Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Hebrews 13:5
[Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
5. your conversation ] The word here used is not the one generally rendered by “conversation” in the N.T. ( anastroph as in Heb 13:7, “general walk” Gal 1:13; Eph 2:3, or (“citizenship” politeuma, as in Php 1:27; Php 3:20), but “turn of mind” ( tropos).
without covetousness ] Aphilarguros not merely without covetousness ( pleonexia) but “without love of money.” It is remarkable that “covetousness” and “uncleanness” are constantly placed in juxtaposition in the N.T. (1Co 5:10; 1Co 6:9; Eph 5:3; Eph 5:5; Col 3:5).
be content ] The form of the sentence “Let your turn of mind be without love of money, being content” is the same as “Let love be without pretence, hating” in Rom 12:9. The few marked similarities between this writer and St Paul only force the radical dissimilarity between their styles into greater prominence; and as the writer had almost certainly read the Epistle to the Romans a striking syntactical peculiarity like this may well have lingered in his memory.
he hath said ] More literally “Himself hath said.” The “Himself” of course refers to God, and the phrase of citation is common in the Rabbis ( ). “He” and “I” are, as Delitzsch says, used by the Rabbis as mystical names of God.
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee ] These words are found (in the third person) in Deu 31:6; Deu 31:8; 1Ch 28:20, and similar promises, in the first person, in Gen 28:15; Jos 1:5; Isa 41:17. The very emphatic form of the citation (first with a double then with a triple negation) “I will in no wise fail, neither will I ever in any wise forsake thee” does not occur either in the Hebrew or the LXX., but it is found in the very same words in Philo ( De Confus. Ling. 32), and since we have had occasion to notice again and again the thorough familiarity of the writer with Philo’s works, it is probable that he derived it from Philo, unless it existed in some proverbial or liturgical form among the Jews. The triple negative ‘ is found in Mat 24:21.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Let your conversation – Your conduct – for so the word conversation is used in the Scriptures; notes, Phi 1:27.
Be without covetousness – Eph 5:3 note; Col 3:5 note.
And be content with such things as ye have – see the Phi 4:11-12 notes; Mat 6:25-34 notes. The particular reason here given for contentment is, that God has promised never to leave his people. Compare with this the beautiful argument of the Saviour in Mat 6:25 ff.
For he hath said – That is, God has said.
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee – see Deu 31:6; Jos 1:5; 1Ch 28:20. Substantially the same expression is found in each of those places, and all of them contain the principle on which the apostle here relies, that God will not forsake his people.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Heb 13:5
Let your conversation be without covetousness
Covetousness
I.
Covetousness in life SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
1. Unnatural.
2. Immoral.
3. Pernicious.
II. Covetousness in life INTERFERES WITH CONTENTMENT. It is in the heart like the tide in the sea, allowing no rest.
III. Covetousness in life is INCONSISTENT WITH CONFIDENCE IN GOD. (Homilist.)
The heinousness of covetousness
1. It is a deceiving sin. It blinds the understanding and corrupts the judgment in a main point of happiness; for the covetous man maketh gold his hope, and fine gold his confidence (Job 31:24).
2. It is an insatiable sin (Ecc 5:10). In this respect covetousness is like a dropsy which increaseth thirst by much drinking; and like a fire which by addition of fuel is the more fierce. The desire of a covetous man ariseth from abundance; and in that respect is unnatural; for nature is satisfied with sufficiency. Hunger and thirst cease when a man hath eaten and drunk that which is sufficient.
3. It is a galling sin. It works a continual vexation, and takes away all the comforts of this life (1Ti 6:10). There is a threefold woe that accompanieth covetousness.
(1) A woe of labour in getting wealth.
(2) A woe of trouble in keeping it.
(3) A woe of anguish in parting with it. Nothing makes death more unwelcome than a covetous desire of the things of this world.
4. It is an ensnaring sin (1Ti 6:9). Wealth as it is a bait to allure men to snap thereat, so it is a snare fast to hold them, and a hook to pull them down to perdition (Mar 10:23; Luk 14:18-19). It keeps many from the Word, yea, it steals away the heart of those that come to the Eze 33:31).
5. It is a mother sin (1Ti 6:10). Fitly therefore doth the prophet thus style it evil covetousness (Hab 2:9). There is no evil which a covetous man will forbear. It is a root of impiety. It draws the heart from God: so as there can be no true love nor fear of God in a covetous heart. For gain he will profane the Sabbath. It makes inferiors purloin from their superiors, and superiors to neglect their inferiors. It is a cause of much rebellion, of many treasons, murders, thefts, deceit, lying, false witness, and what not!
6. It is a growing sin. The longer men live in the world the more covetous they use to be after the world. Old men are commonly the most covetous. Herein it differeth from other violent sins, which by age abate in their violence.
7. It is a devouring sin (Mat 13:22).
8. Iris a crying sin. The cries of them which are oppressed by covetous persons enter into the ears of the Lord. Hereupon an apostle bids them weep and howl (Jam 5:1). Covetousness causeth a curse from man and God. He that withholdeth corn the people shall curse him. As for
Gods curse, the wrath of God cometh upon men because of these things Eph 5:5-6). The apostle reckoneth covetous Persons among those that shall not inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 6:10). (W. Gouge.)
Remedies against covetousness:
For preventing or redressing covetousness, these rules following are to be observed.
1. The judgment must rightly be informed in these two points.
(1) In the nature of true happiness.
(2) In the vanity and deceitfulness of riches.
Many learned men want this point of understanding. It is the blindness of a mans mind that maketh him place a kind of happiness in the things of this world. If therefore we shall be rightly instructed, that happiness consisteth in matters of another kind than this world affords; surely their immoderate desire of riches could not be but much modified. He that said, There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us (Psa 4:6), well discerned the difference betwixt earthly and heavenly blessings. So did he who said, Riches profit not in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivereth from death Pro 11:4).
2. The will and heart of man must follow the judgment well informed, and raise themselves up to that sphere where true happiness resteth Col 3:2). This will keep the heart from doting on things below. A beast which is feeding in fresh pasture will not stray into a barren heath; much less will an understanding man that finds the sweetness of heavenly blessings dote upon earthly trash (Php 3:8).
3. A mans confidence must be placed on God and His providence. Gods providence is an overflowing and everflowing fountain. The richest treasures of men may be exhausted; Gods cannot be. Be therefore fully resolved of this, that God will provide (Gen 22:8). This casting of our care on Gods providence is much pressed in Scripture, as Psa 55:22; 1Pe 5:7; Mat 6:25-26), &c. By experience we see how children depend on their parents providence; should not we much more on our heavenly Father?
4. Our appetite or desire of riches must be moderate (Pro 30:8; Mat 6:11). Be content with that portion which God gives thee, and be persuaded it is best for thee (Php 4:11). Contentedness and covetousness are directly opposite as light and darkness.
5. We must pray against covetousness (Psa 119:36). (W. Gouge.)
A vile weed and a fair flower:
Is it not humiliating that the best of Christians should need to be cautioned against the worst of sins? May the consecrated become covetous? Is it possible that the regenerate may drivel into misers? Alas, what perils surround us, what tendencies are within us I It appears from our text that the children of God need also to be exhorted to cherish that most simple and natural of virtues–contentment. One would think that, at least in some instances, they would have this good thing as a matter of course. Among our villagers we have met with persons so well satisfied with their lowly lot that they would not cross the sea to gain an empire. Yet their contentment has sprung up wild as the daisies and buttercups of their own meadows, for they have not been acquainted with the blessed hope which makes trials light to bear. Do Christians, then, need to be admonished with precepts, and stimulated with promises, to make them yield the commonplace virtues of life? Do their fields refuse to grow the herb called heartsease, which simple folk have gathered unsown from their little garden-plots?
I. I shall have to say a little about COVETOUSNESS. We are told that our conversation is to be without covetousness. The term conversation includes, as you know, the whole of our lives.
1. Taking the first meaning of conversation, namely, talk, we ought not in our words to be on the side of those who grip for wealth or growl for wage, who grasp for power or grind the poor. We ought not in our talk to take part with the churl and the illiberal.
2. But our conversation has to do with our actions as well as our words. The sugar of words is sickening if it be not attended with the honey of deeds. Let our whole life in our dealings with our fellow-men be moved by liberal principles, and enriched with a generous spirit.
3. But this will not do unless the word conversation takes in our desires, our projects, our plans, our thoughts. We must be without covetousness within, for if that vice reigns in the soul it is sure to rule in the life. Our prayer should be that of David, Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. It is so very easy a thing to be covetous, that no class of society is free from it. A man may be very poor and covetous withal, and a man may be exceedingly rich and still may think that he is not half rich enough. It is not possible to satisfy the greedy. Covetousness has many ways of manifesting itself; and the text does not warn us against one of those ways, but against them all.
(1) In some it is most seen in repining and complaining against their lot. This disease is born and bred in our very bones, and it needs the grace of God to get it out of us. God help us all to get rid of every particle of it, for it savours not of grace, but it is earthly, sensual, devilish.
(2) In some others this covetous principle shows itself in envying others. Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous, but who is able to stand before envy? Now, if I envy a man, I am clearly guilty of covetousness, for I wish that something which he has were not his, but mine. And that may happen to you when you do not think about his property. You may be covetous of his gifts. This ill-natured vice shows itself generally in finding fault. Of course our brethren are not perfect; but why should we take a delight in pointing out their eccentricities, or their shortcomings?
(3) And covetousness may show itself by perpetually craving and desiring that which we have not. The old moralists used to say that the man who would be truly rich had better retrench his appetites than increase his fortune. Some men seem as if they never could fix their thoughts on what they have, but they are always thinking of what they could, would, or should have. They have swallowed the two daughters of Solomons horseleech, and these continually cry, Give, give.
(4) In many–perhaps in the most numerous class–this anxiety for acquisition betrays itself in fretful fears about the future; and I must in all honesty grant that this form of the vice has sometimes the appearance of being the most excusable of the whole. Full many are not content with such things as they have because the dread of a distant season of trial is constantly harassing them. In vain for them their table is bountifully spread unless they have a store in hand against every contingency that may happen. Do you notice how precious is that promise which provides for all possible casualties that may befal you? He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. The censure, therefore, falls where this sacred pledge is unheeded; and he is accounted covetous who walks after the cravings of the flesh rather than after the counsel of the Spirit of God. If God would have thee live by the day, why dost thou want to gather enough for seven days at once? Covetous people, I have often observed, are classed in Scripture with the worst of criminals. How revolting to be included in such bad company! Here in this very chapter we read, Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your conversation be without covetousness. Thus covetousness is classed with the very filthiest of vices of the flesh. In another place the apostle says covetousness, which is idolatry; and thus it is identified with a loathsome impurity of the spirit. Let the Christian dread it. Covetousness is a deadly poison, destructive of all virtue; it dries up the milk of human kindness in a mans breast, and makes him hard, indifferent towards the needs of his fellow creatures. How much infamy it fosters! The man whose heart is set on covetousness will do anything for gold; he will venture to stain his hands with blood itself if he may but gain it.
II. As there is a vice to be shunned so there is a virtue to be sought. The theme is more pleasing now that we speak upon CONTENTMENT. Be content with such things as ye have. It is, after all, no very great virtue if we should attain it: the more pity, therefore, if we should miss it. The old moralists constantly twit us with the fact that we may have the necessaries of life upon very easy terms, whereas we put ourselves to great pains for its luxuries, To be content with such things as we have should be specially easy to us, because we have so much to be thankful for, such constant communications from the great Benefactor, and so certain an assurance that He will withhold no good thing from those that walk uprightly. This world is ours, and worlds to come. Earth is our lodge, and heaven our home. I believe that contentment depends very much upon taking right views of things.
1. There is, to wit, a short view. To live by the day is the way to be cheerful.
2. Take also long views as well as short views. Take the view which says, It will be all the same a hundred years hence. Take the view which says, We shall soon laugh at this present little vexation. Take that distant view which says, When I get to heaven this great trial will seem very small; when I look from the hill-tops of glory at my present dilemma, it will probably cause me many a smile, to think that I should have been so vexed and tormented by it. The secret of true contentment, and the way to get at it, is admirably expressed in these words, Be content with such things as ye have, for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Some of the most easygoing people in the world are those who have a Government pension of so much a month. It is little, but it is sure. If all the banks break they will get it. They have no trouble as to how the markets fluctuate, or how different stocks rise and fall in value; or what dividends they might derive from investments. Now, then, that is exactly where the child of God stands; for ye know who hath said–Thy bread shall be given thee, and thy water shall be sure. Between now and heaven I do not know who may starve; but I never shall, because the Lord is my Shepherd, and I shall not want.
III. Our last point is the CONFIDENCE with which we may encourage ourselves, and bid defiance to a frowning world. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man can do unto me. This promise of the Lord is fitted to nerve us with courage, as well as to solace us with contentment. If we are oppressed, or if we have to encounter opposition, we may just go straight ahead in the strength of our text, and say, What can man do unto me? If God be our helper, why should we shrink or falter; why should we droop or look dismayed; why should we hold our peace or speak with bated breath? (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Covetousness–an insidious sin
I asked a question, some years ago, of a person whom I believed to be one of the most covetous individuals in my acquaintance, and I received from him a singular reply. I said, How was it that St. Francis de Sales, who was an eminent confessor, found that persons confessed to him, in private, all sorts of horrible sins, such as adultery, drunkenness, and murder; but never had one person confessed the sin of covetousness? I asked this friend whether he could tell me why it was, and he made me this answer, which certainly did take me rather aback. He said, I suppose it is because the sin is so extremely rare. Blind scull I told him that, on the other hand, I feared the sin was so very common that people did not know when they were covetous, and that the man who was most covetous of all was the last person to suspect himself of it. I feel persuaded that it is so. Covetousness breeds an insensibility in the heart, a mortification in the conscience, a blindness in the mind. It is as hard to convict a man of it as to make a deaf ear hear of its own deficiencies. You cannot make a horseleech see the impropriety of desiring to suck; to all your expostulations it renders the one answer, Give, give. Covetousness goes about in disguise. In the Holy War we read that, when Diabolus sent traitors to lurk about the town of Mansoul, he sent among the rest a young fellow named Covetousness; but when he entered into the town of Mausoul, he took the name of Mr. Prudent Thrifty, and he was engaged at once as a servant, I think it was in the house of Mr. Conscience, the Recorder. He seemed such a likely young man, this youth of the name of Prudent Thrifty. Now, mind you, when you are taking a servant, that you do not engage one of the name of Prudent Thrifty; for I have information that he comes of the family of the Greedies, and that his true name is Covetousness, though it may be long before you find it out. His near relations are the Screws, the Skinflints, and the Graballs; but he will not own them, but always mentions his great-uncle, Squire Prudence, and his mothers brother, Professor Economy, of the University of Accumulation. You will have need to carry your eyes in your head if you mean to practise the precept, Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. (C. H. Spurgeon,)
Covetousness destructive of religion:
The Fabulist tells a story of the hedgehog that came to the coney-burrows in stormy weather, and desired harbour, promising that he would be a quiet guest; but when once he had gotten entertainment, he did set up his prickles, and did never leave till he had thrust the poor conies out of their burrows: so covetousness, though it hath many fair pleas to insinuate, and wind itself into the heart, yet as soon as you have let it in, this thorn will never cease pricking till it hath choked all good beginnings, and thrust all religion out of your hearts. (T. Watson.)
Covetousness a sign of death:
As it is, therefore, a mark of life in an evergreen, when transplanted, to suffer its fading leaves to fall off easily when touched; and a sign of death when they retain their hold, so that to disengage them you must pull off part of the stem with them; so it is an evidence of spiritual life in the Christian, to sit loose to his possessions, instead of setting his heart upon them; while the covetous man parts with his money in charity as if he were parting with his life.
Be content with much things as ye have
Christian contentment: its hindrance and its help:
Contentment is the central word of the passage, and stands between words representing its greatest foe and greatest friend, like Joshua with the Angel of the Lord and Satan on either side.
I. CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT–WHAT IS IT? TO be contented is to be satisfied; it is the Amen of our spirit with regard to what is.
1. Christian contentment presupposes effort. We are not to be content with many things that we have, nor with anything short of our best.
2. Christian contentment implies a certain amount of failure. There is no room for its exercise where matters cannot be improved; you could not speak of the angels as contented. Joy is the word for heaven; contentment for earth.
3. Christian contentment delivers us from the power of circumstances. It is not a doing without things because we must–that is possible apart from Christian grace; it is repose, satisfaction, the heart saying Thy will be done. To attain to that is to reign as a king over our circumstances. What a great thing is that religion which helps one to this!
II. CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT HINDERED BY COVETOUSNESS. Let your conversation [character, mode of life] be without covetousness.
1. Covetousness is a wrongly placed desire for what in itself may be good. The word in the text refers specially to money (R.V.), but it is not the object that makes covetousness. Covetousness may fasten on different things. What is it? (See Luk 12:13-15, etc.). It is a desire for anything (good or bad) not regulated by an appeal to God and Gods requirements; our own spiritual needs.
2. Covetousness is regarded by God as one of the grossest sins. See the position in which it is mentioned as here coming after verse 4, as though a similar sin; also (1Co 5:10-11; 1Co 6:9-10; Eph 5:3-5; Col 3:5-6; 2Pe 2:14; Mar 7:21-22).
3. Covetousness is the deadly enemy of contentment. They are opposites, and cannot coalesce. Admit covetousness to the heart and contentment takes its flight. Let contentment return, and she will scourge the traders from what she calls, and from what then she makes it, her Fathers house.
III. CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT CHERISHED BY THE ASSURANCE OF THE DIVINE PRESENCE. Be content, for He hath said, I will never, &c.
1. This is a declaration of Gods personal presence. Only God can say, I will not leave thee; not one of His gifts can say it. Loneliness destroys content. God satisfies.
2. This presence pervades the arrangements of our life. The words must mean that God will be in all our circumstances, and where He is He will not play a subsidiary part, and follow where chance or our waywardness may dictate. I will not leave thee must mean I will guide thee: choose thy lot, appoint thy changes, where thou comest thou shalt be brought by Me. Dread of the Unknown destroys content. God in all we have creates content by removing that dread.
3. This presence is the guarantee of protection and supply. No hurt can come to him with whom God is as his friend. Fear destroys content, but God with us enables us to say, I will not fear. He hath said. There are five negatives here to prevent our doubting it. (C. New.)
Contentment:
Every one knows that contentment is another name for happiness.
I. In the first place, let us INQUIRE INTO THE CHIEF CAUSES OF THE OPPOSITE TEMPER. We see, in too many instances, how men, misled by vain illusions, in the eagerness of their pursuit, miss the road even to earthly happiness. Now this unhappy propensity to become our-own tormentors is to be traced, chiefly, to three bitter roots, growing within the mind itself–pride, selfishness, and envy; whence probably proceed a great part of the miseries of mankind.
II. Consider now MUCH THE DIVINE BOUNTY EXCEEDS OUR DESERTS. Instead, therefore, of being the ingenious artificers of our own misery, let us make a better use of our reason. If Providence offer us the means of attaining a happier state, let us thankfully embrace them. But if the will of God appoint otherwise, before we admit a repining thought, let us first endeavour to recount, if we can, the numberless calls we have for gratitude. Though the present state is a state of trial and probation, it is by no means left destitute of comforts and gratifications. Let us resolve, for the time to come, to make a more careful improvement of the blessings of Providence. Gratefully acquiescing in our own condition, let us, instead of envying, be kind and helpful one to another; and sincerely rejoice with those who are placed above us. This is true benevolence. This is true wisdom. (P. Houghton.)
Christian contentment
I. EVERY MAN HAS HIS OWN INDIVIDUAL PORTION IN THIS LIFE, ASSIGNED HIM BY GOD.
1. The portion of every man consists of such things as he has: literally, present things.
2. That which each man has, is assigned him by God. Suppose he has a competency for all the comforts of life which he has acquired. In that case, who, but God, gave him capacity of mind, strength of body, business to do, and success in the doing it?
II. WITH THAT PORTION WHICH GOD HAS ALLOTTED HIM, EVERY CHRISTIAN IS REQUIRED TO BE CONTENT.
1. Cautionary remarks.
(1) This command does not forbid a proper regard to the future.
(2) Industrious efforts to obtain more are not forbidden by this command.
(3) The embracing a proper opportunity of improving ones condition is not forbidden by this command.
2. Contentment is
(1) The opposite of a complaining spirit.
(2) The opposite of an envious temper.
(3) Opposed to anxiety.
(4) Opposed to covetousness.
(5) Opposed to restless schemes and endeavours after more.
3. How it is to be cultivated.
(1) By habitual self-abasement.
(2) By thankfulness. Gratitude gives fitness to our raiment, relish to our food, and sweetness to all.
(3) By the exercise of faith. He hath said, He, who has all power; he who abideth faithful. He has said that He will never leave nor forsake thee, whosoever thou art, who puttest thy trust in Him; therefore, be content with such things as ye have.
(4) By looking unto Jesus. Though the earth and the fulness thereof were His, He assumed the lowest state of poverty.
(5) By habitual prayer and dependence on Christ. (Essex Remembrancer.)
A satisfied spirit
To be content is to be in good humour with our circumstances, not picking a quarrel with our obscurity, or our poverty, or our social position. There are four or five grand reasons why we should be content with such things as we have,
1. The first is the consideration that the poorest of us have all that is indispensable in life. We make a great ado about our hardships, but how little we talk of our blessings.
2. Our happiness is not dependent on outward circumstances. I find Nero growling on a throne. I find Paul singing in a dungeon. I find King Ahab going to bed at noon through melancholy, while near by is Naboth contented in the possession of a vineyard. Haman, prime minister of Persia, frets himself almost to death because a poor Jew will not tip his bat; and Ahithophel, one of the great lawyers of Bible times, through fear of dying, hangs himself. The wealthiest man, forty years ago, in New York, when congratulated over his large estate, replied: Ah! you dont know how much trouble I have in taking care of it. Byron declared in his last hours that he had never seen more than twelve happy days in all his life. The heart right toward God and man, we are happy. The heart wrong toward God and man, we are unhappy.
3. Another reason why we should come to this spirit inculcated in the text is the fact that all the differences of earthly condition are transitory. The houses you build, the land you culture, the places in which you barter, are soon to go into other hands. However hard you may have it now, if you are a Christian the scene will soon end. Pain, trial, persecution never knock at the door of the grave.
4. Another reason why we should culture this spirit of cheerfulness is the fact that God knows what is best for His creatures. Sometimes His children think that He is hard on them, and that He is not as liberal with them as He might be. But children do not know as much as a father. I can tell you why you are not largely affluent, and why you have not been grandly successful. It is because you cannot stand the temptation. If your path had been smooth, you would have depended upon your own surefootedness; but God roughened that path, so you have to take hold of His hand.
5. Another consideration leading us to the spirit of the text is the assurance that the Lord will provide somehow. Will He who holds the water in the hollow of His hand, allow His children to die of thirst?
6. Again, I remark that the religion of Jesus Christ is the grandest influence to make a man contented. Indemnity against all financial and spiritual harm! It calms the spirit, dwindles the earth into insignificance, and swallows up the soul with the thought of heaven. (T. De Witt Talmage.)
The Bible warning against discontent
I. We ought to mind it–FOR OUR OWN COMFORT. Now suppose that you have a long walk to take every day, but you have a thorn run into your foot, or a sharp stone in your shoe–could you have any comfort in taking that daily walk? Certainly not. But a feeling of discontent in our minds is just like that thorn in the foot or that stone in the shoe. It will take away from us all the comfort we might have, as we go on in the walk of our daily duties. A certain bishop had passed through many great trials; but he was never heard to complain in passing through them. He was always contented and cheerful. An intimate friend of his, who had often admired his calm, happy temper, and who felt as if he would like very much to imitate his example, asked him one day if he would tell him the secret of the quiet, contented spirit which he always had. Yes, said the bishop, I will gladly tell you my secret. It consists in nothing more than making a right use of my eyes. Please tell me what you mean by this. Certainly, said the bishop; I mean just this. When I meet with any trial, I first of all look up to heaven, and remember that my chief business in life is to get there. Then I look down upon the earth, and think how small a space I shall need in it when I die, and come to be buried; and then I look round in the world, and think how many people there are who have more cause to be unhappy than I have. And in this way I learn the Bible lesson–Be content with such things as ye have.
II. FOR THE COMFORT OF OTHERS. We cannot all have really beautiful faces, but we can all have sweet, pleasant tempers; and a sweet temper gives a loveliness to the face, which is more pleasing than any amount of mere outward beauty. A contented spirit, or a sweet temper, is to a home what sunshine is to the trees of the field or to the flowers of the garden. John Wesley used to say, I dare no more fret, than curse or swear. A friend of his, who was intimately connected with him, for a large portion of his life, in speaking of him after his death, said, I never saw him fretful or discontented under any of his trials. And to be in the company of persons of this spirit always occasioned him great discomfort, and trouble. He said one day, To have persons around me murmuring and fretting at everything that happens is like tearing the flesh from my bones. I know that God sits upon His throne, ruling all things. With this thought in my mind, and the grace of God in my heart, I may well learn, To be content with such things as I have. Good Mr. Wesley was minding the Bible warning against discontent when he used these words, and was setting a good example for us all to follow. What a blessed thing it would be if all Christians would try to follow his example.
III. TO PLEASE GOD. No trials can ever come upon us in this world without Gods knowledge and consent. He is so wise that He never makes a mistake about our trials, and He is so good that He never lets any trouble come upon us but what He knows will be for the best. And when we try to be patient and contented under our trials, because we know that God orders or permits them, this will be pleasing to Him. I was going down town in a Fourth Avenue car one day, says a New York merchant, when I heard somebody cry out, Holloa, Mr. Conductor, please stop your car a moment; I cant run very fast. The car stopped, and presently there hobbled into it a little lame boy, about ten or twelve years old. I saw from the nice clothes he wore that he was the son of wealthy parents; but oh! his face told such a tale of silent suffering! and yet he was bright and cheerful. He put his little crutch behind him, and placing his poor withered limb in a more easy position, he began to look round at his fellow-passengers. A happy smile played over his pale face, and he seemed to take notice of everything. Presently I got a seat next to him, and as he looked around him I heard him humming in a low tone the words of the hymn, Hark, I hear an angel sing. Then I had a little talk with him, and found that he knew and loved the Saviour, and it was this which made him so contented and cheerful. He told me he was born with this withered limb, and that the doctor said it never would be any better. Well, my dear boy, I said, under these circumstances, how can you be so happy and cheerful? His reply was, Jesus, my Saviour, has sent this trial for me to bear. Father tells me He would not have sent it unless He knew it would be best for me. And dont you think, sir, that I ought to be satisfied with the best? This touched my heart, and brought tears to my eyes. I was just going to get out of the car then. So I shook hands with the little fellow, and thanked him for the lesson he had taught me, which I told him I should never forget as long as I lived. (R. Newton, D. D.)
The unreasonableness of discontent
I. Observe, in the first place, THAT DISCONTENT IS OFTEN OWING TO CAUSES WHICH THE DISCONTENTED MAY THEMSELVES REMOVE. How often do you see people grow sullen and dissatisfied in consequence of straits to which they have reduced themselves by sloth, by waste, or by expensive indulgences? How often do men become the victims of chagrin through the failure of expectations which they permitted themselves, without any good reason, to indulge. How often, in fine, does it happen that people, instead of endeavouring to make the best, make the worst of every inconvenience in their lot?
II. Are there not in human life innumerable circumstances wholly independent of us, by which the lot of man is very much diversified, and WHAT SHALL WE SAY WHEN DISCONTENT ARISES, NOT FROM CAUSES WHICH WE CAN CONTROL, BUT FROM THE INEVITABLE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LOT? NOW, granting that, owing to circumstances which you cannot control, you do not possess all the temporal advantages which you might wish; yet what claim can you advance to more? Food to the hungry and drink to the thirsty, a shelter from cold and storms, the pleasing warmth and light of day, and calm silence of night, the alternate enjoyments of labour and rest, our social and domestic pleasures, these are blessings to be found in all the ordinary situations of human life; and these, so far as depend on mere outward things, are the chief blessings which Providence bestows. With respect to luxury and pomp, splendid raiment, magnificent habitations, honours, attendants, and all the dazzling train of circumstances which wait upon riches, they are but little connected with true happiness.
III. The observations hitherto offered apply chiefly to the ordinary situations of human life. BUT ARE THERE NOT CASES OF WRETCHEDNESS THAT PLACE THE SUFFERER BELOW THE ORDINARY LOT? and in all situations does not affliction often await us amidst our most tranquil enjoyments? The duty required in such situations is resignation rather than contentment. It is religion, however, which in all situations possesses the most consoling influence, inspiring contentment amidst the ordinary inconveniences of the human lot, and resignation under the pressure of our heaviest afflictions, and we proceed to consider the arguments applicable to our present subject, that may be derived from this Divine source. One of the views is that suggested in the words immediately following our text. The Lord is my helper, therefore I will not be afraid for what man can do unto me. The Scripture informs us farther how it is that these perfections are exercised towards us. Now we are informed that in consequence of that new dispensation, which God hath been carrying on ever since the fall of our first parents, this world is only a state of temporary preparation for the next. To give a proper scope for the exercise of our talents, to afford us an opportunity of cultivating good dispositions by placing us in various relations to one another, to form us to habits of obedience and resignation, God hath in His infinite wisdom ordained a very great diversity of ranks and circumstances among men. But all this is only a temporary state of things, and when it has accomplished its purposes is abolished by death with respect to each individual, and will be abolished with respect to all mankind when the world is dissolved. (Thos. S. Hardie, D. D.)
Discontent:
Discontent is doubtless, on the whole, a useful element in our nature, for it prompts to better things; and it is only when it goes beyond the bounds of moderation that it is seriously objectionable. The great error is that people do not pursue their course of advancement with calmness; they forget to enjoy the advantages which they now possess; and while they look at the future they neglect the present, forgetting that the present is the only real time. This error leads them into two follies; they believe that at some future period they will be happier than they are now, because they will then have at their command means which are at present denied; and secondly, they fancy that people who follow a different mode of life are more favourably circumstanced than themselves. They seem to want a change. I have heard men in business say, Ah, if I could devote my life to study, instead of grubbing here to get money, I should then be all right. And, on the other hand, students are heard to say, After all, it is the man of business who really enjoys reading, when in his hours of relaxation he goes to his books as a relief. But it is odious to make your study a workshop. Both parties are labouring under a kindred delusion. And thus people go on; their energies are devoted to the attainment of some object, and if they can reach that they will find repose. The end is gained, but soon the object fails to satisfy; they miss the excitement which the chase afforded, and they must propose some new goal or be wretched. The men who place their hopes exclusively in the future confess, by the very act, that they are incapable of enjoying the present (and by enjoyment much more is meant than the mere taking of pleasure); but not wishing to make this humiliating admission, they flatter themselves that something else than what they possess is essential to peace and comfort. This is nothing tess than an excuse for want of contentment; because, when the object of search is attained, they are as far from what they really need as ever. He who does not begin by placing contentment as the basin of external goods, heaps up in vain, and might as well try to fill a sieve with water as to construct a building of happiness upon a shadowy foundation. Besides, a constant restlessness is the greatest possible hindrance to sound education of the mind. The feverish gaze of the fortune-seeker cannot look aright upon the beautiful creation which is around him, if it ever looks upon it at all. There are many men surrounded by the comforts of life who, if you told them to divert their eyes awhile from future prospects, to cease envying their associates, to admire the wonders of nature and the beautiful world we live in, to be rejoiced at the remembrance of their daily blessings, and to be fully satisfied with their numerous advantages, would put you down for a madman or a fool. It is quite as easy to cultivate such a state of mind as to be constantly pining after what you have not got, or distressing yourself because you are not so well off as other people; and while every man of active mind must desire to go through his daily duties with energy and skill, and to fulfil his vocation with diligence, yet when he has done all this calm contentment is one great means to make him happy and keep him so. (Scottish Pulpit.)
The discontented character:
There are people who are constitutionally discontented. Nothing gives them satisfaction. They are like the hermit-crabs, and may well be designated crabbed. We see that the animal and the shell are mostly well suited to each other; but it is a remarkable fact that, however well the shell and the crab may be suited to each other, the crab always thinks that a shell belonging to another crab would make a better house. Consequently they will wage direful battles over a few empty shells, although neither of the shells would make so commodious a habitation as that which was already occupied. (Scientific Illustrations and Symbols.)
Contentment in vicissitudes:
The other day I watched a little bird who had alighted on a branch almost too frail to bear his weight. The branch was swaying to and fro, but the little songster did not cease his song, He knew he had wings! Christian, learn the lesson that bird would teach thee, and, amid lifes vicissitudes, sing on, for thou art immortal. (The National Baptist.)
Contented without contentment
What a beautiful example for all of us is the resolution of the old lady who, from a crabbed and anxious body, became quite the opposite! When asked what had induced the change, she replied, To tell you the truth, I have been all my life striving for a contented mind, and finally concluded to sit down contented without it. (New Cyclopedia of Illustrations.)
Contentment under loss
A friend of mine sat down to breakfast one morning, and an ugly-looking letter was handed him, it having just come by post. He opened it and found it was from a broker who transacted business for him. It ran something like this: Dear sir, I am sorry to inform you that you have lost 50,000. Now, it is no joke to lose a sum of money like that. To this friend of mine it meant the loss of every penny he had. He had not been gambling, but speculating, as he thought, carefully and wisely. He quietly looked around the breakfast table, then without saying a word he rose and went to his room. He did not go and buy a pistol and blow his brains out. He simply fell on his knees before God, and said, Dear Heavenly Father, help reel Thou hast given me plenty, and I have tried to use all to Thy glory; now Thou hast taken everything away. Now, Lord, Thou wilt have to feed me straight from heaven. I thank Thee for making me poor, that I may the more fully know Thee as my Father. He came downstairs again and finished his breakfast. His losses had not even power to spoil his appetite. He has ever since been as poor as a church mouse–and that is poor enough–but he has been rejoicing always, because he has the joy of the Lord. I can testify to the truth of this as I know him well, and he was one who came to see me off when I left England. (G. C.Grubb, M. A.)
Never satisfied:
My dear hearers, there is not a single soul of you all that are satisfied in your stations: is not the language of your hearts when apprentices, We think we shall do very well when journeymen; when journeymen, that we should do very well when masters; when single, that we shall do well when married; and to be sure you think you shall do well when you keep a carriage. I have heard of one who began low: he first wanted a house; then, says he, I want two, then four, then six; and when he had them, he said, I think I want nothing else. Yes, says his friend, you will soon want another thing, that is, a hearse-and-six to carry you to your grave; and that made him tremble. (G. Whitfield.)
Contentment:
Contentment bears the hues of joy. (Shakspere.)
Content with little:
On the eve of General Gordons departure on his last journey, a friend is related to have said to him, Have you got your kit ready, General? I have got what I always have. This hat is good enough, and so are these clothes. I shall start as I am, my boots are quite strong. And how are you off for cash, &c.? You must have some ready money. Ah, I had forgot that; I had to borrow five-and-twenty pounds from the King of the Belgians to get over here. Of course I must pay this, and I shall want a little more. A hundred pounds apiece for myself and Stewart will be enough. What on earth do we want more for?
Contentment:
Is that beast better that hath two or three mountains to graze on than a little bee that feeds on dew or manna, and lives upon what falls every morning from the storehouses of heaven, clouds, and providence? Can a man quench his thirst better out of a river than a full urn; or drink better from the fountain which is finely paved with marble, than when it wells over the green turf? (Jeremy Taylor.)
Contentment and duty:
There is a fable told about a kings garden in which the trees and all the flowers began to make complaint. The oak was sad because it did not bear flowers; the rosebush was sad because it did not bear fruit; the vine was sad because it had to cling to the wall and could cast no shadow. I am not the least use in the world, said the oak. I might as well die, since I yield no fruit, said the rosebush. What good can I do? said the vine. Then the king saw a little pansy, which held up its glad, fresh face, while all the rest were sad. And the king said, What makes you so glad when all the rest pine and are so sad? I thought, said the pansy, that you wanted me here because you planted me, and so I made up my mind that I would try and be the best little pansy that could be. Let us all try to do our best in the little spot where Gods hand has placed us.
True contentment
John Sinclair once alighted from his carriage near an abject-looking hovel, and entered into conversation with an old labourer who lived there alone. On leaving he asked if he could serve him in any way. Sir, said the old man, with a look of honest contentment, there is not in this world a thing that I want. Sir John often said that that poor abode was the only home in which he had found perfect happiness, and requested his daughter to draw him a picture of that one-windowed hut where lived a man who had not a wish ungratified. Contrast the happiness of this man in poor circumstances with the ennui of Napoleon on the day when he was crowned with unexampled splendour by the Pope in Notre Dame. He returned home, and, flinging his splendid robes to different corners of the room, declared that he had never spent in his life such tedious hours.
Polish the dark side
A complaining grumbler was lamenting how things went wrong, when a friend, writing to console her, bade her look upon the bright side. Oh, she cried, there seems to be no bright side. Then polish up the dark side, was the reply.
Contentment not hostile to aspirations:
We must not make the ideas of contentment and aspiration quarrel, for God made them fast friends. A man may aspire, and yet be quite content until it is time to rise. A bird that sits patiently while it broods its eggs flies bravely afterwards, leading up its timid young. And both flying and resting are but parts of one contentment. The very fruit of the gospel is aspiration. It is to the human heart what spring is to the earth; making every root and bud and bough desire to be more.
I will never leave thee
Providence–God never leaves things or persons:
You perceive at once, perhaps, that this promise has two distinctive peculiarities. In the first place, it is limited as to its aspect; and secondly, it is mixed as to its character. It is limited as to its aspect. Being not addressed to sinners generally as sinners, its sphere must at once be considered circumscribed and sacred. It is a promise, not to the world as such, but to the Church which has been redeemed out of the world. The design, evidently, of this glorious promise is to keep down the fears of believers in passing through this world to everlasting glory. And we see that there are two classes of evils which make them afraid, against which fears there is a provision in this promise. There are things that trouble you–their confusion, their irregularity, their aspects; and then you live amidst intelligent beings, like yourselves imperfect, and not only so but evil, and you fear from them–you fear things, you fear persons. But God has made a merciful provision against both these fears by saying, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
I. The remarks assume somewhat of a secular character in the first part of the subject. In speaking of these Things, the passage refers to such subjects; therefore it is not improper for me to do so. By things I understand things of this life–food, raiment, habitation, health, comfort, all those things which are necessary for our existence, for our convenience, and for our comfort, according to our relative positions in society, and especially to the answering the end of our being, namely, doing good and glorifying God our heavenly Father.
1. Now these things, we say, are necessary for us. And when a thing is absolutely necessary, it is right to think of it. But then there is the danger of magnifying our wants, of supposing that we have wants that we have not, and that ten thousand things are necessary for us which would actually be, if given, injurious to us. But so little do we feel that we are in danger here, that it is only when we do feel it, and at no other time, that we in this respect rejoice in the truth and glory of the promise, I will never leave thee, etc. And there is another danger to which we are exposed. The very fact that the things of this life have necessity imposed upon them very frequently tends to covetousness. Christian friends, when the world comes over you and consumes your heart and destroys your spirituality, go and weep before the Cross; go and plead this promise again and again in the name of the Saviour, that you may stand, and in the Lord be mighty and strong.
2. I refer to another thing impressed upon the things of this life: there is difficulty; that is to say, the universal law of our natural living in this world is this, In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread. Labour is mans necessity, and mans glory. A man says, I know that without labour I cannot exist. The tradesman says it, the politician says it, the philosopher above any says it, the Christian ought to say it. He says, I see that labour is essential to prosperity and elevation and usefulness; and then he imagines that it is the cause of it, whereas it is only the condition of it–it is only the connection made by God to subsist; for labour itself, which is merely acting upon matter, trying to produce changes, is nothing without God. We repeat it again, man labours in vain, bodily and inwardly, unless God grants a blessing. And God says to the soul humbled and chastened, I will never leave thee, I will never forsake thee.
3. I might refer to the mutability that is impressed upon all these things, as a frequent occasion of sorrow. The great political changes, the great commercial storms, the great commercial stagnations which very frequently follow; the death of a friend, a brother, a child, a failure, or what is called a common accident, may change the whole history of a man. And then come the trials of the soul, and then it is the heart goes forth to covetousness; it is then that man begins to fear; and it is then too comes, and then too is felt, the preciousness of the promise, I will never leave thee.
II. Let me just glance, in the second place, at PERSONS. Paul, addressing himself to the Hebrews, says, quoting David, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Will you not? Man may injure you; some men have injured you, and you are in danger of being injured still more in the dark future. What is your protection? The Lord is my helper. I should be afraid of man; but He being my succour and my helper I shall not be afraid. Man in very many ways may injure us; taking society as it is constituted, and taking into consideration especially its evils. Man may injure our feelings, which is not a very trifling matter–may injure our reputation, civil, social, sacred–may injure our property–may injure our persons–may do what is still more painful, may injure our souls. The nearer and dearer persons are to us, the greater is the danger of being injured by them. They may injure us by the carelessness or even by the impurity of their conversation, they may injure us by false guiles or by base cruelties, they may injure us by their seductions, they may injure us by their frowns, and by their severities, and by their contempts, and by their persecutions. But the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear, &c. These then are the external circumstances which render the promise before me peculiarly applicable, Be content with such things as ye have, for He, God, hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. I was going to say, whence evils spring up, and that is ourselves. Many of our fears rise and terminate in our own beings. Evil thoughts, evil imaginations, evil affections, malice, pride, unkindness, indifference to the misery of others, and a variety of other things; these in frightful numbers and in horrid forms present themselves to the conscience, and then the soul is afraid. He thinks of sins in life and sins in language, sins of the soul and sins of the senses, sins against God as a personality, against God as a governor; and, as the scene blackens before his eyes, he says within himself, I could have trusted that that cloud would have passed away; but I am an offender against my God, I feel that I have increased His displeasure, therefore what shall I do? Now again comes the promise; yes, and we need not hesitate, we need not tremble to go to God and say, It is mine, it is mine. He has said, I will never leave thee, etc. Now, I said that the evils were of two kinds–external, arising from circumstances, and personal, springing up from ourselves. Now God meets these two evils, the first by His Providence, and the second by His influences and His Spirit. First, God says, I will take care of the things; and secondly, He says, I will take care of you. (Caleb Morris.)
An unwritten Word of God:
Where has He said so? If the chapter-and-verse theory be insisted upon, there is no proof that these precise words were ever uttered by God. Yet if the doctrine be withdrawn from the Bible, the Bible will be impoverished by the withdrawal of its richest solaces. There are words, too, marvellously like the very words of the text Gen 28:15; Deu 31:6; Deu 31:8; Jos 1:5). There are words spoken to the soul in secret. The heart remembers, attests, clings to them With tenacious love. There are paraphrased revelations; seed-revelations grown into blooming flowers of assurance. Let us take it, then, as the most assured fact in spiritual history that God never forsakes the man whom He has undertaken to guard and nourish–it is the unwritten and eternal law which comes out of the very nature of the Divine Being.
I. This word is SUFFICIENT–because GOD HAS SPOKEN IT. We say of some men, Their word is their bond. Shall we say less of the Living One, of whose eternity our life is but a spark?
II. The word is INSPIRING–because IT PLEDGES THE PERSONAL FELLOWSHIP OF GOD. I will never leave thee: not, Angels shall be sent to thee, &c. Enoch walked with God. To Moses God said, Certainly I will be with thee. To the Church Jesus says, I am with you alway, &c.
III. This word is COMPLETE–because IT EMBRACES ALL TIME: I will never leave thee. The child becomes free of the parent; the apprentice is liberated from his bonds; the hireling fulfils his day–but union with God is perpetual, and its joy is an ever-augmenting sum.
IV. This word is CONDESCENDING–because IT IS PERSONAL IN ITS APPLICATION. It is not a pledge given to the universe as a whole; it is spoken to the individual heart, and is to be applied by each heart according to special circumstances. The whole exists for the part, as well as the part for the whole. All things are yours. Every flower may claim the sun.
V. This word is Assuring–because IT IS REDUNDANT IN ITS EXPRESSION. I will never leave thee, would have been enough for a merely technical bond; more is added; we have word upon word, so that the heart cannot escape the golden walls of protection and security. Love does not study terseness. It must be emphatic; it must be copious. Regarding this promise, what should be its practical effect?
1. We should inquire whether we are entitled to apply it to ourselves. It is not for all men. The question is one of spiritual character. Are we the children of God?
2. Be entitled to it, we should live as if we truly realised it: not gloomily; not self-trustingly; not fretfully; but joyously, devoutly, thankfully.
3. Living as if we realised it, we should ask what we can do in return. Glorify God in your body, &c. Were the whole realm of nature mine, &c. Present your bodies a living sacrifice, &c. (J. Parker, D. D.)
A lesson and a fortune for Christian men of business:
I. A WORD OF THE LORD IS OF GREAT WEIGHT TO A BELIEVER. See then the argument, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said. That He hath said is the hammer which drives the nail home, and clinches it, with every true child of God.
II. THE WORD OF THE LORD MAY HAVE A THOUSAND FULFILMENTS. When man makes a promise, and he keeps it, that promise is done with. You cannot expect a banker to pay a cheque a second time. The merchant who duly meets his bill once has met it once for all, and the document is henceforth of no value. But when God makes a promise He fulfils it, again, and again, and again, to the same man, and to hundreds of other men. The Lords promise once given is never recalled. He does as good as give forth each inspired promise every moment anew; He is for ever promising that which is once promised in His Word. Now I do not think this particular promise is recorded anywhere in the Old Testament in these exact words. He who is the God of grace, and of immutable love, has virtually said, by His very nature, to those that seek His face, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. All that we know about God says, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. All that we have ever experienced about God, all that our fathers have experienced, goes to show that Jehovah does not forsake His people.
III. THE WORD OF THE LORD IS TO BE APPROPRIATED BY EACH CHILD OF GOD, AND ACTED ON. He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. I like this singularity of the person. You see Paul had been saying in general, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; and then he changes from the plural and writes, for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. When the Lord speaks in this instance His promise is in the singular. He saith not you and ye, but thou and thee. He speaks to us with that–I do not know what to call it unless I use a French word–sweet tu-toiage, which is the language of endearment, the chosen speech of love. When one man speaks to another, and means him to know that his promise is assuredly and altogether for him, and that he is most lovingly his friend, he cannot do better than use the singular and personal pronoun. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
IV. EACH WORD OF GOD HAS ITS OWN USEFULNESS. This particular word, that we have before us, is an illustration of this fact.
1. This particular text is an extraordinarily useful one, for, first, if you notice, it covers all time. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Well, if God will never leave me, He will not leave me now. If He will never leave me, no time is excluded from the word never. However dark or however bright, it says never.
2. Our text covers all space, as well as all time. Suppose we emigrate. Suppose we are compelled to go to a backwoods settlement of America or Canada, or away to Australia or New Zealand, this promise will go with us all the way–I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Suppose we have to take to sea, and lead the risky life of a sailor: we will sail with this at the mast-head–I will never leave thee. But suppose we should get into prison. Does not Jesus visit those who are prisoners for His names sake? Hath He not said, I will never leave thee?
3. And then it covers all circumstances. I will never leave thee. I may get to be a very childish old body. I will never leave thee. But my dear children may all be dead, and I may be quite a solitary person. I will never leave thee. But every friend may turn tail and desert me. I will never leave thee. But I may be in such a state that nobody will own me. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Never, no never, no never
I. VIEW THE WORDS AS A QUOTATION. The Holy Spirit led Paul to quote from the Scriptures, though he could have spoken fresh words. Thus he put honour on the Old Testament, and taught that words spoken to ancient saints belong to us. Paul quotes the sense, not the exact words–teaching that the spirit of a text is the main thing.
II. VIEW THEM AS A HOUSEHOLD WORD FROM GOD.
1. They are peculiarly a saying of God–He hath said. This has been said, not so much by inspiration as by God Himself.
2. They are remarkably forcible from having five negatives in them in the Greek.
3. They relate to God Himself and His people. I thee.
4. They ensure His presence and His help. He would not be with us, and be inactive.
5. They guarantee the greatest good. God with us means all good.
6. They avert a dreadful evil which we deserve and might justly fear; namely, to be deserted of God.
7. They are such as He only could utter and make true. Nobody else can be with us effectually in agony, in death, in judgment.
8. They provide for all troubles, losses, desertions, weaknesses, difficulties, places, seasons, dangers, &c., in time and eternity.
9. They are substantiated by the Divine love, immutability, and faithfulness.
10. They are further confirmed by an observation of the Divine proceeding to others and to ourselves.
III. VIEW THEM AS A MOTIVE FOR CONTENTMENT. Leading us to
1. Live above visible things when we have stores in hand.
2. Present satisfaction, however low our stores may be.
3. See provision for all future emergencies.
4. A security more satisfactory, sure, ennobling, and Divine, than all the wealth of the Indies could bestow.
5. Reckon discontent a kind of blasphemy of God.
IV. VIEW THEM AS A REASON FOR COURAGE.
1. Our Helper is greater than our foes.
2. Our foes are entirely in His hand.
3. If permitted to afflict us, God will sustain us under their malice. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The saint never forsaken
I. Is WHAT RESPECTS GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE NOR FORSAKE HIS PEOPLE.
1. God will never leave His people, so as to cease from loving them.
2. He will never leave them nor forsake them, so as to take from them any of His new-covenant and special gifts; for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom 11:29).
3. He will never leave them so destitute of support and comfort, as that they shall plunge into the depths of despair.
4. The Lord will never leave nor forsake His people totally, nor finally.
II. THE GRACIOUS PRESENCE OF GOD IS SUFFICIENT TO SATISFY HIS PEOPLE IN EVERY SITUATION.
1. If God is graciously present with His people, they have the greatest reason to be content, because He is the most bountiful of all providers.
2. If the Lord be graciously present, with Him he may be content, because he has the most powerful of all protectors.
3. Because, when their God is graciously present with them, they have the wisest of all leaders.
4. They may be content, because they have ever with them the most skilful physician.
5. Since their God will never leave them, nor forsake them, they may be satisfied; because they are always furnished with the most effectual and compassionate Comforter.
6. Since God will never leave His people, they have ever with them the nearest of all relations, and the most excellent of all companions.
III. THE SECURITY GIVEN TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD, THAT HE WILL NEVER LEAVE THEM NOR FORSAKE THEM.
1. The inviolable faithfulness of the Promiser is good security for the accomplishment of the promise.
2. His relation and love to them is good security for the accomplishment of the promise.
3. The power of the Promiser affords them good security for the accomplishment of the promise.
4. The mediation of Christ may be considered by Gods afflicted and poor people as noble security.
5. The believing consideration, that the glory of all the Divine persons is connected with Gods being graciously present with His people, that He may complete their salvation.
IV. SOME DIRECTIONS HOW TO OBTAIN THE GRACIOUS PRESENCE OF GOD, AND TO MAINTAIN A COMFORTABLE CORRESPONDENCE WITH HIM.
1. You must close with His Son, Jesus Christ, in the offers of the gospel.
2. You must not only begin your acquaintance and correspondence with God, by believing in our Lord Jesus Christ; but by believing in Him, and improving Him, you must maintain and carry on your correspondence with God.
3. That you may attain and carry on a loving correspondence with God, you must wait on Him, in all the ordinances of His grace.
4. Beware of doing anything that may provoke Him to leave you, and forsake you.
5. Endeavour, through the Spirit, to cleave close to Christ, and plead importunately the promise of His perpetual presence,
6. Let unbelievers consider, that this God, who is the best of all friends, the mightiest of all protectors, and the best of all companions, is, to those who persevere in rejecting the overtures of His grace, the most dreadful of all enemies, the most inflexible of all judges, and most terrible of all executioners. Flee, flee, therefore, without delay to the Lord Jesus, as the only all-sufficient Saviour. (John Jardine.)
Never forsaken:
I. As AWFUL CONDITION.
1. Forsaking implies an utter loneliness.
2. Utter helplessness.
3. Utter friendlessness.
4. Hopelessness.
5. Unutterable agony.
II. A GRACIOUS PROMISE. What is guaranteed in this promise? Herein doth God give to His people everything. I will never leave thee. Then no attribute of God can cease to be engaged for us. Is He mighty? He will show Himself strong on the behalf of them that trust Him. Is He love? Then with everlasting lovingkindness will He have mercy upon us. Whatever attributes may compose the character of Deity every one of them to its fullest extent shall be engaged on our side. Moreover, whatsoever God hath, whether it be in the lowest hades or in the highest heaven, whatever can be contained in infinity or can be held within the circumference of eternity, shall be with His people for ever, since He hath said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.
III. THE SWEET CONFIRMATIONS of this most precious promise.
1. The Lord will not and cannot leave His people, because of His relationship to them. He is your Father–will your Father leave you?
2. Then, next, His honour binds Him never to forsake thee. When we see a house half-built and left in ruins, we say, This man began to build and was not able to finish. Shall this be said of thy God, that He began to save thee and could not bring thee to perfection? Is it possible that He will break His word, and so stain His truth?
3. And if that be not enough, wilt thou remember besides this that the past all goes to prove that He will not forsake thee. Thou hast been in deep waters; hast thou been drowned? Thou hast walked through the fires; hast thou been burned?
4. And if that be not enough ask thy Father and the saints that have gone before. Did ever any perish trusting in Christ?
5. There is no reason why He should east us off. Can you Adduce any reason why He should cast you away? Is your poverty the danger of your life? In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that hath loved us. Do you say it is your sins? That would have been a cause why He never should have loved them, but having loved them when they were dead in trespasses and sins, their sin can never be a reason for leaving them.
IV. And now the SUITABLE CONCLUSIONS to be drawn from this doctrine.
1. One of the first is contentment.
2. Courage is the next lesson. Let us boldly say, God is my Helper, why should I fear what man can do unto me.
3. Then, next, we ought to cast off our despondency.
4. And then, here is an argument for the greatest possible delight.
5. Lastly, what ground there is here for faith. Let us lean upon our God with all our weight. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Never forsaken:
It is not here said God will never Afflict His people. Sorrow is the heirloom of royal hulls as well as of lowly huts. It is well it should be so, for sorrow is useful; man cannot bear ceaseless sunshine, he needs the intercepting cloud. In the second place, it is not here said that God will never bereave His people. A vacant chair is in every home and by every fireside. It may seem a very severe lesson, but it is a very necessary one–if death never cast his cold, dark shadow upon your fireside, you would begin to worship that fireside; you would incline to make this earthly tabernacle your home. In the next place, it is not said here that men, or even Christians, will never die; that is not so. It does seem to us sometimes inexplicable, if Christ has destroyed death, that Christians should still die. The Answer is, He has not destroyed death as a fact; but He has done better, He has left the fact, but out of the bosom of the cold fact He,has evoked blessings that more than compensate for all its bitterness. God not having promised these things to us, has however said to us what is far better–He will never forsake His people. He will be with them in any one or in all of these together, their peace and support. His omniscience will always watch you with a sentinel eye that never closes, His omnipresence will always reach and help you–if you go to the ends of the earth. The Lord will not forsake His people. No palace walls, however thick, no guards, however brave, no breadth of sea, no number of miles, no impassable desert, shall intercept the visits or arrest the interposition of God. There is not a sting in the human heart, there is not a shadow, however blighting, on the human soul, which God sees not. When all Gods billows, and afflictions, And troubles pass over you, a light brighter than the brightest star, even the morning star, will rise upon you, and a voice louder than the noise of the sea waves, and more musical by far, will bring comfort to your heart: It is I; be not Afraid. But in viewing this blessed promise, that God will not forsake His people, let me notice some of the circumstances in which He will not forsake, or, interpreted in the positive form, He will be specially present, for all Gods negatives are most expressive; His promise, I will not forsake you, is the strongest form of saying, The Lord will Always and everywhere be with His people.
1. Well, God will not forsake you in affliction, and trials, and difficulties, when all you loved is lost, when all you counted on has put forth unexpected wings and fled;–and need I say we live in a period when no man is certain that the honest possessions of to-day will be his property to-morrow; and perhaps the lesson that God is teaching us amid all the mutations of this age is not to set our hearts upon uncertain riches.
2. In the second place, God will not forsake you in the time and during the pain of bereavement. And if this be so, if it be God that interposes, if it be God that takes the pilgrim home, then what is our inference? There are no such things as accidental deaths.
3. God will not forsake His people when entrusted with great responsibilities. When you are called upon to fulfil great duties, never forget to plead Gods great promise. All that is in God is with us, and for us, so that the inexhaustible capital, on which a Christian can draw, is the omnipresence, the omniscience, the omnipotence, the love of God his Father in heaven. The reason why God does not forsake you and me is that He is the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness, so that it cannot be exhausted. Another reason is because He has been pleased to make us His people. God does not forsake us for His names sake, because He has been pleased to make us His people. (J. Cumming, D. D.)
No, never!
This is a promise which bears no special address. We cannot fix a name to it, and for this we are grateful. There are some promises, which, like letters, have been addressed to certain persons, and which to the end of time will bear upon their envelope those particular names. There are other promises, and they are by far the most numerous, which either were never exclusively addressed to an individual or community, or were far too great for such to monopolise, or for any age to exhaust; and which have been redirected and repeated in varying phrase, but with identity of meaning and additional emphasis, as generations have passed by. Ah! these old promises, like Him who uttered them, are the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. They partake of His own infinitude. This assurance of our text meets the highest needs of our nature. Loneliness is one of the most trying experiences possible to man. It never has been from mans creation, and never will be to all eternity, good for man to be alone. Is it not a mysterious law, that the higher the type of creature the more dependent he is, and the greater his needs? The higher the type, the more complex is the organism, and the greater and more varied the necessities, until we reach man, the greatest creature whom God has made on earth; then we touch the most needy. Thus, as you rise in the scale of being, you rise into need. It is only an Almighty, self-existent God that can be the complement of such a creation. Therefore does God speak to man as He does not to any other creature on earth, as if to say, I have made thee only a little lower than the angels; hence thou hast immeasurable ambitions, and needs. Thy nobility consists in the greatness of thy dependence. The highest necessity of thy nature is that thou shouldest have great need. I, Myself, am thy supreme need. Thou art too great to be satisfied with less than thy God and thy Saviour. I will satisfy thee; I will not leave thee Godless: better that thou shouldest miss all than thy God. I will in no wise fail thee, neither will I in any wise forsake thee.
I. The PROMISE OF DIVINE SUFFICIENCY. I will in no wise fail thee. The emphasis which is placed upon the word Himself must not be overlooked–For Himself hath said. I have pointed out that in proportion to thegreatness of our nature is the measure of our need. I would now remind you that in proportion to the measure of our fall is our need multiplied. No creature in heaven will have made so great a demand upon God as redeemed man. It is to this creature, with needs intensified by his own sin, but who now realises his entire dependence upon God, that God Himself speaks–I will in no wise fail thee.
1. Gods promise projects itself into the unknown future. I will never leave thee. Man cannot live in the present. He ever looks forward. His hopes and fears come from lifes morrows. This accounts for the interest which promises and predictions ever awaken in the heart of man.
2. Again, the promise includes every change of circumstance and variety of experience. The words of God by the mouth of Isaiah grandly emphasise Isa 42:2). In the face of the infinite variety of disappointment and trouble is the permanence of this Divine promise that God will be with us. None but the eternal and unchanging God, as revealed in Jesus Christ our Lord, can satisfy our yearnings and meet our needs. It is, however, enough if He be with us.
II. THE PROMISE OF DIVINE FAITHFULNESS. There is nothing more beautiful in life than fidelity, nothing so abhorrent as infidelity. It would seem as if the consummation of the worlds guilt will be its unfaithfulness (Luk 18:8)–unfaithfulness to man as well as to God. Sin will culminate in the prevalence of Cain-like infidelity brother-ward and God-ward. Now, over against that, the acme of Gods excellence is His faithfulness. It is this which alone can triumph over human infidelity. It is this, too, which bears with us in our doubts and fears, and bids us trust (2Ti 2:13, R.V.). Thus the Divine constancy contrasts with our inconstancy. It is this fact that has sustained the saints in all ages when persecuted, and even when in perils among false brethren. This assurance may be ours. H we did but appropriate this twofold promise, what heroisms would be ours, and what noble lives we should live! (D. Davies.)
God does not forsake His people:
John Owen, in a letter dictated to his friend, Charles Heetwood, says, Live and pray, hope and wait patiently, and do not despond; the promise stands invincible, that He will never leave nor forsake us. Forcibly are the negatives in this passage rendered by Kirkham, in his well-known hynm:
The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to His foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavour to shake,
Ill never, no never, no never forsake.
How sad the confession of Cardinal Wolsey, when he was leaving the world: Had I been but as careful to please God as I have been to serve my prince, He would not have forsaken me now in the time of my grey hairs! How beautifully in contrast with his were the last moments of Mrs. Isabella Brown! A quarter of an hour before she died she was reading a list of Scripture promises: and, noticing particularly this tender declaration, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, she said, faintly: Oh, they are sweet! After her death the list was found on her breast with her hand upon it.
Dying testimony to Gods faithfulness
Our friend, Dr. William Graham, of Bonn, has lately departed this life, and we are told that on his death-bed one said to him, He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, to which the good man replied, with his dying breath, Not a doubt of it t Not a doubt of it! (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Gods presence enough
A heathen sage said to one of his friends, Do not complain of thy misfortunes, as long as Caesar is thy friend! What shall we say to those whom the Prince of the kings of the earth calls His sons and His brethren? I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee! Ought not these words to cast all fear and care for ever to the ground? He who possesses Him, to whom all things belong, possesseth all things. (F. W.Krummacher.)
No place where God cannot be found
I have read of a company of poor Christians who were banished into some remote part; and one standing by, seeing them pass along, said that it was a very sad condition these poor people were in, to be thus hurried from the society of men, and made companions with the beasts of the field. True, said another, it were a sad condition indeed if they were carried to a place where they should not find their God. But let them be of good cheer, God goes along with them, and will exhibit the comforts of His presence whithersoever they go. (T. Brooks.)
Gods presence desirable
There are cases in which mere presence is something very bad. The presence of the desperately wicked is a grief and heart-sorrow to the righteous. The presence of a deceitful enemy is a terror to an upright and generous spirit. The presence of one of Jobs comforters in the day of our sorrow is an intolerable nuisance. But the presence of a mother to a sick child, or the presence of a father to a child in bodily danger, or the presence of a medical practitioner to a sick person is as light in darkness, or as a copious dew upon withered grass. Simple presence is very good when presence has a good and sweet influence. But presence and action, presence and ministration, presence and service, is all we can desire–that is, if the individual present be such as we desire. (S. Martin.)
Gods presence operative:
If God be with us we shall never be alone, nor shall we feel lonely–that is, if we believe in Gods presence. If God be with us, He will not be inactive on our behalf. He will provide for us so that we shall not be needy or destitute (Psa 23:1). He will guide us so that we shall not err or mistake our way (Psa 73:24). He will protect us so that no real evil can befall us (Psa 121:7-8). He will preserve us that we shall not perish or lose any good thing (Joh 10:28, 2Ti 4:18.) (S. Martin.)
Gods friendship all-sufficient:
There is an old English proverb which says, He cannot be poor who has the Lord Mayor for his uncle; we may rather say, He cannot be poor who has God for his friend.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 5. Let your conversation] That is, the whole tenor of your conduct, , the manner of your life, or rather the disposition of your hearts in reference to all your secular transactions; for in this sense the original is used by the best Greek writers.
Be without covetousness] Desire nothing more than what God has given you; and especially covet nothing which the Divine Providence has given to another man, for this is the very spirit of robbery.
Content with such things as ye have] Being satisfied with present things. In one of the sentences of Phocylides we have a sentiment in nearly the same words as that of the apostle: , Be content with present things, and abstain from others. The covetous man is ever running out into futurity with insatiable desires after secular good; and, if this disposition be not checked, it increases as the subject of it increases in years. Covetousness is the vice of old age.
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.] These words were, in sum, spoken to Joshua, Jos 1:5: “As I was with Moses, so will I be with thee; I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” They were spoken also by David to Solomon, 1Chr 28:20: “David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it: fear not, nor be dismayed; for the Lord God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” The apostle, in referring to the same promises, feels authorized to strengthen the expressions, as the Christian dispensation affords more consolation and confidence in matters of this kind than the old covenant did. The words are peculiarly emphatic: , ‘ . There are no less than five negatives in this short sentence, and these connected with two verbs and one pronoun twice repeated. To give a literal translation is scarcely possible; it would run in this way: “No, I will not leave thee; no, neither will I not utterly forsake thee.” Those who understand the genius of the Greek language, and look at the manner in which these negatives are placed in the sentence, will perceive at once how much the meaning is strengthened by them, and to what an emphatic and energetic affirmative they amount.
This promise is made to those who are patiently bearing affliction or persecution for Christ’s sake; and may be applied to any faithful soul in affliction, temptation, or adversity of any kind. Trust in the Lord with thy whole heart, and never lean to thy own understanding; for he hath said, “No, I will never leave thee; not I: I will never, never cast thee off.”
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Contentation with our state and condition is a fifth duty charged on the subjects of Christs kingdom, and this is expressed privatively and positively, yet both propositions without a verb, which is best supplied by an imperative.
Let your conversation be without covetousness: strictly signifieth a turning, but here it sets out the motion or turning of a man up and down in the actions of this life, which in common speech is called conversation; not any motion of the heart, nor turn of the eye, nor action of any member, after money or riches, with a sinful, inordinate love to them, or pursuit of them; forbidden, Mat 6:25,31; 1Ti 6:9,10; Jas 4:13; 1Jo 2:15. The studious endeavour and labour night and day, turning and winding every way, to be scraping together and hoarding up worldly wealth, and lading themselves with thick clay, Ecc 4:7,8; Hab 2:6,9, must not be the case or condition of any Christian, Eph 5:3,5; Col 3:5; 2Pe 2:3-15.
And be content with such things as ye have; but having a heart acquiescence and satisfitction with that portion or pittance of earthly things which God at present doth allot us, whether more or less, and not with that only which we may think enough to serve our turn, Phi 4:11,12; 1Ti 6:8.
For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee: the reason enforcing it is, Gods giving by promise a special engagement to provide for them. This God solemnly made to Jacob, Gen 28:15, then to Israel, Deu 31:6,8, then to Joshua, Jos 1:5, and to all believers as well as them; for God will not let any such see the miseries of his absence, but will vouchsafe to them his presence, with all the blessings which attend it, Psa 46:1,5; Isa 41:10; 43:2; 63:9.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. conversation“mannerof life.” The love of filthy lust and the love of filthy lucrefollow one another as closely akin, both alienating the heart fromthe Creator to the creature.
such things as yehaveliterally, “present things” (Php4:11).
I will never leave thee, norforsake theeA promise tantamount to this was given to Jacob(Ge 28:15), to Israel (Deu 31:6;Deu 31:8), to Joshua (Jos1:5), to Solomon (1Ch 28:20).It is therefore like a divine adage. What was said to them, extendsalso to us. He will neither withdraw His presence (“neverleave thee”) nor His help (“nor forsake thee”)[BENGEL].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Let your conversation be without covetousness,…. Which is an immoderate desire, of riches, an over anxious care for worldly things, attended with dissatisfaction, and discontent with their present state: it discovers itself many ways; in preferring the world to religion; in laying up treasure for a man’s own self, without being any ways useful to others; in withholding from himself the necessaries of life, and in making no use of his substance for the glory of God, and the interest of religion: this is a very great evil; it is called idolatry, and is said to be the root of all evil; and is very pernicious to true religion: a believer’s conversation should be without it; in his family, for whom he should provide things convenient and honest; and in the world, where he should deal uprightly, and not defraud and overreach; and in the church, where he should be liberal, and generously communicate, upon all occasions; and such a conversation is becoming the Gospel, which is a declaration of things freely given to us of God. The reason of the apostle’s mentioning this sin of covetousness is, because the Jews were prone to it, and these believing Hebrews might be inclined to it, and be dissatisfied with their present condition, in which they suffered the spoiling of their goods; and besides, unless this was avoided, the above mentioned duties could not be performed aright, as brotherly love, hospitality, remembering and relieving persons in bonds, and adversity.
And be content with such things as ye have; or with present things; with present riches, or with present poverty; with present losses and crosses; with present reproaches and afflictions; and contentment with these things shows itself by thankfulness for every mercy, and by submission to the will and providence of God in every state of life: and there are many things which may move and engage unto it; as the consideration of the state and condition men are in, when they come into the world, and will be when they go out of it; the will of God, and the disposition of his providence according to it, which is unalterable; a sense of: their own unworthiness; a view of interest in God and Christ; and an eye to the recompense of reward; as well as the many promises of God to support and supply his: and among the rest, what follows,
for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; which is a promise made to Joshua, and belongs to all believers, Jos 1:5 which may regard things temporal, as that God will not leave his people in the hands of their enemies, nor forsake them in distress, nor withhold any good thing from them needful for them, but will supply them with the necessaries of life, with which they should be content: and this passage is very pertinently cited for this purpose, and could be easily understood in this sense by the Hebrews; for the Jews explain such places as speak of God’s not forsaking men, of the sustenance of them, as Ps 37:25 and observe that the word , “forsaking”, is never used but with respect to
, “sustenance” u; though the words may also relate to things spiritual, as that God will not leave them to themselves, to their own corruptions, which would overpower them; nor to their own strength, which is but weakness; nor to their own wisdom, which is folly; nor to Satan, and his temptations, who is an over match for them; nor to the world, the frowns and flatteries of it, by which they might be drawn aside; nor will he leave them destitute of his presence; for though he sometimes hides his face, and withdraws himself, yet not wholly, nor finally; nor will he forsake the work of his own hands, in them, but will perform it until the day of Christ; he will not leave or forsake them, so as that they shall perish; he will not forsake them in life, nor at death, nor at judgment.
u Bereshit Rabba, sect. 69. fol. 61. 4. Vajikra Rabba, sect. 35. fol. 175. 2. Yalkut, par. 2. fol. 103. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Be ye free from the love of money ( ). No copula, but supply : “Let your manner of life (, way, Mt 23:37), be without love of money” (, double compound), once found only in the N.T., here and 1Ti 3:3, but now several times–or the adverb –in papyri and inscriptions (Deissmann, Light, etc., pp. 85f.). Alpha privative and and . The N.T. is full of the peril of money on the character as modern life is also.
Content with such things as ye have ( ). Present passive participle of , to suffice, to be content as in Lu 3:14. Cf. in Php 4:11. Here in the nominative plural with no substantive or pronoun (anacoluthon, as in 2Co 1:7) or the participle used as a principal verb as in Ro 12:16. “Contented with the present things” ( , associative instrumental case of , present active neuter plural participle of , to be present or on hand).
For himself hath said ( ). God himself as in Ac 20:33 of Christ. Perfect active indicative as in Heb 1:13; Heb 4:3; Heb 10:9. The quotation is a free paraphrase of Gen 28:15; Deut 31:8; Josh 1:5; 1Chr 28:20. Philo (de Confus. Ling. 32) has it in this form, “a popular paraphrase” (Moffatt). Note the five negatives strengthening each other ( with the second aorist active subjunctive from , to relate, as in Ac 16:26; ‘ with second aorist active subjunctive from , to leave behind, as in Matt 27:46; 2Tim 4:10). A noble promise in times of depression.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Let your conversation be without covetousness,” (aphilarguos ho tropos) “Let the way (course) of your life, your disposition, be without, or void of, the love of money; As in other places moral impurity and love of money are closely connected, 1Ti 6:10; 1Ti 6:17-18; 1Jn 2:15-17. Let your manner of life be void of lustful greed, avarice, etc. called covetousness, which is idolatry, the “king” of all sins, Mat 6:25; Mat 6:24; Luk 10:12; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5.
2) “And be content with such things as ye have; (arkoumenoi tois parousin) “Be satisfied with the things you have at the present; Paul had learned, “In whatsoever state (or condition) he was in, therewith to be content,” Php_4:11-12. So should Christians today. He further affirmed that “Godliness with contentment is great gain,” a fine investment, 1Ti 6:6-8.
3) “For he hath said,” (autos gar eireken) “Because he has said,” and his “word is true, from the beginning,” Psa 119:160; God the judge of all men has spoken and what he has said holds firm, changes not, Deu 31:5-6; Deu 31:8.
4) “I will never leave thee,” (ou me se ano) “By no means (at all) will I leave you,” abandon or desert you; He kept his promise to Jacob, Gen 28:15; and Moses and Israel and Joshua, Jos 1:5-9.
5) “Nor forsake thee,” (oud’ ou me se egkatalipo) “No, nor at all will I desert you,” forsake or abandon you. This pledge of faith, David gave to Solomon, his son, regarding the faithfulness of God to his promises, 1Ch 28:20. This once fallen man, now after God’s own heart, having grown old wrote in assurance, Psa 37:23-25.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
5. Let your conversation be without covetousness, etc. While he seeks to correct covetousness, he rightly and wisely bids us at the same time to be content with our present things; for it is the true contempt of money, or at least a true greatness of mind in the right and moderate use of it, when we are content with what the Lord has given us, whether it be much or little; for certainly it rarely happens that anything satisfies an avaricious man; but on the contrary they who are not content with a moderate portion, always seek more even when they enjoy the greatest affluence. It was a doctrine which Paul had declared, that he had learned, so as to know how to abound and how to suffer need. Then he who has set limits to his desire so as to acquiesce resignedly in his lot, has expelled from his heart the love of money. (278)
For he has said, etc. Here he quotes two testimonies; the first is taken, as some think, from the Jos 1:5 of Joshua, but I am rather of the opinion that it is a sentence drawn from the common doctrine of Scripture, as though he had said, “The Lord everywhere promises that he will never be wanting to us.” He infers from this promise what is found in Psa 118:6, that we have the power to overcome fear when we feel assured of God’s help. (279)
Here indeed he plucks up the evil by the very roots, as it is necessary when we seek to free from it the minds of men. It is certain that the source of covetousness is mistrust; for whosoever has this fixed in his heart, that he will never be forsaken by the Lord, will not be immoderately solicitous about present things, because he will depend on God’s providence. When therefore the Apostle is seeking to cure us of the disease of covetousness, he wisely calls our attention to God’s promises, in which he testifies that he will ever be present with us. He hence infers afterwards that as long as we have such a helper there is no cause to fear. For in this way it can be that no depraved desires will importune us; for faith alone is that which can quiet the minds of men, whose disquietude without it is too well known.
(278) See Appendix B 3.
(279) See Appendix C 3.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(5) In these two verses (Heb. 13:4-5) we have the same connection of thought as in Heb. 12:16; Col. 3:5; Eph. 5:3. Impurity and covetousness may be said to divide between them nearly the whole domain of human selfishness and vice (Lightfoot on Col. 3:5).
Conversation.Literally, way of thought and life, character, disposition.
For he.Rather, for He Himself hath said. As in many other places in this Epistle, the word of Scripture is regarded as directly spoken by God; but there is an emphasis here (He Himself) which well suits the remarkable impressiveness of the words quoted, I will in no wise let thee go; no, nor will I forsake thee. This promise of divine support and protection does not occur exactly in the same form in the Old Testament, but is clearly taken from Deu. 31:6, He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. (Comp. also Gen. 28:15; Jos. 1:5; 1Ch. 28:20.) The appositeness of these words and those which follow (Heb. 13:6) will be seen if we remember the trials which the Hebrew Christians had already endured (Heb. 10:32-34). It is very probable that this thought supplies the link of connection between Heb. 13:5-6, and Heb. 13:7.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Conversation Your daily course and character in life.
Covetousness The enemy of hospitality, liberality, and peace.
Content Not excluding proper effort to better your condition, but securing tranquillity in the condition that results, and meeting all disadvantages with equanimity.
For he God.
Hath said Our happy equanimity is not based on a stoical reliance on self, but on a divine basis. The faithfulness of God underlies us. He and I, as Delitzsch tells us, are used in post-biblical Hebrew as mystical names of God.
Never leave forsake thee In substance this promise repeatedly occurs in the Old Testament, but never in exact words. Thus one, a modification, occurs (Septuagint) in Jos 1:5: “I will never forsake thee nor overlook thee.” Yet it is remarkable that the exact words given by our author are found in Philo, 1:430, 26. It is by all agreed that the coincidence is too peculiar to be accidental. Lunemann says, “Possibly, as Bleek and De Wette believe, the author has quoted it directly from Philo. But possibly, also, the expression, as here found and in Philo, may have been stereotyped into a proverb.” Delitzsch suggests that the passage had assumed this form in the liturgical service of the synagogue, and thence may have been used by both Philo and our author. We know no law that forbids an inspired author to quote an uninspired. Paul quoted the Greek poets, Jude quotes the book of Enoch, and our author may have quoted Philo.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Let your way be free from the love of money, content with such things as you have, for he himself has said, “In no way will I fail you, nor will I in any way forsake you.” ’
Fourthly they were to beware of covetousness, especially the love of money. Nothing can destroy a man or woman, or a church, like money. It subtly by degrees takes men’s thoughts away from God. So they should not be concerned about whether they were rich or not. They should beware of craving after money (1Ti 6:10) and the deceitfulness of riches (Mar 4:19). For such soon takes hold on men and becomes their idol. Rather they should be content with what they have (compare Php 4:11), because godliness with contentment is great gain (1Ti 6:6), and can be sure that the Lord will never fail them or forsake them in whatever needs they might have (compare Mat 6:8; Mat 6:19-34). With Him as our banker we can never finally run short. For as Jesus emphasised, ‘you cannot love both God and Mammon (wealth)’ (Mat 6:24), and whichever one we choose will always take precedence over the other. Either our love for God will result in money becoming unimportant except as a tool for doing good and showing love to our brothers and sisters, or the love of money will become idolatry and take away our thoughts from Christ and His ways and will destroy Christian love both for God and for men. Money is spiritually poisonous.
It may well be that he knew that some of them had lost their wealth for Christ’s sake and were deeply affected by their situation, and so is seeking to ensure that they recognise how important it really is. Loss of wealth was a common problem in those days for some who became Christians.
‘In no way will I fail you, nor not at all will I in any way forsake you.’ The word for fail means to let go of, to lose the grip on. It tells us that God will never lose His grip on us (Joh 10:29). The word for forsake means to abandon, to desert. We who are his can be sure that we will never find ourselves abandoned and deserted. Note the strong emphasis on the negatives which is there in the Greek. It is saying that for God to fail or forsake us is absolutely impossible.
The statement word for word is not found in the Old Testament, but it is almost word for word, after the altering into the first person, of a phrase in Deu 31:6 LXX in the third person, where Moses is addressing Israel prior to their entry into the promised land. For similar ideas see Jos 1:5; and compare Gen 28:15; Isa 41:17. Thus God’s faithfulness has continued throughout history. It is probable that the writer is citing a standard form recognised in the churches, who might well have seen themselves as, like Israel (and Joshua), on the verge of entering the promised land and personalised the promise.
‘He Himself has said.’ Thus it is certain. We note again that Scripture is quoted as what God has said.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Heb 13:5. Be content with such things as ye have: The reason here given why there should be no discontent at the various cross accidents of life is, for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee; which was an assurance given to Joshua. See Deu 31:8. Jos 1:5. The apostle had just before proved, that the kingdom set up by Christ was not to be shaken; therefore, in the language spoken to Joshua, it was true that God would never leave it, nor forsake it, till all was fulfilled. The consequence of which is, that his providence extends to every member of his kingdom; that every one may depend upon it; and every one may say with the Psalmist, The Lord is my helper. And as to the particular topic for contentedness in the present station, this is founded on the nature of God, and the government of the world; but above all, on themerit and intercession of Christ, and his mediatorial reign over the universe, for the church which is his body: and the words spoken to Joshua are applicable to all the faithful children of God, That we ought to cast all our care upon him, who is sufficient to guard us from all harm; or, if we do suffer here, can fully recompense us hereafter. The application of a particular promise to such general purposes, opens a noble hint for the improvement of the Old Testament, upon this great and solid principle, That God, who is no respecter of persons, intends that expressions of his favour to this or that eminently good man, should be used for the encouragement of all others of the like character.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Heb 13:5-6 . Warning against covetousness; exhortation to contentedness.
] free from greediness of money, from covetousness and avarice , 1Ti 3:3 . Comp. Heb 6:2-4 ff.
] sc . : let the mind and comportment, the character, be .
] sc . : be contented with that which is present . here, as Xen. Sympos . iv. 42 ( , ), and often with the classic writers, of the earthly possession which one has.
] for He Himself has said , namely, God , as He who is speaking in the scripture; not Christ (Beza, Bhme, Klee).
] I will in no wise fail thee, nor by any means forsake thee . To this citation the most similar passages are Deu 31:6 ( , ), ibid. Heb 13:8 ( , ), and 1Ch 28:20 ( ); although, in these passages, instead of the first person singular the third person is used. Less corresponding in point of expression are Jos 1:5 ( ), Gen 28:15 ( ), and Isa 41:17 ( ). On the other hand, there is found a citation entirely correspondent to ours in Philo, de Confus. Linguar . p. 344 C (ed. Mang. I. p. 430). It is possible that, as Bleek and de Wette suppose, the author adopted the same immediately from Philo. It is, however, also possible that the utterance, in the form in which we meet with it here and in Philo, had become proverbial. According to Delitzsch and Kluge, the utterance of Deu 31:6 assumed this form in the liturgic or homiletic usage of the Hellenistic synagogue, in that reminiscences of other similar O. T. passages blended with the original passage. [According to Piscator, Owen, and Tischendorf, the reference is to Jos 1:5 .]
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2343
GODS PROMISED PRESENCE AN ENCOURAGEMENT TO DUTY
Heb 13:5-6. Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
THE end of knowledge is practice: and hence the Apostle closes all his epistles with practical exhortations. The argumentative part of this epistle terminated at the close of the preceding chapter. This chapter begins with some particular exhortations suited to the Hebrews at that time. The advice contained in our text is suited to the Church in every state and every age: and the encouragement with which it is enforced, gives it a more than common interest. In truth, it is the promised presence and assistance of God, which is our great incentive to every duty; since without his aid we can do nothing, but with it can effect whatsoever God himself requires of us.
Let us consider,
I.
The promise here recorded
The promise was originally given to Joshua: but in our text it is represented as spoken to each of us. And in this light it ought to be viewed: for it was not given to Joshua as a mere insulated individual, but as the head of Gods people, whom he was conducting into Canaan: and between them and us there is a close resemblance: they were about to conflict with many enemies, whom they must destroy, before they could possess the promised land: and we also must sustain many conflicts before we can attain the full enjoyment of the heavenly Canaan. To us therefore there is the same need of the promise, as to him; and to us also is there the same right and title; seeing that it was spoken for the encouragement of all Gods Israel to the end of time.
The promise that God will not leave us nor forsake us, imports that he will be ever with us,
1.
By the operations of his providence
[There is not any thing in the whole universe which is not under his controul. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without his special appointment: and the very hairs of our head are all numbered. Circumstances indeed may occur which may cause us to tremble for the issue of them: but he will so overrule them all, as to make them eventually work together for our good [Note: Rom 8:28.]. We may be reduced almost to despair; and may be ready to say with the Church of old, The Lord hath forsaken and forgotten us [Note: Isa 49:14.]: but he will ere long force us to acknowledge that such fears were the fruit only of our own infirmity [Note: Psa 77:7-10.]; and that the very things which we complained of as against us, were no other than his appointed means for accomplishing all his gracious designs towards us [Note: Gen 42:36.]. Our dangers may be as imminent as those of Israel at the Red Sea; but that shall be the time for Him to open for us a way to escape from them. Our wants may be as urgent as those of Israel afterwards in the wilderness; but that shall be the time for giving us manna from heaven, and water from the rock. The time for any interposition may seem to have actually elapsed; but still in the mount the Lord shall be seen, precisely as he was when he arrested the uplifted arm of Abraham, and restored his Isaac to his embrace. The vision may tarry; but never beyond the appointed and the fittest time [Note: Hab 2:3.].]
2.
By the communications of his grace
[These are necessary for us, and must be renewed to us day by day: and if for one moment they be suspended, we must inevitably fall. But God will not withdraw from his waiting and praying people. He may indeed suffer temptations to arise, such as shall threaten to plunge us into irremediable ruin; and he may even permit Satan for a time to prevail against us; but still he will not utterly forsake us; but will restore our souls, and make our very falls subservient to the augmenting of our humility and watchfulness throughout the remainder of our lives, and to the qualifying of us for warning, and exhorting, and comforting others with increased effect [Note: Luk 22:31-32.]. So also he may permit our trials to abide; and, though entreated by us ever so much, may not see fit to remove them. But his grace shall be sufficient for us, and shall be the more magnified in us, in proportion as our conflicts are severe, and our victories conspicuous [Note: 2Co 12:7-9.]. He may, for wise and gracious purposes, hide his face from us; but it shall be only for a little moment, that the riches of his grace may be the more abundantly displayed in the subsequent manifestations of his love and favour [Note: Isa 54:7-10.]. If it be asked, why he will thus continue his loving-kindness to them? We answer, For his own sake, and because he changeth not [Note: Mal 3:6. Jam 1:17. Rom 11:29.]; as it is said, He will not forsake his people; because it hath pleased him to make you his people [Note: 1Sa 12:22.].]
That this promise may produce its due effects, let us consider,
II.
The use we should make of it
Innumerable are the benefits to be derived from it: but we shall specify only two: it should encourage us to discard, as unworthy of us,
1.
All inordinate desires
[Our whole conversation should be without covetousness or discontent. We should desire nothing which God has not seen fit to give us, nor murmur at any thing which he has ordained for us. For, what can we want, or what can we have to complain of, whilst he is with us? Could any worldly good add to our happiness, or give any security to us for its continuance? Would treasures, however great, be a richer portion than he? or would the loss of them be felt, if it led us to seek more entirely our happiness in him? When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble [Note: Job 34:29.]? If we have but the light of his countenance lifted up upon us, nothing can augment, nor can any thing diminish, our bliss. Many of these Hebrews had taken joyfully the spoiling of their goods: and thousands in every age have been able to testify from their own blessed experience, that as their afflictions have abounded, so also have their consolations abounded by Christ [Note: 2Co 1:5.]. Let us only possess the Lord for the portion of our inheritance and of our cup; and have that lot maintained to us; and however small our portion be as it respects this world, we shall have reason to say, The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places, and I have a goodly heritage [Note: Psa 16:5-6.].]
2.
All anxious fears
[The ungodly imagine that they can prevail against the Lords people: but they are no more than an axe or saw in the hands of him that useth it: they can do more than our God and Father is pleased to do by them [Note: Isa 10:15.]. Now who will tremble at a sword that is in his fathers hands? If indeed our God were ever weary, or absent, or disinclined to interpose for us, or if the creature could effect any thing without his special permission, there were some reason for fear: but when he is as our shade upon our right hand; when he is as a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us [Note: Zec 2:5.]; whom shall we fear? Who can have access to harm us [Note: 1Pe 3:13-15.], if we be hid under the shadow of His wings? If He be for us, who can be against us [Note: Rom 8:31.]? Whatever confederacies then may be against us, whether of men or devils, we need not fear: in Him, as our sanctuary, we may deride their efforts, and defy their malice [Note: Isa 8:12-14.]. What should be the state of our minds, the holy Psalmist has shewn us; Be merciful unto me, O God; for man would swallow me up: he fighting daily oppresseth me. Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou Most High. But, what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God will I praise his word: in God I have put my trust: I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. In God will I praise his word; in the Lord will I praise his word. In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me [Note: Psa 56:1-4; Psa 56:9-11.].]
See then from hence,
1.
Of what importance it is to treasure up the promises in our minds
[The promises of God are our great support under trials, and at the same time our great encouragements to fulfil our duty; since they assure us of all needful aid, both for the sustaining of the one, and the performance of the other. It is by them that we are enabled to cleanse ourselves from sin [Note: 2Co 7:1.]; and by them to attain the image of God upon our souls [Note: 2Pe 1:4.]. Let us then lay hold of them; and, to whomsoever they may have been spoken in the first instance, appropriate them to ourselves. Let us rest upon them, and plead them before God, as Jacob did [Note: Gen 28:15. with 32:12.]: and know that in Christ they are all yea, and amen [Note: 2Co 1:20.], as unchangeable as God himself. O what a treasure does that man possess who has laid up in his mind the most comprehensive promises of his God! He can be in no trouble, wherein he has not abundant consolation; and in no want, wherein he has not an adequate supply. O beloved, let the word of Christ, and the promises of your God, dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Mark the emphatic manner in which they are pronounced. Look at that before us in particular: as recorded in our translation, it is strong: but as it is in the original, its force exceeds the powers of our language to express: there are no less than five negatives to confirm the negation [Note: See the Greek.]. When will God violate that promiseHeaven and earth shall pass away; but not one jot or tittle of that promise shall ever fail [Note: Mat 24:35.]?]
2.
How truly blessed is a life of faith
[What a source of misery to mankind is a covetous and discontented spirit! and what a prey are they to trouble, who have no refuge from the cares and fears which agitate the ungodly world! But faith in God is a perfect antidote to them all. It assures us of a God ever nigh at hand to help and succour his believing people. See how the promise in our text is introduced: it is there suggested as sufficient to counterbalance the loss of every thing, however desirable, or the apprehension of every thing, however formidable. It is suggested, in order to inspire us with a confidence which nothing can intimidate: We may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. Think of an angel sent down to sojourn here: what would either the acquisition or loss of riches affect him? or would any confederacies either of men or devils concern him? He would feel as satisfied and as secure as if he were in heaven itself. This then is the tranquillity which we also, according to the measure of our faith, are privileged to enjoy, Let us then know in whom we have believed. Let us cast all our care on him who careth for us [Note: 1Pe 5:7.]. And let us so realize the promises of our God, as to know that nothing ever shall, or ever can separate us from his love [Note: Psa 46:1-3. Rom 8:38-39.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Ver. 5. Let your conversation ] Gr. , your turnings and windings in the world for a livelihood. Do your business not out of a desire to get silver, , but to humble yourselves by just labour.
Be content with such things ] Not to be content is to be covetous. If men cannot bring their means to their mind, let them bring their mind to their means. (Clem. Alex.) A little will serve to bear our charges till we come home to heaven. Bonus paucis indiget. See Trapp on “ 1Ti 6:6 “ See Trapp on “ 1Ti 6:7 “ See Trapp on “ 1Ti 6:8 “ The contented man sits and sings,
Hoc alii cupiant: liceat mihi, paupere cultu
Securo, chara coniuge posse frui.
For he hath said ] Five times in Scripture is this precious promise renewed; that we may press and oppress it, till we have expressed the sweetness out of it, Isa 66:11 .
I will not forsake thee ] Gr. , I will not not not forsake thee. Leave us God may to our thinking, but forsake us he will not. Only we must put this and other promises in suit, by praying them over. God loves to be bound by his own words, to be sued by his own bond. Now all this is nothing to the wicked, who are strangers to the promises. These God will bring into the briers, and there leave them, Eze 22:20 ; Eze 29:5 . His own he will never leave nor forsake; or if he does, as sometimes he seems, yet he will not forsake them utterly, Psa 119:8 ; no, that he will not. The Greek here hath five negatives, and may thus be rendered, “I will not not leave thee; neither will I not not forsake thee.” God may desert his people, but not disinherit them; forsake them in regard of vision, not of union; change his dispensation, not his disposition.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
5, 6 .] St. Paul usually couples with filthy desire, filthy lucre , as both of them incompatible with the kingdom of God: e. g. 1Co 5:10-11 ; 1Co 6:9 f.: Eph 5:3 ; Eph 5:5 ; Col 3:5 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
5 .] Let your manner of life (reff.) be void of avarice: contented (sufficed) with things present (the construction is precisely as in ref. Rom., . . . On and , see Bleek’s examples. Among them, we have the very phrase in Teles. in Stobus, serm. 95, , : Democrit. in Stobus, serm. 1, : Phoeyl. 4, , . The construction occurs in Herod. ix. 33, , and al. (Bl.): see also reff.): for He (viz. , of ch. Heb 10:23 , God, already named Heb 13:4 . “In post-biblical Hebrew,” says Delitzsch, “ and are used as the mystical names of God”) hath said, I will not leave thee, no nor will I forsake thee (passages bearing some resemblance to this are found in the O. T., but no where the words themselves: see reff. But in Philo, Confus. Ling. 32, vol. i. p. 431, we have, , , . This is certainly singular, and cannot be mere coincidence. Bleek and Lnemann suppose the Writer to have made the citation direct from Philo (see Prolegg. i. par. 156), whereas Delitzsch believes that the expression was taken from Deu 31:6 A, , and had become inwoven into some liturgical or homiletic portion of the services in the Hellenistic synagogue. occurs again Mat 24:21 ):
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Heb 13:5 . As in Eph 5:5 and elsewhere impurity and covetousness are combined, so here the precepts of Heb 13:4 lead on to a warning against love of money: , “let your turn of mind [disposition] be free from love of money, content with what you have”. [ frequently in classical writers in this sense, as Demosthenes, p. 683, . Other examples in Kypke. was also commonly used to denote contentment with what one has. Examples in Raphel and Wetstein.] This contentment has the firm foundation of God’s promise; , “for Himself hath said,” i.e. , God. . The quotation is from Deu 31:5 , where however the third person is used. Similar promises, similarly expressed, occur in Gen 28:15 ; Deu 31:8 ; Jos 1:5 ; 1Ch 28:20 . Philo ( De Conf. Ling. , chap. 32, not 33 as in Bleek and Davidson) gives the quotation literatim as in the text here. , “so that we boldly say, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear”. In Pro 1:21 wisdom at the gates of the city . The words quoted under are from Psa 118:6 , the first word and the last being brought into strong contrast.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Hebrews
GOD’S VOICE AND MAN’S ECHO
Heb 13:5-6 .
‘HE hath said’; ‘we may… say.’ So, then, here are two voices; or, rather, a voice and an echo – God’s voice of promises, and man’s answering voice of confidence. God speaks to us that we may speak to Him; and when He speaks His promises, the only fitting answer is to accept them as true in all their fulness fixed confidence. The writer quotes two passsges as from the Old Testament. The first of them is not found verbatim anywhere there; the nearest approach to it, and obviously the source of the quotation, occurs in a connection that is worth noting. When Moses was handing over the charge of his people to his successor, Joshua, he said first to the people and then to Joshua, ‘Be strong and of good courage …. He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee.’ The writer of the Epistle falls back upon these words with a slight alteration, and turns ‘He’ into’ I,’ simply because he recognised that when Moses spoke, God was speaking through him, and countersigning with His own seal the promise which His servant made in His name. The other passage comes from the 118th Psalm. So, then, let us listen to the divine voice and the human answer. I. God’s voice of promise. ‘He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ Now, notice that there is a distinct parallel between the position of the people to whom this Epistle was addressed, and that of the Hebrews to whom the original promise was made. The latter were standing on the verge of a great change. They were passing from under the leadership of Moses, and going under the leadership of the untried Joshua. Is it fanciful to recall that Joshua and Jesus are the same name; and that the difficulty which Israel on the borders of Canaan had to face, and the difficulty which these Hebrew Christians had to encounter, were similar, being in each case a change of leaders – the ceasing to look to Moses and the beginning to take commands from another? To men in such a crisis, when venerable authority was becoming antiquated, it might seem as if nothing was stable. Very appropriate, therefore, and strong was the encouragement given by pointing away from the flowing river to the Rock of Ages, rising changeless above the changing current off human life. So Moses said to his generation, and the author of the Epistle says after him to his contemporaries you may change the leaders, but you keep the one Presence. This letter goes on the principle throughout that everything which belonged to Israel, in the way of institutions, sacred persons, promises, is handed over to the Christian Church, and we are, as it were, served heirs to the whole of these. So, then, to every one of us the message comes, and comes in its most individual aspect, ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.’ Now, ‘to leave’ and ‘to forsake’ are identical, and the promise, if we keep to the Authorised Version, is a repetition, in the two clauses, of the same thought. But whilst the two clauses are substantially identical, there is a very beautiful variation in the form in which the one assurance is given in them. With regard to the first of them, ‘I will never leave thee,’ both in the Hebrew and in the Greek the word which is employed, and which is translated ‘leave,’ means the withdrawing of a hand that sustains. And so the Revised Version wisely substitutes for ‘leave thee,’ ‘I will never fail thee.’ We might even put it more colloquially, and approach more nearly the original expression, if we said, ‘He will never drop thee’; never let His hand slacken, never withdraw its sustaining power, but will communicate for ever, day by day, not only the strength, but the conscious security that comes from feeling that great, strong, gentle hand, closing thee round and keeping thee tight. No man ‘shall pluck them out of My father’s hand.’
‘The Lord upholdeth all that fall,’ says one Psalm, and another of the psalmists puts it even more picturesquely; ‘When I said my foot slippeth, Thy mercy, O Lord, held me up,’ To Say ‘my foot slippeth,’ with a strong emphasis on the ‘my’ is the sure way to be able to say the other thing: ‘Thy mercy held me up.’ ‘He shall not fall, for the Lord is able to make him stand.’ Suppose a man on some slippery glacier, not accustomed to ice- work, as he feels his foot going out from under him, he gets nervous, and nervousness means a fall, and a fall means disaster and sometimes death.
So he grips the guide’s hand, and then he can walk. There is Peter, out on the sea that he had presumptuously asked leave to walk on, and as he feels the cold water coming above his ankle, and sees it rising higher and higher, he begins to fear, and his fear makes him heavier, so that he sinks the faster, till the very extremity of need and paroxysm of terror strike out a spark of faith, and faith and fear are strangely blended in the cry: ‘Lord, save me.’ Christ’s outstretched hand answered the cry, and its touch held Peter up, made him buoyant again, and as he rose, the water seemed to sink beneath his feet, and on that heaving pavement, glistening in the moonlight, he walked till he was helped into the boat again. So will God do for us, if we will, for He has said: ‘I will never relax My grasp. Nothing ‘shall ever come between My hand and thine.’ When a nurse or a mother is holding a child’s hand, her grip slackens unless it is perpetually repeated by fresh nervous tension. So all human helps tend to become less helpful, and all human love has its limits. But God’s hand never slackens its grip, and we may be sure that, as He has grasped He will hold, and ‘keep that which we have committed unto Him.’ But mark the other form of the promise. ‘I will never drop thee’ – that promises the communication of sustaining strength according to our need:’nor forsake thee’ – that is the same promise, in another shape.
The tottering limbs need to be held up. The lonely heart walking the way of life, lonely after all companionship, and which has depths that the purest human love cannot sound, and sometimes dark secrets that it durst not admit the dearest to behold – that heart may have a divine companion. Here is a word for the solitary, and we are all solitary. Some of us, more plainly than others, are called upon to walk a lonely read in a great darkness, and to live lives little apprehended, little sympathised with, by others, or perchance having for our best companion, next to God, the memories of those who are beside us no more. Moses died, Joshua took his place; but behind the dying Moses-buried in his unknown grave, and left far away as the ties crossed the Jordan – and behind the living Joshua, there was the Lord who liveth for ever. ‘I will not forsake thee.’ Dear ones go, and take half our hearts with them People misunderstand us. We feel that we dare not open out our whole selves to any. We feel that, just as scientists tell us that no two atoms of the most solid body are in actual juxtaposition, but that there is a film of air between them, and hence all bodies are more or less elastic, if sufficient pressure be applied, so after the closest companionship there is a film. But that film makes no separation between us and God. ‘I will not drop thee’ – there is the of strength according to our need. I will not forsake thee,’ there is companionship in all our solitude. But do not let us forget that all God’s promises have conditions appended, and that this one has its conditions like all the rest. Was not the history of Israel a contradiction of that glowing promise which was given them before they crossed the Jordan? Does the Jew to-day look as if he belonged to a nation that God would never leave nor forsake? Certainly not. And why? Simply because God’s promise of not dropping us, and of never leaving us, is contingent upon our not dropping Him, and of our never leaving Him.
‘No man shall pluck them out of My Father’s hand’ No; but they can wriggle themselves out of their Father’s hand. They can break the communion; they can separate themselves, and bring a film, not of impalpable and pure atmosphere, but of poisonous gases, between themselves and God. And God who, according to the grand old legend, before the Roman soldier flung his torch into the Holy of Holies, and’ burnt up the beautiful house where our fathers praised Him with fire,’ was heard saying, ‘Let us depart hence,’ does say sometimes, when a man has gone away from Him, ‘I will go and return to My place until they seek Me. In their affliction, they will seek Me early.’ And now let me say a word about the second voice that sounds here. II. The human answer, or the echo of the divine voice. If God speaks to me, He waits for me to speak to Him. My answer should be immediate, and my answer should embrace as true all that He has said to me, and my answer should build upon His great faithful promise a great triumphant confidence. Do we speak to God in the strain in which He speaks to us? When He says, ‘I will,’ do our hearts leap up with joyful confidence, and answer, ‘Thou dost’? Do we take all His promises for our trust, or do we meet His firm ‘assurance with a feeble, faltering faith? We turn God’s ‘verily’ into a peradventure, often, and at best when He says to us ‘I will,’ we doubtingly say ‘perhaps He may.’ That is the kind of faith, even at its highest, with which the best of us meet this great promise, building frail tabernacles on the Rock of Ages and putting shame on God’s faithfulness by our faithlessness. ‘He hath said,’ and then He pauses and listens, whether we are going to say anything in answer, and whether when He promises: ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,’ We are bold to say, ‘The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man can do unto me.’ Now, I do not suppose that I am’ keeping too slavishly to the mere words of the text if I ask you to look at the beautiful sequence of thought in these three clauses which make the response of the man to the divine promise. There is a kind of throb of wonder in that word. ‘The Lord is my helper.’ That is the answer of faith to the divine promise, grasping it, never hesitating about it, laying it upon the heart, or on the fevered forehead like a cooling leaf, to subdue the hot pulsations there. And then what comes next? ‘I will not fear.’ We have the power of controlling our apprehension of peril, but it is Of no use to screw ourselves up to a fictitious courage which consists mainly in the ostrich’s wisdom of hiding its head from the danger, and in saying, ‘Who is afraid?’ Unless we can say ‘The Lord is my helper,’ it is folly to say, ‘I will not be afraid, I will brace myself up, and be courageous to meet these difficulties. That is all right, but it is not all right unless we have laid the right foundation for courage. Having our purged ears opened to hear the great, strong, sweet divine promise, we are able to coerce our terrors, and to Banish them from our minds By the assurance that, whatever comes, God is with us. ‘The Lord is my helper ‘ – that is the foundation, and built upon that – and madness unless it is built upon it- is the courage which says to all my fears,’ Down, down, you are not to get the mastery over me.’ ‘I will trust,’ says the Psalmist, ‘and not be afraid.’ Faith is the antagonist to fear, because faith grasps the fact of the divine promise. Now, there is another thought which may come in here since it is suggested by the context, and that is, that the recognition of God thus, as always With us to sustain us, makes all earthly conditions tolerable. The whole of my text is given as the ground of the exhortation: ‘Be content with such things as ye have,’ for He hath said, ‘I will never leave thee.’ If Thou dost not leave me, then such things as I have are enough for me, and if Thou hast gone away, no things that I merely have are of much good to me. And then comes the last stage in our answer to what God says, which is better represented by a slight variation in translation, putting the last words of my text as a question: ‘What can man do unto me?’ It is safe to look at men and things, and their possibly calamitous action upon our outward lives, when we have done the other two things, grasped God and rested in faith on Him. If we begin with what ought to come last, and look first at what man can do unto us, then fear will surge over us, as it ought to do. But if we follow the order of faith, and start with God’s promise, grapple that to our heart, and put down with strong hand the craven dread that coils round our hearts, then we can look out with calm eyes upon all the appearances that may threaten evil, and say, ‘Come on, Come all, my foot is on the Rock of Ages, and my back is against it, No man can touch me,’ So we may boldly say, ‘What can man do unto me?’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
conversation = bent, manner (of life). Greek. tropos. See Act 1:11.
without, &c. Greek. aphilarguros, literally without love of money.
be content. Greek. arkeo.
such things, &c. = the things that are present.
He = Himself.
never = by no means. Greek. ou me. App-105.
leave = let . . . go. Greek. aniemi. See Act 16:26.
nor. Literally nor by no means. Greek. oud’ ou me. The strongest negative possible.
forsake. Greek. enkataleipo. See Act 2:27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
5, 6.] St. Paul usually couples with filthy desire, filthy lucre, as both of them incompatible with the kingdom of God: e. g. 1Co 5:10-11; 1Co 6:9 f.: Eph 5:3; Eph 5:5; Col 3:5.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Heb 13:5. ) daily life.-) The participle for the imperative: just as the ellipsis (Heb 13:4), for the sake of politeness, of the verb, let-be, so there is a similar ellipsis of the verb, be ye (in this verse).- , with present things) the present state. So Paul, speaking of himself, Php 4:11.-) He.-, has said) What was said to Jacob, to Joshua and the people, and to Solomon, extends also to us.- ) I will never leave thee nor forsake thee, Gen 28:15; the LXX. omit the first clause, and have only, I will not forsake thee; Deu 31:6, He will not fail (leave) thee nor forsake thee: so also Heb 13:8; Jos 1:5, I will not forsake thee nor overlook () thee; 1Ch 28:20, He will not fail thee nor forsake thee. It is therefore like a Divine adage. He will neither withdraw His assistance nor His presence.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
, , , , , .
. Syr., , let not [your mind] be loving of silver; love not silver, according to the original signification of the word; but its use is of larger extent, sine avaritia, alieni ab avaritia; not inclined unto, alien from covetousness. [1]
[1] EXPOSITION. . This construction is so remarkable, that it identifies, it has been thought, this epistle as a production of Paul. One nominative absolute in the singular expands into a nominative absolute in the plural, and the only construction parallel to this is to be found in another epistle of Paul, Rom 12:9. ED.
. Syr., , your mind; as doth sometimes signify ingenium, animum, mentem, indolem, the mind with its bent and inclination. Other interpreters render it by mores, and supply vestri; your manners, the way and manner of your conversation:as it is well rendered by ours, your conversation; though that be properly , which we render conversation, verse 7; but we have no other word whereby to express the force of the Latin mores. is mens moral conversation, or their conversation in morals. So we read , honest manners, an honest conversation; and , excellent manners; and , a just, righteous conversation; and , holy manners; and on the contrary, , bitter, froward manners.
Heb 13:5-6. [Let your] conversation [be] without [free from] covetousness; [and be] content with [present things] such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord [is] my helper, and I will not fear what man can do unto me.
From particular duties, the apostle proceeds unto that which is more general, which relates unto our whole course of walking before God. And the vice prohibited is frequently joined with that foregoing, fornication and covetousness, Eph 5:3; Eph 5:5; Col 3:5; 1Th 4:6 : not that they have any especial affinity one with the other, but that they are both of them such as corrupt the whole Christian profession.
There is in the words,
1. A duty prescribed:
2. An enforcement of it from its reason and cause:
3. An inference from that reason, in an application of it unto all cases wherein the duty is required; the two latter consisting in two divine testimonies, one concerning the promises of God, the other concerning the experience of believers.
1. The duty is enjoined,
(1.) Negatively, Let your conversation be without covetousness;
(2.) Positively, Be content with such things as ye have. Covetousness and contentment are absolutely opposite, and inconsistent in the same mind.
(1.) As unto the manner of expression in the negative precept, it is in the original doubly defective, Conversation without covetousness; which we well supply with your, and let it be; which is the intention of the words. And we must inquire,
[1.] What is our conversation.
[2.] How it ought to be without covetousness.
[1.] The word here used may be taken in a threefold sense:
1st. For the mind, or the frame and inclination of it in its acting about the things of this life. So it is rendered by the Syriac, Let your mind. And respect must be had hereunto, because the evil prohibited is a vice of the mind, and the opposite grace a virtue of the mind.
2dly. For accustomed practice; Live, act, trade, do all things without covetousness.
3dly. For the way, and manner, and course we use and take in the getting of a livelihood, or food and raiment. And all these significations of the word are consistent, nor can any of them be excluded from the sense of the place. We render it by conversation, which is comprehensive of them all. But it is in this place alone thus used. The word which in all other places we render conversation, is , Gal 1:13; Eph 4:22; 1Ti 4:12; Jas 3:13, etc.: but the same is plainly here intended, though the word yields somewhat a larger sense than the other. Wherefore, our conversation here includes both the frame of our minds and the manner of our acting, as unto the morality of it, in all that we do about the things appertaining unto this life. And because of this restraint of it unto our actings about the things of this life, the apostle useth this word , mos or mores, and not , which expresseth our universal walk before God, in all holy obedience, Php 1:27; Php 3:20;[2] Jas 3:13; 1Pe 1:15; 2Pe 3:11.
[2] In these two passages, and are the words employed. ED.
[2.] The ordering of our conversation aright in this matter is of great importance in our Christian profession. And for the direction of it the apostle gives this rule, that it be without covetousness. The word is only once more used in the New Testament, 1Ti 3:3, Not covetous; as that which it denies is twice, Luk 16:14, 2Ti 3:2; in both which places we render it covetous. , the substantive, we render according to its original signification, the love of money, 1Ti 6:10. The word used constantly in the New Testament for covetousness is , Mar 7:22; Rom 1:29; 2Co 9:5; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5; 1Th 2:5. But whereas (as the wise man tells us) money answereth all things, Ecc 10:19, and is therefore the peculiar object of covetous desires, covetousness and the love of money are the same. Wherefore the word here, being without the love of money, is well rendered by without, or alien from covetousness.
Covetousness is an inordinate desire, with a suitable endeavor, after the enjoyment of more riches than we have, or than God is pleased to give unto us; proceeding from an undue valuation of them, or love unto them. So it is described by our apostle, 1Ti 6:9-10.
A vice this is which, by its effects, manifests itself always to be contrary to the light of nature, as debasing the minds of men, making them useless, and exposing them to all manner of vile practices. Hence it was always stigmatized by sober heathens, as one of the vilest affections of the minds of men. And there is nothing which the Scripture doth more severely condemn, nor denounce more inevitable punishment unto. Two places in our apostle may suffice to confirm it. In the one he tells us, that covetousness is idolatry, Col 3:5; that is, such an abominable sin, as there is no name fit to be given unto it but that which intimates a rejection of God himself; or, it may be, respect is also had unto the minds of covetous persons, who even adore their money, and put their trust in it in the stead of God. The rich mans riches are his strong tower. The other is 1Ti 6:9-10, where he affirms that it gives men present perplexing anxieties of mind, and plungeth them into eternal perdition.
But hereof there are many degrees. Where it is predominant, the Scripture doth absolutely exclude those in whom it is from life and salvation, amongst the most profligate of sinners. But there may be, and are, lesser degrees of inordinate desires after earthly things, which partake of the nature of this vice, that may abide in believers themselves, and are a subject of mortification all their days. And these inclinations, according to their degree, are obstructive of duties, and means of exposing men unto various temptations at all times, especially in those of persecution. And the apostle seems to have respect here unto such a season. For when men are spoiled of some of their goods, and in danger of losing all, it is apt to stir up in them earnest and inordinate desires after somewhat more than they have, and not to be contented with what is present; which the apostle here declares to be covetousness. This he would have us free from at all times, especially in the times of persecution; which that he hath respect unto, the sixth verse doth plainly declare. And we may hereon observe sundry things; as,
Obs. 1. All covetousness is inconsistent with a Christian conversation, according to the gospel. It is to be alien in all things from covetousness. Neither is there any thing at this day that doth more stain the glory of our Christian profession. For in the profligate lives of debauched persons, their blasphemies, adulteries, drunkenness, and the like, religion is not concerned. They openly avow themselves to have no interest in it; neither hath that any in them. But whereas covetous men, from the predominancy of that one lust, do ofttimes keep themselves from open sins of the flesh, and withal make a profession of religion, having a form of godliness, this vice is a high reproach to their profession.
Obs. 2. Covetousness in any degree is highly dangerous in a time of persecution, or suffering for the gospel. It is with respect unto such a season that we are here warned against it. For there is no sin which so intimidates the spirit, and weakens all resolution, in a time of suffering, as this doth. For sufferings generally in the first place fall on that wherein its power and interest do lie, namely, the riches and possessions of men; whence they are filled with fears about them, disanimating them in all their resolutions. And it constantly riseth up against seasonable duties at such a time; such as contribution unto the wants of other sufferers. It is always accompanied with a distrust of God, as we shall see afterwards, and fixeth the soul in an overvaluation of earthly things; which is directly opposite unto the exercise of all grace whatever. It fills the soul at such a season with anxiety and disquietment of mind, piercing it through with many sorrows, with equal hopes and fears, irregular contrivances for supply, and reserves of trust in what men have, with other evils innumerable.
(2.) In opposition hereunto, we are directed and enjoined to be content with things that are present, or such things as we have. and the passive are to suffice, to be sufficient, to be that which is enough, Mat 25:9; Joh 6:7. The passive is used here, and 1Ti 6:8; to be content or satisfied with what is sufficient in earthly things: whose measure the apostle gives there to consist in food and raiment. is once used to the same purpose; which signifies, not a self-sufficiency, but a satisfaction in ourselves, as to what we have, 1Ti 6:6. So also is , which we render content,
Php 4:11; that is, satisfied in our condition.
This is that which the apostle opposeth unto that covetousness which he doth condemn; and they are inconsistent in the same mind, in any prevalent degree. The assertion Of the one denies the other; and so on the contrary. Wherefore this contentment is a gracious frame or disposition of mind, quiet and composed; without,
[1.] Complaining or repining at Gods providential disposals of our outward concerns;
[2.] All envy at the more prosperous condition of others;
[3.] Fears and anxious cares about future supplies; and,
[4.] Desires and designs of those things which a more plentiful condition than what we are in would supply us withal.
And this contentment is with respect unto such things as we have; or things that are present, as it is in the original. Now, things present are not here opposed unto things that are future; as though we should be content with them, and not look after the future reward: but they are opposed unto things which are not present with us in our present state and condition, though so they might be; and therefore, as unto the sense, it is tendered by, such things as ye have. Yet are not things only intended, but in general the state and condition wherein we are, be it of poverty, or affliction, or persecution, or of more enlargement in earthly things. So it is declared by our apostle, Php 4:11, I have learned , in whatever state I am, say we, therewith to be content; in the condition and circumstances wherein I am, whether it be of abounding or need,as he explains it in the next verse. And it respects the things that are present with us, such things as we have; namely, for the use of this natural life. And the measure of them, in ordinary cases, is food and raiment, as the rule is given us, 1Ti 6:8, Having food and raiment, let us be therewith content: not that we are allowed to be discontented if we want them; but that these are such a sufficiency as are a rational obligation unto contentment, a man need seek no further. But among other evils that we may undergo for the gospel, we may be called unto hunger and nakedness, Rom 8:35; by which many witnesses of Christ have been destroyed. And when we are so, we are obliged to be therewithal content also. For contentation, or satisfaction of mind, in things present, doth not arise from, nor depend on, any measure, great or small, of the things themselves which we do enjoy, but on the presence of God with us, and the reward that is therein, as the next words declare.
And it may not be impertinent to observe some few things for the declaration of the virtue of it; as,
[1.] Contentment with what we have is not exclusive of honest industry, to make an addition unto it, and so enlarge the provision of earthly things for ourselves and our families. Honest industry, even unto this end, is the command of God, who hath given us six days in seven for the exercise of it. Wherefore,
[2.] It doth not consist in a slothful neglect of the occasions of this life; nor in a pretended apathy or regardlessness of them; nor in the relinquishment of an industrious course of life, to betake ourselves unto monastic idleness, under a pretense of contempt of the world; but,
[3.] It is a gracious disposition of mind, arising solely from trust in and satisfaction with God alone, against all other things whatever that may appear to be evil, as the next words declare. [4.] It is utterly exclusive,
1st. Of covetousness, or an inordinate inclination of mind and desire after an increase of our present enjoyments, with all the ways and means whereby they usually act themselves;
2dly. Of all anxious care, distrust of things future, or complaints of things present;
3dly. Of that foolish elation of mind, and contempt of others, which riches give unto men of weak minds; for contentment is a grace in the rich as well as in the poor.
1st. Of distress and distrust under an apprehension of want;
2dly. Of despondency under oppression, persecution, and suffering the things that men can do unto us, or bring upon us.
And both these evils arise from covetousness, or an inordinate desire after and valuation of earthly things.
2. Having prescribed the duty, the apostle adds an enforcement of its practice, from the cause which renders it just and reasonable: For he hath said, etc. This is from something that was said or spoken to this purpose: concerning which he proposeth,
(1.) Who spake it;
(2.) What he spake; wherein is included the consideration of him to whom he spake it, and when, and with reference unto what occasion.
(1.) He hath said. That this is causal, as unto the duty proposed, is declared in the conjunction for: Do so, for he hath said.He nameth not the person that spake; but by the way of eminency calleth him He. Thou art He, Psa 102:28; which the apostle renders Heb 1:12. Thou art He, is a name of God; He who alone hath all being and existence in himself; He who with us, as in himself, is all, and in all. was an ascription of honor to a man: but this is infinitely above it. And hereby the apostle refers us to the greatness and power of God. He who is over all, the supreme disposer of all things in heaven and earth, in whose hand and power are all the concerns of men, who can do whatever he pleaseth, He hath said it.For,
Obs. 3. All the efficacy, power, and comfort of divine promises, arise from, and are resolved into, the excellencies of the divine nature. He hath said it who is truth, and cannot deceive: He who is almighty, etc.
(2.) What he hath said unto this purpose: I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. It is observed by all, that there is a vehement negation in the last clause, by a multiplication of the negative particles, two of them are used in the former. And the design hereof is, to obviate all objections which fear and unbelief may raise against the assurance given, from such circumstances as men may fall into: Be they what they will, I will not at any time, on any occasion, for any cause, leave thee, nor forsake thee.In these negative expressions positive blessings are contained, and those distinct also, as the expressions are. By the first, the continuance of Gods presence is intended; by the other, the continuance of his help, which the apostle takes notice of in the next verse: I will not leave thee; whatever be thy state and condition, I will never withdraw my presence from thee: I will never forsake thee, or suffer thee to be helpless in any trouble; my aid and help shall be continued with thee.Only these things are expressed negatively, directly, and immediately, to obviate the fears which in difficult trials believers are apt to be exercised withal; and they are the principal way of the secret working of unbelief. Wherefore, the vehemency of the expression, by the multiplication of the negative particles, is an effect of divine condescension, to give the utmost security unto the faith of believers in all their trials. That God doth design in general so to do, our apostle declares at large, Heb 6:17-18, whereon see the exposition.
Obs. 4. Divine presence and divine assistance, which are inseparable, are the spring and cause of suitable and sufficient relief and supplies unto believers in every condition.
Obs. 5. Especially, the due consideration of them is abundantly sufficient to rebuke all covetous inclinations and desires, which without it will be prevalent in us in a time of straits and trials. Whereas these words contain a promise made of old unto some or other, we must inquire into the circumstances of it, as unto whom it was made, and when, and on what occasion.
There is a promise to this purpose, yea in these very words, given unto Solomon by David, in the name of God: The LORD God, even my God, will be with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee, 1Ch 28:20. And it is found frequently repeated unto the church, as unto the substance of it. See Isa 41:10-13. But it is generally granted that it is the promise which God made unto Joshua when he gave him in charge the great work of destroying the enemies of the church in the land of Canaan. So are the words of God unto him expressly, Jos 1:5, I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. The words, indeed, were used by Moses unto Joshua before, Deu 31:6; Deu 31:8; where the translation of the LXX. is much the same with the words used by the apostle in this place: but whereas the apostle refers the words spoken immediately to the speaking of God himself, For he hath said, they are taken from that place in the Book of Joshua, where God speaks directly unto him; and not from that in Deuteronomy, which are the words of Moses.
Now this promise was personal, and given unto Joshua on the account of that great and difficult undertaking which he was called unto, in the conquest of Canaan. It is not therefore easily to be understood how an application may be made of it unto every individual believer, in all their straits and trials. To clear this difficulty, we may observe,
[1.] That the dangers and difficulties which every believer has to undergo in his spiritual warfare, especially in times of trial and persecution, are no less than those that Joshua conflicted withal in his wars, nor do stand in less need of the especial presence and assistance of God to overcome them than his did. And therefore, in using these words unto Joshua, God did but expressly declare, for his encouragement, how he will deal with all believers, in every state and condition that he calls them unto.
[2.] The faith of all believers stands in need of the same supportment, the same encouragement with that of Joshua, and is resolved into the same principles with his, namely, the presence and assistance of God. Wherefore,
[3.] All the promises made unto the church, and every particular member of it, for the use of the church, are made equally unto the whole church, and every member of it, in every age, according as the grace and mercy of them is suited unto their state and condition. There was in many of the promises of old something of especial privilege (as in that of a kingdom to David) and somewhat that respected circumstances, and the state of the people in the land of Canaan, wherein we are only analogically concerned; but as unto the grace, love, and mercy of God in them all, with their accommodation unto all our cases and necessities, they belong unto all believers, no less than they did unto them unto whom they were first given and made. Hence,
[4.] Faith sets every believer in the room or place of him or them unto whom the promises were originally made; and as they are recorded in the Scripture, wherein God continues to speak unto the church, they are spoken directly unto every one of them. So the apostle here declares it: He hath said, that is, unto you, and every one of you unto whom I speak, I will never leave thee;which is the ground of the inference which he makes in the next verse. Yea,
[5.] Whereas those promises which contained especial privileges, (as those made to Abraham and David), and those which respected the interest of the people in the land of Canaan, did proceed from, and were enlivened by, the love and grace of God in the covenant made with the church, or all believers, every one of them may apply unto themselves the same love and grace, to be acted suitably unto their condition, by mixing those promises with faith. For if whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scripture might have hope, as Rom 15:4, much more are the promises recorded therein for our use and benefit.
There hath not been in our days a more desperate attempt against the life of religion, and the whole covenant-relation between God and the church, than that whereby the application of the promises recorded in the Scripture unto the present state, condition, and wants of believers, hath been opposed and ridiculed. But faith will triumph over such foolish and impious assaults.
In brief, all the promises recorded in the Scripture, being nothing but ways and means of the exhibition of the grace of the covenant, which is made with the whole church, with all believers, and the accommodation of it unto their state, condition, and occasions; being all in the ratification of the covenant made yea and amen in Christ Jesus, unto the glory of God by us; they do equally belong unto all believers, and what God says in any of them, he says it unto every one that doth truly believe.
Herein, then, lieth the force of the apostles argument: That if God hath said unto every one of us, what he said unto Joshua, that he will never leave us as to his presence, nor forsake us as to his assistance, we have sufficient ground to cast away all inordinate desires of earthly things, all fears of want, and other pressures, to rest quiet and contented with his undertaking for us.
3. This inference, from this promise given unto us, the apostle declares in the next verse, confirming it with the experience of David; which was not peculiar unto him, but is common to all believers.
Heb 13:6. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
We may every one of us say as David did in the like case; for he so spake in confidence of the same promise of the presence and assistance of God, which is given also unto us. The words are taken from Psa 118:6, The LORD is on my side, (for me, my helper;) I will not fear what man can do unto me. To the same purpose the psalmist speaks, Psa 56:3-4; Psa 56:11; only for man, verse 4, he useth the word flesh, what flesh can do unto me; with a great contempt of all the power of his adversaries.
He confirms his argument by a divine testimony; wherein we may consider both the manner of its introduction, and the testimony itself.
(1.) The former is in these words, So that we may boldly say; or, So as that we are bold to say; or, We do boldly say, or have right so to do: the verb being of the infinitive mood, may be limited either of these ways.
So that, or so as that; a note of inference, or collection of one thing out of another. By what is said to us, we are enabled and justified thus to say ourselves.
Boldly; We being hold, using confidence, may say.This the apostle ascribes to us herein,
[1.] Because it is evident that David, in uttering those words, did use a more than ordinary boldness and confidence in God. For he spake them first in a time of great distress, when the Philistines took him in Gath, and his enemies were continually ready to swallow him up, Psa 56:1-2. In the midst of this distress, with great confidence he expresseth his trust in God, and says, I will not fear what flesh can do unto me,
Psa 56:4. And in the same state he was, Psa 118:6-10. The like confidence in the like condition is required of us.
[2.] Because an act of high trust and confidence in God is required unto the profession here expressed. The word signifies the frame of mind that is in valiant men when they are preparing with shouts to engage against their adversaries.
[3.] To intimate our duty on this occasion; which is, to cast out all fears, every thing that may intimidate our spirits, or disquiet our minds, or hinder us from making a cheerful profession of our confidence in God. For that is required of us. We are to say what we believe, to profess it; yea, to glory and make our boast in God, against all opposition. Wherefore,
Obs. 6. The cheerful profession of confidence in God, against all opposition, and in the midst of all distresses, is that which believers have a warrant for in the promises that are made unto them.
Obs. 7. As the use of this confidence is our duty, so it is a duty highly honorable unto the profession of the gospel. Degeneres animos timor arguit.
In the application of this testimony, as taken from Psa 56:4, the apostle supposeth that David spake these words not merely in his own person, and with respect unto his own case, or the especial promises he had about it, but in the person of the whole church, or on the general right of all true believers. For it is the word of God, or the promises therein contained, which are common to all believers, which was the ground of what he said or professed. So the words in the beginning of the verse do testify, In God I will praise his word. He would give unto him the glory of his truth and power, by believing. Wherefore,
Obs. 8. Believers having the same grounds of it that he had, may use the same confidence that he did. For outward circumstances alter not the state of things as unto faith or duty. We may use the same confidence with him, though our case be not the same with his. And,
The apostle, in the application of this testimony, extends the case which he at first applies his exhortation unto. For at first he speaks only with respect unto want and poverty; but here he compriseth in it persecution and oppression, which usually are the causes of distressing want and poverty.
(2.) These things being premised, we may proceed to inquire what is in the testimony itself produced, unto the end of the apostles exhortation. And we may consider,
[1.] That there is an opposition, a conflict, a contest, between distinct parties, supposed in the words. And the persons concerned immediately herein, are believers on the one hand, and man on the other; whereon a third person, namely, God himself, interposeth, and becometh a party in the contest. For,
[2.] God is herein on the side of the church: The LORD is my helper; a helper unto me.Respect seems to be had in this expression unto Psa 118:6-7; though the words also of Psalms 56 are intended. And there are two ways whereby the psalmist asserts this matter:
1st. , verse 6, The LORD is unto me, for me, on my side, (as we render it,) in this contest.
2dly. , verse 7, say we, The LORD taketh my part with them that help me; the LORD is for me among the helpers.Both these the apostle compriseth in this one, , he is my helper. Wherein the help of God in this case consists, we shall show immediately. In the meantime, it is certain that believers do stand in need of help in that contest which they have with the world. Of themselves they are not able to go through it with success. Yet have we no reason to fear an engagement in what is above our strength or ability, when we have such a reserve of aid and assistance; but in whatever befalls us, we may say boldly, We will not fear. For if God be on our side, if God be for us, who shall be against us? Let who so will be so, it is all one, the victory is secured on our side.
[3.] There is a double opposition in the words, giving an emphasis unto the sense of the whole:
1st. Between God and man. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear what man can do. And this man he calls flesh, Psalms 56., what flesh can do.
2dly. Between what God will do, He will help; and what men can do, expressed in the psalm by an interrogation in way of contempt, What can flesh do to me? that is, whilst God is my helper.
[4.] This help of God, which believers are assured of in their trials, and under their persecutions, is twofold.
1st. Internal, by supplies of grace, spiritual strength, and consolation, enabling them with a victorious frame of mind to go through all the difficulties and dangers of their conflict with a certain success;
2dly. External, in actual deliverance, by the destruction of their adversaries: both which are frequently exemplified in the Scripture, and present experience.
[5.] There is a double contempt cast on the adversaries of the church:
1st. From their state: they are but man, what man can do; which he calls flesh in the psalm, a poor, contemptible, dying worm, compared with the eternal, infinitely powerful God.
2dly. From his power: What can he do? whatever his will and his desires may be, in his power he is weak and impotent. And that which we are taught from hence is,
Obs. 9. That all believers, in their sufferings, and under their persecutions, have a refreshing, supporting interest in divine aid and assistance. For the promises hereof are made unto them all equally in their suffering state, even as they were unto the prophets and apostles of old. And,
Obs. 10. It is their duty to express with confidence and boldness at all times their assurance of the divine assistance declared in the promises, to their own encouragement, the edification of the church, and the terror of their adversaries, Php 1:28.
Obs. 11. Faith duly fixed on the power of God as engaged for the assistance of believers in their sufferings, will give them a contempt of all that men can do unto them.
Obs. 12. The most effectual means to encourage our souls in all our sufferings, is to compare the power of God who will assist us, with that of man who doth oppress us So is it prescribed by our blessed Savior, Mat 10:28.
Obs. 13. That which in our sufferings delivereth us from the fear of men, takes out all that is evil in them, and secures our success.
Fuente: An Exposition of the Epistle to the Hebrews
A Motive For Contentment
This is what Paul says, Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have. And he gives this for the motive: For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. If the Lord my God is with me, and promises never to forsake me, want should never be an emotion felt in my heart (Php 4:12-13).
This is my earnest prayer to my God: Lord give me a content heart. Teach me contentment! I want to be content with your providence, content with your provision, and content with your presence. He who possesses him, to whom all things belong, possesses all things (Rom 8:32; 1Co 3:21; 1Co 3:23).
Child of God, let your riches consist not in the largeness of your possessions, but in the fewness of your wants. Contentment makes poor men rich; and a lack of it makes rich men poor. Our wants ought to be always limited to our present possessions and present circumstances.
This I know: It is my responsibility, if I follow Christ, to make all material things immaterial, and simply trust my heavenly Father for all things. And if I believe him, I will (Mat 6:20-34; Mat 10:39). Someone once said, It takes as much grace to trust God a the breaking of a piece of fine china as it does at the death of an only child.
Because our God has said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. The Lord, who is my Helper, is greater than all my foes. All my foes are entirely in the hands of my Lord, and under his control. It matters not what men do to me, the Lord will sustain me.
Child of God believe him. Trust his promise. Trust his grace. He will not leave you in the time of your greatest guilt and sin (1Jn 2:1-2). B. He will not leave you in the time great temptation, trial, and danger (1Co 10:13). Though others forsake you, and they surely will, the Lord will not forsake you (Lam 3:21-26).
For six thousand years, the Lord has confirmed his promise. It never was broken yet. And it never shall be. He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee! How far does that word never reach? It reaches deeper than the deepest agonies of your soul! It reaches lower than the lowest pit into which you may fall! It reaches beyond the grave! It reaches as high as the judgment seat of God himself! It reaches to eternity!
Robert Murray MCheyne wrote, Eternity alone will unfold the riches of this promise. He who died for us will be our eternal Friend; and he who sanctifies us will forever dwell in us; and then God, who loved us, will be ever with us. Then will we get into the meaning of his promise I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee!
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible
conversation: Exo 20:17, Jos 7:21, Psa 10:3, Psa 119:36, Jer 6:13, Eze 33:31, Mar 7:22, Luk 8:14, Luk 12:15-21, Luk 16:13, Luk 16:14, Rom 1:29, 1Co 5:11, 1Co 6:10, Eph 5:3, Eph 5:5, Col 3:5, 1Ti 3:3, 1Ti 6:9, 1Ti 6:10, 2Pe 2:3, 2Pe 2:14, Jud 1:11
and be: Exo 2:21, Mat 6:25, Mat 6:34, Luk 3:14, Phi 4:11, Phi 4:12, 1Ti 6:6-8
I will: Gen 28:15, Deu 31:6, Deu 31:8, Jos 1:5, 1Sa 12:22, 1Ch 28:20, Psa 37:25, Psa 37:28, Isa 41:10, Isa 41:17
Reciprocal: Gen 14:23 – lest Gen 15:1 – and thy Gen 21:22 – God Gen 23:13 – I will Gen 26:28 – was with Gen 30:31 – General Gen 31:3 – with thee Gen 43:21 – we have Exo 3:12 – Certainly Exo 16:20 – bred worms Exo 40:29 – the altar Lev 11:29 – creeping things that creep Lev 25:20 – General Deu 5:21 – General Deu 8:3 – doth Deu 23:24 – thou mayest 1Ki 6:13 – will not forsake 1Ki 8:57 – General 1Ki 17:6 – the ravens 1Ki 18:2 – went to show 1Ki 19:5 – an angel 2Ki 4:13 – I dwell Est 9:15 – but on the prey Psa 22:1 – why hast Psa 23:1 – I shall Psa 27:9 – leave Psa 73:23 – Nevertheless Psa 94:14 – For Psa 124:1 – The Lord Pro 10:3 – will Pro 13:25 – righteous Pro 19:23 – shall abide Isa 42:16 – and not Isa 62:4 – shalt no Isa 62:12 – not Jer 1:8 – for I am Jer 14:9 – leave Jer 45:5 – seekest Mat 6:19 – General Luk 10:19 – and nothing Luk 12:22 – Take Luk 12:31 – General Luk 18:30 – manifold more Joh 21:5 – have Act 11:29 – to send Rom 12:16 – condescend to men of low estate 1Co 7:21 – care 2Co 4:9 – but Eph 6:17 – which Phi 4:5 – your 1Ti 6:8 – General Jam 3:13 – a good 1Pe 1:15 – in 1Pe 2:12 – your conversation 1Pe 5:7 – Casting 2Pe 3:11 – in all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT
Be content with such things as ye have.
Heb 13:5
Christian contentmentwhat is it? To be contented is to be satisfied; it is the amen of spirit with regard to what is
I. Christian contentment presupposes effort.It is clear that something is presupposed in the command, Be ye content with such things as ye have, for the poor, the sick, the prosperous are nowhere required not to improve their case. We are not to be content with many things that we have, nor with anything short of our best. Then contentment would mean stagnation and presently death; the world only exists by a continual effort for something higher, which is clearly Gods law. This command, therefore, is given to men already under the law of aspiration, effort, improvement. Divine content is satisfaction after effort, and with such results as it pleases God to give to effort; to aim at the utmost, and only gain the least, and then bow the head in acquiescence, saying, Even so, Father.
II. Christian contentment implies a certain amount of failure.There is no room for its exercise where matters cannot be improved; you could not speak of the angels as contented. Joy is the word for heaven, contentment for earth; we shall leave contentment behind when we reach the perfect life; it belongs to dark scenes, and broken hopes, and painful trials. We say we cannot be contented when our circumstances are disheartening, but if so, we cannot be contented at all; suffering is the only sphere in which it is possible. It was to the poor and persecuted and scattered Hebrews that the Apostle wrote, Be ye content.
III. Christian contentment delivers us from the power of circumstances.It is not Be content with so much, but with such things as ye have. This is one of the great demands possible to Gods people. Contentment is not a doing without things because we must, that is possible apart from Christian grace; it is repose, satisfaction, the heart saying, Thy will be done. To attain to that is to reign as a king over our circumstances.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
Heb 13:5. Conversation means one’s conduct or manner of life, and the sentence means that their lives should not be influenced by an overmuch desire for the wealth of this world. To be content does not deny one the right to “look out for a rainy day,” or to acquire more of the good things of life than he needs for his own personal use; such a theory would contradict Eph 4:28. The thought is that while we are making lawful efforts to produce the desirable things of life, we should not be fretting because we are not as successful as others or as much so as we had expected to be ourselves. We may always have the assurance that we will be cared for in some way.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Observe here, A dehortation, or negative precept, Let your conversation be without covetousness.
By conversation, we are first to understand the disposition of the mind, then the actions of the life, both ought to be free from all inordinate love to, and endeavours after, more of this world than God is pleased to give unto us.
By covetousness, we are not to understand, as if a provident and prudential care for the things of this life were forbidden, or as if all endeavours to maintain our right to what God has given us were unlawful; but by covetousness is meant an eager and unsatiable desire after, accompanied with restless and unwearied endeavours for the things of this life, proceeding from an undue valuation of them, and an inordinate love unto them.
Learn hence, That as all sin in general, so covetousness in particular, is inconsistent with a Christian conversation, according to the gospel. No sin at this day doth more stain the glory of Christianity than this doth. Alas, the profligate lives of debauched persons, their blasphemies, adulteries, drunkenness, and such like, do not half the mischief to religion which this sin doth, because the persons guilty of it pretend to religion, which the other concern not themselves with.
Observe, 2. A positive injunction, Be content with those things that you have.
Contentment is a gracious disposition of mind, whereby the Christian rests satisfied with that portion of the good things of this life which the wisdom of God assigns him, without complaining of the little which God gives to him, or envying the much which God bestows on others. Yet know, that contentment with what we have, is not consistent with, nor exclusive of, an industrious diligence, and an honest moderate care to increase what we have, for ourselves and families. Honest industry is the command of God, and he has given us six days in seven for the exercise of it: but it is utterly exclusive of all covetous desires, of all anxious cares, of all priding ourselves in, and boasting of, what we have received, contemning and despising others, a vanity which men of weak minds are only guilty of.
Observe, 3. The argument to enforce the duty; For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. The words are a promise, a promise of God, a promise of his presence and providence to assure us of both, and that he will never leave us.
He uses five negatives, I will not leave thee, I will not, I will not, I will not forsake thee.
Where note, That the vehemency of the expression, by the multiplication of the negative particles, is both an effect of divine condescension, and gives the utmost security to the faith of believers, that God will be present with them, and comfortably provide for them; so that the words are a strong reason to dehort from covetousness, and to exhort to contentedness; for having God present with us, to take care of, and provide for us, we have all things in him, and a promise from him, that we shall not want any thing that is good and needful for us; only we must allow God this liberty, and give him leave to judge what is needful, and when it is needful.
Observe, 4. That though the foregoing promise is made to Joshua, yet the apostle applies it to all believers, and draws comfort from it: We may boldly say, the Lord is my helper.
Here note, That whatsoever promise is made in particular to any one believer, if there be not some special reason which confines and ties it to his person, every believer may apply it to himself. This promise which God made particularly to Joshua for his support under that great difficulty in conquering the land of Canaan, the apostle here applies to the case and state of particular believers: We may therefore boldly say, &c., believers have the same grounds that he had, may use the same confidence that he did, though our circumstances and his are not the same. All the promises of God’s gracious presence made to the prophets and apostles of old, all believers may apply to themselves in their suffering state: We may boldly say, &c.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Heb 13:5-6. From particular duties the apostle proceeds to one which is more general, relating to our whole course of walking with God. Let your conversation Greek, , your behaviour, or manner of living; be without covetousness , without the love of money; or an inordinate desire of, and endeavour after, more of this worlds goods than you have, or than God is pleased to give you, proceeding from an undue esteem of them, and attachment to them. See on Col 3:5; 1Ti 6:6-10. And be content with such things as ye have And which God affords you by his providence in a lawful way. The original expression, , is, with the things that are present. Endeavour to bring your mind down to your circumstances, be they what they may. The apostle did not mean by this to preclude the Hebrews, or any person, from using lawful means for bettering their circumstances; but that, having used such means, they were to be contented, although God did not make them successful. For he Rather, he himself, namely, God, who hath all the stores of nature at his command, and who owns the relation of a Father to us; hath said To all believers, in saying it to Jacob, Joshua, and Solomon, (see the margin,) I will never leave thee nor forsake thee The many negative particles, and their position in the original, render this passage extremely emphatical and beautiful. Doddridge renders it, I will not, I will not leave thee; I will never, never, never forsake thee; words from which all Gods people (his love to them being the same in all ages) may take a just encouragement in all the difficulties to which they may be exposed. So that we may boldly say , taking courage, we may say, with the psalmist, The Lord is my helper He is my helper, whose wisdom, power, and goodness are boundless; I will not fear what man shall do unto me However subtle, mighty, or malicious he may be. Gods promises to Jacob, Joshua, David, &c., and their expressions of trust in God, being applied by the apostle to the believing Hebrews, teach us that Gods promises to individuals, and their exercises of faith and trust built thereon, are recorded in Scripture for the encouragement of the people of God in every age.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 5
Your conversation; your life and conduct.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
13:5 {3} [Let your] conversation [be] without covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for {b} he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
(3) Covetousness is condemned, against which is set a contented mind with that which the Lord has given.
(b) Even the Lord himself.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Greed has lured many believers away from a life of faithful discipleship, as has sexual temptation. We need to cultivate a spirit of contentment so we do not apostatize. Contentment really has nothing to do with how much money we have, though the world generally thinks it does. We have the Lord, and with Him we have all we need (cf. Luk 12:15; Php 4:11; 1Ti 6:6-10). Furthermore, He has promised never to abandon us (Mat 28:20).
"One of the results of persecution has been the loss of property (Heb 10:34). In these circumstances, the Christian response is not to grasp all the more eagerly at material wealth, but to rely quietly on God’s provision, even in the face of human opposition." [Note: Ellingworth, p. 698.]