1 Peter 2

Notes

Ver. 1. Since, by the acceptance of new principles of grace, ye have been led to purity and love, see that, with abhorrence, ye put away from you all malicious, spiteful, and revengeful heart-burnings, designs, and practices against your fellow-Christians; all frauds, deceitful flatteries, insincere compliments, or professions of respect towards God or men; all envious grudging and repining at men's prosperity; and all backbitings and defamations, which proceed from a guileful, malicious, or envious disposition of heart. 2, 3. And as persons who have had a real, though small experimental knowledge and savour of the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus to your own souls, earnestly desire, hunger, and seek after the pure, uncorrupted Word of God, as containing proper nourishment for your immortal souls, that ye may grow in grace, comfort, and holiness, and in all spiritual strength and stature, till ye become perfect in Christ; 4. To whom ye must be daily applying by faith for further edification, support, and establishment, as the only foundation of all your faith, security, hope, and happiness; who has life in himself, and quickens and for ever animates all that are united to him; and who, however contemned by Jewish rulers or other unbelievers, was chosen and appointed of God for this end; and in the sight of God, and all who know him, is infinitely excellent in himself, dear and honourable, and completely able to bear the whole weight of his Father's glory, and the salvation of his church. 5. And being quickened by virtue of your union to and influences from him, ye are more and more fitted to be a spiritual habitation for God, and made holy priests unto him, gratefully to offer up yourselves, your prayers, praises, alms-deeds, and other good works, to him, as acceptable and accepted only through the propitiatory sacrifice and intercession of Jesus Christ. 6. Accordingly God calls us, with attention and holy admiration, faith and hope, love and joy, to contemplate him as the fitted, prepared, and rightly-placed foundation, which unites and supports the whole church, Jews and Gentiles, and on which the man who rests the whole weight of his eternal salvation, however sinful he may be, shall never meet with any disappointment, confusion, or ruin. 7, 8. To all those therefore who, through the declarations and promises of the gospel, receive and rest on him alone for salvation, he, in his person, offices, relations, and benefits, will be altogether lovely, honourable, and honoured; and notwithstanding all the rage and contempt of Jewish rulers and other unbelievers, he is, by the appointment of God, made the foundation, chief corner-stone, strength, and glory of his spiritual house, the gospel church; in the meantime, according to God's ancient predictions, he becomes to others an occasion of more aggravated guilt and ruin, who, through their obstinate unbelief, in fulfilment of their wicked ways, wilfully plunge themselves into deeper damnation. 9. But ye who by faith are built upon him as your foundation, are a new-born kindred, which God has, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, set apart for himself. Being anointed with his blood and Spirit, like princes, ye have power with him, victory over sin, Satan, and the world, and dominion over your own spirit, and are heirs of the kingdom of heaven.—Like priests, ye are separated from the rest of the world, and consecrated to God to offer up spiritual sacrifices of holy gratitude.—Ye are a holy society, collected and united together under Christ your King; sanctified by his Spirit, governed by his laws, and embarked in the same common cause and interest; and through faith ye are his special property—that, answerably to your dignities, privileges, and obligations, ye might, in your nature and life, by thought, word, and deed, show forth the infinite wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth of God, who has by his grace called and brought you from the darkness of ignorance and error, sin and misery, into his most wonderful light of truth and grace, holiness and comfort; 10. So that ye, as well as the Gentiles among whom ye live, are, after a remarkable disowning of God, brought into the sweet and abiding relation of a people to him; and, after a fearful exclusion from his mercy, have now found mercy with him, to the justification and adoption of your persons, and the renovation of your nature and life, after his image. 11. In consideration of these distinguishing favours which God has bestowed upon you, my dear Christian brethren, I earnestly entreat and exhort you, as persons born from above, strangers in this world, and travellers to the heavenly country, to renounce, avoid, and mortify all your inward workings of sensual inclinations, inordinate affections and desires after earthly things, which arise from the corruption of your nature, and exert themselves by your body; and being contrary to the liberty, peace, and honour, purity and holiness, of your renewed souls, perpetually do their utmost to defile, disturb, ensnare, and destroy them. 12. And since ye live among profane and idolatrous heathens, study that all your words and actions may be decent, honourable, and commendable, every way worthy of your holy profession—that whereas they take all occasions to reproach you, as a refractory, useless, and mischievous people, they may be effectually confuted by your universally regular, blameless, holy, benevolent, and lovely deportment, and brought to admire God's grace in you, and to imitate your good conversation, when he by his mercy shall visit them with the light and power of the gospel, and make it powerful for their salvation. 13, 14. And though some of your countrymen inveigh against all obedience to heathen magistrates, see that ye, from a regard to the command, example, and honour of Christ, conscientiously submit to, cheerfully obey, and readily pay tribute to the civil rulers, supreme or subordinate, whom God in his providence has, by the agency of men, set over you for the restraint and punishment of the open contemners or injurers of God or men, and for protecting, encouraging, favouring, and rewarding such as are orderly, sober, honest, and religious; 15, 16. For it is the command and delight of God, and tends to his honour, that, by a holy, regular, and commendable behaviour, ye should refute the unreasonable and wicked calumnies which men of weak and prejudiced minds, strangers to God and to your true character, are apt to raise against you and your religion, as if it made you bad subjects; always conducting yourselves as persons delivered from the tyranny of sin and Satan, from the ceremonial law, and from the moral law as a broken covenant of works, and from all human impositions on your conscience in matters of religion; but never abusing this freedom as an encouragement to or cover of sedition, or any other malignant wickedness, but as an excitement to the most faithful and diligent service of God in holiness and righteousness. 17. Under the influence of a truly religious, filial, and reverential fear of God, and answerable to the character of true worshippers of him, always study to pay a suitable respect to all men, be of what rank they will; cultivate the most tender and affectionate love, and be ready to perform every kind office to your fellow-believers, Jews or Gentiles; and, as loyal subjects, pay all civil homage and respect to kings and other magistrates, as the deputies and vicegerents of God. 18-20. Such of you as are household servants, whether slaves or hired, always study an humble submission, becoming reverence, and ready and faithful obedience, in all things lawful, to your masters—not only to such as are generous, kind, meek, and merciful in their temper and behaviour, but also to them who are austere and morose, especially if it be only because ye are become Christians; for this is acceptable to God, and praiseworthy, if, for the sake of your religion, and from a conscientious regard to his command and honour, ye patiently suffer injurious and abusive treatment, without having given any just provocation by your faults. But there is no honour to Christ, your religion, or yourselves, in your tame submission to the severe punishment of your neglects, infidelity, and misdemeanours. The criminal cause makes your sufferings a reproach to all concerned. But if, while ye are diligent and faithful in the duties of your station, ye patiently bear sufferings, inflicted for your conscientious regard to Christ and his Father, this evidences a truly excellent and holy temper, which God freely gives, and is highly pleased with. 21. For when ye became Christians ye were called patiently and publicly to submit to injuries and reproaches, for the sake of Christ and the gospel, because he himself, in his infinite love to us, willingly underwent the severest sufferings and most infamous revilings for us, not only to pardon our sins and secure our eternal happiness, but also to leave us a most perfect pattern of patience in suffering—that we, in love and duty, might imitate him in this and other parts of his holy and blameless behaviour; 22, 23. Who, notwithstanding all the false and malicious accusations of his enemies, never was found guilty of the smallest fault, or the least insincerity, deceit, or falsehood, in his words or doctrine; and who, when he was shamefully reproached as a blasphemer, an impostor, and one possessed by the devil, and most insolently and barbarously abused by his enemies, never returned the smallest reproach, nor threatened to revenge the injuries done him; but calmly referred the cause between him and his persecutors to his heavenly Father; and even prayed that, instead of avenging, he would graciously forgive their murderous wickedness through his atoning blood; 24. Who, being altogether sinless in himself, cheerfully, as our Surety, submitted to all his sufferings, as the punishment of our sins imputed to him, and to be borne by him in his death, in order that, through the merits and virtue of his sufferings, we might have our sins pardoned and subdued, and all our spiritual maladies healed, and might live in all holy obedience, and bring forth fruits of righteousness to God through him. 25. For, in our unconverted state, we were inclined to and actually running astray from God, and from his fold, ordinances, commandments, and ways of truth and peace, into every sinful and dangerous path leading to eternal destruction; but now, through faith and the renewing operations of the Holy Ghost by the gospel, ye are brought back to Christ, as the great Shepherd and kind Overseer of your precious and immortal souls, that he may care for, feed, nourish, guide, govern, heal, and defend you from all evil, and conduct you safe to his eternal glory.

Reflections.—The pure doctrines of Christ are most nourishing provision to a regenerated soul. But great mortification of lusts, and earnest exercise of faith and love, are necessary in making use of it. And the more knowledge and experience we have of God's transcendent grace, the more ardently shall we desire it. Whatever Christ be to others, he is infinitely precious, honourable, useful, and establishing to his own people; and sweet is the light, the life, the honour, the confirmation, the holiness, the usefulness, the acceptableness, they derive from him. Astonishing is his love, his condescension, in cheerfully bearing our sins, enduring our punishment, and in recovering us, when lost and strayed, to himself! With sincere regard to his Word as our rule—to his example as our pattern—ought we, by a holy, honest, and virtuous conversation, to recommend his religion in the world, and to refute the reproaches cast upon it by the wicked. With earnestness should we subdue and mortify every sinful lust. And with great cheerfulness ought we to perform every relative duty to magistrates, masters, or others, and to undergo whatever injuries we may be called to suffer for his sake. But bad neighbours, rebellious and unruly subjects, and imperious and unfaithful servants, can never be good Christians.