V. 1. _Forasmuch, then, as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that hath suffered
in the flesh hath ceased from sin._
St. Peter continues still in the same strain. Just as he hitherto has
admonished us generally that we should suffer, if it be the will of
God, and has set Christ before us as an example,--so he now confirms
it more broadly, and repeats it again, saying, While Christ, who is
our captain and head, has suffered in the flesh and presented us an
example, (besides that He has ransomed us from our sins,) we also
should imitate Him, and prepare ourselves, and put on the same armor.
For in the Scriptures the life of the Lord Christ, and especially his
suffering, is presented before us in a twofold manner.
Sometimes as a gift, as St. Peter has already exhibited it in the
third chapter; and to those first, who are built up and instructed in
the faith that we are ransomed, and our sins taken away by the blood
of Christ; and so he is a gift and bestowment upon us, which none can
receive except by faith. Whereof he speaks where he says, "Christ has
once suffered for our sins." That is certainly the grand doctrine,
and the most precious one of the Gospel.
Again, Christ is set before us and offered to us as an example and
pattern for us to follow. For if we only receive Christ, through
faith, as a free gift, we shall go farther and do ourselves as He has
done for us, and imitate Him in His whole life and sufferings. In
this manner St. Peter presents it here. But he does not speak here
particularly of those marks of the love which leads us to befriend
our neighbor, and do good, which are called, specifically, good works
(for he had said enough of this above), but of such evidences as
concern our personal experience, and are of service in strengthening
our faith, that sin may be put to death in the flesh, and we thereby
become of so much better service to our neighbor. For if I control my
body so that it be not lustful, then can I leave my neighbor, his
wife or child, at peace; while if I subdue hate and envy, I shall
become so much better prepared to be kind and friendly toward my
neighbor.
We have repeated often enough already that we are justified through
faith, and thus have the Lord Christ as ours; still we must also do
good works and show kindness to our neighbor. For we are never
entirely purified while we live on earth, and every one still finds
in his body evil lusts. The believer indeed prays for the death of
sin and the gift of heaven, but is not yet become entirely and
completely strong; but as Christ described the Samaritan, who was not
yet healed, but was laid under restrictions and directions that he
might become sound, so it is also with us. If we believe, then is our
sin restrained,--that is, the disease which we have derived from
Adam, and we begin to recover. But it is the case, in one more, in
another less, that in proportion as one mortifies and subdues the
flesh, so much does his faith increase. So that if we have these two
things, faith and love, our future experience will be, that we shall
continue to drive sin before us till we die.
Therefore St. Peter says, _arm yourselves with the same mind_; that
is, take up a firm purpose, and strengthen yourselves with the mind
which you receive from Christ; for, if we are Christians, then must
we also say, My Master has suffered and spilt His blood for me, and
has died for my sake. Should I then be so base as not to love Him?
While the Master runs upon the spears' points in the conflict, how
much more should the servant advance with joy? Thus do we awaken a
courage such that we press onward, and arm ourselves in our own minds
so as joyfully to persevere.
The word _flesh_ refers in Scripture not only outwardly to the body,
but includes all that is derived from Adam. As when God says, in Gen.
vi.: "My Spirit shall not always strive with men, for they also are
flesh;" and Isaiah, chap. xl., "All flesh shall see the Salvation of
God,"--that is, it shall be revealed for all men. So we also make
confession in our own form of faith, "I believe in the resurrection
of the flesh," that is, that men shall rise again. So man uniformly
throughout is called flesh, as he lives here in this state of being.
The marks of the flesh are carefully recounted, one after another, in
Paul's Epistle to the Galatians v., not only the gross carnal works,
as lasciviousness, but also the highest and most reckless
blasphemies, as idolatry and heresy, which belong not only to the
flesh, but to the reason. We must understand, therefore, that man,
with his intellectual nature,--and with respect both to that which is
inward and that which is outward--that is, the body and spirit,--has
the appellation of flesh; and this, because with all his faculties,
internal and external, he seeks only that which is carnal, and can
serve to gratify the flesh. St. Peter says here, too, that Christ
suffered in the _flesh_, while it is certain that His suffering
extended further than to the body merely, for His soul suffered the
greatest anguish, as is said by the prophet Isaiah.
In the same way, also, you are to understand that which follows, in
the passage before us: "_Whoever hath suffered in the flesh hath
ceased from sin._" For this implies not only such things as the death
and the torture of the body, but whatever can work misery to
man--whatever he endures through calamity and necessity. For there
are many people who are sound in body, and yet inwardly experience
much heart-sorrow and anguish. If it comes upon us for Christ's sake,
it is serviceable and profitable. For whoever suffers in the flesh
(says he) ceases from sin, and therefore the Holy Cross is
profitable, that sin may thereby be subdued; since it requires you to
mortify lust, envy and hate, and other wickedness. Therefore God has
imposed the Holy Cross upon us that He might urge and constrain us to
believe, and extend the hand of kindness one to the other. Hereupon
it follows:
V. 2. _That he henceforth, in the time that still remains for him in
the flesh, should live not according to the lusts of men, but the
will of God._
We should henceforth, as long as we live, hold the flesh captive
through the Cross, and by mortifications, so as to do that which
pleases God, and not with the idea that we should or can deserve
anything by it. _Not according to the lusts of men_ (says he),--that
is, that we should not do that to which we might yet be tempted by
others; for we are not to be conformed to this world, as Paul says,
Rom. xii. What the world demands of us we must refuse.
V. 3. _For the time past of our life is enough to have wrought the
will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess
of wine, revellings, banquetings and abominable idolatries._
We have already gone altogether too far, that before our believing we
have so shamefully spent our life in accordance with the will of the
Gentiles, which is the same with lusts of men. Therefore as long as
life continues we should see to it that we do that which is
well-pleasing to God; for we have our enemy in our flesh, the one
that is the real knave--not gross matter merely, but more
particularly blindness of mind, which Paul calls carnal wisdom,--that
is, the policy of the flesh. If we have subdued this depravity, that
other is carefully to be constrained, which does our neighbor injury
in so secret a manner as not to be observed.
St. Peter calls that lasciviousness that is accompanied with outward
gestures or words by which evil intentions are expressed, though the
deed itself be not performed, and it is that which is unchaste to the
sight and hearing, upon which afterward the lust and the act also
follow. Thereupon there succeeds such idolatry as is abominable. And
we may easily bring all this upon us, for when we have lost faith we
have certainly lost God, also, and may fall into more abominable
idolatries than the heathen, if we view the matter aright.
V. 4-5. _And it surprises them that ye run not with them to the same
excess of disorderly life, and they calumniate you, who must give
account to Him that is ready to judge the living and the dead._
That is, ye have hitherto lived after the manner of the heathen, but
since you have now forsaken it, it appears strange to men, and seems
shameful and foolish, and they say, "What great fools they are to
withdraw themselves from all worldly good and gratification." But let
it seem strange to them; let them libel you; they shall yet be
compelled to give in their account; wherefore leave it to Him that
will judge righteously.
V. 6. _For to this end also was the Gospel preached to the dead, that
they should be judged according to men in the flesh, but live to God
in the spirit._
Here we have, however, a strange and remarkable text. The words
clearly declare that the Gospel is preached not only to the living,
but also to the dead, and adds besides, "in order that they may be
judged according to men in the flesh." Now they certainly have not
flesh, which can be understood only of the living. It is a wonderful
passage, however understood: whether it should be made to refer to
us, or to concern something foreign, I do not know, yet this is my
understanding of it. We are not to be anxious how God will condemn
the heathen who died many centuries ago, but only how He will judge
those that are now living; so that the passage should be considered
as spoken of men on earth.
But as to the word _flesh_, you are to understand, as I said above,
that the entire man is called flesh, according as he lives, just as
he also is called in respect to his whole nature, spiritual, while he
follows after that which is spiritual. Still there is also a
commingling of the two things with one another, just as I say of a
man who is wounded, that he is whole and yet is wounded; and so, too,
though the sound part is greater than the wounded part, still he is
spoken of only with reference to the injured part as wounded; and
such, too, is the method of the Spirit here: therefore he says, that
they as to their outward being are condemned, but inwardly, as
respects the spirit, are preserved in life.
But how does that, where He says that they live, agree with that
which he subjoins, that they are dead? I will explain it according to
my understanding, yet not so as to limit the Holy Ghost in that he
calls the unbelieving dead. For I cannot accept the sense that to
those that are dead and perished, the Gospel has been preached. This,
then, would be what St. Peter means, that the Gospel has been freely
published and universally spread abroad, concealed neither from dead
nor living--neither from angels nor yet from devils, and preached not
secretly in a corner, but so publicly that all creatures might hear
it that have ears to hear, as Christ gave command in the last of
Mark: "Go ye forth and preach the Gospel to all creatures." If,
therefore, it is preached in such a manner, there will those be found
who are condemned after the flesh, but live after the spirit.
V. 7. _But the end of all things is at hand._ This is also a
remarkable passage, for already nearly 1500 years are passed since
then. St. Peter preached that the time is neither near nor brief, yet
he says, _that the end of all things is at hand_; as John also
declares in his first epistle, chap, ii., "It is the last hour." If
it were not the Apostle's language, we might say it was
contradictory: but by this we must firmly abide, that the Apostle has
truth with him. Yet what he means here he shall explain himself in
the second epistle, where he tells us why the time is said to be
near, and says: "One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a
thousand years as one day;" of which I have spoken above. So that we
must explain it in this manner, that it shall not be as long
hereafter to the end of the world as it has been from the beginning
to the present time. And it is not to be expected that one should
live two or three thousand years after the birth of Christ, so that
the end shall come before we look for it. Wherefore he further adds:
V. 7, 8. _Be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. And above all
things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins._
Here you perceive the reason why we are to watch and be sober;
namely, that we may be prepared to pray for ourselves and our
neighbors. Since charity cannot be fervent unless you keep the body
in subjection, that charity may have place within you. Here St. Peter
has quoted a passage from the book of Proverbs, ch. x. 12. _Hate
stirreth up strife, but love covereth the multitude of sins._ And
this is what St. Peter means: Subdue your flesh and lusts: unless you
do it, you will easily offend one another, and yet not easily be able
to forgive one another. Take care, therefore, that you subdue the
wicked lusts, so you shall be able to show charity one to another,
and to forgive, for charity covereth sins.
This passage has been explained to the prejudice of faith, inasmuch
as they tell us: "You say that faith alone makes us righteous, and
that no one through works may be free from sin. Why then do Solomon
and Peter, as in this passage, say, _love covers sins_?" Answer.
Whoever has hatred toward another, says Solomon, ceases not to stir
up strife and bitterness. But where there is love, it covers sins and
cheerfully forgives. Where there is wrath, or in other words, where
there is an intractable man, reconciliation is not permitted; he
remains full of wrath and hate. On the other hand, a man who is full
of love is he whom one cannot enrage, however much injury may be done
him; he perceives it all, but does as though he saw it not. So that
the _covering_ is spoken of as regards our neighbor, and not as it
respects God. Nothing shall cover up sin before God for you, except
faith. But my love covers the sin of my neighbor; and just as God
with His love covers my sins, if I believe, so too should I cover my
neighbor's sins. Therefore He says, Ye should have charity one to
another, that one may cover the other's sins. And love covers not
only one, two, or three sins, but the multitude of sins; cannot
suffer and do too much; covers up all. So St. Paul also speaks and
teaches in accordance with this passage, I. Cor. xiii. 7. _Charity
beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth
all things._ It has respect to the best good of all, can suffer all,
and take for the best whatever shall be imposed upon it. There
follows, further:
V. 9. _Be hospitable one to another without grudging, and minister
one to another, as every one has received the gift._ He is said to be
hospitable who cheerfully acts the host. When the Apostles went
abroad one with another and preached, and sent their younger brethren
here and there, it was necessary that one should lodge the other. How
well would it be, even now, that men should preach from one place to
another, from city to city, from house to house,--and without
remaining too long in one place, might see to it that where one was
weak he should be helped, and where one had fallen down he should be
lifted up, and things of that sort. St. Peter directs that this
should take place without murmuring; that no one should suffer it to
seem too much for him. This is also a work of love, as it follows
immediately afterward, that we should minister to one another!
Wherewith? With the gifts of God which every one has received. The
gospel directs that every one be the servant of the other, and
beside, see to it that he abide in the gift which he has received,
which God has bestowed upon him; that is, the state, whatever it be,
whereunto he has been called.
God's will is not that a lord should serve his servant, that the maid
be as the mistress, and a prince serve the beggar;--for he will not
break down magistracy. But his meaning is, that men should serve one
another spiritually, with their hearts: although you are a high and
great lord, yet should you employ your power to this end, that you
may therewith serve your neighbor. Thus should every one hold himself
for a servant; the lord may still remain a lord, and yet hold
himself, in his own esteem, no better than the servant: so that he
even cheerfully would become a servant if it were God's ordering; and
the same is applicable to other conditions.
V. 10. _As good stewards of the manifold grace of God._ God has not
bestowed upon us all like grace; therefore should every one inquire
to what he has been appointed, and what kind of gift has been
bestowed upon him. When he discovers this, let him use it for the
service of his neighbor, as St. Peter further explains, and says:
V. 11. _If any man speak, let him speak as the word of God._ That is,
if any one has the grace that enables him to preach and teach, let
him teach and preach. As St. Paul says, also, Rom. xii. 3: "That no
one think more of himself than he ought to think, but every man
according as God has dealt to him the measure of faith. For as we
have many members in one body and all members have not the same
office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one
members one of another; and have many gifts, differing according to
the grace that has been given unto us." And then follows, "Has any
one a prophecy, let it be in accordance with faith; Has any one a
ministry, let him wait on his ministering: Does any one teach, let
him wait on his teaching." He teaches the same doctrine also
elsewhere, in his Epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians.
For this reason has God distributed various gifts among men which
should be employed to this intent alone, that one should minister
therewith to another, especially those who are in authority, be it in
preaching, or some other ministry.
Now St. Peter says, here, _If any one speak, let him speak as the
word of God._ This point is worthy of special remark, that no one is
to preach anything but what he is sure is the word of God. There St.
Peter has shut up the Pope's mouth, and lo! he will be St. Peter's
successor, so cunningly has he managed it. Further:
V. 11. _If any one ministers, let him do it as of the ability which
God giveth._ That is, whoever rules in the christian church and has
an office or ministry for the care of souls, he is not to proceed as
he may choose, and say, "I am sovereign lord, I must be obeyed; what
I do shall remain established." God requires that we should do no
otherwise than as he directs. So that since it is God's work and
ordinance, let a bishop do nothing except he be sure that God
sanctions it, that it is either God's word or work.
And besides, inasmuch as God will not permit that we should regard as
a matter of sport what we do with the christian church, we must stand
in such an assurance as this, that God speaks and works through us,
and that our faith may also say, "That which I have spoken and done,
God also has spoken and done; on this I will even die."
And yet if I am not certain of the matter, then my faith will rest
upon the sand when the devil assaults me. Thus here it is
emphatically forbidden us to receive the command of any bishop,
unless it is also the case, that he is certain that he does what God
does, and can say, "I have God's word and command for it." Where that
is wanting, we must hold him for a liar.
For God has prescribed that our conscience must rest on the bare
rock. This is said also of government in general, that no one might
follow his own darkness, and that nothing might be done of which he
was not sure that God would sanction it. Whence you perceive how St.
Peter so long ago thrust down to the ground the government of Popes
and bishops, as we have it at the present day. Now follows:
V. 11. _That God in all things may be glorified through our Lord
Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever;
Amen._ For this reason it is, you are to be so confident, (he means),
that God speaks and does all that you speak and do. For if you
perform a work of which you are not sure that God has done it, you
cannot praise and give thanks. But where a man is certain of it, in
that case he may praise and thank Him for His word and works' sake,
though he should be belied and held up for derision. Therefore it is
a shameful and ruinous thing that in Christendom any one should
govern in opposition to the word and works of God. Therefore, from
necessity, has St. Peter subjoined that in which he instructs how
government should be ordered among christian people. Then follows,
further:
V. 12. _Beloved, be not surprised at the fiery trial which is to try
you, as though some strange thing happened unto you._ That is a mode
of speech not common in our language. But St. Peter uses this very
phraseology, in order to remind us of that concerning which the Holy
Scripture speaks. For the Scripture is accustomed to speak of
suffering as though it were a furnace full of fire and heat. St.
Peter has spoken in the same manner, above, in the first chapter:
"That the trial of your faith be found far more precious than the
perishing gold that is tried by fire." We may also read in the
prophet Isaiah, chap. xlviii., God says: "I have tried thee in the
furnace of affliction;" and Ps. xvi., "With fire hast thou tried me;"
and Ps. xxv., "Lord, thou wilt consume and destroy my nerves and my
heart;" also, Ps. lxv., "We have passed through fire and water." Thus
the Scriptures are accustomed to illustrate what we call suffering,
by burning or trial by fire. This is St. Peter's conclusion, that we
should not suffer ourselves to be surprised, or to think it strange
and wonderful that the heat or fire should meet us, whereby we are
tried, just as gold is when it is melted in the fire.
When faith begins, God does not neglect it; He lays the cross upon
our back in order to strengthen us and make our faith mighty. The
Gospel is a powerful word, but it cannot enter upon its work without
opposition, and no one can be sure that it possesses such power, but
he who has experienced it. Where there is suffering and the cross,
there its power may be shown and exercised. It is a _living_ word,
and therefore it must exercise all its energy upon the dead. But if
there is no such thing as death and corruption, there is nothing for
it to do, and none can be certain that it possesses such virtue, and
is stronger than sin and death. Therefore, he says, _are you tried_;
that is, God appoints for you no flame or heat (in other words, cross
and suffering, which make you glow as in a furnace), except to try
you, whether you rely upon His word. Thus it is written, Wisdom x.,
of Jacob, "God appointed for him a severe conflict, that he might
learn by experience that divine wisdom is the strongest of all
things." That is the reason why God imposes the cross on all
believers, that they may taste and prove the power of God which
through faith they have possessed.
V. 13. _But be ye partakers of the sufferings of Christ._ St. Peter
does not say that we should feel the sufferings of Christ, that
thereby we should be partakers with Him through faith, but would say
this: just as Christ has suffered, so are you to expect to suffer and
be tried. If you do thus suffer, then do you therein have fellowship
with the Lord Christ. If we would live with Him, we must also die
with Him. If I wish to sit with Him in His kingdom, I must also
suffer with Him, as Paul also says, repeatedly.
V. 13. _Rejoice, that in the time of the revelation of His glory, ye
may be glad with exceeding joy._ Though you should be brought to
torture and the flames, you would still be happy. For though there be
pain as to the body, there shall yet be a spiritual joy, inasmuch as
you are to be happy forever. For this joy springs here from
suffering, and is everlasting. Yet whoever cannot bear his sufferings
cheerfully, and is dissatisfied, and chooses to contend with God, he
shall endure, both here and hereafter, eternal torment and suffering.
Thus we read of holy martyrs, that they have submitted cheerfully to
torture, thus opening the way to eternal enjoyment; as for instance,
of St. Agatha, that she went as joyfully to prison as though it had
been to a dance. And the Apostles went also with joy, and thanked God
"that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ's sake."
_In the time of the revelation of His glory._ Christ does not permit
Himself as yet to be seen as a Lord, but is still a sharer with us in
our labors. So far as He is Himself concerned, He is truly such, but
we who are His members, are not Lords as yet. Still we shall yet be
Lords, when His glory at the last day shall be revealed before all
men, brighter than the sun.
V. 14. _If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are you._
Christ is a hateful name with the world; whoever preaches of Him must
endure to have the most esteemed on earth slander and revile his
name. But this in our times is more strange and unseemly, that they
who persecute us bear also the name of Christ; they say they are
Christians and baptized, yet in fact renounce and persecute Christ.
This is indeed a sad strife. They hold the same name as tenaciously
as we do, against us. For this reason we greatly need
consolation,--although the most discreet and pious follow after
us,--that we may abide firmly and remain cheerful. But how?
V. 14. _For the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you. On their
part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified._ Ye (he
says) have within you a Spirit, that is, the Spirit of God and of
glory, such as makes you glorious. But this does not take place on
earth, but it shall take place when the glory of Christ shall be
revealed at the last day. Besides, He is not only a Spirit that makes
us glorious, but one which we also regard as glorious in Himself. For
it belongs peculiarly to the Holy Spirit to purify and glorify, even
as He has made Christ pure and glorious. Now the same Spirit (he
says) rests upon you; and forasmuch as ye bear the name of Christ, it
is slandered by them. For He must endure to be reviled and slandered,
to the highest degree. Therefore it is not you who receive the
reviling; it belongs to the Spirit, which is a Spirit of glory: be
not anxious; He will regard it and raise you to honor. This is the
consolation which we as Christians have, that we may say, That word
is not mine, this faith is not mine, they are all the work of God:
whoever reviles me reviles God, as Christ says in Matthew x.,
"Whoever receiveth you receiveth me;" and on the other hand, "Whoever
reviles you reviles me." St. Peter, therefore, would say, Know that
the Spirit which you have is strong enough easily to punish His
enemies; as God says also in Ex. xxiii., If thou wilt hearken to my
commandments, I will be the enemy of thine enemies. And the Scripture
often repeats it, that the enemies of the saints are the enemies of
God. If we only have experience that we are Christians, and believe,
we shall not be ashamed, but the reviling is directed more especially
against God Himself. Therefore, he says, be ye cheerful and happy,
for that opposition is to the Spirit, which is not yours, but God's.
Now he adds an admonition:
V. 15, 16. _But let no one suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an
evil-doer, or a busy-body in other men's matters; but if any man
suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify
God on this behalf._ He would say, now, You have heard how you are to
suffer, and conduct yourselves under it, but beware that it do not
come upon you because you have deserved it on account of your evil
deeds, but for Christ's sake. Yet this is not now the case with us,
for we must suffer, notwithstanding the fact that those who persecute
us bear also the name of Christ, so that no one can die because he is
a Christian, but only as an enemy of Christ, and even they who
persecute him say they are real Christians, and say, too, that he is
blessed who dies for Christ's sake. Here the Spirit alone must
determine, since you must know that you are a Christian in the sight
of God. God's tribunal is a secret one, and when He has uncovered the
matter, He will judge no more according to the name, since at that
time the name of the most exalted must vanish away.
Now, St. Peter says, If ye suffer in this manner, _be ye not ashamed,
but glorify God._ Here he makes the suffering and anguish the more
welcome, because it is great, insomuch that we praise God through it,
and because we are not worthy of it. Yet now all will shrink
therefrom. Of what advantage is it to embrace the cross in
monasteries? The cross of Christ does not save me. I must, indeed,
believe in His cross, but I must myself bear my own cross. His
suffering must I experience inwardly, if I would possess the true
treasure. Let St. Peter's bones be holy, yet how does it help you?
You and your bones should be holy, too, which can take place only
when you suffer for Christ's sake.
V. 17. _For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of
God; and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that
obey not the Gospel of God?_ He here brings two passages from the
prophets together in one. As to the first, Jeremiah says, xxv.:
"Behold, I send my judgments upon the city which is called by my
name; and if first of all I afflict my dearly beloved children who
believe on me, who first of all must suffer and past through the
fire, do ye who are my enemies, ye who do not believe, suppose that
ye shall escape punishment?" So in chap. xlix. he says: "They whose
judgment was not to drink the cup, have assuredly drunken, and
thinkest thou that thou art he that shall not drink?" That is, I
strike my beloved, that you may see how I shall treat my enemies.
Observe here the force of the words: if God holds his saints in such
esteem, yet has been willing to have them judged and exposed with
such severity, what will then be done with the others?
So also Ezekiel, chap. ix., saw armed men with their swords, who were
to slay all, to whom God said, begin at my sanctuary. That is what
St. Peter means in this place. Therefore he says, the time is come,
as the prophets have foretold, when judgment must begin with us. When
the Gospel is preached, God arrests and punishes sin, since it is He
that kills and makes alive. The pious he gently strokes, and first of
all is the rod of kind correction: but what then will be done with
those that do not believe? As though he had said, if He proceeds with
such severity toward His own children, you may infer what must be the
punishment of those who do not believe.
V. 18. _And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear?_ This passage is also taken from the
book of Proverbs, chap. ii. 31.: "If the righteous be recompensed in
the earth, where shall the godless abide?" The same thing also is
said here by St. Peter. The righteous can hardly be saved and only
just escapes. The righteous is he who believes, yet in his faith,
even, _he_ has trouble and labor in order to persevere and be saved,
for he must pass through the fire. Where then will _he_ be found who
has not faith? If God gives thus to faith a shock that makes it
tremble, how can _he_ abide steadfast who is without faith? whence he
concludes:
V. 19. _Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God,
commit their souls to Him as a faithful creator, in well-doing._ That
is, they to whom God appoints suffering, that they have not
themselves sought out and invited, should commit their souls to his
charge. These are they that do good, abide in good works, fall not
away because of suffering, commit themselves to their Creator, who is
faithful. This is to us a great consolation. God created thy soul
without thy care or cooperation, while as yet thou wast not; so is he
also able to preserve it. Therefore commit thyself to Him, yet in
such a way that it be joined with good works. Not that you are to
think,--now I will not be afraid to die; you must see to it that you
are a true Christian and prove your faith by your works. But if you
go on so venturously, it will be wise to examine how it will go with
you. This is the last admonition which St. Peter gives to those that
suffer for Christ's sake. We pass now to