of Christ? For such were the Pelagians, the Donatists, the Manicheans and other like disturbers of the churches. Likewise I in this day by the grace of God so perform my duties as to leave no one, I believe, to envy such a laborious life of ease as I daily pass. It is the height of folly that fanatics urge on all persons the necessity of manual labors, which nevertheless are useful for the health of the body. Whereas on the contrary, those great labors of the State and Church, which we have just described, wear out the body and exhaust as it were all the moisture of the very bones and their inmost marrow.
Let us therefore duly and rightly distinguish this “sweat” as it ought to be distinguished. The household “sweat” is great, the civil or political “sweat” greater still, but the Church “sweat” is the greatest of all. Only look at the Apostle Paul and you will at once see the greatness of his sweat. For seeing that the Church is in all ages infested with devils and harassed by heresies, scandals and great sins, by the unrighteous violence of tyrants and by evils of every description; will any man say that there are no labors and no sweats in the Church? Will any one affirm that those who rule in the Church are not well deserving the provision which they receive?
We may say this of the Pope and the Cardinals, and of all that congregation of the wicked who do no work at all, consult only their belly and their ease, spending the greatest wealth. These are they of whom we may rightly say with Paul, “If any one will not work, neither shall he eat,” 2 Thess. 3:10. Now the work of the Church is to teach the Word, to administer the Sacraments, to war with fanatics, to remove scandals out of the way, to build up the godly in the faith, etc. Of those who really do this Christ says, “The laborer is worthy of his hire,” Luke 10:7.
Now the condition of Adam, the first sinner, was if rightly considered worse than ours. For while we all sweat separately, each one in his own order and station, Adam was compelled to endure at one and the same time the sweat of the household rule, the sweat of the political rule and the sweat of the Church rule. He alone performed all these duties to his family and posterity as long as he lived. He provided for his family and ruled it. He trained them in piety and was at the same time their father, their king and their priest. And how full of pain and peril each one of these duties is, universal experienceteaches.
Wherefore we need great consolation to support us against all these evils, and we should exercise our minds in much patience, seeing that we find these calamities to be laid even on the elect also, who possess the hope of a resurrection and of eternal life. As therefore this hope is thus left to us afflicted men, it becomes us to be of a courageous mind and to overcome our evils by means of this hope, because we are not destined to live here forever. Just as men, who when traveling happen to find a miserable lodging and a covetous host, console themselves with the thought that though their food be bad and their bed hard, their misery will last for one night only. Such ought our thoughts to be in the midst of our calamities on account of the sin of the fall. For what are our two or three years of life, almost the half of which we pass in insensible sleep, when compared with eternity!
Let afflictions and adversities come therefore as the Lord shall be pleased to appoint them to each of us, whether they be the sweat of the home rule, of the state rule, or of the Church rule; we will not suffer ourselves to be moved by them to impatience. We will not cast aside our home duty, or our state duty, or our Church duty. Such woman-like weakness as this becometh not brave soldiers. It is unworthy them to throw away their arms, and to flee at the first onset. And what of pleasures and of ease? We are not appointed unto them, but unto labor and active life. Hence the poet of old says:
Tu ne cede malis; sed contra audentior ito.
Yield not to ills; but bolder grow, as these
Are seen t’ increase. — Virg. Aen. 6, 96.
And this shall we be able to do, if we set against these temporal afflictions the hope of a resurrection and of eternal life. As therefore no one would willingly lose this hope, so let all men consider that they are bound not to forsake that calling and station of life where they have been placed by God. Let him who is called to teach the churches, do it with a magnanimous spirit, moved neither by his own perils nor by the lazy life of popes, who, when they ought to be preaching the Gospel, ruling the churches, hearing sacred causes and judging controversies concerning doctrine and helping the churches that have need of help, cast off all these highest duties and leave them to the useless monks, while they themselves are occupied in accumulating monies and making provision for fulfiling their lusts, Rom. 13:14. As these therefore escape the sweat, they shall not have the cooling refreshment. As they will not suffer with Christ, they shall not reign with him, Rom. 8:17.
On the other hand let all of us who endure this sweat, each one in his station, always think that, although we may have a bitter burden to bear, these afflictions will have their certain end. Hence Moses now adds the following consolation under any affliction however hard:
V. 19b. Till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
With respect to wicked men they endure an infinite number of calamities with the hope of enjoying a little morsel of pleasure. What perils by land and by sea does the merchant experience with the hope of gain? For what a small hire does the soldier sell his life. The harlot in the brothel is compelled to endure a thousand-fold greater evils than any wife in the honest home. Hence the Germans call them by a striking proverb, “the devil’s martyrs;” because they of their own accord cast themselves into the greatest calamities, which they might never have experienced, if they had been w
illing to live a godly life. And again, what a host of evils do men, given to wine and to gluttony, bring upon themselves by their excesses, from all of which they might have lived free had they eaten and drunk more moderately.
Wherefore, well may men be lost in considering what remedy can possibly be found for the human race. Since they are so hardened by Satan that they not only do not feel their evils, but studiously follow after them and pursue them with all eagerness. For if they really did feel the evils of their ways would they not forsake them? But the fact is that such insensibility benumbs the minds of men, so that you may see them glorying in their very evils themselves. As, therefore, such wicked perverseness is found in the greatest part of mankind, that for the sake of a light and foolish pleasure they will involve themselves in sure calamities, it is wonderful that the godly do not consider these things for their good, and say within themselves, Although I must live in the midst of all these various evils, yet they must all soon end and be recompensed by another and a better life.
And this is the consolation which this sacred sentence is intended to afford. For it gives a promise that all these calamities shall have an end, and that, too, by the bruising and crushing of the “serpent’s head,” Till, says Moses, thou return unto the ground, ELHAADAMA. For this original word signifies the ground or earth in general. But the Hebrew word APHAR signifies, properly, recently dug or ploughed earth, or a lump of newly turned up earth. Our translation renders this original word by “dust;” that it may signify loosened or crumbled earth. For Adam was made a living man out of a clod or lump of the earth. When therefore the bonds of this clod shall be loosened, it shall return, the Lord says, to its former mould or dust.
Collected Works of Martin Luther Page 503