Changed by Grace

Psalm 45: To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah: a love song.
PSALM 45 (the title)
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Changed by Grace
Wherever the word "song" (canticum) is used in psalm titles, it must always be understood that such a psalm is one of joy and dancing and is to be sung with a feeling of rejoicing. For a song and singing spring from the fullness of a rejoicing heart. But a spiritual song, or spiritual melody, is the very jubilation of the heart. So the title means: This psalm is for triumph, or a triumphal song, about Christ and the Church, which are roses or lilies, a spiritual instruction revealed to the sons of Korah, a song of the beloved, Christ and the Church, which are loved by each other. . . . But the ancient translation [of the title] reads, "Unto the end, for those who will be changed." . . . These words want to be understood as referring to the faithful, who have been truly changed by Christ and altered and reborn and begotten again. . .. Therefore all of us are here changed by grace from sin to righteousness, from flesh to spirit, from the letter and shadow of the Law to the life and light of the Gospel, and after this from corruption to incorruption, from disgrace to eternal glory.

From First Lectures on the Psalms, on Psalm 45 (Luther's Works 10:208-9)
June 9
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