Exposition Upon 1 Peter, Biblical exegesis · Chapter 5 · Verse 7
Verse 7. Casting all your care on him, for he careth for you.
HEre he exhorts to another necessary vertue, even Faith and Confidence in God, whereby laying aside all superfluous and excessive care, we depend upon God for the welfare both of body and soul: This is of very great use in our life, and that which will make it much more comfortable then most mens lives be. It may depend on the foregoing matter thus,The prevention of an Objection. as an Answer to an Objection that might rise from the former point, which concerneth humility: If we should be thus humble towards men, then should we be misused of all, and made a threshold whereon to tread: No, saith the Apostle, cast your care on God for that, do that you are commanded, and commend your selves to God, he will care for you; Will he suffer them that obey him to be trodden under foot? No: What will he do then? take the care of them, and that both for body and soul: Here then we have an Exhortation and a Reason.
Casting all your care on him,] Christians must neither be careless, nor too careful.What, would he have us altogether careless, and have no regard what becometh of our bodies and souls, but leave all to God? No, there are two extremes to be avoided, too careless, and too careful; a Christian must go in the midst.
By All, They must not be carelesshe means all superfluous and distrustful care. God bids we should labor, strive, seek, give all diligence in the matters of Salvation, to get Knowledge, Faith, Repentance, &c. therefore must hear, read, meditate, pray, confer, &c. for though God work both the will and the deed, yet he will have us work out our salvation with fear and trembling; he will not save us without us: So for this life, we must be painful; as Adam both before and after his fall: Every man must have an honest calling, and therein take pains (else he must not eat) that he may be a profitable member in his place:Prov. 10. 4. As the wise man commendeth diligence, so doth he as well speak against idleness; yea, we must have an honest and moderate lawful care; therefore is the sluggard sent to the Ant to forecast,Pro. 6. 6. and save somewhat in youth against age,Gen. 41: 48. in health against sickness, as Joseph in the time of plenty saved for the years of famine; All this God likes well: When these two meet, as they did in that good woman, Pro. 31. or when one is husbandly both for soul and body, as either of them is better then nor, so both of them are excellent: Who may tend upon the good of their souls, better then the diligent and provident? Who may do more good to others then they? for idle persons and unthrifts, are neither good for themselves, nor any body else.
1. This rebuketh slothful Christians,Use 1. that have no care of their souls, regard not the Lords Market-day, the Sabbath, care not for the Word, or else come coldly unto it, without buying, or laboring to make provision of those graces needful to Salvation; care not for Prayer, the Sacraments, Religious Company, &c. Hence it is that they have ragged, beggarly souls, void of any true riches or spiritual graces, and so will be cast out with Dogs: This will be fearful condemation, that so few wise Merchants purchase the Pearl, lay up treasure for their souls, or seek the true riches in Christ; few labor for the meat that endureth to life everlasting: O the soul is little regarded, and yet what profit is it to win the whole world with the loss thereof?
2. It rebuketh idle persons,Use 2. that have no Calling, no skill in any, no minde to follow any; or if they do, then do they unthriftily waste their time in drinking, gaming, &c. and when they come home, either through their own pride and unthriftiness or their wives, they lash out as long as their means lasts, without any frugality or moderation, whence poverty taketh hold on them, whereof they should take notice, and reform: Oh, its an ornament in a Christian to be diligent and frugal.
The other extreme which is forbidden,They must not be too careful. is, Excessive care; and this is for soul or body: Soul, when we cast distrustful thoughts, or have cares out of our own reach,About their souls. and which be in Gods power; as thus, If one that hath been a notorious bad person, hearing the Gospel preached, and Mercy proclaimed to such, should be held off, because he never looks that any such thing should be done to him, but thinks it impossible he should ever come to good, that hath been thus and thus bad, and so hold off, and thinks as good never being to seek to God, for it will never be. This partly must use the means that God hath ordained for miserable sinners to come unto him, and finde mercy by, and commend the success to God. Another having begun to finde some comfort, and enter upon a good course, is held off, hearing he must renounce all sin, and labor to please God in all things, else no salvation; now he hath one sin or corruption he thinks verily he shall never prevail against, therefore as good never go further: He must use the means of subduing this by the Word, Prayer, the Sacraments, &c. knowing that as God gives him strength against some, he can also and will in time against all corruptions; in the mean time, take it. Another having begun, hears, that he only that endures to the end shall be saved, and he thinks he shall never, but shall fall either finally, and perish, or at least most foully into some error in judgement, or sin in life, and shame all, and therefore as good go no further: But God bids us use the means, and look for good success, and cast our selves on him. I grant indeed, if we should look upon the world, the Devil, our selves, we might fear; as also considering that many great ones have faln; but its like either they trusted to themselves, or neglected the means; which if we do not, God will keep us: If we should use the means, and yet torture our selves with care, how miserable were our lives? Another saith, he shall never be able to abide persecution and the fire, let such labor for faith and love, and yield to God in what he calls for; bearing present afflictions patiently, whom God will enable to greater, if he shall call them thereto: So some are afraid they shall dye a raving death, some that they shall be bedrid and lame, some that if they should have the Stone, or such a grievous torment, they were never able to endure it, &c. Its good in some sort to hove some such forethought to quicken our care, but not distrustfully to discourage our selves. Again, if a man should be so careful for his soul, as to neglect his Calling, and think he should not follow it, this were excessive care.
Excessive care for the body;About their bodies. its either for fear of evils, or for obtaining good things: For the 1. O what if I should lose all I have, and come to misery, by Bankrupts, fire, &c? What if I should fall into such a cruel mans hands, he would undo me? Also what if I should for my well doing and profession have my Landlords displeasure, be put into Courts, brought into trouble, &c. we must labor for grace to bear us out in such things, and for heaven, doing our duty wisely and godly, as Daniel, and leaving the issue to God, on whom we must cast our selves and our care.
For the 1. Its either when we take care for the successes of things, which is Gods part, or when we use excessive care, that makes us sin, by neglecting some duty, or committing some evil: For successes, as when we have made a bargain, and used the means, then we fall to take thought for the success too; but Oh, if it should not prove well, I should be hindred or undone, but we must use the means, and leave the success to God, when we have used the outward means, and prayed, and so sanctified our labors, then ought we to live by faith, and be assured that we shall have that success that God shall see best. If it shall fall out to my desire, I shall desire to be thankful, if otherwise,Hest. 4. 16. I know God will dispose it to the best, as Esther, If I perish, I perish. For excessive care for worldly things, when men will for these neglect good duties to God, their own Souls, Families, Poor, Word, Sacraments, Prayer, &c. or shall commit evil, by stealing, oppressing, dissembling, defrauding, breaking the Sabbath, &c. This is wicked. Would God have us provide for our selves with his dishonor, with the wounding of our own souls, and hurting our brethren? or cannot he provide for us sufficiently without these? When we follow our Callings (all duties discharged) and be provident and thrifty that nothing be lost, this is as far as we must go, further we must not, any further is too far.
1. This rebukes the universal sin in this Land:Use 1. Poor people take such thought what they shall eat, &c. that they lye, steal, &c. The richer sort use all unconscionable courses, dare not come to the Word for fear of wanting, nor read nor pray in their Families, but dare do any evil, or at least be so excessively careful, as that thereupon they use lying, deceit, oppression, racking rents, &c. and this is not the fault of the bad onelyonly, but even of Gods servants, who be tainted with too much care, under the the colour of lawful care going too too far: They are careful oftentimes about the successes of things, when they might by faith rest quietly on God: They do often neglect good, or post it over, and do evil with more care.
The root of this in the men of the world, is want of Faith, for had they any perswasion of Gods love and care, they would not be thus careful; so also the want of prizing, seeking and regarding Heaven and Spiritual things. In Gods children, the weakness of Faith is the ground hereof; as also their too little esteeming of heaven and heavenly things: For if we were assured of Gods particular caring for us, aud that heaven (so excellent a place) is ours, and did more highly esteem of Spiritual graces, with the means thereof, we would spend much time in them, and so be kept from so much worldly care.
2. Let us therefore labor to be purged of this distrustful care,Use 2. or being free, to keep our selves so: To this end we must labor for faith, and to encrease therein, and highly to prize grace; and the rather must we thus do, because as this vice hath so ill roots, so the fruits are as bad. Excessive care for the world hurts the body, brings gray hairs, distracts and rends the minde asunder, makes a man unfit for any good, unfit to be a good Magistrate (as who will never tend or regard the publique good) so to be a good Minister, nay, to be a good housholder, as which will justle out or hinder Reading, Prayer, good Duties, &c. It hinders a man from the Word, or if he doth come thereto, he is already so full, as all runs beside, or falls asleep, and so cannot meditate thereon,Luke 14. 18. or receive any comfort thereby; it choaks the Word,Luke 21. 34. yea, in time makes a man mock at it: It makes him unfit to pray or perform any other duty, yea, unfit to dye, and for Christs coming; but fit for all evil, for its the root of all evil, and easily leads a man to the breach of any Commandment: The Devil can fasten any temptation on such a one.
Let us therefore take heed of it,Why we ought not to be too careful of worldly things. and the rather for that 1. These things be good in a very mean degree, cannot breed contentment, nor make a man happy. 2. They are base, bones for Dogs, such as Reprobates have more in plenty, then Gods Children, more meet as wages for slaves, then portions for Children, even the wicked have these, but the godly have spiritual graces here, and hereafter eternal life. 3. They be very vain, subject to many losses and changes; yea, and we are as vain as they, which if we should never lose, yet might be taken from them not twenty or forty years hence, but ere to morrow; and whether we shall leave them to our children, we cannot tell, haply it may be to strangers, yea enemies; if to our children, we know not how they will spend them. If some miserable men that have robbed God, stoln from the poor, sold themselves to the Devil, had but leave to look out of their graves a little, and see who dwells in their houses, and have got that they left, it would encrease their torment to see they were such fools: Therefore to be excessively careful, is neither good for our selves nor our children, we must follow our calling and be thrifty, and go as far as we may lawfully, and no further: We must give our children good education; and if we can do that by good means, all duties discharged, then there's great hope of Gods blessing, and if they fear God, it shall be blessed, and that shall be sufficient; and if they fear not God, the more we leave them, its the worse, and the more hurt they will do: how happy would it have been for many a youth, if he had been left at a trade hard at work, &c. he should not have run into many sins that his abundance hath led him into: If we leave them the poors part, the Ministers part, &c. God will rifle in their pack, and have so many quarrels against them, so that a little by lawful means gotten, shall do them more good, then a great heap of Lambs grease, when the heat of Gods wrath begins to beat upon it: A mans house cannot be established by iniquity. In all these respects, let us take heed of distrustful and excessive care: O how sweetly might a Christian live, if he would follow his Calling diligently and thriftily, and go no further, but leave the rest to God: Thus might we be freed from a world, nay, rather an Hell of cares that now distract us, and make us unfit for good.
For he careth for you.] God cares for his own children.A main Reason; we may spare all our care, any more then the lawful use of the means; for why, if God care for us, we are well enough; He is infinite in power, therefore nothing impossible to him, nothing can hinder him; He is infinite in love and mercy, therefore ready enough to do us good; so in wisdom, therefore knows what we need, and is good for us: Its not so with the children of any earthly Parents, for they sometimes would care and do for them, and cannot; some can, and will not; some both can and would if they knew, but through distance of place, and such like lets, they know not their state.
Now that God doth care for his, appears, for he chose us before the Foundation of the world; In Adam He created us happy, and fully furnished us with all things needful for us; In our own Creation, he gave us our shape in our mothers womb, and kept us that we were not stifled: So in our birth, infancy, wanton youth, and wilde time, when we cared not for him nor our selves, he provided for us, as ever since by his Spiritual goodness: He hath provided us a peaceable Land, Magistrates to rule us, Ministers to teach us, given us his Son revealed in the Gospel: He chose us ere we were, therefore will not forsake us being his; gave us his Son, therefore with him will give us all good things; called us of his own free grace without our desire, and will he not fulfil his good works, now we desire it above all things; he gave us life, therefore wil give us food and raiment for the preservation thereof: He gave us those without our either care, help or pains, and will he not give us the lesser with our pains?Matth. 6. 26. He feeds the fowls of the air, and clothes the Lillies of the field, and are not we much better then they, Use 1.and can use means more then they?
1. For so many of us as know God to be our God and Father, let us rest our selves on this promise, and help our selves against this world of cares, which through the want of faith doth so much distract us: O the state of Gods Children, is a safe happy state, if they knew it, which through faith they might.Use 2.
2. For the world, no marvel though they ca…k and use all unlawful means, seeing they have no Father to care for them, and are poor Orphans: If a poor fatherless boy should run up and down, toil and moil,Simile. and be careful to please every body, every one would say, Alas, its a fatherless childe, &c. but if a rich mans Son should so do, and whine and drudge, and pilfer, geting into one bodies cupboard, and stealing a loaf, into anothers cellar, and stealing drink, into anothers field, and stealing his hedges, would not every one cry out on such a one,See Matth. 6. 32. and would it not be an horrible disgrace both to the Son and Father? So it is with the godly and ungodly about these worldly things, &c.