38. More than this, God's ears, the apostle tells us, are also open
to the prayers of the righteous. As he looks upon you with gracious,
winning eyes, so also are his ears alert to even the faintest sound.
He hears your complaint, your sighing and prayer, and hears, too,
willingly and with pleasure; as soon as you open your mouth, your
prayer is heard and answered.
39. Again, Peter says: "The face of the Lord is upon them that do
evil." True, God's eyes are upon the righteous, but nevertheless he
sees also the others. In this case he beholds not with a friendly
look or gracious countenance, but with a displeased and wrathful
face. When a man is angry the forehead frowns, the nostrils dilate
and the eyes flash. Such a manifestation of anger are we to
understand by the Scripture when it refers here to "the face of the
Lord." On the other hand it illustrates the pleased and gracious
aspect of God by "the eyes of the Lord."
40. Now, why is "the face of the Lord" upon evil-doers and what is
its effect? Certainly God's purpose is not to heed or to help them,
to bestow blessing or success upon their evil-doing. His purpose is,
according to the succeeding words in the psalm, "to cut off the
remembrance of them from the earth." This is a terrible, an appalling
sentence, before which a heart may well be prostrated as from a
thunderbolt. And ungodly hearts would be thus appalled were they not
so hardened as to despise God's Word.
41. Notwithstanding the indifference of the wicked, the sentence is
passed. Verily it is no jest with God. It illustrates how sincerely
he cares for the righteous and how he will avenge them on the wicked,
toward whom his countenance bespeaks punishment in due time and the
cutting off of their memory from the earth. In contrast, the
righteous, because they have feared God and abode in their piety
though suffering for it, shall, even here upon earth, live to see
blessing and prosperity upon their children's children. Although for
a time the company of the wicked conduct themselves with pride upon
the earth, and imagine themselves secure beyond the possibility of
being unseated, nevertheless when their hour comes they are suddenly
hurled down from earth into the abyss of hell and must suffer the
righteous to remain in possession of the earth. So testifies Christ
in Matthew 5, 5, and Psalm 37 more fully explains the matter.
42. It is proven by all the examples of Scripture and also by the
experience of the whole world from the beginning, that God casts down
those who seek only to injure. They who have despised God's threats
and angry countenance with security and defiance have at last
experienced the fulfillment of these warnings and perished thereby.
King Saul thought to destroy godly David, to exterminate his root and
branch and blot out his name as if he had been a rebellious, accursed
man. But God effected the very opposite. Because David in his
sufferings and persecution walked in the fear of God and trusted him
with simplicity, desiring no harm to his enemy, God's gracious eye
was ever upon him and preserved him from that enemy. On the other
hand, the angry face of God was bent upon King Saul, and before David
was aware of it the king had fallen, and his whole family met ruin
with him; they were obliged to surrender crown and kingdom to the
persecuted David.
43. Christians should strengthen their faith with the comforting
thought that God's gracious countenance is over them and he turns eye
and ear toward them; and that on the other hand he looks with angry
face upon their enemies and those seeking to injure, and will take a
hand in their game, obliging them either to refrain from their
evil-doing, or to perish by it. Such retribution is certain. No one
can live long without proving by his own experience and that of other
men the truth of the proverb, "Right will assert itself." However, we
lack in faith and cannot wait God's hour. We think he delays too long
and that we suffer too much. But in reality his time will come
speedily, and we can well wait and endure if we believe in God, who
but grants our enemies a brief opportunity to be converted. But their
appointed hour is already at hand and they will not escape if it
overtakes them without repentance.
"And who is he that will harm you, if ye be zealous of that which is
good? But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed
are ye."
44. According to Peter's words here, you have a very great advantage
over all your enemies, whoever they be, in being richly endowed by
God with eternal blessing. You know he will protect, support and
avenge you, hence you abide in your faith and godliness. Although
your adversaries think to trouble and harm you, they can do you no
real injury whatever they effect. For wherein can persecution harm if
you strive for godliness and abide in it? Not by malice, might and
violence can your enemies take from you, or diminish, your piety and
God's grace, his help and blessing. And even from all the bodily and
temporal harm they can inflict, you suffer no loss. For the more they
seek to injure you, the more they hasten their own punishment and
destruction, and the greater is your recompense from God. By the very
fact that they slander, disgrace, persecute and trouble you, they
multiply your blessing with God and further your cause, for God must
the sooner consider your case, supporting you and overthrowing them.
They but prepare your reward and benefit by their wicked, venomous
hatred, their envy, anger and fury. At the same time they effect for
themselves conditions the very reverse. Being condemned by their own
evil consciences, they cannot in their hearts enjoy one good day, one
peaceful hour; and they heap up for themselves God's wrath and
punishment.
45. Indeed, you are all the more blessed, temporally and eternally,
Peter declares, for the very reason that you suffer for
righteousness' sake. You are so to regard the situation and to praise
and thank God for your suffering. The apostle looks upon tribulation
in this light and exalts it as supreme blessedness and a glorious
thing. Christ says in Matthew 5, 11-12: "Blessed are ye when men
shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil
against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for
great is your reward in heaven." Oh, your adversaries should purchase
a little of this comfort regardless of cost and boast of suffering a
little for the sake of righteousness! Could they understand the
promise and be worthy of it, how intensely might they desire to have
suffered all and much more than they thought to inflict upon you, if
only they might be blessed and prove the comfort of this precious,
divine promise!
"Fear not their fear, neither be troubled; but sanctify in your
hearts Christ as Lord."
46. Here again Peter resorts to Scripture and cites a verse from the
prophet Isaiah (ch. 8, 12-13) where he admonishes God's people not to
be terror-stricken by the wrath and threats of men, but firmly and
confidently to trust in God. The prophet speaks similarly in chapter
51, verse 7: "Fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye dismayed
at their revilings." As if he would say: Why will you permit
yourselves to be disturbed by the persecutions of men, however great,
mighty and terrible enemies they may be, when you are blessed and
happy in God to the extent that all creatures must pronounce you
blessed? Moreover, you know the eyes of your God behold you and his
ears are open to your cry, and whatever you desire and pray for is
heard and granted. More than this, your adversaries are threatened by
his angry face. What are all men--tyrants, pope, Turk, Tartars, ay,
the devil himself--compared to this Lord, and what can they do
against him, when and wheresoever he chooses to show his power? They
are but as a straw to a mighty thunderbolt which makes the earth
tremble. Therefore, if you are indeed Christians and believe in God
you ought in no wise to fear all these adversaries, but rather,
joyfully and with scornful courage to despise their defiance, their
threatening and rage, as something utterly harmless to you; they are
but effecting their own destruction in hurling themselves at the
Majesty before which all creatures must tremble.