Humility Recommended. A. D. 66.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all
of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God
resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6 Humble
yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you
in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth
for you.
Having settled and explained the duty of the pastors or spiritual guides
of the church, the apostle comes now to instruct the flock,
I. How to behave themselves to their
ministers and to one another. He calls them the younger, as being generally
younger than their grave pastors, and to put them in mind of their inferiority,
the term younger being used by our Saviour to signify an inferior, Luke
xxii. 26. He exhorts those that are younger and inferior to submit themselves
to the elder, to give due respect and reverence to their persons, and to
yield to their admonitions, reproof, and authority, enjoining and commanding
what the word of God requires, Heb. xiii. 17. As to one another, the rule
is that they should all be subject one to another, so far as to receive
the reproofs and counsels one of another, and be ready to bear one another's
burdens, and perform all the offices of friendship and charity one to another;
and particular persons should submit to the directions of the whole society,
Eph. v. 21; Jam. v. 16. These duties of submission to superiors in age
or office, and subjection to one another, being contrary to the proud nature
and selfish interests of men, he advises them to be clothed with humility.
"Let your minds, behaviour, garb, and whole frame, be adorned with humility,
as the most beautiful habit you can wear; this will render obedience and
duty easy and pleasant; but, if you be disobedient and proud, God will
set himself to oppose and crush you; for he resisteth the proud, when he
giveth grace to the humble." Observe, 1. Humility is the great preserver
of peace and order in all Christian churches and societies, consequently
pride is the great disturber of them, and the cause of most dissensions
and breaches in the church. 2. There is a mutual opposition between God
and the proud, so the word signifies; they war against him, and he scorns
them; he resisteth the proud, because they are like the devil, enemies
to himself and to his kingdom among men, Prov. iii. 34. 3. Where God giveth
grace to be humble, he will give more grace, more wisdom, faith, holiness,
and humility. Hence the apostle adds: Humble yourselves therefore under
the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time, v. 6. "Since
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble, therefore humble
yourselves, not only one to another, but to the great God, whose judgments
are coming upon the world, and must begin at the house of God (ch. iv.
17); his hand is almighty, and can easily pull you down if you be proud,
or exalt you if you be humble; and it will certainly do it, either in this
life, if he sees it best for you, or at the day of general retribution."
Learn, (1.) The consideration of the omnipotent hand of God should make
us humble and submissive to him in all that he brings upon us. (2.) Humbling
ourselves to God under his hand is the next way to deliverance and exaltation;
patience under his chastisements, and submission to his pleasure, repentance,
prayer, and hope in his mercy, will engage his help and release in due
time, Jam. iv. 7, 10.
II. The apostle, knowing that these Christians
were already under very hard circumstances, rightly supposes that what
he had foretold of greater hardships yet a coming might excite in them
abundance of care and fear about the event of these difficulties, what
the issue of them would be to themselves, their families, and the church
of God; foreseeing this anxious care would be a heavy burden, and a sore
temptation, he gives them the best advice, and supports it with a strong
argument. His advice is to cast all their care, or all care of themselves,
upon God. "Throw your cares, which are so cutting and distracting, which
wound your souls and pierce your hearts, upon the wise and gracious providence
of God; trust in him with a firm composed mind, for he careth for you.
He is willing to release you of your care, and take the care of you upon
himself. He will either avert what you fear, or support you under it. He
will order all events to you so as shall convince you of his paternal love
and tenderness towards you; and all shall be so ordered that no hurt, but
good, shall come unto you," Matt. vi. 25; Ps. lxxxiv. 11; Rom. viii. 28.
Learn, 1. The best of Christians are apt to labour under the burden of
anxious and excessive care; the apostle calls it, all your care, intimating
that the cares of Christians are various and of more sorts than one: personal
cares, family cares, cares for the present, cares for the future, cares
for themselves, for others, and for the church. 2. The cares even of good
people are very burdensome, and too often very sinful; when they arise
from unbelief and diffidence, when they torture and distract the mind,
unfit us for the duties of our place and hinder our delightful service
of God, they are very criminal. 3. The best remedy against immoderate care
is to cast our care upon God, and resign every event to the wise and gracious
determination. A firm belief of the rectitude of the divine will and counsels
calms the spirit of man. We ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done,
Acts xxi. 14.
Sobriety and Vigilance Enjoined. A. D. 66.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring
lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist
stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren that are in the world.
Here the apostle does three things:--
I. He shows them their danger from an
enemy more cruel and restless than even the worst of men, whom he describes,
1. By his characters and names. (1.)
He is an adversary: "That adversary of yours; not a common adversary, but
an enemy that impleads you, and litigates against you in your grand depending
cause, and aims at your very souls." (2.) The devil, the grand accuser
of all the brethren; this title is derived from a word which signifies
to strike through, or to stab. He would strike malignity into our natures
and poison into our souls. If he could have struck these people with passion
and murmuring in their sufferings, perhaps he might have drawn them to
apostasy and ruin. (3.) He is a roaring lion, hungry, fierce, strong, and
cruel, the fierce and greedy pursuer of souls.
2. By his business: He walks about, seeking
whom he may devour; his whole design is to devour and destroy souls. To
this end he is unwearied and restless in his malicious endeavours; for
he always, night and day, goes about studying and contriving whom he may
ensnare to their eternal ruin.
II. Hence he infers that it is their
duty, 1. To be sober, and to govern both the outward and the inward man
by the rules of temperance, modesty, and mortification. 2. To be vigilant;
not secure or careless, but rather suspicious of constant danger from this
spiritual enemy, and, under that apprehension, to be watchful and diligent
to prevent his designs and save our souls. 3. To resist him stedfast in
the faith. It was the faith of these people that Satan aimed at; if he
could overturn their faith, and draw them into apostasy, then he knew he
should gain his point, and ruin their souls; therefore, to destroy their
faith, he raises bitter persecutions, and sets the grand potentates of
the world against them. This strong trial and temptation they must resist,
by being well-grounded, resolute, and stedfast in the faith: to encourage
them to this,
III. He tells them that their care was
not singular, for they knew that the like afflictions befel their brethren
in all parts of the world, and that all the people of God were their fellow-soldiers
in this warfare. Learn, 1. All the great persecutions that ever were in
the world were raised, spirited up, and conducted, by the devil; he is
the grand persecutor, as well as the deceiver and accuser, of the brethren;
men are his willing spiteful instruments, but he is the chief adversary
that wars against Christ and his people, Gen. iii. 15; Rev. xii. 12. 2.
The design of Satan in raising persecutions against the faithful servants
of God is to bring them to apostasy, by reason of their sufferings, and
so to destroy their souls. 3. Sobriety and watchfulness are necessary virtues
at all times, but especially in times of suffering and persecution. "You
must moderate your affection to worldly things, or else Satan will soon
overcome you." 4. "If you would overcome Satan, as a tempter, an accuser,
or a persecutor, you must resist him stedfast in the faith; if your faith
give way, you are gone; therefore, above all, take the shield of faith,"
Eph. vi. 16. 5. The consideration of what others suffer is proper to encourage
us to bear our own share in any affliction: The same afflictions are accomplished
in your brethren.
The Apostle's Prayer. A. D. 66.
10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal
glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect,
stablish, strengthen, settle you. 11 To him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen.
We come now to the conclusion of this
epistle, which,
I. The apostle begins with a most weighty
prayer, which he addresses to God as the God of all grace, the author and
finisher of every heavenly gift and quality, acknowledging, on their behalf,
that God had already called them to be partakers of that eternal glory,
which, being his own, he had promised and settled upon them, through the
merit and intercession of Jesus Christ. Observe,
1. What he prays for on their account;
not that they might be excused from sufferings, but that their sufferings
might be moderate and short, and, after they had suffered awhile, that
God would restore them to a settled and peaceable condition, and perfect
his work in them--that he would establish them against wavering, either
in faith or duty, that he would strengthen those who were weak, and settle
them upon Christ the foundation, so firmly that their union with him might
be indissoluble and everlasting. Learn, (1.) All grace is from God; it
is he who restrains, converts, comforts, and saves men by his grace. (2.)
All who are called into a state of grace are called to partake of eternal
glory and happiness. (3.) Those who are called to be heirs of eternal life
through Jesus Christ must, nevertheless, suffer in this world, but their
sufferings will be but for a little while. (4.) The perfecting, establishing,
strengthening, and settling, of good people in grace, and their perseverance
therein, is so difficult a work, that only the God of all grace can accomplish
it; and therefore he is earnestly to be sought unto by continual prayer,
and dependence upon his promises.
2. His doxology, v. 11. From this doxology
we may learn that those who have obtained grace from the God of all grace
should and will ascribe glory, dominion, and power, to him for ever and
ever.
