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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Our apostle having laid before them their high and glorious privileges in the foregoing verses, comes now to excite them to the practice of several needful and important duties in this and the following verses.
The first of which is vigilance and watchfulness, preparation and readiness of mind: Gird up the loins of your mind: an allusion both to runners and waiters; to such as run in a race, and to such as wait upon their master; who both gird up their clothes (which in those eastern countries they wear down to their heels) that they might not hinder or trouble them, either in running or waiting.
Next, to be sober, and keep up their hope steadfastly and perseveringly to the end, for that grace and salvation, for that perfection in holiness and glory, which God will certainly give us at the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ.
Here note, 1. The grace and duty which they are exhorted to be found in the exercise of, and that is, hope; to persevere in hope unto the end. That is a divine grace, and necessary duty, whereby a believer for Christ's sake expects and waits for all the great and good things which God has promised, but the Christian at present not received.
Note, 2. The direction given in order to the exercise of this grace and duty of hope, Gird up the loins of your mind. Habits of grace are altogether unprofitable to us, without they be excited by us, and stirred up in us. When we pray, when we hear, we must gird up our loins in praying and hearing; or in the prophet's phrase, Stir up yourselves to take hold on God. A man upon his sick bed must gird up the loins of his mind to bear his affliction, else he will not profit by it nor answer the end of God in it. No grace can be exercised, no duty can be performed, by a soul ungirded: Gird up the loins of your mind, that ye may hope, &c.