And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Cast thyself down - Our Lord had repelled the first temptation by an act of confidence in the power and goodness of God; and now Satan solicits him to make trial of it. Through the unparalleled subtlety of Satan, the very means we make use of to repel one temptation may he used by him as the groundwork of another. This method he often uses, in order to confound us in our confidence.
He shall give his angels charge, etc. - This is a mutilated quotation of Psalms 91:11. The clause, to keep thee in all thy ways, Satan chose to leave out, as quite unsuitable to his design. That God has promised to protect and support his servants, admits of no dispute; but, as the path of duty is the way of safety, they are entitled to no good when they walk out of it.
In their hands they shall bear thee up - This quotation from Psalms 91:11, is a metaphor taken from a nurse's management of her child: in teaching it to walk, she guides it along plain ground; but, when stones or other obstacles occur, she lifts up the child, and carries it over them, and then sets it down to walk again. Thus she keeps it in all its ways, watching over, and guarding every step it takes. To this St. Paul seems also to allude, 1 Thessalonians 2:7. We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children. Thus the most merciful God deals with the children of men, ever guarding them by his eye, and defending them by his power.