1 Peter 3:13 And who is he that will harm you, if you be followers of that which is good? I. THE FOLLOWING OF THAT WHICH IS GOOD IS THE READY WAY TO PRESERVE US FROM VIOLENCE AND HURT, BECAUSE THIS INOFFENSIVE AND RELIGIOUS DEPORTMENT COMMANDS THE RESPECT AND LOVE OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT ENEMIES TO PIETY AND VIRTUE. II. The following of that which is good, the habitual practice of religion and charity, will shelter us against harm and wrong, BECAUSE IT ENTITLES TO THOSE PROMISES, WHEREBY GOD HAS ASSURED HIS SERVANTS, THAT SO FAR AS SHALL BE SUITABLE TO HIS GLORIOUS DESIGNS IN GOVERNING THE WORLD, AND GRACIOUS PURPOSES TOWARDS THEM, HE WILL PROTECT THEM against the malice of those who intend or attempt their hurt (2 Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 91:1-4; Psalm 121:5-7; Isaiah 25:1, 4; Isaiah 54:14, 17; Proverbs 16:7). 1. God sometimes accomplishes His promises of protection to His servants by changing the hearts and dispositions of their bitterest enemies, so that they become favourers and friends (Proverbs 21:1). Esau (Genesis 32:7, 11); Egyptians (Exodus 11:3). 2. God preserves the honest followers of that which is good from harm, by so chaining up and overawing the malice of their enemies, that however their inward hatred remain, yet they do not manifest it by outward injuries (Genesis 31:42; Exodus 34:24). 3. As the enemies of the righteous are often constrained to conceal their malice; so, when God thinks it fit to interpose His power, He screens the righteous from the most furious assaults of their open hatred and wrath, Red Sea; Saul and David; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; Mordecai. III. The following of that which is good, though it does not always mollify the hearers, nor manacle the hands of men, yet it does that which is much better, viz., IT TURNS THE GREATEST INJURIES OF THEIR MOST DEADLY ENEMIES TO THEIR PROFIT AND ADVANTAGE. This effect it produces sometimes in their temporal, but always in their spiritual and eternal interests (Romans 8:28). Conclusion: 1. We are informed from the truth already cleared, of the most certain, the most innocent method of securing ourselves and our interests against oppression and wrong, viz., the sincere following of that which is good (Isaiah 32:17, 18; Isaiah 33:16; Proverbs 18:10). 2. Seeing God has taken the followers of that which is good under His protection, this should fill their hearts with joy and courage, and banish from them sinful and disquieting sadness and fear, even when their enemies are most powerful (Isaiah 26:1; Psalm 5:11, 12; Psalm 27:1-3). 3. The consolation which this doctrine yields to the sincerely good is much enhanced while he considers that the greatest injuries are turned by the sovereign providence and grace of God to their benefit, sometimes in their temporal, and always in their spiritual and eternal interests. 4. Since the safety of our persons and interests from oppression lies chiefly in the following of that which is good, it should endear unto us religion and virtue, and powerfully dissuade us from ungodliness and vice. 5. Since the harming of those who are the followers of that which is good is so unreasonable in itself, and such a perfect contradiction unto God, who is the great Patron of holiness, this should make men both ashamed and afraid to be guilty thereof. 6. Though they who, after serious examination of their ways, see their own uprightness, need not suspect the same because of those evils they meet with from the world, yet persecution, as all other afflictions do, fairly invites us to search and try our heart and behaviour, that so we may know, whether or not by our turning aside from that which is good, we have provoked God to expose us to the spite and violence of men. (David Ranken.) Parallel Verses KJV: And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?WEB: Now who is he who will harm you, if you become imitators of that which is good? |
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