The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Peter — Section 219

day life.. Th_e ~rd,himself chose and wore that lowly garb. He girded himself; he wnshed his disciples feet, setting us an example that. we should do as he bath done unto ~s.; that as he_, our Lord and Master, washed the feet of his creatures, so we should be w11lmg to subnut ourselves to humble works of Christian love for the lowliest of our brethren. 3. Its blessedness. "God resisteth the proud." It is not out of envy, as the heathen f~ls~ly imagined, and as _the serpent whispered to Eve; the greatness of men ~loes no~ m:itate God,_ as th~ Pers1au thought ~Herod., vii. 10); man'11 little great- ness 1s nothmg lil companson with the eternal maJesty of the Most High. It is out of loving care for us; it is because pride means rebellion, and rebellion is the very essence of sin ; and sin means misery, ruin, death. Therefore " God resisteth the proud • " he setteth himself in array against them; they must be brought low; they must ~ooner or later be humbled to the very dust: for how can they stand acrainst the Lord God Almighty? "He that exalteth himself shall be abased." But "h~ giveth a-race to the humbl~.•- The heart that is filled with pride bath no room for the blessed gr~ce of God; throngmg thoughts of self drive out the holy thought of God. And the presence of God is the secret of holiness; without that presence there is no spiritual life. "Abide in me," saith the Lord. It is only lowly-hearted men who can abide in Christ; they obey the calling of the Lord; they come out of themselves, so to speak, away from the bustling, restless pursuit of self-interest and self-exaltation into the quiet, solemn, hallowing sphere of the blessed Saviour's presence; they a.bide in that presence, because proud thoughts of self do not draw them away, because, through the absence of pride and self-assertion, they are enabled to concentrate their minds upon the gracious presence of Christ. And while they abide in the humble and reverent sense of his presence, he abideth in them; he makes his influence more deeply felt, more fully enjoyed. The spiritual life, which comes from him who is the Life, spreads itself throughout their whole being, bringing forth the fruit of holiness. Thus God giveth grace to the humble. Therefore we ought to humble ourselves under his mighty baud. His hand is mighty, almighty; it is vain to strive against the Lord; he brings down the proud and humbles them to the dust. But not all whom the Lord humbles with his chastisements learn to humble themselves; they are crushed, broken down, but they do not learn that sweet humility which reco~izes its own unworthiness and submits in patient resignation. He doth not exalt all who are humbled, but all who humble themselves. Let us seek this precions grace of him who is meek and lowly in heart. "He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." He is exalted now above a.II heavens. He will exalt those who learn of him the grace of humility, who take up the cross, denyino- themselves. He will exalt them in due time; in his own good time: not yet, perh~ps; but surelv, sooner or later, when he sees it ·best for us; certainly at the great day, when thos~ who have taken his yoke upon them shall sit with him upon his throne. IL To TRUSTFULNESS. L Description of Christian trustfulness, It consists in casting all our care upon God. This life is full of anxieties. They '?ary indefinitely with our position in life, our circumstances, our characters; but none aro free from· them. They throng in upon our thoughts and disturb our rest with their distracting presence. The Lord says, "Take no thought;" St. Paul echoes his words, "Be careful for nothing;" St. Peter, quoting the ancient Scriptures, bids us cast all our care upon the Lord. It is not thoughtfulness which our Lord and his apostles forbid; it is not carelessness and improvidence which Holy Scripture commends. The original word in• each passage means" anxiety, distracting care." We must do our duty, we must l?rovide, as far as lieth in us, for ourselves and for those dependent on us, and then trust m God, castin" ail our anxiety upon him. 1f we have learned to humble ourselves under the mi"hty hand of God, we shall know that all our troubles and trials come from him; we"' shall know, too, that his fatherly hand is ever over his ~eople, that they are in his- hands always. Humility increases trustfulness; the sense of our own weakness deepens. our confidence in God. 2. The grounds of it. "He careth for us." His care is not like ours; it is not anxiety (µ.lp,µ.11a.). It is c'l.lm, loving providence. He ordereth all things both in heaven and earth, and he cares for us (abTrj µb,E, 1npl ~µii111), for he loves ue. All things are known to him-tho fall of every sparrow. He knows all our needs, difficulties, dangers, temptations, with the same fulness of knowledge and depth of sympathy as if there were no other beings in the world besides ourselves and our God. In on. v. 1-14.] 'l'IIE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF PETER. 215