John Calvin Commentary Matthew 4:6

"and saith unto him, If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot against a stone." — Matthew 4:6 (ASV)

He will charge his angels concerning thee. We must observe this malice of Satan in misapplying a quotation of Scripture, for the purpose of rendering life deadly to Christ and of converting bread into poison. He continues to employ the same kind of stratagem daily; and the Son of God, who is the universal model of all the godly, chose to undergo this contest in his own person, so that all may be diligently on their guard against being led by a false application of Scripture into the snares of Satan. And undoubtedly, the Lord grants such permission to our adversary, so that we may not remain in indolent ease but may be more careful to keep watch. Nor should we imitate the madness of those who throw away Scripture, as if it admitted of every kind of interpretation, because the devil misapplies it. For the same reason, we should abstain from food to avoid the risk of being poisoned. Satan profanes the Word of God and endeavors to distort it for our destruction. But it has been ordained by God for our salvation; and will the purpose of God be frustrated, unless our indolence deprives his word of its saving effect?

We do not need to dispute long on these matters. Let us only inquire what Christ enjoins on us by his example, which we should follow as a rule. When Satan wickedly distorts Scripture, does Christ give way to him? Does he allow him to seize and carry off the Scripture with which he previously armed himself? On the contrary, he quotes Scripture in his turn and boldly refutes Satan’s wicked slander. Whenever Satan covers his deception with Scripture, and ungodly men labor to subvert our faith by the same means, let us borrow our armor exclusively from Scripture for the protection of our faith.

Though the promise, He will charge his angels concerning thee (Psalms 91:11), relates to all believers, yet it belongs especially to Christ, who is the Head of the whole Church, possesses authority over angels, and entrusts to them the charge of us. Satan is not wrong in proving from this passage that angels have been given to Christ to wait on him, to guard him, and to bear him on their hands. But the fallacy lies in this: he assigns a wandering and uncertain course to that guardianship of angels, which is only promised to the children of God when they keep themselves within their bounds and walk in their ways. If there is any force in that expression, in all thy ways (Psalms 91:11), the prophet’s meaning is wickedly corrupted and mutilated by Satan when he applies it, in a violent, wild, and confused manner, to extravagant and mistaken courses. God commands us to walk in our ways, and then declares that angels will be our guardians. Satan brings forward the guardianship of angels for the purpose of advising Christ to put himself unnecessarily in danger, as if he would say, “If you expose yourself to death, contrary to the will of God, angels will protect your life.”