Honour all men
To whom honour is due, according to the place, station, and
circumstances in which they are, the gifts of providence and
grace bestowed on them, and the usefulness they are of, whether
they be Jews or Gentiles, rich or poor, believers or unbelievers:
it is a saying of Ben Zoma F5,
``who is to be honoured, or is worthy of honour? (twyrbh ta dbkm) , "he that honoureth creatures";''meaning men in general, or the Gentiles particularly, who were sometimes so called by the Jews; (See Gill on Mark 16:15), and may be meant by "all men" here:
love the brotherhood;
or "your brethren", as the Syriac version renders it: the whole
company of the brethren in Christ, who are born of God, are
members of Christ, and of the same body, and have the same
spirit, belong to the same family, and are of the household of
faith, let them be of whatsoever nation, or in whatsoever
circumstances of life. The Jews had not that good opinion of, nor
that affection for the Gentiles, but were ready to treat them
with indifference, neglect, and contempt; and not only those that
knew not God, but even believing Gentiles themselves; and which
is the reason of these exhortations, that they should despise no
man, but honour all; and especially should express their love,
both by words and deeds, to those that were in the same spiritual
relation with them, and that without any difference, on account
of their being of another nation:
fear God;
not with a servile, but a filial fear, the new covenant grace of
fear; which springs from the goodness of God, has that for its
object, and is increased by the fresh instances and discoveries
of it; and which shows itself in a reverential affection for God,
a strict regard to his worship and ordinances, and a carefulness
of offending him. This is placed between what goes before, and
follows after, to show the influence it has on each of them; for
where the fear of God is, there will be due respect shown to all
men, more or less, and an hearty and affectionate love to all the
saints, as brethren, and a proper regard to those that are set in
high places of dignity and power:
honour the king;
Caesar, the Roman emperor, though a wicked, persecuting Nero, and
so any other king or governor; who, so far as he acts the part of
a civil magistrate, preserves the peace, the property, and
liberty of his subjects, is a terror to evil works, and an
encourager of good ones, and rules according to the laws of God,
and civil society, is deserving of great honour and esteem from
men; and which is to be shown by speaking well of him; by a
cheerful subjection to him; by an observance of the laws, and by
payment of tribute, and doing everything to make him easy, and
honourable in his government: advice much like this is given by
Isocrates F6;
``fear God, honour parents, revere friends, and obey the laws.''