John Calvin Commentary 1 Peter 3:12

"For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And his ears unto their supplication: But the face of the Lord is upon them that do evil." — 1 Peter 3:12 (ASV)

For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, or, on the righteous. It should be a consolation to us, sufficient to lessen all evils, that we are looked upon by the Lord, so that he will bring us help in due time. The meaning then is, that the prosperity which he has mentioned depends on the protection of God; for if the Lord did not care for his people, they would be like sheep exposed to wolves.

And that we for little reason make an outcry, that we are suddenly inflamed with wrath, that we burn with a passion for revenge—all this, no doubt, happens because we do not consider that God cares for us, and because we do not rely on his aid. Thus, we will be taught patience in vain, unless our minds are first imbued with this truth: that God exercises such care over us, that he will in due time help us.

When, on the contrary, we are fully convinced that God defends the cause of the righteous, we will first simply attend to innocence, and then, when troubled and hated by the ungodly, we will flee to the protection of God. And when he says that the ears of the Lord are open to our prayers, he encourages us to pray.

But the face of the Lord—by this clause he intimates that the Lord will be our avenger, because he will not always allow the insolence of the ungodly to prevail. At the same time, he shows what will happen if we seek to defend our life from injuries: namely, that God will be an adversary to us.

But, on the other hand, it may be objected that we daily experience things quite differently; for the more righteous anyone is, and the greater lover of peace he is, the more he is harassed by the wicked. To this I reply, that no one is so attentive to righteousness and peace that he does not sometimes sin in this respect.

But it should be especially noted that the promises concerning this life do not extend further than what is beneficial for us to have fulfilled. Hence, our peace with the world is often disturbed—so that our flesh may be subdued, in order that we may serve God, and also for other reasons—with the result that nothing is a loss to us.