In his funeral collection Christliche Geseng Lateinisch vnd Deudsch, zum Begrebnis (Wittenberg, 1543), Luther included the ancient Gregorian responsory Ecce quomodo moritur iustus (for the Tenebrae services), and modified it in two ways to make it fit for a funeral (for that’s what it’s about). The best-known polyphonic setting of the responsory is that of Jacob Handl (Gallus) from 1587. Although included in many Lutheran hymbooks, that is not the version we are talking about, but the traditional responsory for sabbato sancto. A comparison of the versions throws Luther’s choices into sharp relief.
First the “standard” version: (Tenebrae) – the text is (based on) Isaiah 53:1-2. Instead of the ‘verse’ about the Agnus we also find a Psalm 75:3: In pace factus est locus eius, et in Sion habitatio eius (Handl/Gallus).
The text is Isaiah 57There is an alternative ‘verse’: Ps. 75:3: In pace factus est locus eius, et in Sion habitatio eius
The versions side by side
| Roman responsory Gallus/Handl | Luther 1543 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ecce quomodo moritur justus | Ecce quomodo moritur iustus | |
| et nemo percipit corde | et nemo percipit corde | |
| et viri justi tolluntur | viri iusti colliguntur | |
| et nemo considerat | et nemo considerat | |
| a facie iniquitatis sublatus est iustus | ante faciem calamitatis colligitur iustus | |
| et erit in pace memoria eius | Intrat in pacem | |
| — | et quiescit in cubili suo | |
| — | qui recte ambulavit | |
| Verse | Is. 53:7: Tamquam agnus coram tondente obmutuit OR: Ps. 75:3: In pace factus est locus eius, et in Sion habitatio eius | Ps. 17:15 (adapted): Et ipse in iustitia videbit faciem Dei, saluabitur cum evigilaverit in similitudine eius |
| Theme | Suffering / Passion Rest | Resurrection Assurance of salvation |
| Liturgical | Tenebrae, Holy Saturday | Funeral |
1. Biblical correction of the Isaiah text
The Gregorian responsory text was an ancient liturgical adaptation of Isaiah 57:1-2 that differs from the biblical text at two points. Luther corrected it on the basis of his own Bible translation:
- tolluntur → colliguntur / German: aufgerafft / weggerafft
- iniquitatis → calamitatis / German: Unglück
Moreover, Luther quotes Isaiah 57:2 more fully than the Roman responsory: “Intrat in pacem et quiescit in cubili suo, qui recte ambulavit” is entirely absent from the Roman liturgical version. sola scriptura also active in liturgical reformation (as announced in the Preface of the Funeral songs (see Luther’s hymnbook 1543)
2. Theological reorientation: from suffering to resurrection
More far-reaching is Luther’s choice of a new verse. The three versions each adopt a fundamentally different perspective.
The Roman responsory quotes Isaiah 53:7 — the silent lamb before its shearer — fitting squarely within Passion piety: Gallus/Handl optoin for Psalm 75:3 — “In pace factus est locus eius, et in Sion habitatio eius” — likewise drawn from the Tenebrae liturgy of Holy Saturday. The setting remains entirely within the Passion liturgy, as Gallus’s own rubric confirms: “De Passione Domini Nostri Iesu Christi”. The character is contemplative: the righteous man finds rest and is held in remembrance.
Luther departs from the Passion liturgy (not so strange, because it’s in the hymnbook for funerals, for which by the way this response/verse was also used among roman-catholics) and chooses Psalm 17:15, but adapts the text on two levels.
Grammatically: the Vulgate has the first person singular — “ego in iustitia videbo faciem tuam, implebor cum evigilavero similitudine tua” — a personal prayer of the psalmist. Luther shifts this to the third person (et ipse… videbit… saluabitur… evigilaverit), so that the text connects with the preceding “qui recte ambulavit”: the righteous man of whom it has just spoken. This change of person is editorial.
Homiletically: the word implebor (“I shall be filled/satisfied”) is replaced by salvabitur (“he shall be saved”). This is not a correction (Luther himself had translated: “Ich wil sat werden / wenn ich erwache nach deinem Bilde” — fully in line with the Hebrew (אֶשְׂבְּעָה, to be satisfied) and the Vulgate/Latin (implebor). The Latin of the responsory thus is Luther’s invention. Salvabitur is a targeted theological intervention: he wants to announce salvation, das Heil… Resurrection.
The contrast between the two interventions is thus sharp: in the Isaiah text, Luther corrects the liturgy toward his Bible translation — sola scriptura in the strict sense. In the Psalm text, he departs from his own Bible translation in favour of a theologically weightier word. Two different kinds of intervention: philological there, theological here.
Conclusion
Luther’s adaptation of this ancient responsory is exemplary of his theological (and thus his) liturgical reformation/transformation. He retains the Gregorian melody and the familiar text, but purifies and reorients both.