Going Up and Going Down
He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under His feet. He rode on a cherub and flew; He came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
PSALM 18:9-10
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Going Up and Going Down
[God's] feet stand in the soul, but in the fog and darkness of faith; then, however, we shall rise up to Him in the future by sight. But now He comes down to us by faith. And this is the first meaning. Second ... the darkness covers the ungodly, who are the earth and His footstool when He lights up the low-hanging heavens. Third, the darkness covers and blinds the flesh of sin so that it may not see desirable things, and lies beneath the feet, that is, the desires of Cod. . .. There follows, and He ascended upon the cherubim (v. 10). God does not ascend physically but in our understanding and love, when He is acknowledged to be the most high and incomprehensible and supremely lovable. And thus, the more we advance in our understanding of Him, the more He ascends, because His exalted state is recognized ever more clearly. But this going up does not take place except where there is a previous going down, just as Christ first descended and then ascended.
From First Lectures on the Psalms, on Psalm 18 (Luther's Works 10:118-19)
March 6
PSALM 18:9-10
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Going Up and Going Down
[God's] feet stand in the soul, but in the fog and darkness of faith; then, however, we shall rise up to Him in the future by sight. But now He comes down to us by faith. And this is the first meaning. Second ... the darkness covers the ungodly, who are the earth and His footstool when He lights up the low-hanging heavens. Third, the darkness covers and blinds the flesh of sin so that it may not see desirable things, and lies beneath the feet, that is, the desires of Cod. . .. There follows, and He ascended upon the cherubim (v. 10). God does not ascend physically but in our understanding and love, when He is acknowledged to be the most high and incomprehensible and supremely lovable. And thus, the more we advance in our understanding of Him, the more He ascends, because His exalted state is recognized ever more clearly. But this going up does not take place except where there is a previous going down, just as Christ first descended and then ascended.
From First Lectures on the Psalms, on Psalm 18 (Luther's Works 10:118-19)
March 6
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