guile_. This food for babes in Christ is the word, which is taken by
the Spirit and offered a nurture for the soul. But there must be a
longing for, a readiness to accept, what is offered. For the spiritual
appeals to the reason of man, and though offered, is not forced on
him. The Spirit takes of the things of Christ and shows them unto us.
And the purification, the clearing off and putting away corrupt
dispositions, about which the Apostle speaks so earnestly, applies an
eye-salve to the inward vision which helps us to see things in their
true light, and so to long for what is really profitable food without
guile, which does not disappoint the hope of those that seek it. _That
ye may grow thereby unto salvation._ It is called the word of
salvation. "To you," says St. Paul to the men of Antioch (Acts xiii.
26), is the word of this salvation sent forth; and through it is
proclaimed the remission of sins. The healthy condition of the life of
the soul is evidenced by these two signs: longing for proper food and
growth by partaking thereof. For there is no standing still in
spiritual life, any more than in the natural life. Where there is no
growth, decay has already set in; if there be no waxing of the powers,
they have already begun to wane. To the natural human growth there
must needs come this waning; the body will decay: but the spiritual
increase can continue, must continue, until the stature of the fulness
of Christ be attained, till we come to be made like unto Him when we
see Him as He is. Watch, then, strive and pray for growth, _if ye have
tasted that the Lord is gracious_. The true food once found and
appreciated, the joy of this support will be such that no other will
ever be desired. Hence St. Peter adopts, or rather adapts, the words
of the Psalmist (xxxiv. 9) who tells of the blessedness of trusting in
the Lord. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear
Him, and setteth them free. This is the initial stage: the deliverance
from the power of evil. Then come the desire and longing for the true
strength. "O taste and see that the Lord is gracious; blessed is the
man that findeth refuge in Him." The joy of such a refuge can come
even to those who are suffering after the fashion of the Asian
converts. But the Psalmist's words are full of teaching. God's
training is empirical. Spiritual experience comes before spiritual
knowledge. Well does St. Bernard say of this lesson, though his words
pass the power of translation, "Unless you have tasted you will not
see. The food is the hidden manna; it is the new name which no one
knows but he who receives it. It is not external training, but the
unction of the Spirit, which teaches; it is not knowledge (_scientia_)
which grasps the truth, but the conscience (_conscientia_) which
attests it."
VI
_THE PRIESTHOOD OF BELIEVERS_
"Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but
with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up
a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Because it is
contained in Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
corner-stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall
not be put to shame. For you therefore which believe is the
preciousness: but for such as disbelieve, the stone which the
builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner, and
a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence; for they stumble at
the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
people for _God's_ own possession, that ye may show forth the
excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvellous light: which in time past were no people, but now are
the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have
obtained mercy."--1 PETER ii. 4-10.
Leaving the exhortation to individual duties, the Apostle turns now to
describe the Christian society in relation to its Divine Founder, and
tells both of the privileges possessed by believers, and of the
services which they ought to render. He employs for illustration a
figure very common in Holy Scripture, and compares the faithful to
stones in the structure of some noble edifice, built upon a sure
foundation. Such language on his lips must have had a deep
significance. He was the rock-man; his name Peter was bestowed by
Christ in recognition of his grand confession: and Jesus had
consecrated the simile which the Apostle uses by His own words, "Upon
this rock I will build My Church" (Matt. xvi. 18), words which were
daily finding a blessed fulfilment in the growth of these Asian
Churches.
A rock is no unusual figure in the Old Testament to represent God's
faithfulness, and its use is specially frequent in Isaiah and the
Psalms. "In the Lord Jehovah is an everlasting rock" (Isa. xxvi. 4),
says the prophet; again he calls God "the rock of Israel" (xxx. 29);
while the prayers of the Psalmist are full of the same thought
concerning the Divine might and protection: "Be Thou my strong rock
and my fortress" (Psalm xxxi. 2); "Lead me to the rock that is higher
than I" (lxi. 2); "O God, my rock and my Redeemer" (xix. 14).
But the language of the New Testament goes farther than that of the
Old. Strength, protection, permanence--these were attributes of the
rock of which Isaiah spake and David sang. The life-possessing and
life-imparting virtue of the Spirit of Christ is a part of the glad
tidings of the Gospel. Through Him were light and immortality brought
to light. The rock which lives is found in Jesus Christ. In Him is
life without measure, ready to be imparted to all who seek to be built
up in Him.
_Unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with
God elect, precious._ By purification of thought, and act, and word,
that childlike frame has been sought after which fits them to draw
near; and they come with full assurance. Jesus they know as the
Crucified, as the Lord who came to His own, and they received Him not.
Generations of preparation had not made Jewry ready for her King's
coming, had failed to impress the people with the signs of His
advent; and so they disowned Him, and cried, "We have no king but
Cæsar." But the converts know Jesus also as Him who was raised from
the dead and exalted to glory. This honour He hath "with God." No
other than He could bring salvation. Therefore has He received a name
that is above every name. And "with God" here signifies that heavenly
exaltation and glory. The sense is[7] as when Jesus testifies, "I
speak what I have seen _with My Father_" (John viii. 38)--that is, in
heaven--or when He prays, "Glorify me, O Father, _with Thine own
self_" (xvii. 5). From this excellent glory He sends down His Spirit,
and gives to His people a share of that life which has been made
manifest in Him. Their part is but to come, to seek; and every one
that seeketh is sure to find.
[7] Παρὰ θεῷ ἐκλεκτόν speaks of Christ in His glory, in that
place where the reward of the faithful is kept in store. Cf. the words
of Matt. vi. 1.
_Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house._ Not
because they are living men does the Apostle speak of them as living
stones. They may be full of the vigour of natural life, yet have no
part in Christ. The life which joins men to Him comes by the new
birth. And the union of believers with Christ makes itself patent by a
daily progress. He is a living stone; they are to be made more and
more like Him by a constant drawing near, a constant drinking in from
His fulness of the life which is the light of men. In this light new
graces grow within them; old sins are cast aside. By this preparation,
this shaping of the living stones, the Spirit fits Christians for
their place in the spiritual building, unites them with one another
and with Christ, fashions out of them a true communion of
saints--saints, who, that they may advance in saintliness, have
duties to perform both directly to God and for His sake to the world
around. By diligence therein the upbuilding goes daily forward.
First, they are _to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ_. From the day when
God revealed His will on Sinai, such has been the ideal set before His
chosen servants. "Ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests and a holy
nation" (Exod. xix. 6) stands in the preface of the Divinely given
law. And God changes not. Hence the praise of the Lamb's finished work
when He has purchased unto God men of every tribe, and tongue, and
people, and nation is sung before the throne in the self-same strain:
"Thou madest them to be unto God a kingdom and priests" (Rev. v. 10).
Under the early dispensation God was leading men up from material
sacrifices to pay unto Him true spiritual worship. The Psalmist has
learnt the lesson when he pleads, "Offer the sacrifices of
righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord" (Psalm iv. 6); and
Hosea's sense of what was well-pleasing to God is made clear in his
exhortation, "Take with you words and return unto the Lord; say unto
Him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good, so will we
render as bullocks the offering of our lips" (xiv. 3). The Apostle to
the Romans is hardly more explicit than this when he urges, "Present
your bodies a living sacrifice" (xii. 1), or to the Hebrews, "Let us
offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit
of lips which make confession to His name" (xiii. 15).
But the Apostles could add to the exhortations of the prophets and
psalmists a ground of blessed assurance, could promise how these
living sacrifices, these offerings of praise, had gained a certainty
of acceptance through Jesus Christ: "Through Him we have boldness and
access in confidence through our faith in Him" (Eph. iii. 12); and in
another place, "Having Him as a great Priest over the house of God,"
that spiritual house into which believers are builded, "let us draw
near with a true heart, in fulness of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure
water" (Heb. x. 22). Thus do believers become priests unto God, in
every place lifting up holy hands in prayer, prayer which is made
acceptable through their great High-priest.
It was only from oral teaching that these Asian Christians knew of
those lessons which we now can quote as the earliest messages to the
Church of Christ. The Scripture was to them as yet the Scripture of
the Old Testament, and to this St. Peter points them for the
confirmation which it supplies. And his quotation is worthy of notice
both for its manner and its matter: _Because it is contained in
Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner-stone, elect,
precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame._ The
passage is from Isaiah (xxviii. 16); but a comparison with that verse
shows us that the Apostle has not quoted all the words of the prophet,
and that what he has given corresponds much more closely with the
Greek of the Septuagint than with the Hebrew. The latter concludes,
"He that believeth shall not make haste," and contains some words not
represented in the version of the Seventy. The variations which St.
Peter accepts are such as to assure us that for him (and the same is
true for the rest of the Apostles) the purport, the spiritual
lessons, of the word were all which he counted essential. Neither
Christ Himself nor His Apostles adhere in quotation to precise verbal
exactness.[8] They felt that there lay behind the older record so many
deep meanings for which the fathers of old were not prepared, but
which Gospel light made clear. To somewhat of this fuller sense the
translators of the Septuagint seem to have been guided.[9] They lived
nearer to the rising of the day-star. Through their labours God was in
part preparing the world for the message of Christ. The words which
Isaiah was guided to use express the confidence of a believer who was
looking onward to God's promise as in the future: "He shall not make
haste." He knows that the purpose of God will be brought to pass;
that, as the prophet elsewhere says, "the Lord will hasten it in its
time" (lx. 22). Man is not to step in, Jacob-like, to anticipate the
Divine working.
[8] For illustration of what is here said, Matt. xxi. 16 may be
compared with Psalm viii. 2, Acts xv. 15-17 with Amos ix. 11, 12, and
Eph. iv. 8 with Psalm lxviii. 18; and the list might be largely
increased.
[9] Hence the New Testament writers quote from the LXX. in a very
large proportion. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews quotes
nothing else.
But "shall not be ashamed" was a form of the promise more suited to
the days of St. Peter and these infant Churches. For the name of
Christ was in many ways made a reproach; and only men of faith, like
Moses and the heroes celebrated with him in Heb. xi., could count that
reproach greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. Other and weaker
hearts needed encouragement, needed to be pointed to the privileges
and glories which are the inheritance of the followers of Jesus. And
in this spirit he applies the prophetic words, _For you therefore
which believe is the preciousness_. Faith makes real all the offers of
the Gospel. It opens heaven, as to the vision of St. Stephen, so that
while they are still here believers behold the glory of God to which
Christ has been exalted, are assured of the victory which has been won
for them, and that in His strength they may conquer also. Thus they
receive continually the earnest of those precious and exceeding great
promises (2 Peter i. 4) whereby they become partakers of the Divine
nature.
But all men have not faith. The Bible tells us this on every page. God
knows what is in man, and in His revelation He has set forth not only
invitations and blessings, but warnings and penalties. Life and good,
death and evil--these have been continually proclaimed as linked
together by God's law, but ever with the exhortation, "Choose life."
Of such warning messages St. Peter gives examples from prophecy and
psalm: _But for such as disbelieve, the stone which the builders
rejected, the same was made the head of the corner_ (Psalm cxviii.
22), _and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence_ (Isa. viii. 14);
_for they stumble at the word, being disobedient_. Here the Apostle
touches the root of the evil. The test of faith is obedience. It was
so in Eden; it must be ever so. But now, as then, the tempter comes
with his insidious questionings, "Hath God said?" and sowing doubts,
he goes his way, leaving them to work; and work they do. Now it is the
truth, now the wisdom, of the command, that men stumble at. But in
each case they disobey. Those leave it unobserved; these despise and
set it at nought. And the penalty is sure. For mark the twofold aspect
of God's dealing which is set forth in the passages chosen by St.
Peter to enforce his lesson. Spite of man's disobedience, God's
purpose is not thwarted. The stone which He laid in Zion has been made
the head of the corner. Though rejected by some builders, it has lost
none of its preciousness, none of its strength. Those who draw near
unto it find life thereby; are made fit for their places in the Divine
building, in the kingdom of the Lord's house which He will most surely
establish as the latter days draw on. But they who disobey are
overthrown. The despised stone, which is the sure word of God, rises
up in men's self-chosen path, and makes them fall, and at the last, if
they persist in despising it, will appear for their condemnation.
_Whereunto also they were appointed._ The Apostle has in mind the
words of Isaiah, how the prophet, in that place from which he has just
quoted, declares that many shall stumble and fall, and be broken, and
be snared, and be taken. This is the lot of the disobedient. These
penalties dog that sin. It is the unvarying law of God. The Bible
teaches this from first to last, by precepts as well as by examples.
The disobedient must stumble. But the Bible does not teach that any
were appointed unto disobedience. Such fatalist lessons are alien to
God's infinite love. The two ways are set before all men. God tries us
thus because He has gifted us above the rest of creation, that we may
render Him a willing service. But neither prophet nor Apostle teaches
that to stumble is to be finally cast away. Both picture God's mercy
in as large terms as those in which St. Paul speaks of the Jews: "Did
God cast off His people? God forbid.... They, if they continue not in
their unbelief, shall be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in
again" (Rom. xi.).
A hardening in part hath befallen Israel, and to the Church of Christ
there is offered the blessedness which aforetime was to be the portion
of the chosen people. But the offer is made on like terms of obedient
service, and involves large duties. St. Peter marks the likeness of
the two offers by choosing the words of the Old Testament to describe
the Christian calling, with its privileges and its duties. Believers
in Christ are a peculiar treasure unto God from among all people, a
kingdom of priests, and a holy nation, even as was said to Israel
(Exod. xix. 5, 6) when they came out of Egypt and received the Law
from Sinai. But among the dispersion, for whom he writes, there were
those who had been heathens, as well as the converts from Judaism.
That he may show them also to be embraced in the new covenant, and
their calling contemplated under the old, the Apostle points to
another of God's promises, where Hosea (i. 10; ii. 23) tells of the
grace that was ready to be shed forth on them which in time past were
no people, but now are the people of God, which had not obtained
mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Thus all, Jew and Gentile, are to
be made one holy fellowship, one people for God's own possession.
And this kingdom of God's priests has its duty to the world as well as
unto God. Israel in time past was chosen to be God's witness to the
rest of mankind, so that when men saw that no nation had God so nigh
unto them as Jehovah was whenever Israel called upon Him, that no
nation had statutes and judgements so righteous as all the Law which
had been given from Sinai, they might be constrained to say, "Surely
this great nation is a wise and understanding people," and might
themselves be won to the service of a God so present and so holy. And
now each member of the Christian body, while offering himself a living
sacrifice to God, while delighting to do His will, while treasuring
His law, is to exercise himself in wider duties, that God's glory may
be displayed unto all men. One of the psalmists, whose words have been
in part referred to Christ Himself, testifies how this priesthood for
mankind should be fulfilled: "I have published righteousness in the
great congregation; lo, I will not refrain my lips, O Lord, Thou
knowest. I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have
declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation; I have not concealed Thy
loving-kindness and Thy truth from the great congregation" (Psalm xl.
9, 10). These were the excellencies which the Psalmist had found in
God's service, and his heart ran over with desire to impart the
knowledge unto others. With juster reason shall Christ's servants be
prompted to a like evangel. They cannot hold their peace, specially
while they consider how great blessings those lose who as yet own no
allegiance to their Master.
_That ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvellous light._ This theme fills the rest of the
letter. The Apostle teaches that in every condition this duty has its
place and its opportunities. Subjects may fulfil it, as they yield
obedience to their rulers, servants in the midst of service to their
masters, wives and husbands in their family life, each individual in
the society where his lot is cast, and specially those who preside
over the Christian congregations. Wherever the goodness of God's mercy
has been tasted, there should be hearts full of thanksgiving, voices
tuned to the praise of Him who has done great things for them. Lives
led with this aim will make men to be truly what God designs: a holy
nation; a kingdom of priests. And ever as men walk thus will the
kingdom for which we daily pray be brought nearer.
The opportunities for winning men to Christ differ in modern times
from those which were open to the earliest Christian converts; but
there is still no lack of adversaries, no lack of those by whom the
hope of the believer is deemed unreasonable: and now, as then, the
good works which the opponents behold in Christian lives will have
their efficacy. These cannot for ever be spoken against. A good manner
of life in Christ shall, through His grace, finally put the gainsayers
to shame. They shall learn, and gain blessing with the lesson, that
the stone which they have so long been rejecting has been set up by
God to be the foundation of His Church, the head stone of the corner,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
VII
_CHRISTIANS AS PILGRIMS IN THE WORLD_
"Beloved, I beseech you, as sojourners and pilgrims, to abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your
behaviour seemly among the Gentiles; that, wherein they speak
against you as evil-doers, they may by your good works, which
they behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Be subject to
every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the
king, as supreme; or unto governors, as sent by him for vengeance
on evil-doers and for praise to them that do well. For so is the
will of God, that by well-doing ye should put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men: as free, and not using your freedom for
a cloak of wickedness, but as bondservants of God. Honour all
men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king."--1 PETER
ii. 11-17.
The Apostle opens his exhortations with a word eminently Christian:
_Beloved_. It is a word whose history makes us alive to and thankful
for the Septuagint Version. Without that translation there would have
been no channel through which the religious ideas of Judaism could
have been conveyed to the minds of the Western peoples. There are
several Greek words which signify "to love," but bound up with every
one of them is some sense which renders it ill-fitted to describe true
Christian love and still less suited for expressing the love of God to
man. The word in the text has been fashioned to tell of that love
which St. Paul describes in his "more excellent way" (1 Cor. xiii.).
In classic speech it implies more of the outward exhibition of
welcome, than of deep affection. But the translators of the Septuagint
have taken it specially for themselves, and use it first to express
the love of Abraham for Isaac (Gen. xxii. 2); and, thus consecrating
and elevating it, they have brought it at length to great dignity, for
they employ it to signify the love of the Lord for His people and the
highest love of man to God: "The Lord preserveth all them that love
Him" (Psalm cxlv. 20); "The Lord loveth the righteous" (cxlvi. 8). So
in the New Testament it can be used of the "well-beloved" Son Himself.
With such an expression of their union to each other in the Lord does
St. Peter preface his admonitions. They are counsels of love.
_I beseech you, as sojourners and pilgrims._ The Christian looks for a
life eternal. In comparison thereof the best things of this time are
of little account, while the evil of the world renders it no safe
resting-place. It is but as a lodging for a brief night, and at dawn
the traveller sets forward for his true home. Hence the argument of
the apostolic entreaty. You have no long time to stay, and none to
waste; your motto is ever, "Onward!" _I beseech you to abstain from
fleshly lusts, which war against the soul._ Of the perils of life's
journey the Psalmist gives us a telling sketch in the first verse of
Psalm i.; and if we may accept the words as the outcome of David's
experience, they teach us the subtlety of these lusts of the flesh, as
they war against the soul. They had led David to adultery and murder.
The first stage of the course through which they carry you is
described as walking by the counsel of the ungodly. It is not being of
their number, but only being ready to accept their advice; and though
the course has begun, it is still possible for him who walks to turn
round and to turn back. The next step shows captivation. The man
stands in the way of sinners, not afraid of his company now, though
they have a taint of positive guilt instead of the negative character
of ungodliness. But the war against the soul goes on; and the captive
at the next stage sinks down willingly, is pleased with his chains,
sits in the seat of the scorners, as ready now as they to make a mock
at sin. With good reason does St. Peter use most solemn words of
entreaty. The peril at all times is great. The flesh warreth against
the spirit. We cannot do the things that we would. But for these men
the danger was extreme. Some of them had lived in surroundings where
such sins were counted a part of religious duty; had the support of
long prescription; were sanctioned and indulged in by those of the
convert's own blood.