What does "the face of the Lord" mean (1 Peter 3:12)?

"The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers." Sweet word! Peter feels the necessity of prayer and dependence, and if your walk be right, he says, the Lord is attentive to your prayers. "But," you say, "He does not answer." Well, perhaps He may be having a controversy with you," for the face of the Lord is against them that do evil," and that is as true of a child of God as of an unconverted person. If the soul is doing right, what is the result? You have the eyes of the Lord upon you, and the ears of the Lord open to you, i.e., you have the presence" of the Lord as the result of a walk that is suited to God. Then you are not a bit afraid of Satan's power, or of Satan's wiles. The only way in which we can get along is by enjoying God.

Here I think we come to the actual talk of the lips, and what the effect is on ourselves, as well as on others. The Lord sees, and hears all. "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." The face of the Lord is as much against His own children, if they are doing evil, as it is against the children of the devil. Here he applies it in the practical walk of the Christian. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? Observe the good things here. Good days, follow that which is good, good conscience, and good conversation. My beloved, if you are doing good, following good, and feeding on good, you will see good days, and you will have a good conscience, and all the world will have to admit that yours is good conversation. More than that, God will yet so work that "they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."

"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous." This means, not only perfect discernment of every motives but watchful care in preservation. It is true that in principle every believer is seen as righteous in Christ, but Peter is insisting that he should be this in practice, if he is to experience God's approving eye upon him; and the same as regards God's ears being open to his prayers, which involves, not only hearings but hearing with approval, and answering. For a contrary character will reap contrary results. God's face will show no approval of evil, and our siding with it in any degree will incur His serious displeasure. These verses are quoted from Psalm 34:12-16; and God's government is no less serious today than when David first wrote this.

We cannot attempt to enlarge upon this most precious and interesting theme; but we should just like to point out to the reader an instance or two illustrative of the Spirit's method of quoting and applying Old Testament scripture. Take, for example, the following passage from that lovely thirty-fourth Psalm: "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth." Now, mark the way in which the Holy Spirit quotes this passage in the first epistle of Peter. "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil." (1 Peter 3:12.) Not a word about cutting off. Why is this? Because the Lord is not now acting upon the principle of cutting off. He acted upon it under the law; and He will act upon it, in the kingdom, by-and-by. But, just now, He is acting in grace, and long-suffering mercy. His face is quite as much and quite as decidedly against all evil-doers as ever it was, or ever it will be, but not now to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. The most striking illustration of this marvellous grace and forbearance, and of the difference between the two principles on which we have been dwelling is seen in the fact that the very men who, with wicked hands, crucified His only-begotten and well-beloved Son — evil-doers, surely, of the most pronounced type — instead of being cut off from the earth, were the very first to hear the message of full and free pardon through the blood of the cross.

But to aid you a little in seizing the true idea of the dispensational place of this profound and wondrous Book, let us call your attention to the mode in which the Holy Spirit quotes from it in the New Testament. Take the following: “The face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth” (Ps. 34:16). Now, part of this verse contains a dispensational truth and part of it contains an eternal truth, above and beyond all dispensations. It is always true that “The face of the Lord is against them that do evil,” but it is not always true that He is cutting off the remembrance of them from the earth. Accordingly, when the Spirit in the apostle Peter quotes this verse, He leaves out the last clause (see 1 Peter 3:12). Why is this? Because God is now dealing in grace. He is reconciling sinners instead of cutting them off. Take another instance, though we do not refer to it as a quotation. “Trust in the Lord and do good.” Here is an eternal principle. But mark what follows. “So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” Here you have a dispensational promise, applicable to an earthly people. The Christian is not promised any earthly blessings. Paul trusted in the Lord and did good, but in stead of dwelling in the land, he was beheaded at Rome. And even during his lifetime, he often suffered hunger and nakedness.

Finally, all were to walk in the spirit of peace and gentleness, carrying with them, in their intercourse with others, the blessing of which they were themselves the heirs, the spirit of which they ought consequently to bear ever with them. By following that which is good, by having the tongue governed by the fear of the Lord, by avoiding evil and seeking peace, they would in quietness enjoy the present life under the eye of God. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who, moreover, would harm them, if they followed only that which is good?

We have here, first, the fact that under such a government as that of God righteousness must of necessity be a requisite for blessing. If we love life and would see good days, then we must refrain the tongue from evil, and the lips, that they speak no guile; we must turn from evil, and do good; seeking peace with all, as followers of the Prince of Peace; for "the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears open continually to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." We are never, therefore, to pursue a policy of adaptation to our surroundings. We are never forced to yield because of the dominance of evil. "Who shall harm you," he asks, "if ye have become zealous of that which is good?" But at once this seems to be contrary to the fact, not, of course, of God governing, but of the world being what it is. The world may indeed accept much of what is good because of the consequences of it. Men would sooner be served by those who would conscientiously serve them than by such as would serve themselves at their expense; but then, on the other hand, if they are going to be consistently righteous all the way through, when this righteousness may cause the interests of an employer, for instance, to suffer, this, it is plain, will not be so acceptable; and thus, we must be prepared, after all, to suffer for righteousness' sake. The apostle looks this full in the face. He asks, as it were: is this, then, in reality an exception to the rule that none shall harm those earnestly seeking good? He answers, no, it is no exception. It is in reality only blessing. "If ye suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed are ye." There may be, of course, the sacrifice of that which, after all, is not our portion, but only, in that way, an increase, in fact, of that which is our portion. Thus there is no loss, there is gain. We lose the temporal to gain the eternal; with the continual ministry of God also to us, and His care over us all the way through, so that we need not fear the fear of other men, nor be troubled about results as they are. We have only in our hearts to sanctify the Lord whom we serve — to take care that His name and His service are not dishonored in us; and thus we shall be sustained by that strong hand which already rules upon the Father's throne: for God has "translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." Here we have a hope which brightens everything, a hope that can give account of itself, a hope that we can cheerfully give account of to others, and yet in the spirit of meekness and fear as always; of course, a fear not of men, but of God; walking under the control of this, having a good conscience. The very thing for which they revile us as evil-doers shall testify in their own consciences in spite of all, and put to silence the revilers.

Verse 10. The moral government of God is not brought to an issue, and cannot be while grace is going on, but the principles of it exist. For example, a quiet, peaceful, upright man would be better off than a turbulent man, etc. "What a man sows that will he reap" even now. It is not that everything gets its just recompense now - quite the contrary; but there are certain consequences a man will suffer for his deeds. There cannot be in this world now the full final expression of God's government, because sin has come in; and if He were to act in judgment, He would cut it all off; but as a general thing the principle is true - "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous … but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil"; and behind and within it all there is something more. His own power and grace are at work in the gathering out of souls to form His church. In the millennium evil will not be allowed, the sinner will be cut off. There is a secret exercise of this principle now. "If ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye." There is the working of sin and evil; but, though the terror of the wicked is here, "be not afraid." The only thing is to have the single eye and serve with a good conscience; but if you do, you will find plenty to oppose you. "Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled," "sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread; and he shall be for a sanctuary." In spite of the blessedness of a peaceful walk, there may be the whole power of Satan brought out against you; but you have the whole power of God: therefore "be not afraid."

It will be perceived that an immense interval is to be interposed between verses 26 and 27; that verse 26 refers to the death of Christ and God's judgment upon Jerusalem some thirty years after, while verse 27 passes on to a time after the church-period is closed, when the Jews, though in unbelief, will be again in their own land. Should anyone regard this interpretation as forced, he may be reminded that such instances are common in the prophetic scriptures. Peter, for example, in citing from Psalm 34, says, "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil," but he does not add, what is found in the Psalm, "to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth," for the reason that since God is now acting in grace, while it is ever true that His face is against them that do evil, He will not cut such off from the earth until the kingdom of Christ is established. In other words, the whole of the present period, the day of grace, has to be inserted between the two clauses of the same verse.*

The words which stand in the beginning of this section are quoted from Psalm 34:12-16. It is interesting to note that the Spirit of God quotes from the three main divisions of the Hebrew Bible in the first three chapters of this Epistle. The Hebrew Bible is composed, according to Jewish division, of the law, the prophets and the writings. In the first chapter the law is quoted; in the second the prophets; and in the third we have a quotation from the Psalms. If we practice righteousness, the result of the new nature, produced by the new life, the promises of the Lord will not fail. To Israel in the Old Testament the Lord promised earthly blessings, and while to His heavenly people heavenly, spiritual blessings are vouchsafed, the earthly blessings are not excluded. It was true in olden times that "the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and His ears are open unto their prayers." It is so today, for He changes not. He looks for practical righteousness. Equally true is it that in His righteous government the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And there is the comfort if we do right that none can harm us, for the Lord is on our side.