Exposition Upon 1 Peter, Biblical exegesis · Chapter 5 · Verse 6
Verse 6. Humble your selves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.
THe Apostle having shewed that Humility is an ornament to be labored for, and given a Reason thereof, he doth here press the same with an Exhortation, teaching both us how to preach, and you how to hear: We must deliver sound Doctrine, prove it strongly by Arguments and Reasons, and then urge the practice thereof, to the avoiding of evil, and performing good, else we do nothing. People also must thus hear;How Ministers ought to preach, and people to hear. when they know a thing, then must they yield to the obedience thereof, else all is nothing. We must be cast into the mold and shape of the Doctrine delivered; we must follow the sample and patern of the Word; we must write after our copy, though haply we do it not so fairly as were requisite; we must be like the eccho that answereth the same sound to the voyce,Psal. 27. 8. though not perfectly: Our lives must in some measure be answerable to the word.
Humble your selves therefore.] Humility is the way to Gods grace. If in seeing our own vileness and sin, we do humble our selves, God will have mercy on us: Shall not the grace of God allure us, which is more worth then the whole world? what else will? But of this before.
Under the mighty hand of God,] Two other Reasons perswading to humility.Now follow two other Reasons to perswade to humility; One from Gods power, with whom we have to do; the other, from the preferment whereunto we shall attain in due time, he will exalt us.
From the 1. The mighty hand of God, either to lift us up being humble, or cast us down being proud. Note, that
The consideration of Gods Almightiness is a good mean to make us humble:The consideration of Gods power a good means to perswade to humility. See this in Peter, at the great draught of fishes, Depart from me, for I am a sinful man: So Abraham, I am but dust and ashes: So Isaiah, Wo is me, I am undone, &c. Hence God gave his Law in such terrible maner, and humbled his Servants whom he was to send unto his people with fearful visions;Isa. 6. 5. so when God would somewhat take down Job, he did it by shewing him his power in his creatures. Gods hand indeed is mighty, that made the world of nothing, divided the Red sea, opened the earth in sunder, made the mountains to tremble, and will raise us out of our graves in the last day. This ought much to affect us, that so we might seek to get into his favor, stoop to his Word, submit our selves under the cross, and be humbled: The want of this is the cause of pride, and that we do not stoop before the Lord: We think because we can make our part good one with another, we can do so with God: But O potsheard, who art thou that strivest with thy maker? What is the potsheard to the bar of iron? whether it give or take the blow, it breaketh into pieces; the proudest Gyants have not stood before him when he hath been angry: If the Lyon roar,Simile. the Beasts tremble. If a Gyant should take an ordinary man in hand, what could he not do? would he not fling him against the ground, and make the earth to ring? so doth God by many a proud man in a year, he flings him on his back against the ground, and makes all the Countrey ring of the fall.
O then consider this, and humble thy self for thy sins past; labor to get into Gods favor, stoop to his Word when he speaks, yield and bow under his afflicting hand, lest he tear thee in pieces, whiles there is none to help,Psal. 2. 12. if his wrath burn but a little: Oh, Kiss the Son lest he be angry, and ye perish in his wrath: Little did Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and others, think God had such a mighty hand: Be wise by their harms, stoop in time, lest he make thee have woful experience of his Almightiness to thy confusion.
And he will exalt you,] Namely, with grace here and glory hereafter. This is the second Reason, from which note, that
Humility is the way to glory:Humility is the way to glory. This may be shewed in the forementioned properties of humility: If a man confess and humble himself in the sight of sins, God will exalt him with comfort; so will he outwardly advance the humble and dejected. Leah being despised, God made her fruitful,Gen. 29. 31. as David from the Ewes to be anointed, and after he was humbled under many afflictions,Psal. 78. 71. God exalted him to the Kingdom in his own time;See Iob 5. 11. and 22. 29. so were Joseph, Esther, Mordecai exalted; so will he exalt to glory in Heaven all his that have humbly walked before him amidst their sorrows,Prov. 29. 23. and the many afflictions of this life, as Lazarus.
Labor we therefore for humility,Use. if we would be indeed exalted.
In due time.] God doth all things in due time.Though Gods servants be not always advanced or delivered when they will, yet shall they in due time: God is not onelyonly able and willing to exalt his humble servants, but infinitely wise to know the fittest time:Ier. 5. 24. He doth all things in due time: If he deal with the insensible earth (if our sins hinder not) he sends rain,Psal. 145. 15. the former and latter in due season: If with bruit Creatures, he gives them meat in due season, on whom they wait for it, much more will he give unto his own servants:Deut. 32. 35. He that teacheth men to do things in due season, to sow, plant, reap, fell timber, all things to their best advantage, will do his in season. As he pulls down the wicked in due time (though often not when we think good, or so soon as we would, but when it shall be most for his glory, the comfort of his servants, and the greatest shame and astonishment of his adversaries, as it was with the builders of Babel, Haman, and others) so will he also exalt his own, as were Joseph, David, Moses, with others.
Let us wait upon God patiently,Use. think not long, use the means diligently, and pray, but murmure not, use no unlawful means: We must not despair, though we be not holpen by and by, knowing that the due time is not yet. Sarah and Rebecca failed herein, and used unlawful shifts, the one to obtain a childe by her handmaid; the other, the blessing for the Son she loved. Isaac would not do so, but waited and prayed twenty years together for a childe, and never would meddle with any handmaids bed: We may not appoint the Lord the time, whose are times and seasons.