For all flesh is as grass - That is, all human beings, all men. The connection here is this: The apostle, in the previous verse, had been contrasting that which is begotten by man with that which is begotten by God, in reference to its permanency. The forher was corruptible and decaying; the latter abiding. The latter was produced by God, who lives forever; the former by the agency of man, who is himself corruptible and dying. It was not unnatural, then, to dwell upon the feeble, frail, decaying nature of man, in contrast with God; and the apostle, therefore, says that "all flesh, every human being, is like grass. There is no stability in anything that man does or produces. He himself resembles grass that soon fades and withers; but God and his word endure forever the same." The comparison of a human being with grass, or with flowers, is very beautiful, and is quite common in the Scriptures. The comparison turns on the fact, that the grass or the flower, however green or beautiful it may be, soon loses its freshness; is withered; is cut down, and dies. Thus, in Psalm 103:15-16;

"As for man, his days are as grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourisheth;

For the wind passeth over it and it is gone,

And the place thereof shall know it no more."

So in Isaiah 40:6-8; a passage which is evidently referred to by Peter in this place:

"The voice said, Cry.

And he said, What shall Icry?

All flesh is grass,

And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field.

The grass withereth,

The flower fadeth,

When the wind of Jehovah bloweth upon it:

continued...

For all flesh is as grass - Earthly seeds, earthly productions, and earthly generations, shall fail and perish like as the grass and flowers of the field; for the grass withereth, and the flower falleth off, though, in the ensuing spring and summer, they may put forth new verdure and bloom.

All men, as born of corruptible seed, are frail, mortal, and perishing; they spring up like grass, and look beautiful for a while, but are very weak and tender, and in a little time they are cut down by death, and wither away; and while they live, are, in a good measure, nothing but grass in another form; the substance of their life is greatly by it; what is the flesh they eat, but grass turned into it? and this mortality is not only the case of wicked men, as the Jews (l) interpret the word, but of good men; even of the prophets, and preachers of the Gospel; and yet the word of God spoken by them continues for ever: the passage referred to is in Isaiah 40:6.

and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass; all outward things which are in esteem with men, and render them glorious to one another, as riches, honour, wisdom, strength, external righteousness, holiness, and goodness; all which are fading and transitory, like the flower of the field; but the Gospel continues, and reveals durable riches, and honour with Christ; and true wisdom and strength with him, and spiritual knowledge, in comparison of which, all things are dross and dung; and an everlasting righteousness; and true holiness in him: some have thought respect may be had to the legal dispensation, and to all the glory and stateliness and goodliness of the worship and ordinances of it, which were to endure but for a time, and are now removed; and the Gospel dispensation has taken place of them, which will continue to the end of the world:

the grass withereth, and the flower thereof fadeth away; and so fading are all the above things,

(l) Targum, Jarchi, & Kimchi, in Isaiah 40.6.

Of man

Following the reading ἀνθρώπου, in the Septuagint, Isaiah 50:6, which Peter quotes here. But the best texts read αὐτῆς, of it, or, as Rev., thereof.

Withereth (ἐξηράνθη)

Literally, the writer puts it as in a narrative of some quick and startling event, by the use of the aorist tense: withered was the grass. Similarly, the flower fell (ἐξέπεσεν). Lit., fell off, the force of ἐκ.

{14} For all {l} flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:

(14) A reason why we need this heavenly birth, that is, because men, though their glory may not be great, are by nature void of all true and sound goodness.

(l) The word, flesh, shows the weakness of our nature, which is chiefly to be considered in the flesh itself.

1:24 All flesh is as grass. See Isa 40:6. God's word lives forever, but the flesh is as evanescent as the grass.

And all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The fleshly life, like the grass, is soon felled by death, but a birth from the living and eternal word is a birth to eternal life.

1:24 All flesh - Every human creature is transient and withering as grass. And all the glory of it - His wisdom, strength, wealth, righteousness. As the flower - The most short - lived part of it. The grass - That is, man. The flower - That is, his glory. Is fallen off - As it were, while we are speaking. Isaiah 40:6, and c.

For: or, For that

24. Scripture proof that the word of God lives for ever, in contrast to man's natural frailty. If ye were born again of flesh, corruptible seed, ye must also perish again as the grass; but now that from which you have derived life remains eternally, and so also will render you eternal.

flesh-man in his mere earthly nature.

as-omitted in some of the oldest manuscripts.

of man-The oldest manuscripts read, "of it" (that is, of the flesh). "The glory" is the wisdom, strength, riches, learning, honor, beauty, art, virtue, and righteousness of the NATURAL man (expressed by "flesh"), which all are transitory (Joh 3:6), not OF MAN (as English Version reads) absolutely, for the glory of man, in his true ideal realized in the believer, is eternal.

withereth-Greek, aorist: literally, "withered," that is, is withered as a thing of the past. So also the Greek for "falleth" is "fell away," that is, is fallen away: it no sooner is than it is gone.

thereof-omitted in the best manuscripts and versions. "The grass" is the flesh: "the flower" its glory.

1:17-25 Holy confidence in God as a Father, and awful fear of him as a Judge, agree together; and to regard God always as a Judge, makes him dear to us as a Father. If believers do evil, God will visit them with corrections. Then, let Christians not doubt God's faithfulness to his promises, nor give way to enslaving dread of his wrath, but let them reverence his holiness. The fearless professor is defenceless, and Satan takes him captive at his will; the desponding professor has no heart to avail himself of his advantages, and is easily brought to surrender. The price paid for man's redemption was the precious blood of Christ. Not only openly wicked, but unprofitable conversation is highly dangerous, though it may plead custom. It is folly to resolve, I will live and die in such a way, because my forefathers did so. God had purposes of special favour toward his people, long before he made manifest such grace unto them. But the clearness of light, the supports of faith, the power of ordinances, are all much greater since Christ came upon earth, than they were before. The comfort is, that being by faith made one with Christ, his present glory is an assurance that where he is we shall be also, Joh 14:3. The soul must be purified, before it can give up its own desires and indulgences. And the word of God planted in the heart by the Holy Ghost, is a means of spiritual life, stirring up to our duty, working a total change in the dispositions and affections of the soul, till it brings to eternal life. In contrast with the excellence of the renewed spiritual man, as born again, observe the vanity of the natural man. In his life, and in his fall, he is like grass, the flower of grass, which soon withers and dies away. We should hear, and thus receive and love, the holy, living word, and rather hazard all than lose it; and we must banish all other things from the place due to it. We should lodge it in our hearts as our only treasures here, and the certain pledge of the treasure of glory laid up for believers in heaven.