1 Peter 5:8

5:5-9 Humility preserves peace and order in all Christian churches and societies; pride disturbs them. Where God gives grace to be humble, he will give wisdom, faith, and holiness. To be humble, and subject to our reconciled God, will bring greater comfort to the soul than the gratification of pride and ambition. But it is to be in due time; not in thy fancied time, but God's own wisely appointed time. Does he wait, and wilt not thou? What difficulties will not the firm belief of his wisdom, power, and goodness get over! Then be humble under his hand. Cast all you care; personal cares, family cares, cares for the present, and cares for the future, for yourselves, for others, for the church, on God. These are burdensome, and often very sinful, when they arise from unbelief and distrust, when they torture and distract the mind, unfit us for duties, and hinder our delight in the service of God. The remedy is, to cast our care upon God, and leave every event to his wise and gracious disposal. Firm belief that the Divine will and counsels are right, calms the spirit of a man. Truly the godly too often forget this, and fret themselves to no purpose. Refer all to God's disposal. The golden mines of all spiritual comfort and good are wholly his, and the Spirit itself. Then, will he not furnish what is fit for us, if we humbly attend on him, and lay the care of providing for us, upon his wisdom and love? The whole design of Satan is to devour and destroy souls.

He always is contriving whom he may insnare to eternal ruin. Our duty plainly is, to be sober; to govern both the outward and the inward man by the rules of temperance. To be vigilant; suspicious of constant danger from this spiritual enemy, watchful and diligent to prevent his designs. Be stedfast, or solid, by faith. A man cannot fight upon a quagmire, there is no standing without firm ground to tread upon; this faith alone furnishes. It lifts the soul to the firm advanced ground of the promises, and fixes it there. The consideration of what others suffer, is proper to encourage us to bear our share in any affliction; and in whatever form Satan assaults us, or by whatever means, we may know that our brethren experience the same.

1 Peter 5:8-9 . Be sober — See on 1 Thessalonians 5:6 . Keep your appetites and passions under proper restraint and government, or awake, as υηψανε also signifies; namely, to a deep sense of the certainty and importance of things invisible and eternal; be vigilant — Watchful against the subtle and malicious designs of your spiritual enemies. As if he had said, Awake, and keep awake; sleep no more; be this your care, white you cast your temporal and anxious cares on God. How deeply had Peter himself suffered for want of the wakeful vigilance which he here recommends! Because your grand adversary, the devil, full of rage, as a roaring lion — Fierce and hungry, walketh about — Watching for an opportunity to insnare and destroy you; seeking — With all subtlety likewise, whom he may assault with the greatest likelihood of success, and devour — Swallow up both soul and body. This manner of speaking strongly expresses the insatiable rage of this enemy of mankind to hinder their salvation, and the danger we are in from his devices and snares. He sometimes attacks the people of God in person, though not visibly, and sometimes by his ministers, the other evil spirits who are in league with him; and sometimes by wicked men, his subjects, whom he instigates to tempt them by the terror of persecution.

This account of the devil’s malice is given with great propriety by Peter, to whom our Lord had said, Simon, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee. Whom resist — As you regard your safety and life, be careful to oppose him in all his assaults; steadfast in the faith — Firmly believing the truths and promises of the gospel, and adhering constantly to, and confiding in Christ, in whom all these truths and promises are yea and amen. To show the efficacy of faith, in enabling us to resist temptation, St. Paul calls it a shield, ( Ephesians 6:16 ,) wherewith the fiery darts of the wicked one may be quenched; knowing that the trials with which you are exercised are not peculiar to you, but that the same afflictions which you are called to sustain are accomplished in — That is, suffered by; your brethren that are in the world — Till the measure allotted them is filled up, and you may reasonably hope that the same grace which is their support will be also yours.

Be sober (νήψατε) See on 1 Peter 4:7. Be vigilant (γρηγορήσατε) Rev., be watchful. See on Mark 13:35; and 1 Thessalonians 5:6, where both verbs occur: watch and be sober. A reminiscence of the scene in Gethsemane: Could ye not watch with me? (Matthew 26:40, Matthew 26:41). Adversary (ὁ αντίδικος) The article points to a well-known adversary. From ἀντί, against, and δίκη, a lawsuit. Strictly, an adversary in a lawsuit. Here an adversary in general. Compare Zechariah 3:1-5. Only here, in New Testament, of Satan. The devil See on Matthew 4:1. Roaring (ὠρυόμενος) Only here in New Testament. The word conveys somewhat of the sense by the sound (oruomenos). It denotes especially the howl of a beast in fierce hunger. Lion Augustine says, "Christ is called 'a lion' (Revelation 5:5) because of his courage: the devil, because of his ferocity. The one lion comes to conquer, the other to hurt." Seven Hebrew words are used for this animal; six to describe his movements and four to describe his roar. He is mentioned in the Bible about one hundred and thirty times. In Job 4:10, Job 4:11, five different words are used for him. In Judges 14:5; Psalm 21:13; Psalm 103:21 (Sept.), the same word as here is used for the roaring of the lion as a translation of the Hebrew word for the thunder in Job 37:4. Walketh about (περιπατεῖ) Compare Job 1:7; Job 2:2. This word gave name to that sect of Greek philosophers known as Peripatetics, because they walked about while teaching or disputing. "St

1 Peter 5:8 . Νήψατς , watch ) Let this be your care. Watch with the soul.— γρηγορήσατε , watch ) with the body.— ὁ ἀντίδικος — καταπίῃ , the adversary — may devour ) He seeks the righteous at once by the appearance of justice and by violence: Apocalypse, Revelation 12:10 .— ὠρυόμενος , roaring ) with fury.— ζητῶν , seeking ) with treachery.— τίνα , whom ) especially of the faithful, Job 1:8 .— καταπίῃ , he may devour ) First with reference to the soul, and then with reference to the body. But he especially lays snares by means of the sorrow arising from cares, which is injurious to faith .

Be sober: see 1 Peter 1:13 4:7 : q.d. Ye have to do with a mad enemy, a raging devil; ye had need yourselves be sober; not only in meats and drinks, &c., but as to the cares of this life, and whatsoever it is that is apt to intoxicate your minds, and expose you to him. Be vigilant; spiritually watchful and circumspect, careful of your salvation, and aware of Satan’s snares and temptations, Matthew 24:42 Matthew 25:13 26:41 1 Thessalonians 5:6 . Because your adversary; or, that adversary of yours; he that contends with you, is plaintiff against you, Matthew 5:25 Luke 12:58 . It answers to the Hebrew word Satan, Zechariah 3:1 . The devil; your accuser, he that maligns you, calumniates you, informs against you: he is so called, Matthew 4:1 13:39 , and elsewhere, because of his accusing God to men, Genesis 3:4,5 , and men to God, Job 1:7 2:2 Revelation 12:10 , as well as each to other, John 8:44 . As a roaring lion; i.e. strong, fierce, cruel, especially when hungry, and seeking his prey and roaring after it. Walketh about; is diligent and restless in his attempts, either by circumventing or assaulting you: see Job 1:7 . Seeking whom he may devour; not lightly hurt, but swallow up and utterly destroy, by himself or his instruments.

1 Peter 5:8 . νήψατε γρηγορήσατε , cf. 1 Peter 1:13 , 1 Peter 4:7 . So St. Paul, γρηγορῶμεν καὶ νήφωμεν … ἡμέρας ὄντες νήφωμεν ( 1 Thessalonians 5:6 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:8 ) drawing upon the common source in the Parables of the Householder and Burglar, etc. ( Matthew 24:42 ff.) which set forth the sudden coming of the Kingdom.— ὁ ἀντίδικος ὑμῶν διάβολος , your adversary, Satan — ἀ . (properly adversary in law suit ) is used in the general sense of enemy in LXX. Of the description of Satan, as a roaring lion comes from Psalm 22:14 , ὡς λέων ὁ ἁρπάζων καὶ ὠρυόμενος ; walketh from Job 1:7 , where Satan ( ὁ διάβολος LXX, Σατάν , Aq.) περιελθὼν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐμπεριπατήσας τὴν ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν πάρειμι ; seeking to devour identifies him with Hades the lord of death; cf. Proverbs 1:12 , where the wicked say of the righteous man, καταπίωμεν αὐτὸν ὥσπερ ᾅδης ζῶντα . The present sufferings of the Christians are his handiwork as much as the sufferings of Jesus ( 1 Corinthians 2:6 ; 1 Corinthians 2:8 ) and of Job.

8. Peter has in mind Christ's warning to himself to watch against Satan, from forgetting which he fell. Be sober … vigilant—"Care," that is, anxiety, will intoxicate the soul; therefore be sober, that is, self-restrained. Yet, lest this freedom from care should lead any to false security, he adds, "Be vigilant" against "your adversary." Let this be your "care." God provides, therefore do not be anxious. The devil seeks, therefore watch [Bengel]. because—omitted in the oldest manuscripts The broken and disjointed sentences are more fervid and forcible. Lucifer of Cagliari reads as English Version. adversary—literally, "opponent in a court of justice" (Zec 3:1). "Satan" means opponent. "Devil," accuser or slanderer (Re 12:10). "The enemy" (Mt 13:39). "A murderer from the beginning" (Joh 8:44). He counteracts the Gospel and its agents. "The tempter." roaring lion—implying his violent and insatiable thirst for prey as a hungry lion. Through man's sin he got God's justice on his side against us; but Christ, our Advocate, by fulfilling all the demands of justice for us, has made our redemption altogether consistent with justice. walketh about—(Job 1:7; 2:2). So the children of the wicked one cannot rest. Evil spirits are in 2Pe 2:4; Jude 6, said to be already in chains of darkness and in hell.

This probably means that this is their doom finally: a doom already begun in part; though for a time they are permitted to roam in the world (of which Satan is prince), especially in the dark air that surrounds the earth. Hence perhaps arises the miasma of the air at times, as physical and moral evil are closely connected. devour—entangle in worldly "care" (1Pe 5:7) and other snares, so as finally to destroy. Compare Re 12:15, 16.