I. That all anxious care is needless.—“Be careful for nothing” (ver. 6). It is not forethought that is here condemned, but anxious, distracting care. Care is a kill-joy and is the great enemy of Christian peace. The future is not ours; why be anxious about it? The past is done with, and regrets about it are unavailing. The future is provided for, for God, the great Provider, is ahead of every step we take towards that future. The ancient custom of distracting a criminal by tying him to the wheels of two chariots which were then driven in opposite directions well illustrates how cares may be allowed to distract the mind. We put ourselves on the rack when we ought to cast our care on God, not in part, nor occasionally, but in all things and at all times. Care depreciates the value of all our past blessings and dims our vision of the blessings we now actually possess. After the great military victories of Marlborough in 1704, he one day said: “I have for these last ten days been so troubled by the many disappointments I have had, that I think if it were possible to vex me so for a fortnight longer, it would make the end of me. In short, I am weary of my life.”

II. That all anxious care should be taken to God in thankful prayer.—“But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God” (ver. 6). The best system of heathen philosophy regarded equability of mind, undisturbed alike by the troubles and allurements of the world, as the most perfect state of the soul; but it did not provide any adequate motive for attaining this desirable equipoise. It could only state the theory and insist on its importance; but refractory human nature had its own way, in spite of philosophy. The apostle supplies in these words a nobler and more workable philosophy. He not only exhorts us to tranquillity of mind but shows us how it may be attained and kept. In all kinds of anxieties and especially in the struggles of religious doubt, prayer is the truest philosophy. Our difficulties vanish when we take them to God.

"By caring and by fretting,
By agony and fear,
There is of God no getting;
But prayer He will hear."

We should cast our care on God because He is our Father. A father’s office is to provide for his family. It is out of place for a child to be anxiously making provision for emergencies—asking where to-morrow’s food and clothing are to come from, and how the bills are to be paid. We should rebuke such precocity, and send the child to school or to play, and leave all such matters to the ordained caretaker. The birds of the air are taken care of; so shall we be, even though our faith is small. “Our prayers run along one road, and God’s answers by another, and by-and-by they meet. God answers all true prayer, either in kind or in kindness” (Judson).

III. That the peace of God in the heart will effectually banish all care.—“And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (ver. 7). The enemies of peace are: melancholy, to which the apostle opposed joy in the Lord (ver. 4); want of self-restraint or intemperance of feeling or conduct, to which he opposes moderation (ver. 5); care and anxiety, or unthankfulness and unbelief, to which he opposes grateful and earnest prayer (ver. 6); the final result is peace (ver. 7). The peace that God gives “passeth all understanding”; it is deep, precious, immeasurable. God alone fully understands the grandeur of His own gift. It is an impenetrable shield to the believing soul; it guards the fortress in peace though the shafts of care are constantly hurled against it.

Lessons.—1. Our sins breed our cares. 2. God is ever willing to take up the burden of our cares. 3. Only as we commit our cares to God have we peace.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES.

Vers. 6, 7. The Remedy for Worldly Care.

I. A caution or warning.—“Be careful for nothing.”

1. This does not respect duty.—We must have a care for our Lord’s interests.